February 19, 2016

Recently, a preposterous idea popped into my head, starting with the words, What If…. What if I were an entrepreneur? What if I can change the world by starting something new and innovative in our increasingly digitized world? What if I could use the media of technology to  help the community? These ambitious thoughts lead my mind to dwell on the idea of becoming an entrepreneur.

I quickly started to devour online articles from Forbes and The Entrepreneur and reading books like Rich Dad Poor Dad to help me better gain an understanding of finance and entrepreneurship. The more I read, the more infatuated I became with the idea of starting a StartUp. Quickly, I decided to look for more resources in my local Austin Community to make my dreams of starting my own business a more tangible reality. I quickly found a Technology Startup Boot Camp hosted by Tech Ranch Austin, which would be held in Concordia University on February 18th.

In a blink of an eye, it was February 18th, and I was walking into this Tech StartUp Bootcamp, completely unaware of what I would find there. When I stepped inside the room and found a vacant seat, I started to pay attention to the many conversations around me. Many of these accomplished adults were talking about their businesses and business ideas. Everybody was at a different area with their business. Some had already established successful StartUps, while others were trying to break even with their profits, and while others only had shaky ideas of a business just like me.

Once everybody got settled, our instructor, Kevin, started off by telling us overview on what this class-style Bootcamp will cover. He then, started off by introducing his story and the numerous StartUps that he started in Mexico, Chile, and the United States. Also, along the way, others introduced their businesses. One individual wanted to create a system where Call Centers can take their calls remotely, while another wanted to create an education system where artists like her can learn technology easily to more effectively navigate their way through this digitized world. All these ideas, were very interesting to me, and I wanted to talk more to these individuals, about improving my ideas.

Next, we were shown a lot of charts that simulated when you will get funding as a startup. The most helpful chart, was titled the Venture Valley of Death. With this chart, it became  clear that funding is received only when you are making a small profit. Nobody will give a lot of funding, unless you at least break even and escape the Venture Valley of Death. This is why, it is very important to be passionate about your idea and the cause that you will be helping, as not to lose hope in spite of failure. We also talked a little bit about the Imposter Syndrome, which is physiological state of mind that comes after someone gives you money to kickstart your StartUp. It is when you have this money, but you still feel like an imposter, because you don’t know what you are doing and how to spend the money and don’t want to disappoint the investor. He recommended the book Snakes in Suits for further reading about that concept.

Later on, we discussed the Lean Startup Methodology. Many new and emerging entrepreneurs use this methodology to govern how their StartUp and product should function. In summary, the Lean StartUp Methodology discusses how entrepreneurs should come up with good ideas and make them a reality as soon as possible. It is no use for someone to refine an idea for nine months. Instead, it is huge waste of time, as you will never know what works until you try it. After you build the product, start gathering testers to see if the product works as it was envisioned to do so. If the testers did not like it, start again. If they liked it, make a business out of this product. For further reading, I would recommend, http://theleanstartup.com/principles.

The talk covered many more interesting topics, but the most rewarding experience was talking with the different people at the end. In that room filled with accomplished adults, my past self would have secretly slipped away at the end of the talk. However, now I have gained a lot more confidence to approach new people. Therefore, I talked to the person sitting beside me, and she was very encouraging and surprised that I was only a sophomore. She told me that she was very competent in coding and can help me refine my business ideas and code them later for free! She also encouraged me to come to the Tech Ranch Campfire meeting next Friday, where I would be able to develop my ideas further.

I am so thankful to her, and looking forward to the Tech Ranch Campfire meeting! Most excitedly, my plans to start a business are becoming more tangible!