The Mobile Entrepreneur
My Best Friend, My Backpack
Written by Steve McGarry.
Back in the day, entrepreneurs started companies in offices and garages. A lot of this was due to the technological constraints; your iPhone is more powerful than a computer from 10 years (or even 5 years!) ago.
The Mobile Entrepreneur
Today, entrepreneurs are increasingly mobile. Many aspiring entrepreneurs I’ve met in San Francisco live out of their backpack (during the day) and Airbnb (during the night).
I often have coffee with other entrepreneurs — it’s a great sanity check — and I’ve noticed that everyone keeps peculiar items in their backpacks. This includes myself! The reality is that technology (laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc.) has enabled entrepreneurs to be extremely productive while be extremely mobile.
At the early-stage of your startup, especially if you’re new to the city, your backpack is part of you. It can bring you a level of comfort and security, to have all the amenities of a day with you.
Your backpack defines you.
Pack Your Sack
It’s important that what you carry around every day is actually useful, either to get more done or to keep you healthy. I’ve seen backpacks with items ranging from toothpaste to term sheets.
My backpack is fairly simple:
- Hygiene: Toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, nail clippers — because sometimes you forget, and sometimes you get free (but bad for your breath) food
- Food: Granola bars, trail mix, gum — because nuts are filling and cheap; gum tricks your stomach into thinking it’s eating
- Technology: Macbook Air, iPhone, headphones, iPhone charger — because headphones help you tune out background noise
- Business: Pens, notepad, business cards, company stickers, printed out term sheet — because, you never know!
- Medical: Chap stick, Pepto-Bismol, Advil, vitamins — because you can’t get sick; there is no bench
- Clothes: Underwear, socks — because sometimes you feel disgusting and a change of clothes can make a world of difference
- Excuses: Starbucks tumbler — because it helps you avoid those, “don’t you want to get a coffee” situations when you’re trying to save money
When you’re running around town, hopping between meetings, it’s comforting to know that you have some personal items ready.
My Best Friend
I’ve been running around since I left the safety of my corporate job in North Carolina — from Boston, to Providence, and now San Francisco — but I feel safe with my backpack.
My backpack is my safety blanket, when things inevitably go wrong.
My backpack is my home, when I don’t have one.
My backpack is my best friend.
What do you keep inside your backpack? Let us know on Twitter (@FunnelFeed).
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