This one is for the many founders
I have been using posterous for my family blog and pictures and been thrilled with it. I have been meaning to write a new blog about my experiences as an entrepreneur, CEO and, now, a VC. I have had starting trouble -- not knowing where to start and what to write about. I know that I have seen and learned a few things that could be fun (and maybe even helpful) to share. But I didn't know where to start. What would be a good first blog post?
This week, this question of what to start the blog with was answered pretty well. I had dinner with the two co-founders of a stealth startup to be launched in Q1 of next year. I believe that their launch will fundamentally change the home entertainment landscape and will win many hearts and many awards. That aside, the reason why I decided to start the blog today and start it with their story is that I am such a huge believer in the spirit, passion and conviction with which entrepreneurs do what they do. I met the two founders at an NPO board meeting where one of them was a board member and the other worked as a volunteer. Their zeal and enthusiasm to get things done at the NPO amazed me. They were on top of things and worked relentlessly on a project for which they gained nothing but the satisfaction of reaching a goal. One day, they both quit their jobs and started working on an idea in their garage. They worked 20 hours a day, 7 days a week for 6 months building product and a prototype. That's when their financial troubles started. They told me plenty of stories of how empty their wallets were. I will only highlight a couple of salient points that detail their journey.On their way to meet an investor, one of them runs out of gas and pulls up to fill gas. He tries each of his credit cards and it doesn't work as its all maxed out and its the same case with the other founder. Finally they call a family member who drives up to the gas station and fills gas for them so they can drive to the investor meeting. One of them finally ran out of $$ to pay rent for his 1BR condo. Its the 24th of the month and he has an eviction notice. So he decides to surf CraigsList for CS projects and finds one for iPhone apps. Well unfortunately he doesn't know Cocoa - but that doesn't stop him. He sends an email to the firm who advertised for a bid to code an iPhone app -- then goes ahead and mis-represents to them that he is an iPhone Cocoa whiz. The buyer gives him a chance to write the iPhone app for $3000. The founder insists that he gets $800 advance and the rest on delivery. He gets the advance and pays $800 for 2 weeks worth of rent, and extends his runway until then. Right after that he starts reading up on iPhone Cocoa development --- pretty soon the entrepreneur and his brain triumphs and he codes this complex iPhone app and gets paid. Soon he writes 5 more iPhone apps and makes $22k more to take care of his expenses and tide through the next couple of months while also coding his own project. By this time, a band of angels and seed investors have come together for a $1.1M round in their company. Within 3 days of the close, they hired some of the best minds out of apple and are creating an exciting app that they plan to launch early next year. I wish them the very best as they launch their product and company.Why am I sharing all of this? First because I asked them whether I could share this. Their response was typical --- I quote: "ofcourse -- we are so proud of this experience. It gave us confidence that we could do whatever it takes. BTW when a VC asks us questions about some 5 year projection numbers - we are so cocky in our made up answers - this experience probably helped us gain more confidence in ourselves and be less worried about mundane questions. It was exciting to see the lowest of low points."I love this story because I know this is not unique or atypical. Many entrepreneurs (me included) have it too easy --- we know people on Sand Hill road and have the history and the background to fund our companies once we hone in on a good idea. While many others, especially the first timers and the unknowns, take crazy risks and take long painful circuitous roads to get to the promised land purely fueled by their own passions and intellect. I want my first blog post to be a toast to those entrepreneurs who are first timers, unknown risk takers who are passionate about an idea and stop at nothing to achieve what they think will change the world. These are the future serial entrepreneurs and I am in awe of their passion, energy and relentless spirit. I hope they all get rewarded in some way for the conviction with which they pursue their passions! And I very much hope that I will get to work with some of them in the future.
