Tech Entrepreneurship in Mississippi
A view from the inside.
This post shouldn't come as a shocker. Mississippi isn't built for tech entrepreneurship. At least not the type of tech that I like to focus on. I've witnessed the success of innovative lean manufacturers. I’ve seen many successful university research projects prove to be commercially viable. A Mississippi scientist is responsible for the first reported cure for HIV. That being said, we do not yet have the infrastructure to support my space, consumer web startups. From what I can tell, there is a large disconnect between the web entrepreneurs who need capital and those who have capital. Unlike other regions where successful tech entrepreneurs fund tech startups through angel or venture funds, Mississippi investors have little to no operating experience. I have spent as much time explaining web startups as I have pitching my baby.
I've been entrepreneurial for as long as I can remember. Even before I was conscious of the technology ecosystem, I had a firm understanding of basic business principals through of my small ventures. I started my first company when I was 19 years old. When I first began, my only fear was the formal legal arrangement that comes in the form of incorporation. I was blissfully unaware of what I was signing up for. I had no mentor in my space to guide me along my journey and none of my role models were in Mississippi consumer web. I was fumbling my way down a long, dark hallway, feeling my way around in search of a light switch. Through many lessons, I now define what we do as a startup facilitating the many local marketplaces within the vertical of consumer electronics repair. We’re passionate about technology and the people who use it. I’m extremely grateful of the guidance given to me by Mississippi State University and Innovate.MS (Formally the Mississippi Technology Alliance). They've helped guide me to where I’m at now, but most of the lessons that I've learned have been painfully self taught. Most dotcom startups aim for growth and worry about a business model later. Although the company has been strapped for expansion capital, we've been cashflow positive since day one. Most entrepreneurs suggest masking their startup as a consulting business in order to sustain themselves. I, instead, work with a digital advertising agency to consult businesses on their growth strategies and web presence. Most startups wait until capitalized to begin doing. I’ve learned to love the masochism that is bootstrapping. Most startups prematurely seek to raise outside capital to get their businesses started. I’ve been tinkering on creating a sustainable business and I see venture capital as the beginning of a partnership aimed for hyper-growth. I don’t say these things to brag. I’m simply stating that as a Mississippi entrepreneur, you have to work twice as hard in order to get half as much. Sometimes being forced to go without is life’s greatest teacher.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -Lao Tzu
Fostering Mississippi’s Startup Ecosystem
They say being a startup founder is lonely. It’s much more lonely in Mississippi. Unlike places like San Fransisco and New York City where everyone is an entrepreneur, startup founders here are few and far between. Those who do find success may feel that it is important for them to leave Mississippi. I’m an advocate of Brad Feld’s ideology of building startup communities. He says that startup communities can’t be started by service providers (investors, academics, lawyers, and politicians). They must be started by entrepreneurs and supported by service providers. People like Tony Hsieh, Charlie O’Donnel, and Scott Case are also paving the way at different levels. Like many states nationwide, we are making leaps and bounds. We’re in a golden age for the economic development of our state. I’m proud to be a part of it. Mississippi is now a proud host of many Startup Weekend events. I’m a founding member of the Mississippi State University entrepreneurship club. Innovate.MS is working to bring a tech accelerator to Jackson. I’m a proud tenant of the new Mississippi State University incubator offices. I’ve personally seen a few Mississippi startups grow from conception to full fledged companies and have become personal friends with their operators. I am a product of the MSU Office of Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer. Mississippi startups are thoroughly proven if nothing else. Solving a problem this big doesn’t call for passive energy. There is a need for active players invested in seeing Mississippi become a robust and thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Geographical barriers are being torn down. The world is flat and thought leaders have never been so accessible. My mentorship has mostly come from Google/YouTube in the form of Stanford eCorner lectures and PandoMonthly seminars. My Twitter timeline is extremely informative. I keep up with the blog posts of many influencers in my space. I spend much of my time studying the successes and failures of the dotcom boom and bust and apply these lessons to what I’m building. This would not be possible without the internet. The democratization of ideas and information means that ideas can now travel the globe in a matter of minutes. Because I live in Mississippi, I compensate for my lack of a physical presence by investing in my internet presence. The fact that you’re reading this particular post is evidence. We’re alive in the midst of a major cultural change. The way that we work is changing. The way that we live and communicate is changing as a whole. We have the opportunity to build better companies. This is causing America as a whole to improve. I see Mississippi, along with many other American states, playing roles in the change of our planet. Mississippi isn’t built for tech entrepreneurship. Not yet. But I have no doubt in my mind that we are getting there. Who knows? We may even take a leading role.
