Where will life take this entrepreneur?

A few days ago I was asked if I wanted to work on a startup. I was interested and replied. I got emailed two ‘interview’ questions; how would you massively grow our user base and how would you monetize our service? They are the dilemmas of ever new internet service. I haven’t had a response yet from the CEO about my strategies. If I choose not to take the position or they don’t have a place for me, I’ll be sure to post my answers here. I make it a rule in life and business that I listen to my instincts and would always want to meet the people first.

I have a lot of options at the moment and I am going to choose the best one. Working for a startup would give me more experience, allow me to build up a reserve to fund my own company (I wouldn’t be dependent on VCs - I like this part) and expand my network. It would also mean though I would postpone my entry to university and I would have to wait with my own startup.

What I would love to do most is go to university and build my startup next to it. I am right now trying to get a meeting with Professor David Edelshain of Cass Business School, London (also a senior lecturer at NYU). I have met him on a brief occasion at the open day of Cass in London and was impressed with his openness, honesty and personality. Definitely someone I would want to learn from. I will continue emailing to see if I can get a hold of him; it seems right now I can’t get past the gatekeepers.

Right now I am actively pursuing all options; I wouldn’t be surprised if in the end I would end up doing something completely different. Isn’t this how it usually goes in life?

This post is a more personal one than usual. I would love to hear if you’re interested in more of these posts, my previous ones or if you enjoy a mix.

July 19, 2008 | Filed Under Mini Essays, Startup Updates 

Comments

Viewing 9 Comments

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    I'd worry about a potential employer who asks you to give him/her free ideas as part of your email application. I hope you told him ideas only you could execute well.

    Monday is my 70th birthday, and I'm working on a startup. I still don't know how we'll "massively" grow our "user base" and "monetize." We just know there's a better way to talk about getting old in America than the crushingly depressing stuff that's out there. We're starting from scratch, with no Web 2.0 toys, focusing on what techies flippantly call "content."

    I went to college to prepare for a career in commercial radio. When I was a senior, I got a full-time job in a radio station, and stretched my senior year over the next two. I considered the radio business to be far ahead of academe in current teaching, but I wanted the breadth and depth -- as deep as it went for me then -- of university teaching. I was too focused on my broadcasting passion then to know what I would be passionate about later. I was a radio kid then, caught up in the excitement of a techologically based performance medium. What I have learned is, there are more than enough passions ahead to keep me excited even now. I want to know more about physics, and how it's evolved.

    If any of this sounds familiar, I'm happy. Thanks for your candor and honesty. You'll be fine.
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    Thank you for your comment. I have definitely realized that my advice could be taken and run with, even without me. It was a risk I decided to take; I took it because at times you need to take a dive in the deep. If they decide to follow it without me to implement it, they'll be losing out on great ideas I would have had along the way.

    A great startup solves a problem and no matter if you're 17 or 70 you can do it with passion and perseverance. That's what I love about this blog and its commenter’s; they are people with a goal and passion who go for it.

    There are definitely parallels I see between your story and my own. My passions will change, new ones will be added to the existing ones and others will fall away. What though is not a passion but is in my genes is in entrepreneurship. Therefore I am not worried about what this year will bring. I will spend it on the thing I love, being an entrepreneur and connecting to likeminded people.

    p.s. If I can offer any “Web 2.0” advice on your startup, feel free to contact me (there’s a link at the top of the page).
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    Hi Eiso.

    I am excited for you.

    Like I told you before, I was chosen to join these two guys and now the three of us are working on creating a new website for snowboarders. We call it project powder. It'll be an extremely user friendly site, implementing some new features blah blah... we are not re-inventing the wheel, we are making things BETTER, easier, more fun.

    The three of us LOVE to snowboard. We love technology and yes of course we love MONEY as well.

