Changing Winds

And More Dancing

October 5th, 2016

Today was a good day. In the morning, it started with another master course from Erin Krampetz. Today we discussed the importance of the Build-Test-Learn feedback loop when it comes to experimentation in entrepreneurship. This lesson was largely based off of the “Lean Startup” by Eric Reis, which I read a couple years ago. But I still struggle to apply its lessons, so it was a really valuable session this morning. Erin shared a pretty helpful formula for designing experiments and hypotheses, it is as follows:

If we do X then Y% of people will behave in Z way

• X= your solution
• Y= your target metric
• Z= expected behavior change

The main question we need to ask ourselves as entrepreneurs is “What do I need to learn right now that will push me in my entrepreneurial path? What learning matters most?” Really great questions. This lesson reminded me of the conversation I had with Sara from a couple days ago, who stressed the importance of intentional learning and experimentation.

During lunch, called a college friend, Jared Fishman, to tell him happy birthday. We spoke on the phone for about an hour to catch up.

In the afternoon, my roommate Zake and I had the opportunity to speak individually with Erin Krampetz for a mentorship session. I told Erin of my challenges and she gave me some interesting ideas. She thought it may be most beneficial to target older & more experienced entrepreneurs with more cash through my work, and to charge a premium price for a quality experience or product. What’s important is making the customer feel good. She also had different names and ventures for me to look into. People and programs she is connected to. So I’ll do research on that.

Next, went to the post office. Paid $235 for the speeding ticket I mentioned about a week ago. Hopefully I learned my lesson on that one. Not a good way to reduce expenses when you are working to bootstrap a business that doesn’t make money.

As the afternoon transitioned to the evening, I spoke with my brother and my momma about what I have been experiencing here at Watson. It was really great to catch up. I talked about my newfound interest in mental health for entrepreneurs, and they both were really supportive and excited for this new direction. Who knows where things will go. This is all so new. At the very least, it’s something worth testing out and seeing where it goes and how I like it.

Yesterday I posted a note with some questions that I posed myself. Late last night I brainstormed my responses to those questions. I’m sure these will change as I change, but here was my best attempt to answer my own questions.

Why am I pursuing this venture?

• To prove to myself that I can grow, achieve, & self-actualize as an entrepreneur and to inspire others to do the same.

What do I hope to accomplish?

• To systematically reverse engineer the culture of entrepreneurship, helping the minds of millions of entrepreneurs in the process.

What does success look like?

• FailUp evolves into a movement or an organization with a life of its own that is embraced by many and grows in impact every day

What does failure look like?

• Giving up on these dreams

What would cause me to quit? Why?

• Jeopardizing my personal health, financial capacity, and most important relationships because without these, my life doesn’t work

Who do I want to help?

• Entrepreneurs who have demonstrated commitment to a vision beyond themselves, but struggle to achieve systematic impact

Who do I want to work with?

• Entrepreneurs who have already achieved systematic impact and self-actualized as entrepreneurs

What is the 8-word mission statement?

• Serve entrepreneurs’ needs to end failure.
• Quest: Strengthen entrepreneurs’ minds to build psychological & emotional capacity.

This was a really valuable exercise for me. And just one day after writing it, I have referred to it many times. This afternoon/ evening I had more free time than usual, and I wanted to take some time off for myself. To be in the moment. So of course, I danced. Got three dance videos for ya (plus the jog blog)!