Xoogler Solopreneur: Navigating the World of Independent Business
I had the pleasure of hosting a special event for Xoogler.co Solopreneurs, focused on the theme: “Navigating the world of independent business”. More than 50 Xooglers and Googlers participated, including a great panel of specialists featuring:
Cathy Alexandra Mitchell, Startup and Philanthropic Advisor
Veronique Lafarque, Marketing Advisor
& myself- Consumer Trends Analyst
The recent wave of big tech layoffs has left many professionals wondering about their next career move. For many going independent has become a more attractive option in light of current industry realities.
To help Googlers and Xooglers who are considering the independent path, we shared our best tips and resources in a lively session that included three presentations and a Q&A.
I introduced the topic emphasizing that going independent in 2023 is a real option, supported by recent industry reports, e.g. future of work trends reports from McKinsey and MBO. Being a solopreneur is not for everyone, but it can be transformative for many tech professionals, providing many freedoms but also significant challenges.
As a solopreneur, you must be comfortable wearing many hats! Including those of marketer, salesperson, legal advisor and accountant.
Fortunately, many excellent resources are available to help you tackle these aspects of running a solo business. Cathy and Veronique shared some great tips that you can read about below.
The Xoogler advantage
There is also something which is very unique to Xooglers which I refer to as the Xooger advantage. Here’s how it can help you as a future solopreneur:
- The Xoogler brand on your LinkedIn profile or CV can open doors and help you bypass initial filters set by clients.
- As Xooglers you also have the power of your network to support you. The level of engagement in the community as well as the activity that is currently taking place on the xoogler.co slack channels and the various online and offline events are phenomenal (I say this having been a Xoogler for over 10 years).
- Once you have decided to launch your venture, the Xoogler.co solopreneurs and freelancers group can support you through the #solopreneur channel on slack (where you can connect with fellow Xoogler solopreneurs) and the solopreneur directory (to let founders looking to hire consultants easily find you) .
How to set it up
Cathy Alexandra Mitchell, JD, LLM Tax
Copyright 2023**
Cathy Alexandra Mitchell, Innovation Counsel, contributed the following, expanding on some of the features of her presentation last week, in particular the role of intellectual property. Cathy notes this portion is for informational purposes only, and is not legal advice. Contact counsel in your jurisdiction for legal advice.
- Entrepreneurship can be the source of significant satisfaction.
No matter how you come to the role, whether via layoff or choice, few endeavors offer the range of personal and professional growth embarking on a new venture can provide. New businesses and business models can solve problems (see “Business Model Canvas”) and provide a sense of purpose and satisfaction to founders, as well as the potential for considerable flexibility. Resilience and grit go a long way in the marathon that is a new entrepreneurial adventure, as well as support from professional networks, family and friends.
2. There are several legal issues new solopreneurs might want to consider when embarking on a new venture.
This is not intended as an exhaustive list of considerations; is for informational purposes only; and is not intended as legal advice. Seek counsel in your jurisdiction.
Here are a few initial considerations:
- Prior agreements/obligations: Check to see if you or anyone with whom you may be working, whether as a vendor or otherwise, has existing agreements or obligations to third parties which might be implicated by working with you. IP issues are particularly relevant here (see IP, below);
- New agreements with vendors — think IP. Consider formalizing — in writing — any relationship with outside contractors, particularly creatives. Detail the scope of work and payment arrangements, among other things, and be particularly mindful of IP rights regarding ownership of work product (see IP, below).
- State/county/city requirements/entity structure. Check to see if your jurisdiction requires registration or licensing with state or local government, or both. Does sole proprietorship, LLC, a corporation, or other form of ownership make the most sense? Consult with counsel and with your tax advisor. Jurisdictional issues, including country of origin and likely commercial activities, as well as tax implications, both domestic and international, may have an impact on the best path forward.
- Other general considerations include, but are not limited to, payment apps and banking, insurance, corporate/international considerations such as applicability of foreign investment laws, jurisdiction-specific employment laws, import/export trade regulations, tax, anti-corruption laws, and other jurisdiction-specific provisions.