    One of my partners A. has a background and experience in demonstrating ability to sell into digital media, social networks, online video, web2.0, publishing and ad-network industries. Ability to 'hunt' for potential companies in key markets to penetrate, develop strategic sales relationships and drive revenue. His specialties: Understanding of content delivery networks, cdn competitors, features, peering, hosting, storage services, ISPs, and telecommunication technologies.

    The other one L. is a senior engineer, his responsibilities include: sales engineering / customer contact, software development, server administration, architecture design. Buzzwords: Java, Spring, HTML/CSS, Javascript/AJAX, Python, Linux.

    [ps I copied that of their linkedIn profiles hehe]

    And then there is me, I love to snowboard, I am great with people, make/ maintain/ grow great contacts and connects and have the occasional great idea.

    Our team is fun! We bounce of each other's ideas and we all have our own qualities that make us valuable for the team. We all have our other jobs. Of course we want to make money, we all want that, but really we are working the project because our passion for snowboarding and the fact that the snowboard websites didn't really work well for us. We want to improve the user experience, create something awesome and learn [from each other] along the way.

    I guess all I wanted to say Eiso, and I know that you know this as well.... if your main reason for being part of a start up is money... well, you might end up being disappointed. Chose the people you want to start a project with wisely, have FUN, learn and laugh!


    amen

    :)

    Mascha

    ps: love your blog!
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    Hey Mascha,

    I am always excited to read your messages because you’re one of the people who I’ve never met but would immediately vouch for. I guess you can get to know someone in a series of 140 characters ;-).

    Your startup sounds exciting because it has passion. I think that also sums up your advice; fun, learn, and laugh! And that’s exactly how I am going to live my life. To many people slave away at jobs or follow studies they don’t enjoy. I am shaping my life to never let this happen.

    Money in all of this is an enabler and maybe even a goal but never something I will measure my self-worth to.

    Love life and live it,

    Eiso
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    I don't remember your career so far. So please don't mind any wrong propositions...

    If you already have a university degree join a startup. This should be the best possible preparation for starting your own company (later). If you don't have a university degree yet - well don't hesitate and join the (best possible) faculty you can get.
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    Sounds like interesting times indeed. For myself, I wish I'd continued my education earlier on - I came back to it, but would have missed fewer opportunities along the way had I presented folks with that not-so-meaningful piece of paper to accompany my experience.

    Luckily, in the IT field, experience eventually wins the day. I spent 20 years in the US Navy - while there, I started a semi-successful writing career. I also learned about computers. After that I went from project to project in IT - but now? Now I'm Director of IT Services for an exciting, multi-million dollar logistics firm - we were on the Inc. 500 list last year of fastest growing privately owned companies and in the top five on Government services.

    It's important to focus, is my point, on what you want to be the final outcome and then follow the straightest and most productive path to that goal. I would recommend (for light reading (lol)) The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.

    Dave
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    Thank you Dave (my loyal commenter), 720 pages will have to wait till I am going on a long flight. I will take your advice and pick it up soon.
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    I personally waited too long to get into business for myself so my key suggestion is to not wait too long. I'm an electrical engineer and have done reasonably well but the reality is that, other than providing you with credibility and some basic training, formal education truly teaches you very little. You seem like a really sharp person ... wise beyond your years and will do very well so go get that degree but start a real small scale business at the same time and you will learn much more from that than anything else.

    As far as the emailed questions, it is the stupidest thing I have ever heard and you should run in the opposite direction. No one in their right might qualifies people in that way. Building a startup team is highly relationship based and has more to do with chemistry, common goals and attitudes, shared passions, teamworks and so on. Anyone that emails questions to qualify someone is totally clueless and I think you should follow your own path.

    Allan Isfan
    http://isfanstartup.blogspot.com
    www.favequest.com
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    Thank you for your advice! I have also had my doubts about the questions and the fact that I still haven't had a reply. It has been a lesson learned and if I do get a response my first reply will be about meeting the people. I strongly believe about following your gut feeling when you first meet someone.
 
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