Category Archives: entrepreneurship

Addicted America – What Have We Done To Ourselves?

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We live in an always on world; one where it’s almost more common to see someone on the street peering down at the device in their hands rather than looking up at where they are going.  They all have headphones on and don’t even make eye contact any more.  I know I am guilty of this and it’s pretty pathetic if you actually think about it.  Sometimes I like to look people straight in the eyes just to see what they do.  No one even talks anymore.  It’s crazy.

I have also noticed a strange feeling creep into my life – subtle emptiness and the feeling of missing out on things going on around me.  How do I know all these things are going on?  Social media of course.   Flip through Twitter or Facebook for only a few seconds and you’ll notice people checking-in, raving about the fun they are having at the ball game or what they just ate.  It’s overkill!

I also have this nagging urge to grab my phone and check to see if anyone has texted me in the last few minutes.  “Maybe I’ll swipe the phone open and check my email… I am sure I have a new email I just need to get to.”

I am sure it’s not just me and I bet more people than want to admit feel the same way I do.  I also think it’s going to get much worse.  How much worse?  Who knows, but I think society is going through such a drastic transformation right in front of our eyes we don’t even know what has hit us.

The infographic below describes our life today, our life of immediacy.  We have little patience for anything that takes more than a few seconds.  (why do you think I named my company Seconds?  Genius eh?)  We click away from any pages that don’t load after a few seconds.  We can’t stand it if it takes too long to be served food.  Wait on hold???  No way!!

I can’t imagine what this has done to our psyche but it cannot be good.  I am sure we won’t really understand the negative effects or the changes in neural functioning for a while but it just doesn’t feel right.  Yet, there is something stimulating about it.  The rush of something new, someone reaching out to me to chat or do business is always a good feeling.   This is dopamine talking and if I am not mistaken that is how we get in trouble with highly addictive drugs.

What are your thoughts?

Fear – The Reason Why Most Of You Won’t Start A Company

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Fear paralyzes most everyone at some point or another in life but it’s most drastic affect can be found when people are faced with doing something new or different.  It’s fascinating a person would choose not to do someone simply because they are scared of what they don’t know.

I often wonder why that is?  As an entrepreneur I am almost addicted to the new, to the rush of achievement and to the embarkment into the unknown.  It perplexes me why most of us don’t think this way and allow fear to paralyze them in making life changing decisions.  Of course, a simple search brings more to light.

From Wikipedia:

Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. In short, fear is the ability to recognize danger leading to an urge to confront it or flee from it (also known as the fight-or-flight response) but in extreme cases of fear (terror) a freeze or paralysis response is possible. 

Additionally, fear is frequently related to the specific behaviors of escape and avoidance, whereas anxiety is the result of threats which are perceived to be uncontrollable or unavoidable.  It is worth noting that fear almost always relates to future events, such as worsening of a situation, or continuation of a situation that is unacceptable.  Fear can also be an instant reaction to something presently happening.  

Why am I focusing on fear?   Recently I identified fear as the sole deterrent to people taking the leap and starting something new, like a company or new life direction.  I should know, I am currently going through everything a person like this fears and living to tell you about it.

Fear of Failing

Quite possibly the strongest of the fears is the social fear of failing, or the public statement that we are going to do something and then ultimately not succeeding at it.  Humans have a inherent need to be liked, embraced and accepted by the norm of society.  I think this dates back to pre-historic times and the fear of being left out in the cold, alone and vulnerable to prey.  Back then, failing at something meant you would be ostracized from the pack which most likely led to your death.

I can relate to this sort of fear of failing, only to the opposite extreme.  I tend to turn our inherent fear of failing into the fear of failing to meet my potential.  Sometime earlier in my life I heard a statement that struck me so deep I will not ever forget it:

Imagine dying and arriving in the afterlife only to meet your ‘highest potential self’ – the one God intended you to be when he created you – and only then and there you fully realized what you wasted when you were alive.

Whether you believe in a God or not, that statement should send shivers down your spine.  It points to the fact that we all were created with a vast amount of potential, yet it is up to us to choose to pursue it.  My ultimate fear is not failure in one thing or another but  failing to continue to stretch and reach towards my potential.

Fear of success

Interestingly, a lot of people actually fear achievement and success.  Millions of dollars, popularity and attention or the phenomenon of freedom from a job is so foreign to some people they have no idea how to comprehend it in their life.  Imagine waking up early and automatically going to a job each day and then one day waking up with so much money you never have to work again.  This is unfathomable for many people.  So they say things like “oh, I can’t do that?” and  “I am not talented, so how could I achieve that.”  Fear is actually at the root of those statements – they perceive the ability to do such things as something they lack and thus unknown – so one merely passes it off as a fear not be entertained.  That is quite sad.

Fear of hard work

Starting a company is damn hard work.  Most people are lazy and don’t want to work hard; they want to cruise through life along the path of least resistance and have as much handed to them for the least amount of effort.  There, I said it.  And it’s a fact of life.  Humans have been trained to expend the least amount of energy for the most amount of gain and it’s no more prevalent than in the corporate world.  As a culture we have trained ourselves to be lazy and get the most we can for the least amount of effort or investment.

This is why entrepreneurs are so different than the rest of society.  We think opposite.  We understand it demands a hell of a lot from us and WANT to work hard to achieve our goals.  We actually shun the 9-5 “clock in and clock out” life.  This trait can be seen in entrepreneurs, athletes and any person who strikes out on their own to accomplish something extraordinary.  We embrace the 10,000 hours it takes to achieve excellence in anything.

Fear of the unknown

I think all of this comes down to the paralyzing fear of the unknown.  Quite simply, people just want to know everything and hate it when they don’t (obviously the growth of Google has proven that true).  People hate it so much that when they are unsure of something, even when it’s totally normal to not be sure, they just don’t do anything.  They’re frozen.  They stay put.

If there is one point to take away from this is the fact that staying put is they worst thing to do today if you want to move forward in your life.  Doing nothing will only bring more of the same.  This is why most of you will not start a company, because you don’t know what you don’t know and that scares you.  You have no idea how hard it will be.  You don’t know how low the balance in your bank account will go.  You have no idea how hard it will be to recruit people to your vision, compensate them appropriately and treat them right regardless of the circumstances.  You have no clue as to how high the balance in your bank account could go if you happen to succeed.  Lost to you is the incredible opportunities of growth and development that come with placing yourself in a challenging situation.

It’s unfortunate because you have no idea what you are missing.  Although this has been the most challenging thing I have ever done, it is also the most rewarding.  In the depths of the valley I find more about myself than on the tops of the mountains.  The valley’s reveal to us our weaknesses and our strengths; they show us where we need help but they also allow for discovery of the character traits only we posses and how we must use them to get out of the valley and back on the mountain.  For that is what the entrepreneurial journey is all about.

