Listening to Everyone, while Listening to No One

Lessons, Startup

Just finished the first meeting with a new group of advisors with the Chicago Innovation Mentors group. I was accepted into this group as a startup company to work with 5 incredibly experienced startup advisors over a 6-month period as a Board of Advisors.

The first meeting was tonight. I prepared as much as I could for the meeting. I spoke to each advisor before the meeting and organized an agenda to cover topics I needed help with.  The meeting started without a hitch, it went very well according to the agenda. We introduced ourselves and got to know each other better than delve into the deep dive about the company. Understanding where we came from and where we are today. As you may have expected, we were bombarded with questions during this deep dive to help get the advisors up to speed on the company and what value we provide to the industry. It was very interesting to hear their thoughts on where we are today and their insights.

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Catching up with a Creative Mastermind

People

Just hit up an old friend that I met in 2013 at Startup Weekend, Benedict. I was attracted to his creativity and passion for changing the world for people like him. You see he lives in a wheelchair while the world around him lives without one.

When I met him I was inspired, because he had this vision and drive to change the way travel accommodations were for people like him. He started this company called Trekable, which was a rating system for hotels based on their level of accommodation for people in wheelchairs. The company not only would travel around the world to rate hotels, but provided employee training on helping people in wheelchairs.  It was simply a great idea! Unfortunately, after working on it for a few years he didn’t get the traction he was hoping for and left it in the dust of startups. 

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10 Principles for Design in the Age of AI

Internet of Things, Startup
  1. Good design solves an important human problem
  2. Design is context specific (it doesn’t follow history)
  3. Design that enhances human ability (not that replaces human ability)
  4. Good design is discreet (frictionless)
  5. Good design works for everyone every day
  6. Good design is a platform that grows with people’s needs
  7. Good design learns and predicts human behavior
  8. Good design brings about products and services that build long-term relationships
  9. Good design accelerates the adoption of new ideas
  10. Good design removes complexity from life.

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80% of Deals Happen After 5 Follow-Ups

Lessons

This is a short entry today, but a powerful lesson. Over the past few months, I have been getting very nervous when having conversations around raising capital. I am not sure why, but it has been occurring and throwing me off in discussion. Last night, I brought this up to my business partner and he was able to share his perspective and give me some new insight on the matter.

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The Laser Tag Manifesto

Startup

Growing up I loved playing laser tag for friends birthday parties and school functions. It was full of physical activity, strategy (spies and traders), and tactics. Every game began the same way, you pick a code name, register it with the front desk then go to briefing to learn about the rules, at the end of the rules session you were required to raise your token high up in the air with your right hand and repeat what the marshal (rules leader) said. Then you were able to enter into the room get your gun and start playing.  More

The Magic of Coffee Shops in San Fran

People, Startup

Where else can you be sitting in a coffee shop and listen to conversations all around you on funding, success, failures, and product market fit? There aren’t many. There are fewer where you can interject and start a new conversation…which is my specialty. I am in San Francisco for a conference that is starting tomorrow. Today I explored the city and am now in a coffee shop in downtown San Fran near the financial district. As I was sitting, here I saw these 2 guys walk in. It appeared to be a founder and an advisor as one (advisor) was older with a notebook and the other in slacks and a zip up. During their conversation, I listened and heard about the founder’s successes over the past year. Raising millions of dollars and succeeding. He is now cashflow positive. The advisor said, “Just think about how amazing this is and you did it all. Think about how many companies in the 1-mile radius of us have tried and failed..and you did it, you broke through.” More

I feel like the Statue of Liberty

Startup

This feeling does not happen every day, but lately, I have been feeling more and more like the statue of liberty. (I know its weird, it’s a weird thought but hang on with me for a little longer.)

From speaking at a few conferences to sharing my story about my company, I feel like I am at the top. My mindset is just that I love what I do and my confidence is contagious to those around me. I sometimes feel that I exude inspiration with every word that comes out of my mouth. I show perseverance for how far I have come and I show humbleness for all those who helped me along the way.

I stand for something greater than myself. More

Lessons Learned from Serving as a Panelist at the Under 25 and Ready to Thrive Conference

Lessons

A long time ago, I learned that it is important to take advantage of everything that comes your way because you just don’t know where it could lead. Last month, I received an email from Next Gen email list about upcoming opportunities for speaking, funding, and startup marketing. On the email was an opportunity to apply to talk on a panel about entrepreneurship at Johnson and Wales University’s Under 25 and Ready to Thrive Conference. The conference intrigued me, essentially the premise was that many alumni 40+ come back to the university to speak, yet students don’t often hear from the younger alumni or people to learn from. The organizer of this conference wanted to change that and give students an opportunity to see and hear from young successful entrepreneurs who were around their own age.

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