Always invest in the best of breed. It’s a winner-take-all world. The top startups in each market dominate. If a startup is aiming to be 3rd, 4th or 5th in their market, they are DOA (dead on arrival). Smart capital, customers, and economies of scale always favor the market leader. Everyone else will struggle to survive.
Take a different path than everyone else, even if it takes longer and the journey is more difficult. That’s the only way to discover something new.
Always have fun and make new friends wherever you go! If you can’t enjoy the ride, there’s no point going.
In every city I travel to, I always make time to have some fun. For example, last week when I visited Wuhan, I reached out to my network and asked them to introduce me to some random locals–people I didn’t know.
Every startup must have a culture. Culture isn’t about having a Ping Pong table, free food or hip furniture.
It’s about having a belief that everyone shares–a belief that guides your company. What do you believe your business is all about? What’s your mission–beyond making money? Why does your company mean something to people?
That’s culture. Now go create it!
Leisl Schrader is a creative entrepreneur with a passion for Agile, branding, design, and the Web. She is a constant innovator, an enthusiastic public speaker, and a respected leader. As the CEO of Remix Design, Leisl and her team help entrepreneurs launch their brands quickly and cost-effectively. Before going into business, she worked as a Senior UI Engineer and has extensive experience as a graphic designer, front-end UI Web developer, and art director. Leisl earned her bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from the School of Visual Arts in 2007.
Remix Design is an Agile Design agency specializing in branding for startups. Our unique process gets new companies off the ground and into the market faster, more efficiently, and more cost-effectively than any other agency. We can launch your brand in as little as two weeks. With Remix Design, you can be sure your startup makes a great first impression in the market.
The Founders Space accelerator + incubator was an awesome experience that is definitely a must-do for any startup ready to dive into the world of Silicon Valley funding. Unlike many longer accelerators, the short and intense Founders Space program is perfect for entrepreneurs from outside the Valley who are looking to get the most value for their time and money.
The speakers and mentors were great and not only spent one-on-one time with companies but were enthusiastic about helping and would go out of their way to meet with us even outside of office hours. Our team learned a lot during our two weeks at Founder Space, and the program helped us refine our vision so that we went home with a much better strategy for success.
Aside from the advisers and mentors, one of the best parts of the program was the quality of the other startups in the program. This program attracts great talent and the contacts we made have helped us regularly since finishing the program.
Founders Space was a great experience that I would definitely recommend.
The teachers were awesome, and they all provided unique perspectives that were really valuable. We learned how to really clarify our pitch, think about the psychological aspects of marketing, get product feedback, and a lot more.
The two weeks were jam packed. The other peer companies were first rate and all great to work with. In addition, Founders Space is committed to our company’s success and they are continuing to invite us to relevant events and to use their office space in China moving forward.
Two weeks of focus. Most startup founders live in a world full of distractions, and this is the most productive break from those distractions that I could envision.
This is a great experience for both new founders and those that have been through the grind before. Founders Space covers everything from go-to-market strategy and cap tables to using cognitive science to tune your marketing content.
The mentors Steve Hoffman (Captain Hoff), Naomi Kokubo, Steve Austin and Nathan Schor are simply great. Each providing a perspective different from the others, that will help you refine your story into a clear and concise pitch.
Founders Space was an impactful and efficient way to get our pitch refined and get in front of investors — particularly with China ties — all within 2 weeks.
We’ve had multiple opportunities that came out of the relationships we formed during the program. For us, Founders Space was attractive because they are reaching deep into China, and that aligns with the distribution strategy of Paragon One.
Matt Wikerson
Founder & CEO of Paragon One
Most amazing and inspirational experience I’ve had since I’ve decided to build my own company. My co-founder and myself both participated in the program. We come from slightly different technical and business backgrounds: me being the first time startup founder, and for him this is the 3-rd company he founded. We found that Founders Space program provides great learning experience and resources for the first time as well for seasoned entrepreneurs.
Two weeks flew by in a blink of an eye; however, I feel like the things we learned from mentors such as Steve Austin, Nathan Schor and Steve Hoffman will guide our product and business decision for years to come. The value we received from their experience, out of the box thinking and original ideas was greatly supplemented by the entire hands-on and personalized approach. The best part is that the experience does not end on the demo day and we are looking forward to working with them for the next few months to keep our business and product goals on the right track.
Alexander Volkov
Co-founder of Zero Email App
http://zeroapp.email
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