@jnickhughes

Hey Google Wallet, Square and PayPal – Mobile Payments Should Be This Easy

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NFC is not required.

There’s no app to download.

No special device needed to make a purchase.

Apple’s iOS and Android may be popular operating systems, but they aren’t needed to use Seconds. Seconds merges transactions into one of the most popular technologies in the world, SMS messaging.  More than 234 million consumers holding mobile devices in the U.S. can use our payment system today because they can text.  Step back a second and think about that.  Why are barriers in the way of an everyday activity like payments?  There should be no barrier to usage, no device requirements or specific apps to download.  Isn’t that how mobile payments should be –  simple, quick, easy and available to anyone?

Why is that so important you might ask?  The diffusion and resulting adoption of a new technology is at the mercy of its availability to consumers.  Why did email spread so quickly?  Simply because people only needed a computer and an internet connection.  The same goes with credit cards, people don’t need a special wallet to carry a credit card, they just need it in hand to correctly communicate with the terminal and make a payment.  If mobile payments are to be available to all we must start at the lowest common denominator.  Today’s common denominator is the device – not a specific model or operating system – but the general mobile device itself, which at last count was almost 6 billion worldwide.  That’s a big market.  And the first to grab consumer mindshare will be one of the big winners.

Once an account is set up, which connects Seconds to your mobile device, all you need to do in order to pay for something is type the keyword and you are automatically charged. Or if you have communicated purchase intent with a merchant, they simply hit one button and a confirmation text is sent to your phone.  Interestingly, this makes a consumer’s mobile number their new payment credential and opens up many new avenues for quick mobile transactions.

The video below shows how one of our pilot customers is using Seconds to distribute their food products around Seattle and beyond.  The hungry person approaches the fridge, texts the word ‘wrap’, a payment confirmation is automatically sent back a few seconds later and they grab the wrap and go on their way.  That’s the future folks…  it’s so much a part of the future Walmart, Target and other large retailers are fussin‘ to build a custom mobile payment experience of their own.

Even better, Seconds allows merchants to program their mobile payments system to create any number of keywords with prices attached so their customers can text and pay with certain words sent to the merchants’ Seconds number.  We have already sat around and wondered what happens when Siri gets involved?

Seconds sits at the convergence of communications and transactions, two activities going through tremendous innovation and both which are germane to commerce.  It’s a perfect marriage and a perfect time to merge the two.  Quite frankly, you really don’t want one without the other since more communications leads to more transactions and vice versa. It’s an absolute virtuous cycle for any merchant.

Also realize Seconds dissociates proximity from transaction, meaning I don’t have to be standing in front of a barista or wave my phone on something to make a purchase, the obvious limitation to NFC payments. This frees up the mobile device to become the new payment terminal, a terminal that resides in the consumer’s hand rather than sitting on the merchants counter.

Mobile transactions will explode once the experience is so quick and simple it only takes Seconds to complete.

Welcome to Seconds.

Entrepreneurs Running On Faith

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I jumped on here today to start working and Eric Clapton’s Running On Faith was playing in the background.  It seems like a perfect song for me right now, as I am flat out running on faith.

At certain times in our life we get overcome with a feeling of desperation, that we simply cannot give any more than we currently are.  It’s such a difficult and painful situation to be in, knowing you are giving all you can but in the end forces outside your control will determine your outcome.  At this moment all we can do is commit to placing one foot in front of the other, keeping at it and letting faith do the rest.

I was telling a friend yesterday how scary it is to know your future (and others) rides on saying the right thing, to the right person, with the right kind of conviction and emotion, all at the right time.  Knowing that if I talk to the right person – someone who can put money to work in our company and thus we will stay alive and continue to change the world  – is definitely exhilarating.  But at the same time, understanding that for whatever reason I can’t reach the right person at the right time and the company dies, is equally frightening.

It’s hard to even begin to describe what it’s like to give up everything, take the leap, start a company from scratch and grow it into a sustainable enterprise.  The stress is so damn high…. it’s so heavy you actually get used to it.  In a different conversation with another friend, I spoke about how to manage stress in a situation like this.  You literally get comfortable with being uncomfortable and become desensitized to things going on in your life.  You simply have to or you will literally go crazy.  You emerge with the feeling akin to how you might say the word “whatever” when something crazy happens in your life.  Look at it for a few seconds, shrug a shoulder and keep going.

Because of this I have probably become a worse friend, son, brother, boyfriend (if I had a girlfriend) but that is where I find myself right now.  Although those are going in the wrong direction, I am becoming a world class entrepreneur.  Each day I feel myself getting better at this game, learning more of the nuances of founding a business only experience can teach you.  I am choosing to only focus on things that will move my life forward. I am learning how to make in the world, not just take from the world.  It might not look like it from the outside or in the bank account but believe me, it’s happening.

For context, a good read for any leader is Crucibles of Leadership, a great book detailing how any great leader is made through tough times, not easy times.  It is because of this book I am clinging to my faith and enduring through this crucible to come out the other side a better leader and person.

There is simply no way around the dichotomy of all these wide ranging emotions, entrepreneurs have to run on faith.  There are times in your life you will have nothing more.

Build Your Boat Now Before The Mobile Tsunami Washes You Away

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The wave is coming. Like a tsunami that starts miles off shore, unnoticeable to the human eye in the middle of the ocean but gradually builds up speed and power as it gets closer to land, a mobile tidal wave is most definitely building. And it’s forming right in front of our very eyes.

You may have noticed people aren’t looking up very much anymore. No, when you see a person nowadays they are most likely looking down at their hand. Next time you are on public transportation, in a restaurant, at the mall or any other pubic (or private) place, take your eyes off your device and just watch people. It will blow you away how often people look at their mobile devices.

So as I was doing some recent market research I came across quite possibly the most staggering collection of mobile usage and commerce statistics in the world. It’s well worth your review if you want to know where the world is going. Since it takes quite a while to swim through I have pulled out some of the most impressive stats and wrapped them into a conversation about the mobile web. Spoiler alert: You’re gonna get wet!

6 Billion Mobile Devices

There are approximately 5.9 billion mobile subscribers, which is roughly 87 percent of the world population. Mobile subscriptions outnumber fixed lines 5-to-1. Also, there are now 1.2 billion mobile Web users worldwide, based on the latest stats for active mobile-broadband subscriptions. Did you notice the ratio difference between mobile subscribers and mobile web users? It is easy to see why the experts predict that mobile Web usage will overtake PC-based Web usage very soon and why it would be a good idea to have a real mobile strategy.

Many of those mobile Web users are mobile-only, meaning they do not, or very rarely use a desktop, laptop or tablet to access the Web. Even in the US 25 percent of mobile Web users are mobile-only. In mature markets, the mobile Web will be a leading technology for business to consumer (B2C) mobile applications and should be part of every organization’s business strategy. If you are a merchant or a local business you need to pay attention and build that dang boat, a figurative term for your mobile site and interactive mobile experience utilizing an app, mobile browser or text.

