As a first time founder, I was constantly searching for the right formula to build a company. I can’t even count the number hours I spent reading blogs, books and conversations with other entrepreneurs. There is so much information that it is overwhelming. You can’t really figure out what makes sense for you and your company. I wasted a lot of time…
We dreamed of getting into YC, 500, TechStars or AngelPad…thinking they had the magic potion to make everything go.
After meeting Steve Hoffman and learning a little about Founders Space, we reluctantly applied. It wasn’t the most well known accelerator program or had many companies go through…so we were naturally very skeptical. But I liked Steve and felt he genuinely wanted to help.
The 4 weeks at FS was great for us. It really helped us understand the fundamentals of building a business and connecting to investors. Even the hidden information nobody outwardly talks about.
The program was structured where you had instruction 2-3x per week along with guest mentor time. I can’t say each session was the best but each session was insightful. The batch was small enough were we had 1 on 1 instruction and advice that directly impacted our company. Plus there were some pretty awesome startup founders to become friends with.
The main facilitators, Steve Austin and Scott Gray, were great. Steve’s experience and no-bullshit approach really resonated with me. Scott was great at helping 1-on-1 and guiding us.
Steve really focused on making sure we were building a business…Scott’s advice helped with our fundraising efforts. I have to say the reason we got our first investors was because of their help.
The mentors gave us advice on building different aspects of the business but also helped us with the emotional roller coaster of a startup. There were tons of great mentors but Drew Babcock and Jeff Goldsmith’s advice helped us the most.
The 4 weeks ended in a pitch night/demo day… Bonus after being in the program: we can sit in on any sessions going forward; being able to use the space anytime, not to mention the life-long friendships we developed.
If you are considering or on the fence about joining FS…don’t. Its a great program with people that care and want you to build a great company.
Noman Ahmad
CEO of Sportslab Inc.
San Francisco
Leave a Reply