Zack Rosenberg |
May 1st, 2012
Mike is the founder of the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, author and his new company, Obsidian Launch
1. What is your number one piece of advice for entrepreneurs?
Get started NOW! When someone is starting a company a million excuses can come up (too much responsibility, not enough money,
etc). What someone can fail to realize is that you’ll never be 100% equipped to start a company. In your 20’s you might be too young, then in your 30’s you have the responsibility of your family, your 40’s are about your kids, and then in your 50’s you’re too old for the risks. That is why it is best to get started early. Even studies show that the earlier someone starts the more success one can have.
2. Are entrepreneurs born or made?
Entrepreneurs are born that way, just like a professional athlete. All the training in the world cannot make an athlete a professional and the same goes for an entrepreneur. The trait I think all entrepreneurs have in common is an appreciation for risk. What this means is you see the positive side of taking a risk, that when you “fail” it helps you to figure out how to make something work, that a risk is actually an opportunity.
A relentless work ethic is also a trait that entrepreneurs have. For some people, 2PM means the day is
Rachel Herskovitz |
July 11th, 2011
1) What led you to start this company? What was the whitespace you recognized?
I have always been an entrepreneur and since 13 have been primarily self-employed. After college, I founded a software company
and an eCommerce business. Both were sold in the late 90′s. After which I was recruited by Walmart and spent 4.5 years before I got the itch to go out on my own again. I wanted to start a company that combined emerging technology and marketing acumen. I knew that this type of company would have relevance in the marketplace serving clients as well as be a great platform that we could use to launch other successful businesses. I believed that digital wasn’t just a marketing opportunity but that entire organizations were going to be transformed by digital innovations. We positioned Rockfish, not as a digital agency, but as a digital innovation partner that could provide value to the entire organization.
2) What’s your advice to others trying to start a company?
Startups that become successful companies are a combination of the right idea at the right time by the right team. As we are thinking about new businesses to start through Rockfish Labs or looking at investments through Rockfish Brand Ventures I ask myself three questions;
A) What makes this idea unique and why will it succeed? There are a number of possible answers to that question and many startups have two or three good answers. If you can’t clearly articulate an answer to this question then your startup will likely fail.
B) What conditions or innovations in the marketplace make this the right time for this idea? Timing is often undervalued in what determines the ultimate success or failure of a company. There’s a reason that pioneers die young and it’s rare that the first person with a good idea is the one who ultimately is able to capitalize on it. I love startups that are taking advantage of market timing.
C) Why does the team have the right to win with this idea? Rockfish is great at incubating companies but we rarely have the right leadership in place to commercialize our own ideas since all of our executives are focused on serving our clients. Today when we are
Mindy Schultz |
January 31st, 2011
Always wanted to start your own company, and become successful but never known how? Well, hopefully with the help of the article, How to Swim, Not Sink, in First Year of Business, you can learn how to do just that!
Throughout her article, author Susan Schreter gives us a run down of why she believes many promising start-up companies fail or succeed in their first years of business. For starters, a key factor that determines a start-up business’s outcome is how fast the entrepreneur adjusts to their new power role as business owner.
It takes more than just “liking” what you do; rather how well you can manage your overall business and make money – it takes more than just having passion for what you do.
Schreter also says assuming that starting a company involves the freedom to do “what you want, whenever you want” is another high risk
etc). What someone can fail to realize is that you’ll never be 100% equipped to start a company. In your 20’s you might be too young, then in your 30’s you have the responsibility of your family, your 40’s are about your kids, and then in your 50’s you’re too old for the risks. That is why it is best to get started early. Even studies show that the earlier someone starts the more success one can have.
