Thoughts from a summer of startups

Or how I learned to eat low-fat meat.

This summer I’ve had the pleasure to intern with SnowGate, a Boulder startup founded by four University of Colorado graduates. In addition, I participated in the Startup Summer internship program, where we had bi-weekly night talks with Entrepreneurs in the Boulder community, including John Kembel, Dave Mandell, Brad Feld, and more. We also developed an idea of our own in groups. Here are my four take-away thoughts.

Don’t just “Wing it”

The wild wild west of entrepeneurship without testing and validation is long gone. Steve Jobs once said, “Did Alexander Graham Bell do any market research before he invented the telephone?” However, in present day, besides a few extraordinary (lucky) cases, most tech startups will become successful using methods like Stanford d-school curriculum the Lean Startup methodology. Testing and empathy is key in a world where people are surrounded by many apps and technologies, which makes it hard to get traction. Finding a problem and solving it, rather than just making a product is much more efficient, and gives you a clear goal in mind. Find your early adopter and cater your product to them, which validates your product and gives you a clear way into the mainstream.

Be a pinball

To quote Eric Ries, a startup is “a human institution designed to create a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty.” The best way I’ve found to describe how to go about doing this is be a pinball. In an early-stage startup, ideas will flip and fly in different directions. The best way to control this is to think of your startup as a pinball, and to “push it”, or give it energy. The pinball will bounce around, as your ideas take you in directions that are vastly different from where you started. Sooner or later, your pinball is bound to find the right track to accelerate off into the world of success.

There is no six step process to success

Through all of the great entrepreneurs of Boulder I’ve had a chance to listen to, they all had one thing in common: None of their paths to success were like anyone else’s. It doesn’t take a Stanford or MIT grad, a college grad, or even a high school grad. It doesn’t take a specific college major or a great skill set. You don’t even have to have a passion for what you’re working on. What it does take, and is common in all successful entrepreneurs, is a relentless work ethic and the ability to not take no for an answer.

Why a lot of startups feature programmers

One thing that I began to ponder as a programmer in the startup world is, “what value do I bring?” One of our company’s investors said something to the tune of “once you have the product design, anyone can program.” So why don’t startups just consist of business types and product designers? As I have found out, playing in startup land is like a giant game of connect the dots. While business types may be able to connect the dots in making money and partnerships, it takes a different person to do the same with technology. As a business guy connects a way to improve the business model, a programmer will bring up certain ways to change the technology, which can heavily impact the model. It takes a diverse group of people to be able to connect enough dots and execute to succeed.

In Conclusion

I have witnessed growth in a great startup, and helped create an idea that has potential as well. The all important trick to entrepeneurship is to get your feet wet! If you’d like to contact me to hear more about the startup world, check out my Website for my info