There's a vibe in the investment community that only ventures started by young people are worth backing. After all, a 22-year-old "boy wonder" fresh out of Stanford can work 100 hours a week on a startup and doesn't have parental responsibilities or outdated thinking.
I can see the logic. But I also think that middle-aged people have their own advantages and efficiencies, ranging from domain expertise (including specific technical abilities or industry networks) to management smarts (including hiring and team-building skills). The data on the success of young vs. old founders is mixed, but I am heartened by the success stories, including many companies started by middle-aged graduates of the mid-career MBA program that I attended. HubSpot, E-Trade, and A123 Systems are the most well-known, but there are many more up-and-coming ventures such as Buzzient and mob376. In addition, Bill Aulet, the managing director of the MIT Entrepreneurship center, started or joined several new ventures after completing the Sloan Fellows program -- and he has four kids!
Showing posts with label team. Show all posts
Showing posts with label team. Show all posts
Monday, October 10, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
The financial bar vs. the courage bar
A great quote from Ben Horowitz's blog:
Over the past 10 years, technological advances dramatically lowered the financial bar for starting a new company, but the courage bar for building a great company remains as high as it has ever been.
The quote comes at the end of his post about leaders making tough decisions. Well worth a read.
(via Hacker News)
Over the past 10 years, technological advances dramatically lowered the financial bar for starting a new company, but the courage bar for building a great company remains as high as it has ever been.
The quote comes at the end of his post about leaders making tough decisions. Well worth a read.
(via Hacker News)
Monday, August 8, 2011
The six-month startup
A little over two months ago I finished business school. Since then, a lot of friends, classmates, former colleagues and family members have been asking "what's next?"
The short answer: Startups.
A slightly longer answer: I am working on two startup ventures, and seeking some consulting work on the side to help pay the bills.
Both of the startups are at an early stage of development. One of them, which I will simply call the “tech startup,” won’t turn into a full-time endeavor until early 2012 owing to prior commitments among the team. But we have already begun work, and are thick in the ideation phase. The ideas are coming fast and furious, and we are constantly iterating upon them.
Then there is the other venture, which I am calling the six-month startup. Unlike the tech startup, the six-month startup is not software. It is centered around a real-world product, which myself and another partner hope to design, build and launch in a six-month period. Technology will come into play, but during design, marketing and order processing, as opposed to the operation of the product (there are no embedded software or other electronics involved). Our idea was hatched in mid-July, and we set a goal of getting the product to market by Christmas. We already have a good idea of the product features and have a rudimentary prototype; now we have to decide on materials and work out the many details relating to manufacturing. I won’t talk about the product just yet, but will talk about some of the learning experiences (and difficulties) as the project progresses.
The idea of building and launching a product in a short period of time is not new to the startup world. “Lean” development processes have been a mantra since the beginning of the Web and perhaps even earlier. It’s also possible to develop physical goods on a quick prototyping/iteration cycle. But, as I’ve found out in the last few weeks, there are a lot of of obstacles to getting a prototype built using the same materials that will eventually appear in the finished product.
Is it possible to simultaneously get two startups and a sideline consulting business off the ground and on a path to success? Probably.
Am I naive to think that we can get a product to market in six months? Maybe.
But I have a belief in myself, my partners, and our ideas. Further, I refuse to accept conventional assumptions about what’s possible until I have tried them myself.
Lastly, while validation of our ideas and building successful businesses are the ultimate goals, I acknowledge that I may fail … but through failure I will learn and iterate for success the next time around.
The short answer: Startups.
A slightly longer answer: I am working on two startup ventures, and seeking some consulting work on the side to help pay the bills.
Both of the startups are at an early stage of development. One of them, which I will simply call the “tech startup,” won’t turn into a full-time endeavor until early 2012 owing to prior commitments among the team. But we have already begun work, and are thick in the ideation phase. The ideas are coming fast and furious, and we are constantly iterating upon them.
Then there is the other venture, which I am calling the six-month startup. Unlike the tech startup, the six-month startup is not software. It is centered around a real-world product, which myself and another partner hope to design, build and launch in a six-month period. Technology will come into play, but during design, marketing and order processing, as opposed to the operation of the product (there are no embedded software or other electronics involved). Our idea was hatched in mid-July, and we set a goal of getting the product to market by Christmas. We already have a good idea of the product features and have a rudimentary prototype; now we have to decide on materials and work out the many details relating to manufacturing. I won’t talk about the product just yet, but will talk about some of the learning experiences (and difficulties) as the project progresses.
The idea of building and launching a product in a short period of time is not new to the startup world. “Lean” development processes have been a mantra since the beginning of the Web and perhaps even earlier. It’s also possible to develop physical goods on a quick prototyping/iteration cycle. But, as I’ve found out in the last few weeks, there are a lot of of obstacles to getting a prototype built using the same materials that will eventually appear in the finished product.
Is it possible to simultaneously get two startups and a sideline consulting business off the ground and on a path to success? Probably.
Am I naive to think that we can get a product to market in six months? Maybe.
But I have a belief in myself, my partners, and our ideas. Further, I refuse to accept conventional assumptions about what’s possible until I have tried them myself.
Lastly, while validation of our ideas and building successful businesses are the ultimate goals, I acknowledge that I may fail … but through failure I will learn and iterate for success the next time around.
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