8 Trillion Text Messages

Speaking of text messaging. Over 8 trillion text messages were sent in 2011, overtaking voice minutes and making it the worlds most popular mobile communication medium. We have yet to see the biggest impact SMS and messaging will have on our society. A2P, application to person SMS, is expected to overtake person to person SMS in 2016. A2P messaging includes messages between applications and customers in financial services, advertising, marketing, business administration, ticketing, television voting, and other automated systems. This nascent market should not be overlooked – by 2016 A2P messaging is estimated being worth more than $70 billion.

Global expenditure on mobile advertising was approximately $3.6 billion in 2009, and is estimated to grow to $38 billion in 2015 and the worldwide mobile messaging market will reach $334.7 billion by 2015. For any businesses this is significant or a number of reasons, namely to identify the most cost effective platforms to utilize in their mobile commerce.  People respond differently to different types of mobile marketing, proven by studies in the UK and France, where they found opt-in SMS gets the best results, and in Germany mobile Web ads got the best results.  It seems time sensitive special offers or discounts (especially mobile coupons) were most likely to lead to a purchase.

$1 Trillion of Mobile Payments

Most significant will be the transformation in how we use our mobile devices in everyday commerce. Mobile ad spend worldwide is predicted to sky rocket to $20.6 billion in 2015, driven by search ads and local ads. A logical evolution for mobile search is towards mobile transactions. Once the connection has been established through the mobile device, brands can build up much more detailed profiles of users compared to online and plan follow-up campaigns accordingly. In 2009, there were 81.3 million people worldwide using their mobile device to make payments and it is estimated by the end of 2014, this is forecasted to rise to nearly 490 million. Mobile transactions will drastically change our society. The market for paying by mobile device could be well over $1 trillion by 2015.  Simply put, that is HUGE!

Now we know a flood is coming so let’s go back to thinking about your boat. If you were building an actual boat, would it be smart to build only to float in salt water? Probably not. Then why are we building systems and business only for specific devices and operating systems? If you follow that logic you will definitely drown when the tidal wave hits since 95 percent of the worldwide mobile device market is not an Apple.  It would be best to build your boat – a mobile-optimized web experience – looking beyond a single device to maximize reach.  Do it and you will surely rise with the tide.

@jnickhughes

To All The Doubters Out There: My Past Does Not Determine My Future

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Today I was informed by one of my advisors someone I previously spoke with in the investment community thought less of me, or looked down upon me and my business mainly because of my background and my previous career as a personal trainer.

This is after the individual had been very forthright in the meeting about how unique our concept was and how impressive we are currently positioned.

Let me be perfectly clear: my past does not determine my future.

Whatever someone studied or whomever they previously worked for has little effect on what they will do going forward.  Does it influence them, yes.  But does mean they are not capable of achieving other things outside of the specific industry?  No.

It’s what we have determined we will do in the future that has the greatest influence on what happens in the future.

For all the doubters out there, let’s go ahead and get it all on the table.

No, I am not a CS major or a Stanford grad with an MBA.   Yes I studied exercise physiology in college, and became a strength coach working all levels of the industry – from professional sports teams to athletic clubs and on to corporate fitness centers.

No, I didn’t come directly out of college and join a fast growing technology company.  Yes, I bumped along as a trainer only to use any and all spare time (ask any of my past girlfriends) reading and studying the latest developments in technology and the web.

No, I didn’t succeed at my first attempt at a startup.  I didn’t sell my first company to Google or Microsoft and I did not make F-you money in my early 20’s.  Yes, my first startup failed.  We failed miserably.  We had no idea what we were doing and naively thought we could actually launch a company when we were all still working full time.  Boy were we wrong.

No, I was not raised in wealthy family so I would be close to seed capital and afforded the luxury of launching my company with my grandfathers/fathers/uncles/stepfathers/father-in-laws/bothers/cousins money.  Yes, I am now learning the “intangible” game of raising money by networking, connecting with people, illustrating our unique value in the marketplace and proving we are actually a great business opportunity.  And heads are starting to turn.

No, we are not launching a social site that within the first few weeks is amazingly spreading throughout the Harvard campus without any of our help… and magically is a hit with all the college kids.  And one where you have no idea the business value for the first few years of existence.  Yes, we have built a platform so valuable we see small mom and pop shops as well as large corporations wanting to be a part of it.  One in which we figured out how to make enough noise in just 3 short months after launching our product that we already find ourselves sitting across the table from NOT ONE BUT TWO multinational, multibillion dollar corporations – in different industries – wanting to somehow work together.  The one I talked with today is probably in the back pocket of most of my doubters.

For all the doubters out there who are still reading but think I might still be missing something I will put you at ease and let you know that even though I studied exercise physiology in school, all is not lost.  Here is my take away and how I see it in the business world.

Business, like the Human Body, is all about efficiency

Inefficiency will kill any living organism and it’s also true with any business organization.  It’s the bane of any corporations existence and it’s also why you hear about six sigma, downsizing and social collaboration tools.  Finding ways to make internal processes less laborious and easier to navigate will make employees more efficient.  Fixing bugs and reworking the user experience of a website will streamline transactions and generate more revenue.  Anyway you look at it, the human body always seeks to carry out processes with the least amount of energy possible.  So does a business.

You must keep working or you will fade away

We all understand the concept of strengthening muscles – you must break them down to build them up.  Exercise is vital to the human body and you must keep placing stress on the cardiac system to experience health benefits.  Well, that’s true for the business as well.  Name any business where it’s acceptable to coast along with no input and expecting to get something out of it.  Even a piece of Real Estate needs upkeep if it is going to bring a return to the investor.  You must keep working on a business, on yourself and your team if you are to experience continued success.

Sometimes Pain is good

We all know the feeling… the first mile of the run after a long hiatus, the last two reps of the exercise we though would be way to heavy, or the morning after soreness from a kick-butt workout.  Yea, it hurts all right.  But most of the time its damn good pain because your body is replenishing itself and growing stronger.

Well if you think starting a business is all sun and roses you are in for a little treat.  It sucks.  It hurts.  You get tuned down more times than you can remember.  You have people questioning you, your product, positioning, vision, funding status, your team and everything else under the sun.  It takes twice as long as you think it will to achieve certain milestones.  But the pain is good for you.  See, you learn from all that doubt and questioning and through all of the crappy stuff you get stronger and become a better entrepreneur.  Trust me, I am one strong individual.

I may not be the most “polished” “tie wearing” “Stanford MBA” or “Y-combinator grad” CEO you find strutting around Silicon Valley.  And quite frankly I know I have a lot more to learn.  But I am glad I am not the above described.  I am quite happy with my past, because as I have just illustrated it provided me with a unique perspective I can successfully transition into my new life as an tech entrepreneur.

