Greetings from startup ground zero.
Pre-product, pre-revenue, pre-funding.
Pre-office, pre-benefits, pre-commute.
Pre-networking, pre-meetings, pre-pants…
It’s a time that rarely gets talked about in the startup echo chamber. There are no milestones to celebrate, no product launches to announce, no new customers to flaunt… just three ex-coworkers who, back in February, came together around an idea and a mutual distaste for another round of traditional employment. It won’t last forever, but I think things are going pretty well.
Here’s what we’ve got so far…
- An idea! We’ve landed on a concept in the health and wellness space. This idea took a long time to flesh out. There were numerous a-ha moments, followed quickly by oh-no’s. It took weeks of sifting through research, pouring over news articles and bouncing ideas off our significant others, but we think we’ve stumbled on something pretty neat.(Tip — if you’re asking for a significant other’s feedback when they’ve just returned from work, let them eat first.) (Second tip — if you’re going to crack open a Goldman Sachs report, sit upright in a straight-backed chair.)
- A meeting spot. This may seem relatively unimportant, so let me explain. One goal in the early days was to develop a routine. Routines make it easier to set deadlines, and deadlines make everyone more accountable. Having a meeting spot helps us deliver work on time and affords some much needed face-to-face time in an otherwise isolating environment.
- A website. There’s something very satisfying about launching your first website, even if it’s just a landing page hacked together with a Wix template.
- A pitch deck. The most difficult task to date. The good news is that there are plenty of good frameworks to choose from. The bad news is that creating a cohesive, well-designed deck is hard as shit. This is probably worth another blog post, so I’ll punt on the details.
On a personal level, the first few months of entrepreneurship have evoked a range of emotions. The initial elation of being self-employed and setting my own hours is now competing with a lingering anxiety that stems from watching my bank account deplete. The freedom and autonomy that comes with starting a company and crafting a vision has been recently humbled by the realities of the startup market and the expectations of those who fund it. More than anything else so far, I’ve come to terms with the notion that entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart.
At this point, I haven’t really decided what direction these posts will go. For now, blogging serves as an outlet. Something I can start and complete without the need for feedback, approval or iteration. A much-needed antidote for the one-step-back, two-steps-forward nature of startups.
I’ll be posting a few times a week from here on out and invite you to follow along. For those wanting to know more about the startup, it’s called “Incremental”. And that’s about all there is to it… for now :).
