Tips for young entrepreneurs

It's been over three months since Invite Media, the new company I'm a part of, really got rolling.  During this time we have raised money, added four great team members (with countless more advisor's), moved into a downtown office with plenty of room for expansion, and best yet, just bought a grill for the roof of our building.  I hope I speak for all of us when I say we're having a great time, even though most of us somehow manage to sleep at the office in the same room (in separate beds of course).

Looking back as the summer almost runs out and my second-to-last semester as a college student begins, I'm more than ever realizing that there were several things that proved invaluable in the early month's of our company.  I hope that these can also serve as tips for any other young entrepreneur, although I realize they will vary in relevance depending on your situation.

1. Find someone or some company you trust to share an office with. This was the most obvious one for me.  Nearing the end of last semester, I became friends with Jack Abraham, a fellow student at Wharton and young entrepreneur.  We both were founding companies in very similar stages (yet very different spaces), and both seemed to face the same near-term obstacles (where to set up shop, to stay in Philly or not, how to recruit talent, etc...).  On the same token, not many first-time entrepreneurs realize the list of things you must accomplish before you can be productive as a team.  There's a reason they say the controller/admin of a company is the most important hire.

The idea thus came about of the two companies sharing an office.  Initially, this served primarily as a way to cut down on costs, as we could split the rent, utilities, internet, and many other expenses.  Pretty soon, however, we both realized the immense positive side effects that resulted from having this arrangement.  Over the course of the summer, both companies worked side-by-side, sitting in on brainstorming sessions, offering up ideas, helping out with meetings and recruiting, and even revamping each other's business models (twice).  I can honestly say, and I think Jack is with me here, that both companies wouldn't be nearly as strong or made nearly as much progress had this path not been taken.  There's also something to be said about always having someone to keep you on your heels.  I know we were all motivated to work late when the company downstairs was, vice-versa.

Sure, you could argue that each company maybe lost some focus by having another idea to think about, but having experienced it, the entirely opposite is the case.  A successful company will often go through four or more complete business model shifts before it finds its path, and a young ready-for-the-molding startup needs every bit of support it can get.  And it always doesn't hurt to only have to pay half of what you expected to pay for rent (as well as T1).

2. Get a co-founder. No matter what you say, you’re going to need help. Only one company in the last 10 years that I’ve been involved with has had exclusively one founder. VideoEgg, for example, had three co-founders. I’ve been fortunate enough with Invite Media to have my last business partner and close friend as my co-founder. As most entrepreneurs will tell you, co-founders/partners completely change the game. You’ll be able to accomplish more than twice as much as a team by focusing on each other’s strengths. Your company gains a much better image with more people involved. Ideas are made stronger with two people contributing rather than just one (probably not universally true, but work with me here). Point of the story, there are countless reasons why it makes sense to have a co-founder.

Of course, as with everything else, there are a lot of things to take into account and plan for. If the founding team doesn’t work well together, it can kill the company faster than anything else.  First, there has to be trust between each other. This doesn’t just include trusting the decision-making and integrity of the person, which is very important in itself. You also have to trust that each person will be as close to equally committed to the company as possible. I understand that no one will ever work the exact number of hours and thus "never" be fairly compensated, but there is a fine line that must be achieved. There are countless other issues to take into account, and there are equally countless blog posts from very experienced people on the topic. Another big one for me is not having a "yes man" (or woman) as a co-founder. Zach and I argue, often heatedly, between each other, but at the end of the day its all about challenging what we know to make sure we make the right decision.

3. Read all of the time. During high school, I read 2 books front to back for school (and cliff notes for 25 others).  In the last three months, I have read or re-read over 20 books, subscribe to over a 100 blogs through Bloglines (most related to tech and entrepreneurship), and try to keep up with another dozen magazines and newspapers on print.  No I'm not trying to say I'm smart because I actually read stuff, and to be honest I'm sure most people in the space read 10x more than this, but this should help illustrate the importance of staying current and informed of everything going on around you.  It also helps in keeping you grounded, as you constantly get new perspectives and new questions to ask yourself.  My big tip for this is to set aside 30 minutes to an hour during the beginning of your day and an hour at the end to do nothing but read. As soon as I sit down to my desk, before I even check my email (post Blackberry of course), I go through the 100 new posts waiting for me in Bloglines. Anything interesting that comes up also serve as great conversation and brainstorming starters within your company.  On any given day, our team will trade a handful of relevant posts are articles that one of us found relevant (we also keep a company del.icio.us account that we all contribute to).

4. (token cliche tip) Have fun!  Everyone says it, few companies live it. I've visited a number of startup offices this summer, and all of the ones making big moves are having fun. Our office barely has posters on the wall yet, but we're always having fun. Some of us took a whitewater rafting trip, we play the Wii or Playstation throughout the day, and every now and then take in a movie. People join startups for a bunch of reasons, and having fun is certainly one of them (the every so often money never hurts either).

I've got a list of dozens more, and since this post is starting to get a bit long I'll save the rest for soon. Hope these help!

Comments

[Ben Casnocha]

Good thoughts -- keep me posted on invitemedia....

[Alan Armstrong, BigGavel.com CEO, FlyBoysToys.com President, ArmstrongAuctions.com CEO]

Great posts on your blog. The 'great tips for young entrepreneurs' is outstanding. Although I am 45 and have been involved with several companies....these tips are great for anyone, young and 'old'. I am passing them onto my son, who is Co-Founder in two of our companies.

Great posts!

I found your posts through a linkedin friend of mine...Arun Benty

Look forward to reading more of your posts and seeing you make it BIG

[Rohit Regonayak - Trellisys.net]

Hi Nat,

Nice to see your blog and hearing about the great things you have been doing. You might already be aware of Zoomin (http://www.zoom.in)

Looking forward to read and learn from your experiences.

Regards
Rohit
Trellisys.net