And for the doubters…. keep on.  I dare you.

@jnickhughes

Like It Or Not, Here’s How Your Startup Proves Evolution (Controversial)

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It’s crazy to think a simple idea of starting a company can prove the controversial concept of evolution.  Yet, like it or not here’s how it does.

Before I go in depth on the idea of evolution in the business world, my disclaimer:

This may be controversial so let’s put aside our beliefs and perspectives on faith or religion and speak only on the concept of evolution, as in the Darwin perspective as we know it.  Ya know, natural selection and all associated phenomena.  I am not an expert on the subject and will not pretend to be here.  I only want to bring  upthe concept of evolution into the context of entrepreneurship and building successful companies.  

An interesting observation is how most world changing technologies or ideas actually start as thoughts and go through a transformation into ideas, onto sketches on napkins, to prototypes, to working models, and onto businesses.  Although almost too obvious to note, all things must start with a thought.  A spark of genius.  An idea.

*ding*

That idea, brilliant or stupid, is just the beginning of a (un)predictable path towards life and eventual death.  If in the right place at the right time, and the right decisions are made to take advantage of opportunities, the idea will transform into something more visceral and experience an extended life.  If not, most likely the idea will die a quick death into obscurity.

This is why you hear “ideas are everywhere” and “execution is everything”.  I can just hear Darwin whisper similar words in the same vein.  In his context, execution would have referred to “the strong” or “genetically enhanced”.  Not to get sexual, but if a highly attractive and sexually active member of a species “executed” properly, they would have passed on their genes to influence the gene pool and the evolution of their species.

Your startup must mirror the same as the highly attractive and sexually active member to survive.  What do I mean?  You need to be attractive to customers, users, investors, media and potential employees to succeed.  If not, you will never be discovered and will eventually die.  Attractiveness can come in many forms but the most obvious one is your unique idea.  Does it make sense?  Is it something most people would be attracted to and want to use?  Does it elicit emotions of excitement or intrigue?  Is it unique enough to not be lost in the clutter of all the other same “species”.

Also required to be attractive is the core members of the founding team.  Is there expertise on the market subject?  Are there proven individuals who get results, or more referred to as JFDI?  Are they fun to be around?  Do they attract people to them or do they drive others away?  This is huge, since any successful startup finds ways to attract employees, investors, users and media attention.

That is why you hear investors say “we invest in people, not ideas.”

Your start up must aggressively mate as well.  Wha??  Yes, I said your company must be promiscuous and interact with other companies if it wants to be successful.  This is how you integrate within the larger framework of the ecosystem and spread your gene pool for future generations.  Facebook is the best example of this with their open graph and the like buttons found all over millions of websites.  Their tentacles are everywhere and indeed they have solidified their gene pool in our world for decades to come.  Do other companies find your startup attractive enough to mate?

How do I know all this and why the heck am I thinking about evolution and your startup having sex with another startup?

We once were the ugly duckling but quickly evolved into a better suited mammal geared to mate with the royalty of the land.  My company Seconds, was originally named Order SM and intended to be a mobile ordering startup for the food industry.  (All S & M jokes aside, the name was supposed to be meant for SMS ordering).   It became clear the name and the basic concept needed to evolve if we were going to continue.  Yet this was not our intention initially, it naturally happened as others started to interact on the platform and suggest use cases outside of our original plan.

Last fall we released out beta product and our initial customers provided enough feedback to realize we were onto something A LOT BIGGER than we originally planned.  We realized ordering was a form of communication – just one aspect of the iteration between merchant and customer.  Questions were another part of the relationship.  Requests and thank you follow ups from merchants were also a part of natural communications.  And the biggie – transactions – are at the very core of the relationship between customers and merchants.

It was at this point we decided to change the name and the fundamental value proposition.  Seconds – quick communications and mobile commerce.  Helping merchants and customers more easily interact and transact.  We are providing consumers a unique mobile commerce identity that will span the entire globe.  And we are giving merchants the ability to identify those most important to their business.

We realized the world was mutating right before our eyes, but one “species” was going to be left behind unless we did something about it.  More than 8 trillion text messages were sent around the world last year, yet none to local businesses or merchants.  It’s crazy to think we can text our friends and family with the widely popular communication medium, yet you or I cannot communicate via text with our favorite local coffee shop or the 5 star resort we intend to visit next week.  We are changing that, and  have quickly found ourselves in talks with everything from emerging startups to multinational, multibillion companies.

Just as Darwin found “one species does change into another” as he looked at Galápagos mockingbirds from different islands, startups must go through phases of transformation if they are to succeed.

The idea that your initial idea – in it’s most basic genetic form – will be required to mutate into a different species for survival has to be understood by founders and investors.  This is more generally called the Pivot, and Lean Startup proponents such as Eric Ries have graciously helped our community unearth one of the most powerful phenomenons to hit the business culture to date.

I think that is enough talk on companies having sex for today.

@jnickhughes

Hey Engineer, If You Want To Start Your Dream Company Read This Now!

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I recently wrote a guest post on Mashable titled  5 High-Risk, High-Reward Steps to Starting Your Dream Company, where I squash conventional the wisdom of starting a company.  The article is quite extensive with real world examples, but this is a short list of the steps I identified one must take if they really want to commit to starting their dream company.

1. Quit Your Job

Conventional wisdom suggests, “Don’t quit your day job” while you start your new venture; only jump over when it shows promise. Unfortunately, this decision can be a recipe for disaster.  I say quit and get to work on your vision.

2. Don’t Follow The Crowd

Oddly enough, once most entrepreneurs abandon a “normal life” and set out on their own paths, they then look at what others are doing in the industry and opt to imitate instead of originate.  Following others will only get you lost in the crowd. Why not be unique and stand out from the all the rest?

3. Join Strangers, Not Friends

Conventional wisdom encourages you to bring together a few friends — people you already know and trust — to help launch your new company.  In reality, starting a company is tough and many things can go wrong. Don’t let friendship get in the way as you pursue your dream.

4. Launch A Buggy Product

Which situation will produce better results: a perfect web application that took nine months to launch, or a buggy but working prototype released in four weeks that gets immediate attention from early test users?  Think about it…

5. Build A Board of Advisors — Now

Conventional wisdom says that entrepreneurs don’t need to report to anyone. On the contrary. Developing a board of advisors as soon as possible will help keep a company on the right path.

Read the entire article on Mashable, 5 High-Risk, High-Reward Steps to Starting Your Dream Company.

@jnickhughes

I Was Just Told “You would not have made it through the weekend”

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“You would not have made it through the weekend”

Today the dentist told me I would have been in the hospital and would have been lucky to make it through last weekend had I not made an emergency appointment to get an infected wisdom tooth removed last Friday instead of this coming Tuesday.

