Embrace the challenge of each day being different.
There is something about the way Jose speaks that makes you want to listen. He carries himself in such a gentle and humble manner, but you could still hear his passion ring through his words. I was lucky enough to catch him during his busy schedule to chat about his startup journey.
The story begins with his supervisor’s simple request to speed up the process of a lab experiment. Who knew that it would result in an innovation that would transform the research world and impact the lives of many?
JOSE BARRIOS: CEO & FOUNDER OF COGNILAB TECHNOLOGY
Cognilab Technology helps social scientists create cognitive experiments without a them writing a single line of code. Cognilab focuses on delivering speed, scale, and accuracy for social scientists.
Jose shared with me the incredibly slow and inefficient reality of the scientific research process. In a world where the number of diagnoses are rapidly increasing, our understanding of diseases, disorders, and conditions have become more important than ever. How are scientists supposed to find cures when it takes about 4 years to conduct a single experiment?
This was shocking for me, especially since the tech world is booming with incredible innovations all the time.
It was inspiring to hear his startup story to see how he tackled this problem and created a solution that cuts research time from 4 years to just under 8 months.
A few key takeaways from our conversation…
Just because you have an idea, it doesn’t mean you have a company.
How do you make a product that has market fit? Where do you find the right team of people to support you in your venture? How will you come up with the financial resources? Where do you even start?
Ideas are dime a dozen. The challenge lies in turning that idea into something tangible that people actually want.
As an entrepreneur, you wake up not knowing what is going to happen today.
Most of us don’t like change; we want security. In a regular 9–5 job you know your routine. Head to the office, work on your project, a meeting or two, head home, sleep, and repeat.
As an entrepreneur, you’re faced with the unknown. You might have to deal with your servers crashing, solve a customer service issue, or maybe celebrate a new milestone.
Embrace the challenge of each day being different.
Take all advice with a grain of salt.
What worked for successful entrepreneurs may not work for you. They were successful in a certain context. For example, the shift from web to mobile and the rapid speed of growth in the tech industry is vastly different from a few years ago.
That’s not to say there is advice that is valid throughout different fields and times, but just be mindful when taking advice at face value.
Nobody knows your company and your circumstances better than you.
Hey I’m Celine, Content Creator for Launch Academy and a 3rd year marketing student at the Sauder School of Business of the University of British Columbia. Follow me as I share my conversations with local entrepreneurs.
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