3. Focus: Intellectual Property
Here we are talking primarily about patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, “know how” and domain names. Engage counsel to help protect intellectual property rights in all countries where you plan to do business. This includes registering domain names, applying to register trademarks, patents, and copyrights in those countries, and ensuring best practices are followed with respect to formalizing relationships with contractors and others.
In the US, a work created by an employee in the course and scope of employment is considered a work made for hire. Entrepreneurs often hire consultants — think website design, photography, or software development — at least at first. Keep in mind that the US, absent a written agreement to the contrary, the inventor or creator of a work generally owns the IP. Written consulting agreements should grant the company ownership of IP created by a consultant and assign IP to the company in the present, if that is the agreement of the parties.
Protection of trade secrets is also critical. Include well-crafted confidentiality provisions in consulting agreements and consider restricting a consultant’s access to trade secrets outside their specific role.
4. And the future is…AI?
Will you be using AI tools as an entrepreneur?
AI tools can potentially be used to create new works of art, music, or literature. A number of IP questions may arise, including, for example, who owns the copyright in AI-generated works?
A number of issues remain open, however the US Copyright Office has recently weighed in. Guidance issued by the Office in March 2023 states the Office’s view that “it is well-established that copyright can protect only material that is the product of human creativity…[and] the term “author,” which is used in both the Constitution and the Copyright Act, excludes non-humans.”
Stay tuned. This rocket is just beginning to take off.**
Solopreneur marketing
Veronique, the founder of the marketing agency Maison Lafargue, shared branding and marketing tips for solopreneurs in three steps: vision, credibility, and launch.
Here are the main ideas from her presentation:
Vision: Becoming a solopreneur is a journey that requires clarity about your “why.” To do so, start by defining success, create a vision board (template here) to represent your aspirations, and build an ideal customer profile to define who you want to attract — and repel.
Credibility. Most entrepreneurs get very anxious about the idea of building a personal brand. Instead, they should think about it as building credibility. It starts with clarifying and refining a unique point of view, based on your personal story, experience and expertise. You also want to narrow down the range of topics you want to cover and create a red thread, in particular in your social channels.
Pay attention to your visual identity and tone of voice and create a unified visual identity (tools like Canva are very helpful). For inspiration, check out the story behind Maison Lafargue’s brand in this blog post.
Another important tip is to be generous with your knowledge and get ready to give away value in the form of free webinars, videos, or lead magnets to build credibility and awareness.
Launch and iterate. Start with a minimal viable offering and get feedback from people who resemble your ideal customer profile. You can start with a simple portfolio that you share with trusted advisors, but be specific about the feedback you are looking for and keep testing with prospects.
For go-to-market strategies, you want to start with a small set of channels like referrals, social or emails, and learn the best practices for each (check out some tips for LinkedIn). Simplify your processes as much as you can, with an easy-to-use and scalable tech stack, productivity tactics, generative AI tools and templates.
Finally, dedicate time to building a support system and collaborations that will help you discover new opportunities and can act as a sounding board.
In closing
Xooglers- you have many advantages, including a supportive network and access to great resources. For those of you released from the corporate world, this could be the perfect time to explore becoming a solopreneur.
A big thank you to Cathy Alexandra Mitchell and Veronique Lafargue for their insightful presentations.
And thanks to all the Xooglers and Googlers who joined the event.
If you couldn’t make it, you can find the slides here.
About the speakers
Cathy’s career in tech, sports and entertainment includes mentoring and support to entrepreneurship graduate students, as well as founders at all stages, from startup to exit
Veronique is a Startup advisor and Founder of Maison Lafargue
Alex is a consumer search demand analyst. He assists startup founders, venture builders and marketers in staying ahead of the curve by leveraging emerging search trends.
About Xoogler.co
We are a group of Google alumni and current Googlers who have come together to help each other advance our ambitions in the startup ecosystem. The Xoogler.co community consists of startup founders, early team members, angel investors, VCs, and mentors.
Alex Papageorgiou
Xoogler.co solopreneurs & freelancers group