“These infections kill people you know?” “Once it reaches other areas of your body it causes irreversible damage.”

I am now left to ponder: Is the all out pursuit for your dream worth dying a preventable death?

After putting off dealing with a bum wisdom tooth for way too long I was hit with an infection deep in the root of one of my wisdom teeth. It was the worst and most painful thing I have ever dealt with. It started as some dull pain at the beginning of the year upon which I would take some Ibuprofen and dealt with it. But it grew worse and hit an 11 out of 10 on the pain scale last weekend. The infection started spreading quickly throughout my jaw, became very swollen and unbearable. On the left that is me , swollen and taken over by infection the day before the surgery. It was terrible, not to mention extremely dangerous. I couldn’t think straight, add much value or even lead a team meeting with any energy at all.

Frustratingly, it hit the same week we were planning a meeting with some angel investors and so I was initially trying to hold the pain off, have the meeting on Friday and get it taken out the next Tuesday. Well from what I experienced and what I know now, I don’t think I would have made it to Tuesday. Once an infection like that spreads to other parts of your head, neck and chest… you’re done.

On Friday, at the same time as the others were at the investor meeting, I went and had surgery to get the tooth taken out. And whoa do I feel better! I am a bit swollen from the extraction but infection free and really feel like a new man.

Lesson learned: deal with your health issues up front, some things are more important than the business you are building. I can be guilty of putting everything aside to focus on the main thing in front of me so this was a wake up call to be aware of creeping health issues.

Dodged a bullet on that one.

As an entrepreneur still trying to make it I don’t have the extra cash for insurance right now so I just pushed it off thinking it would take care of itself. I did not want to let anything get in the way of important meetings and work as we prepare to move Seconds forward with strategic partners and investors.

But what is more important than your health and wellbeing? Please take it from me, get your health issues in line. Take some time off if needed. Use credit or a loan if you feel you cannot afford to spend the money to get an ailment taken care of.

Do not end up like that idiot on the left with a weird growth on his face.

@jnickhughes

Seattle Against SOPA – Stand Up and Fight on Jan. 18th

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The future of the Seattle tech community (and the internet as a whole) is in jeopardy.   Congress is rushing to pass both the  Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), H.R. 3261 and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) S.968, which will have drastic and unintended repercussions on law abiding U.S. web businesses.

Zac Cohn is helping to organize a number of gatherings to take collective action and let the state legislation know what you think.  Their goal: “to talk to people on the streets, educate them about the dangers of SOPA/PIPA, and then convince them to take out their cell phones and call their Senators and Representatives right there, on the sidewalk.”

Here’s a little background:

The Internet and information technologies have created a renaissance in startup innovation in Seattle. Thousands of Seattleites have been inspired to become entrepreneurs creating thousands and thousands of new jobs and offering professionals in many of Seattle’s traditional industries the opportunity to start new careers participating in the 21st century global economy.

However, Congress is in the process of rushing through legislation which will not only severely damage the Internet as a marketplace and platform for entrepreneurship and open innovation, but will also seriously impact the ability of our Seattle tech community to continue to generate jobs, grow and flourish. Within the next two weeks, the US Senate is planning to bring the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) S.968 to the floor for a series of votes to ensure its passage.

This legislation would give the government and corporations the ability to censor the net in the name of protecting creativity simply by convincing a judge that a site is “dedicated” to copyright infringement. PIPA would give the government and corporations the ability to shut down any site connected to an accused copyright infringer. Its companion legislation in the House, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), H.R. 3261, contains many similar problems, as well as threatening ordinary users with jail for streaming any copyrighted work – even just video of themselves singing a pop song.

If you’re still in the dark on SOPA, this is an excellent explainer video from Up With Chris Hayes on MSNBC that will very quickly bring you up to speed

More importantly, the legislation amounts to a wholesale re-engineering of the open web in a way that would allow the US government to prosecute Internet users without due process, which in turn would discourage innovation, limit investment, and hurt the our economic future.

You can read and hear more about this dangerous and hurtful legislation here: FightForTheFuture.org/pipa orAmericanCensorship.org.

For more info and to get involved, go to SeattleAgainstSOPA.com.

How To Make A ‘Bet The Company’ Decision

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There are times in the journey as a founder you may find yourself in a decision that becomes a “bet the company” decision.

These  decisions are not easy by any means but as the statement points to they have the power to determine the outcome of your company.

Make the wrong choice and you might place your startup in such a compromising position it may never recover.  But make the right choice and you have just changed the trajectory of your company, and possibly history.  No doubt these decisions created the Intels, Apples, Facebooks and Googles of the world.

So how do you know when you are siting face to face with a bet the company decision?

First off, you will know by the all too familiar gut feeling that something big is about to happen.  More weight will be on your shoulders and you will hesitate making a snap judgement because you recognize this could be pivotal and you need more information before making the decision.

You will be saying things like “shit… don’t screw this up” and “finally, this is our chance!”

You also will most likely be pressured by outside influences, whether it’s another company wanting to make a deal or market influences putting pressure on your next move.  Bet the company decisions usually take the form of “if X than Y” outcomes, where X is you and Y is another company or market entity.

Lastly, you will sense that things will be different after this decision is made and there will be no going back.  It’s like the “talk” in a relationship…. something will change going forward for better or worse.

Here are some things to think about when making a bet the company decision:

  • What do we have to gain by this decision?
  • What do we have to lose by this decision?
  • What is our current trajectory and how would this decision affect it?
  • If we don’t move forward, what happens next?
  • Will the brand take a hit, or will it be improved as a result?
  • Can we afford NOT to do it?  Can we afford TO DO it?
  • Who is affected outside our walls by this decision?

Next, draw out scenarios for all possible outcomes, lay them out  and evaluate each according to your business goals.  Most of the time there is not really one “right” answer you are looking for but more of a “what makes the most sense at this time” answer you can move forward with.

Finally, after deliberation and evaluation you must go with your gut instinct.  Making a “bet the company” decision will surely change the direction of your company but the decision must be made confidently.  Once made, there shouldn’t be any looking back, only forward.  If things don’t work out later on you will be presented with other options to make another decision at that time, but currently your thinking must remain on the present decision at hand.

If it’s not obvious by now I have been presented with a “bet the company” decision and still determining how best to approach it.  I can’t wait to tell… but for the time being I will let you off the hook.   Thanks for letting me think out loud and I hope you are now more confident in your “bet the company” decision.

@jnickhughes

Want Hyper Hockey Stick Growth? You Must First Endure The Blade

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We all love to talk about the companies experiencing massive user growth in a short period of time, generally referred to as hockey stick growth.  Twitter experienced it.  Facebook saw it happen.  Of course Google did as well.  All great companies at one time went from a small unknown startup with no users to a well known company with a massive user base.

