Some Great Entrepreneurial Links

by Erik Severinghaus
February 4, 2013

Some Great Entrepreneurial Links

You’re at the stage where you’ve got an idea, maybe a basic prototype and are looking to network, ask for advice, and generally avoid making the same mistakes that lots of us have made in the past. Good idea!

First, know that like most of the folks in the Chicago tech community, I love meeting entrepreneurs. I love hearing about new ideas, and love to give advice and counsel. I’ve made plenty of mistakes – it’s great if others can get value from them. I love even more when those entrepreneurs follow up, keep me appraised of progress, and I can see as they build their business.

I’ve noticed, however, that I find myself having the same conversation lots of times with prospective (or early-stage) entrepreneurs. In an effort to be more helpful and progress the dialog beyond the same basic lessons, I decided to summarize ‘em here. I love sitting down with entrepreneurs, but if you’ve thought about the things below, it will certainly make our conversation much more fruitful. These are just my thoughts, but I’ll bet that you’ll find lots of conversations more helpful if you think about them.

  • Don’t ask me to sign an NDA. Here’s why.
  • Do make sure you read How To Earn a Technical Co-Founder before you ask me how to find a tech co-founder (or how to get your idea built.)
  • Do make sure you have read “The Lean Startup” – either the book or enough of the blog posts to really understand the principles.
  • Do make sure you’ve thought about your business and model, particularly through the lens of Dave McClure’s (in)famous framework he colorfully discusses in “Startup Viagra.” I don’t necessarily need to see your pitch deck (although I’m happy to help there if it’s useful) but you should have thought through your model to solve those questions.
  • Don’t rely on “virality” for your B2C business model. Understand how you’ll grow your business if it’s not at a 1.2x viral coefficient. Once you put that assumption in, it makes everything easy. Very few businesses actually have that happen. Make sure your business model works if you have to pay to acquire users (because you almost certainly will.)
  • Do follow up if you find the session helpful. I’d much rather build a relationship over time than have “drive-by” advice sessions.

It’s an exciting time for Chicago entrepreneurs! I love watching the community grow, and really look forward to meeting more and more entrepreneurs!

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