My journey from a technical project manager to an entrepreneur
My background in tech went from my time as a Microsoftie to building a content management platform for small businesses to co-founding an outsourcing company to being Head of Product Development at TINYpulse. My life as an entrepreneur started long before that. I’ll write more about these experiences one day but I once owned a tennis shop, ran a company that did marketing and promotions for night clubs and now own a bar again.
A few weeks ago, I had an interview with Saigon Online Tech City on my journey from a technical project manager to an entrepreneur. In this interview, I answered some questions that might be helpful to aspiring entrepreneurs or engineers who are looking to make career transitions.
The first question was on my transition from working at Microsoft to spearheading my own startup. The main benefits I got from working at Microsoft were the training resources and the ability to learn how a large company applies process and structure.
The fundamental difference between working at a large corporation versus a startup is how quickly changes are implemented. Working at a big corporation often entails a long list of procedures and restrictions which are set in place to prevent costly errors. Consequently, you spend the majority of your time avoiding mistakes rather than innovating or implementing change. While I hated that part of it, this experience helped me become a bit more careful and methodological with my approach once I entered the start up world
It was a 180-degree switch when I transitioned from working at Microsoft to starting my own software company. I got to learn about everything, from accounting and marketing to CSS and C#. The hardest part was deciding what I should learn and what I should (and could afford financially) to leave to other people.
As a small business owner, I suddenly found myself navigating through uncharted waters and growing more capable each day. I can safely say that I learned more on the first three months at my software company than I did in my five years at Microsoft.
In the interview, they also wanted me to share some common mistakes that engineers often make in their transition to becoming entrepreneurs. Mistakes range from failing to understand financial aspects of a business to learning how to develop a product with a customer-centric approach.
The most fatal mistake that engineers often make is assuming that they know what’s best for their customers. It is imperative to understand that our brains work very differently and what we consider important might not hold the same significance to our customers. The best advice I got from my buddy Joe Huyen is that a good product is a one that solves a clear customer problem.
I am a firm believer in learning by doing. Most valuable lessons in life are learned in the trenches, grinding it out with your team, not in the classroom. To all of the engineers who want to embark on their entrepreneurial journey, I have two bits of advice for you: be driven and be agile.
Be driven. There will be a lot of ups and downs. It’s vital that you get up every time you fall you learn something from your mistakes, you get back up, and you apply your learnings immediately to drive positive change. That driven mindset is just as critical to your success as your product.
Be agile. Come to work everyday prepared to change and you will not find yourself surprised or frustrated at the constant flux of running a startup.
Working at a startup is like riding a rollercoaster, there are lots of ups and downs. Sometimes, fear strikes your heart and all you would want to do is tap out. But, the rewards and excitement that come from working at a startup are unparalleled.
So buckle up and enjoy the ride.
You can watch the interview here (LINK).