A few startups currently experiencing meteoric hockey stick growth are Instagram and Tumblr, incidentally interviewed at a recent Techcrunch Disrupt about managing hockey stick growth.

As fascinating as the hockey stick growth can be, something intriguing happens immediately before the growth period.   Not talked about because it’s not as sexy, Something must be happening before the massive uptick in usage or the uptick wouldn’t happen at all.

So what is it?

I call it the blade.  As you can see, the hockey stick on the right has a flat section (the blade), an angle (the inflection point), and the  rising handle (growth phase).  The blade is the most critical point for any startup because if they get over it alive they move on to the crazy hockey stick growth phase.

Although the Techcrunch Disrupt interview is great and both founders offer a number of insights as to what its like to go through the insane hockey stick growth periods, they don’t really talk about the blade.  My guess is because it’s not as exciting as hockey stick growth.  In fact, it’s tough.  So tough it will make or break a startup.

Blades Require Heat

When referring about a hockey stick, deciding on a blade may be one of the most important decisions a hockey player can make.  The makeup of a hockey stick blade will determine how durable it is and how much stress it can withstand.  A blade — the bottom portion of a hockey stick that may be curved or straight — can help determine the way a player is able to control a hockey puck.  Wood blades today are frequently covered with a composite material, such as Kevlar. Kevlar is a strong, fiber substance that is designed to be used in high stress situations.

Being made of composite, hockey stick blades are malleable and can be shaped to a players advantage.  All it takes is heat.  When a player heats a blade, they can curve it and shape it to their liking.

As if you didn’t know… startups are situations of ridiculously high stress and immense pressure.  It’s almost like you sign up saying ”let’s see how hot it can actually get.”  As part of a startup, you are trying to create the most with the least amount of money, which leads to tremendous financial heat.  You feel heat trying to force the product down people’s throats, working towards product market fit. The pressure is on to prove a specific customer for your product before time runs out.  Lots of late nights, pivots, redesigns and tough conversations will create friction and heat amongst the team.

The blade period – the period of time after launch but before massive usage growth – is one of the most challenging times a team can go through.  Yet, therein lies the test.  The blade test for a startup team involves a number of points: to observe reality that the product is not an overnight hit, listen to feedback, watch available usage metrics, identify what is working and what isn’t, agree on changes to be made, make the changes, reposition the product, polish the messaging and many many others.

The key is to do all this without losing your mind and going crazy.

This situation is extremely difficult for a young team to get through, and that is why most startups don’t make it.  Failed startups don’t ever get to the position of hockey stick growth because they could manage the heat on the blade.   It’s like a right of passage. Show me a (successful) company that did not get over the blade.  The only way to get from launch to hockey stick growth is to get through the heat and over the blade.

Blades Are Short

If done correctly, the blade is just a phase in the life of the company; the shorter, the better.  Flat growth actually shouldn’t last very long if the founders are quick to make needed adjustments to the product, positioning, messaging, and user acquisition strategies.  When great products hit the market, people take notice and users are attracted.

It may be all relative, but some startups only last a few months on the blade, some last years.  Most are somewhere in between.  What does it take to get off the blade?  As I was researching about hockey stick growth, I found this article about the internet and how it finally hit hockey stick growth.  Interesting to note:

The Internet served an important role for a limited number of users, but it had serious barriers to entry. It displayed its messages in monochrome text; no color, no pictures. The Internet had to become pretty and easy. Lessons to be learned include that ease of use, attractive displays, entertainment value, cost-effectiveness, and genuinely new utility are the keys to type-one hockey stick growth.

The goal is to shorten the blade and reach inflection as soon as possible.  Notice how the above statement clearly illustrates the internet grew quickly once it became easy to use, was cost effective, entertaining and useful (of course this is referring to the world wide web.)  These characteristics are  what every startup is searching for in their product.

A lot of the blade comes from not knowing what to change, but a few major points come to mind.  Correct positioning in the market will allow for your product to actually be found by the right audience.  Finding the correct messaging will help the right people/customers to understand your value proposition and start using your product.  As your user base grows, features that help current users share your product will lead to new users.  And the correct distribution model will aide all other aspects and amplify growth.  As these are fairly general, it is for the fact that each action will be unique to your specific offering.

Not to be overlooked, part of putting yourself in the right position for hyper growth is building the right team.  It’s not about hiring, it’s about finding the right talent.  The correct people in the right positions at the right time will only help to shorten the blade and get a startup to hyper growth.

Blades are Remembered

Although any founder or early employee will tell you growth is what they are looking for, the times on the blade is are always the ones the remember the most.   Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO recalls the early days when they almost didn’t make it…. many times over in his book Delivering Happiness.  It’s a great read for any startup founder or early employee, as he re-lives all the challenging (and fun) times Zappos endured.  You can almost feel the sharpness and heat of the blade they got over.

Microsoft co-founder and fellow Seattle resident Paul Allen spends the majority of his book recalling the Early days of Microsoft, the struggles and challenges they faced on the blade.  I was not aware of all the times he and Bill were scared, feeling little hope for the future of their company.  Can you imagine Paul Allen or Bill Gates fretting over $100?  But… we all know the rest of the story.  I’m just glad they went through it at one time in their life as well!

So the blade is a fact of startup life.  The only questions are: how much heat can you take?  What will you do to shorten it so you can get on with growing your company?  And what crazy stories will you be telling when you do make it over the blade?

@jnickhughes

Would You Rather Be Undervalued Or Underestimated?

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Being a first time CEO can be confusing, intimidating and downright scary.  You have a hundred things to do and no idea which way to look.  You feel the need to talk to a lot of people but it’s difficult to determine the ones you really need to spend time with.   You need to deal with legal, financial, organizational, strategic and other parts of the company on a daily basis yet might not be fully comfortable with each area just yet.

Everything rides on your shoulders.

Although this is not my first startup founder experience, it is my first as a CEO in, shall we say, the “big leagues”.  It has been brought to my attention this will be a significant challenge to me since my background lacks “normal tech startup experiences” and don’t fit the typical CEO path.  They say I will be underestimated.

Well, I say perfect.  Bring it!  I love challenges and believe the great ones are created through immense crucibles, where pressure either polishes them into greatness or crushes them into pieces.

As I ponder the reality I face, a question arose in my head:  Would you rather be undervalued or underestimated?

Undervalued means they have already sized you up and determine you don’t add much value to the ecosystem.

Underestimated means they are ignorantly judging you, still don’t know your potential and will be shocked when you reach it.

I have a hunch where I fall in respect to those two.  Do you know where you stand?

