Brian Marks
Trusting your gut – 100%. Only you can enact your vision. Others can add to your vision and ultimately add to the beauty of a company or product, but your…
Starting a company is an act of unreasonable optimism. The founders in this section know that firsthand. They’ve built startups across every industry. Some that worked, some that pivoted, and some that taught very expensive lessons. All of it is here.
These interviews cover the full startup arc. The spark of an idea. The terrifying moment you actually commit to it. The scramble for funding, customers, and some version of product-market fit that doesn’t feel like a hallucination. Then the scaling part, which introduces a whole new set of problems nobody warned you about.
What’s useful about these conversations is the range. Solo founders. Co-founder duos. People who raised venture capital and people who think venture capital is a trap. Bootstrap devotees and serial fundraisers. There’s no single right way to build a startup, and reading enough of these interviews makes that abundantly clear.
You’ll find practical insights on lean methodology, customer acquisition, team building, and the art of staying alive long enough to figure out what works. Also the emotional side, because startups are emotional. Anyone who says otherwise is either lying or hasn’t started one yet.
Trusting your gut – 100%. Only you can enact your vision. Others can add to your vision and ultimately add to the beauty of a company or product, but your…
Talk to your customers. They are your first and last investors. Ximena Hartsock is the Founder of Phone2Action, leading software for public affairs and grassroots advocacy. Prior to founding…
A startup has limited resources, and your time is the most important resource. Trista Li is the Founder and CEO of KitcheNet, where she and her team bring happy…
Go into each venture, job or other assignment with an outline of your goals and those of the space you’re in. Where the two sets of goals align is the…
Forget you’re competing and just focus on delivering the best possible product and service – faster and better than anyone else. Neal Pecchenino is founder and chief executive officer…
Talk about your idea(s) as often as possible so that you have the opportunity to discuss it publicly and get feedback from as many people as possible. Alexey Ermakov…
Do what is right, even if it holds up your business growth – it will be better in the long term. Guy Cooper, Managing Director of Wave Digital, is…
Be patient. It takes time and persistence to build something of value that’s sustainable over time. Visionary leader, technology change-agent, innovative philanthropist, and trusted adviser to global business executives….
Re-think the basics, re-examine the “normal”. We take too much for granted that shouldn’t. Look at other fields of expertise and see how they do things. Known as a…
Never believe you know everything. No matter what else you do throughout the day, always be learning from everyone around you. Over the last 13 years, Laura has been…
Allow time for ideas to come to fruition. Talk them out with others to formulate. Some ideas take years to come to reality, and that’s okay! Katelyn Gleason is…
Not only is starting with an MVP the most cost-effective and safe way to preserve capital, but it is also the best way to learn from your most important data…