When starting a business...
You start with your eyes wide open, super eager, mind racing for the next idea, scouring the internet for tips on 'how to start a business' and meeting experienced entrepreneurs at random coffee shops... It’s an adrenaline rush trying to figure out how to put all of the pieces together. And then you start to interview attorneys, accountants, website developers, and oh yeah…. funders... still a rush, don't get me wrong, but it's more like a 'holy crap how do I do this?' type of rush.
This idea has been about a year and a half in the making. So not something I just thought up yesterday and recklessly pursued. Despite the length of time I've been considering this business, would you believe I still have yet to even name it.... what does this tell you?
Recently, I watched a TED Talk by an organizational psychologist named Adam Grant who missed the opportunity to invest in a little known social enterprise called Warby Parker. He decided not to invest because this group of friends was not willing to leave their full-time jobs to pursue their idea... ya know...just in case it didn't work out. And they seemed to be making slow progress. He even noted that 6 months went by, and the day before their company was meant to launch, they did not have a functioning website. And this was a company that relied solely on their online presence. These were all signs that [he thought] pointed to an unlikely success story.
After this misstep he started looking into what he calls, "Original Thinkers." Individuals who are often procrastinators, only to a point where their creativity flourishes. I'll let you take a gander at this video to see how he connects this notion to the likes of Da Vinci and Martin Luther King Jr., and how he disrupts the claim of the first mover advantage. See The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers. I bring this up, because it gives me hope.
I am also not looking to quit my full-time job. I am moving slowly as I think through my mission, revenue model, potential partners, board composition, etc. But it just may be that my "procrastination" could be the very asset that makes me a success.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my blog or shall I say, my coping mechanism, as I try to build on my dream of starting a for-profit social enterprise that empowers others to achieve their personal and organizational potential. Curious, eh?
I'm not the person with a really rich relative who can give 'just' a million dollars for my start-up. I'm also not the techie who can build my website with pocket change while squatting in my garage. I'm the person who worked throughout undergrad and grad school, received a solid business education, but a mortgage-size debt from paying tuition. This journey to start up a company is hardly what others make it seem to be when you've got the business know-how and idea, but need the money and web developer. So this is my journey to making my vision come to fruition.
Entrepreneurship.
It starts out with an idea. For the past 2.5 years, I was invigorated by my work, but was constantly frustrated with how limited my impact was. I had a vision to restructure, evolve the customer base, and step away from the fundraising model of constantly chasing down donors. I am now ready to pursue this endeavor.
Ah, yes, but I won’t give it away just yet.
In order to intelligently speak about my idea without tripping over my words, I went through the inclusive business model canvas, created by my friends at the Center for Social Value Creation at the University of Maryland. Outlining my mission, revenue model, stakeholders, staff, risks, etc. fueled my fire for pursuing this idea.
Then the naming part came, and I’m still there... I imagine that figuring out what to name your business is a bit like naming your baby. I’m creating an identity, a personality for the business. Not just that. I feel like I'm creating the DNA for possibly the next LinkedIn meets Taproot Foundation meets Uber. That’s an incredible weight on your shoulders.
And this is just the beginning!
You start with your eyes wide open, super eager, mind racing for the next idea, scouring the internet for tips on 'how to start a business' and meeting experienced entrepreneurs at random coffee shops... It’s an adrenaline rush trying to figure out how to put all of the pieces together. And then you start to interview attorneys, accountants, website developers, and oh yeah…. funders... still a rush, don't get me wrong, but it's more like a 'holy crap how do I do this?' type of rush.
This idea has been about a year and a half in the making. So not something I just thought up yesterday and recklessly pursued. Despite the length of time I've been considering this business, would you believe I still have yet to even name it.... what does this tell you?
Recently, I watched a TED Talk by an organizational psychologist named Adam Grant who missed the opportunity to invest in a little known social enterprise called Warby Parker. He decided not to invest because this group of friends was not willing to leave their full-time jobs to pursue their idea... ya know...just in case it didn't work out. And they seemed to be making slow progress. He even noted that 6 months went by, and the day before their company was meant to launch, they did not have a functioning website. And this was a company that relied solely on their online presence. These were all signs that [he thought] pointed to an unlikely success story.
After this misstep he started looking into what he calls, "Original Thinkers." Individuals who are often procrastinators, only to a point where their creativity flourishes. I'll let you take a gander at this video to see how he connects this notion to the likes of Da Vinci and Martin Luther King Jr., and how he disrupts the claim of the first mover advantage. See The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers. I bring this up, because it gives me hope.
I am also not looking to quit my full-time job. I am moving slowly as I think through my mission, revenue model, potential partners, board composition, etc. But it just may be that my "procrastination" could be the very asset that makes me a success.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my blog or shall I say, my coping mechanism, as I try to build on my dream of starting a for-profit social enterprise that empowers others to achieve their personal and organizational potential. Curious, eh?
I'm not the person with a really rich relative who can give 'just' a million dollars for my start-up. I'm also not the techie who can build my website with pocket change while squatting in my garage. I'm the person who worked throughout undergrad and grad school, received a solid business education, but a mortgage-size debt from paying tuition. This journey to start up a company is hardly what others make it seem to be when you've got the business know-how and idea, but need the money and web developer. So this is my journey to making my vision come to fruition.
Entrepreneurship.
It starts out with an idea. For the past 2.5 years, I was invigorated by my work, but was constantly frustrated with how limited my impact was. I had a vision to restructure, evolve the customer base, and step away from the fundraising model of constantly chasing down donors. I am now ready to pursue this endeavor.
Ah, yes, but I won’t give it away just yet.
In order to intelligently speak about my idea without tripping over my words, I went through the inclusive business model canvas, created by my friends at the Center for Social Value Creation at the University of Maryland. Outlining my mission, revenue model, stakeholders, staff, risks, etc. fueled my fire for pursuing this idea.
Then the naming part came, and I’m still there... I imagine that figuring out what to name your business is a bit like naming your baby. I’m creating an identity, a personality for the business. Not just that. I feel like I'm creating the DNA for possibly the next LinkedIn meets Taproot Foundation meets Uber. That’s an incredible weight on your shoulders.
And this is just the beginning!