@jnickhughes

The Axioms of Entrepreneurship

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Recently Ashkan Karbasfrooshan, founder and CEO of WatchMojo, wrote a brief post about the Lies Entrepreneurs Tell.  In the article he makes the point entrepreneurs are “always in sell mode, but that doesn’t mean they need to be BS-artists”.  Their common lies include  “I have no regrets” or “If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t do it any differently”; “It’s not personal, it’s business”; “We’re not raising money”; “We’re not looking to sell”; and “I’m your biggest fan.”

Ashkan has an interesting point – entrepreneurs can be so damn good at “selling” that they begin to say things that aren’t exactly true.  This may be due to a few factors: we actually believe the words we are saying, we feel the means justify the ends or we just want it so bad we are willing to cross over the line into fallacy in order to get what we want.

Regardless, I agree with Ashkan.  We can at times can get carried away with the approach we take when it comes to business interactions.  Yet after reading the post I started thinking… if those are some of the lies of entrepreneurship, there must also be some truths, ones in which are germane to the success of an entrepreneur.

Build For Value

We are seeing a comeback in tech IPO’s and this can have a negative side affect on the business world: young founders dream of (and build) new startups mainly for the ultimate payday.  This is a grave mistake.  M& A or IPO desires directly out of the gate – meaning the only reason they are starting the company is to quickly flip it or go public – is a scary sign of misalignment.    Making certain decisions to maximize revenue and profits to the determent of users can be traced back to this unfortunate thinking.  These are results of building for money, not value.

The best entrepreneurs start (and end) their journey with value in mind.   What exactly is value and how do you find it?  I believe it starts by searching for a big problem in the world, a problem which if solved would open up new markets and even more opportunities for others.  Value means your product or service actually is meaningful in a persons life, and adds something rather than just take something away (time or money).  The irony is if you can focus on value first and you are able to clearly articulate what your company adds to the world, people will come knocking with money to spend.

Have A Standard

Imagine that… setting a standard and living by it!  This must permeate your company, from how you hire to how you interact with the press.  When hiring, who do you look for and why?  Knowing the answer to the question will save you from a lot of headache down the road.  We’ve all heard A players hire A players; B players hire C players, etc…  This is true because A players have standards for not only themselves but the people they look for to join the team.   A players are strong enough to pass on someone who does not stand up to their standards.

Applying a standard when building products and defining and business models most definitely leads to better outcomes.    Are you a trend setter or a trend follower?  Did you start the whole Daily Deal mania or did you just tag along because it seemed easy?   Notice who is the market leader and who isn’t.  Having a standard when developing a business means there are certain things you will not do because of certain beliefs.  It means having a backbone and saying “hell no” at times.  One of the best business building standards I have observed in current market leaders is the resistance to “trends” or “buzz word models” just because they are popular; they stay the course and  lead their market.

In addition to business model, another must have is user experience standards.  Simply put, it your product enjoyable to use?  Does it elicit positive emotions and experiences or is it hard to navigate and tough to understand?  Unfortunately, design and user experience is not something that just happens naturally in technology products.  Having a standard like limited number of swipes for certain actions and least amount of words on each page as possible are just two standards which can drastically enhance your users experience.  Standards in user experience will help your product stand out in a very large sea of…. well, crap.

Think Before You Speak

Entrepreneurs are notorious for blasphemy.  We tend to just say what we think and feel right at that exact moment.  And there’s the problem… no real thinking goes into the words coming out of their mouths most of the time.  Your words will be held against you whether you like it or not.   As Ashkan eluded to, lying or not being truthful during business practices, although common, should not be acceptable.  The truth will always come back around whether you are talking to media, speaking to employees, chatting with acquaintance or in a “discussion” with your significant other.

Simply taking a few seconds before you blurt out the next statement can steer the conversation (and your career) in the right direction.  You’ve heard of damage control – where you have to take precious time from your already busy schedule to smooth over a sensitive situation caused by a misread tweet or a too-much-passion-in-the-moment comment?  You got it, that’s time not spent on value adding tasks your startup desperately needs.  And you cannot afford it.  Just think before you speak.

Be Original

An amazing phenomenon is happening right now: there is a burgeoning of creativity happening on the web right now yet originality is waning.  What do I mean?  I see more copying, emulating and flat out ripping off happening each day as information flows freely.  This is not good for innovation and IMHO it’s just annoying.  Being original is one of the best ways to be discovered.  Original thoughts and personality created a Jack Dorsey.  They also created a Steve Jobs… and other unique personalities in the tech world.  Be yourself and be someone who is unique; it goes a long way.  Just look at one of the newest billionaires Andrew Mason…

Originality in business models and product characteristics create unique offerings that help set your company apart in the market, leading to media coverage as well as investor interest.  We don’t need more Daily Deal sites, we need more innovative ideas for local commerce that actually add value and help merchants succeed, growing local economies.  So look into abyss, seek out problems, ask why, iterate around a new solution will help in becoming a unique and original business.

Although as entrepreneurs we have a tendency to mislead and lie on occasion, we also have tried and true Axioms into which wisdom and success can be found.  These are just a few I came up with quickly as I read Ashkan’s post.  Are there others you cling to as you strive forward?

The Year I Learned To Fly

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As 2011 comes to a close it seems as good of time as any to step back and reflect on what has been, for better or worse, a most incredible year.  The lesson of this post is a lot can change in a year.

A year ago to this day I was sitting at a different desk, with a different job, different title, in a different life, and in a totally different industry.  Technically speaking my professional title was Exercise Physiologist.  I managed a corporate fitness facility and helped executives and employees make better choices in their health and fitness.  This area of expertise was in fact my college degree and ultimately my profession for the greater part of a decade.

I don’t necessarily like to talk about this because I know others look at me and think “how is this guy a CEO and what the hell does he know about tech if his background is fitness?”  Although I can understand where they are coming from anyone who thinks this way is mistaken.

For those who aren’t familiar with my background, I had been associated with the tech industry for more than 5 years and had been working on a “startup” for the last few.  Things had not been going well and to say it bluntly we were heading straight for the deadpool, mainly for the fact that the entire team was still fully employed at their current job.  Not all was lost as those years allowed me to study the industry, achieve a basic understanding of the web and learn what startup life was all about even if it was from outside of the window looking in.  The most difficult part of it all was feeling like I was sitting on both sides of the fence, not being able to make the leap.  And it was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life.

Until something happened.  I finally gave in to my pain, got tired of all the frustration and I decided to finally pick the right side of the fence and ended up making the leap.  I quit my full time job to pursue entrepreneurship and become a real founder.  This felt great, I finally made the decision…  except I had no idea where I was going and where I would end up.  All I knew was I didn’t want to be where I was currently on that spring day.

The craziest thing about jumping is what happens mid-air.

For those of you who might have been following my path, you’ll know I took to writing this summer and ended up finding a few channels where people could find and read my words.  In an amazing turn of events, suddenly people from around the world were reaching out to me asking for my prospective on technology, social media, the web and inquiring my interest in possible professional partnerships.   I was suddenly the expert!  After considering numerous offers, I ended up connecting with some local guys here in Seattle and accepting an opportunity to form a company.

Today I am CEO of Seconds, an emerging mobile messaging and commerce startup with a pretty damn cool product and promising vision.

Your Future is more important than your past

I love this question…. “So what’s your background?” … especially as I sit across from a veteran investor during a meeting as we are about to review our company and our product.  “Shit… how do I answer this one without totally ruining my credibility?” is what I am actually thinking.

I understand their logic as they inquire about my past.  If someone has a Ivy league past, a Stanford degree, an MBA or previous startup experience with a successful exit it is a qualifier in the mind of an investor.  It is proof positive this person has relevant industry experience and basically they pass the sniff test.  The investor is just mitigated the risk (check).  Yet, a strong argument can be made for some of the best entrepreneurs coming out of nowhere to change the world.

I am here to tell you entrepreneurship is not about where you came from, it’s about where you are going.

It is the most important thing I learned by jumping this year.  You must determine where you are going.  No matter your background you must figure out where you are going, refine it and become crystal clear on what you are building and why.  Who cares about your past…  Most of us are not very proud of what we have done in the past and look forward to where we are going.  If that is the case with you, just focus on where you are going because it’s way more powerful than your resume will ever be.

Never, ever, ever…..ever think you are not capable of doing something.  You just need to set your mind to it and get up everyday determined to chip away at whatever/whomever is holding you back.

As Tom Petty would say I am learning to fly .  Or was it Pink Floyd?  Either one… I am damn glad I jumped!

Wow, a massive jump in Seconds Accounts in the last 2 weeks!

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Looks at this!  On Nov 28th we released a new feature which allowed merchants to quickly self register a Seconds account in just a few steps.  The result – 20 new accounts created in less than 2 weeks.  Before the 28th, we had created less than a handful of accounts since it was not a streamlined process.  Now, any merchant anywhere in the county can quickly grab a new number to accept text messages and have a nicely designed mobile site to communicate with customers.

Wonder what the next year will look like?

Also, I wonder what the recent redesigns will bring?  I think our numbers will be out of the roof, but you be the judge:

Here’s the old one.

Here’s the new one.

Make No Mistake, Seattle Needs More Events Like The GeekWire Gala

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If you had the opportunity to attend the recent GeekWire Gala you will probably agree with me when I say it was awesome.

Was there some crazy entertainer or cool band?  No.

Were there fireworks or a kick ass pyro-technics?  Nope.

Was it for a special occasion like a reunion or anniversary?  Not really.

Yet  more than 500 people showed up in attendance from various pockets of the tech community.  Investors to startup founders to lawyers and aspiring entrepreneurs gathered for a night of talking tech and socializing.  I know it sounds like a normal Seattle Startup event, so you might be wondering why it was so awesome?

As I looked out over the crowded event I started to realize all these people, in just this one room, can help me become successful if they get to know me well enough.  And this is true for all of us in that room.

I give a very big thanks to the entire GeekWire staff and all others who helped put on the event.  Although most people arrived, had a drink or two and then left without realizing how important this gathering was for the health of our tight-knit community; it was not lost on me.

Every so often the “Seattle vs. Silicon Valley” argument boils up to the cognitive surface with various differing opinions shouting about who is better at the top of their lungs.  Regardless of your stance it’s fair to say we – Seattle –  have our own identity with our own startup and investment characteristics, for better or for worse.

Yet I cannot shake an off-the-cuff comment given to me at a startup event this fall from someone close to me at the time.  They said “Nick, go down to the valley and you can find something like this going on pretty much every single night.”  I was immediately taken back by the comment but once I thought about it a little more I started to grasp the deeper meaning of the statement.

It wasn’t about “the valley” at all.  It was about community.

And it is with that statement I come to the conclusion: if Seattle is going to continue to grow as a serious technology, startup, and investment epicenter we need more events like the GeekWire Gala.  We need more opportunities to come together and get to know each other – as individuals and as a larger community.  And it desperately needs to happen more often.

From Wikipedia, The term community has two distinct meanings:

  • a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household. The word can also refer to the national community or international community, and
  • in biology, a community is a group of interacting living organisms sharing a populated environment.

Notice the bold word interacting.  It is an important word – as a verb it indicates what we should be doing as a group of people.  We gather.  We interact.  We get to know each other.  We socialize.   We share common values.  Only when we are able to interact are we then able to possibly collaborate and do deals.

Interacting.  Hmmm, that’s an Interesting word  we find there, shall we dive a bit deeper… and find out what that word actually means?

  • communication of any sort, for example two or more people talking to each other, or communication among groups, organizations, nations or states: trade, migration, foreign relations, transportation,

Ah… there it is!  Communication – the one thing that will make or break any relationship.  So it seems to build a robust community we must continue to sharpen the communication lines between the individuals within our larger group.  As a relative newcomer to this scene, this makes a lot of sense to me.

What good is the “tech” or “startup” community here in Seattle if we just remain in our own silo’s, sitting behind our monitors in our own little offices.  An easy habit to form these days is thinking you, as an individual company, are building one something isolated from the outer world.  So we tend to want to stay within our own walls and this is a big mistake.  If you are apart of a large company or even a startup here in Seattle, you are a very important piece to a large organism.  Just as cells of the body must stay in constant communication with each other to remain in healthy stasis; so must we here in Seattle continue to communicate and interact so we can build a strong and healthy tech community.

What about using technology to virtually communicate?  Yes, we may banter back and forth via email and on Twitter but those are only extensions of community.  They don’t actually create a community.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying we don’t have events and activities to cultivate the ecosystem.  Currently there are a number of events happening on a monthly basis in which we can participate.  To name a few:

  • StartupWeekend events
  • Poker 2.0
  • WTIA Events
  • Morning Coffee’s
  • Pitch events
  • Meetups

I am suggesting even more events need to be put together to create and foster the tech community here in Seattle.  We all are responsible to do something for the health of the larger community – that is if we are going to voice our opinions on the subject.  And the Gala illustrated larger events bringing together a lot of people can spawn interesting and advantageous opportunities, just as a being a part of a small group playing poker will do.  This is why I organized the Startup Crawl, it was a great time to relax with a beer in your hand and just talk openly with people you might not otherwise interact with.  Sometimes these events are the start of something special.

Do they all have to revolve around drinking alcohol?  No, not at all.  Whatever the event, it should enhance the strengthening of existing relationships at the same time encourage new comers to attend and make some initial and important connections to help them get further ingrained in the community.

We may not be able to have much impact on the investment macroeconomics here in Seattle but we sure as hell can do something about the over community interaction.  And interestingly enough… I believe the later will pull the former along towards a better day.