How To Create Network Effect For Your Product

By dcpreneur 2018-01-23 2018-01-24 Podcast

Param Jaggi is the founder and CEO of Hatch Technologies, a company working to democratize the software development industry.

Param is an inventor and serial entrepreneur. At the age of 13, he invented the EcoTube, a patented device that reduces carbon emissions from cars. At the age of 18, he founded Ecoviate— a R&D organization focused on redefining consumer sustainability. Param has won numerous awards and was twice featured in the Forbes “30 under 30” list.

In this episode, Param talked about how he built his first mobile app while in high school and acquired users for the app largely through network effect, and how he started his second company, Hatch, in the process of doing traditional software development work for other companies.

“I’m a strong believer in building network effect into your product. You want to figure out how people can use your platform in a way that lets other people know about the platform as well. ”

– Param Jaggi

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Hatch Technologies

Twitter, Facebook

Reference

Soundwise

Halcyon Incubator

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Powering the Gig Economy with Mobile Technology

By dcpreneur 2018-01-02 2018-01-01 Podcast

Jeff Tennery is the founder and CEO of Moonlighting, an online marketplace connecting freelancers with potential employers.

Armed with decades of experience in mobile technology and media, Jeff was inspired to build a mobile platform enabling people to work on things they truly love, while enjoying career independence.

In this episode, Jeff talked about his idea validation process and the initial challenges he encountered, how to broaden awareness for a marketplace like Moonlighting, and some lessons he learnt in the process of building his company.

“Running a startup is like running a sprinted marathon, you have to hustle all the way.”

– Jeff Tennery

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Moonlighting

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram

Reference

Soundwise

No comments

How to Change A Traditional Industry with New Technology

By dcpreneur 2017-12-26 2018-01-02 Podcast

Erik Dreyer is the co-founder of Goodshuffle, an online event rental marketplace specializing in party and event supply rentals.

Goodshuffle was originally launched as a peer–to-peer rental marketplace, but Erik and his co-founder Andrew Garcia quickly pivoted the business to focus on the event rental segment, when they discovered that this industry was very fragmented and could be made more productive with both online ordering plus business software for rental company owners.

In this episode, Erik talked about how he started and pivoted the business, his experience of quitting a day job and focusing fully on entrepreneurship, and what he learned along the way.

“Having a killer startup advisory team will help your business achieve that extra mile with fewer hurdles.”

– Erik Dreyer

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GoodShuffle

Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram

Reference

Soundwise

No comments

How to Build A Social Networking Platform

By dcpreneur 2017-11-28 2017-11-25 Podcast

Ian Kaine MacGregor is the founder and CEO of Hitcher, a social media platform that allows users to build more targeted networks and have more control over their online privacy compared to the mainstream social networks.

During his time working in the design industry, Ian created tons of successful social media marketing campaigns for large enterprises. He had the idea to build a social media platform that was exclusive, and could eliminate unwanted social noise to create experiences with the people who really mattered in one’s life. In this episode, Ian talked about how he validated his idea, how he found collaborators for his project, how to deal with setbacks and acquire users, and why idea and passion do matter in this day and age when execution is emphasized over anything.

“(while execution is important) Ideas do matter. You have to trust your ideas.”

– Ian Kaine MacGregor

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Hitcher

Twitter, Vimeo, Facebook

Reference

Soundwise

No comments

From Side Hustle to Thriving Business

By dcpreneur 2017-07-26 2017-07-26 Podcast

James Mccartney is the founding partner and CEO of Truvincio, a data security and privacy consulting firm whose mission is to make data security affordable for small businesses.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, James was a data security consultant at a large consulting firm. In this work, he noticed that most existing data security solutions do not serve small businesses, and that was where he spotted a market opportunity. Still, it was quite a journey to go from working on the project on the side to running it as a serious business. In this episode, James talked about how he assessed the market potential of his business idea, what small businesses can do to improve information security, and how to deal with setbacks and challenges on the entrepreneurship rollercoaster.

And if you’re looking to learn and grow as an entrepreneur, you should check out Soundwise. Soundwise aims to offer a wide selection of audio courses in business and personal development, so that you can learn to become a better version of yourself…on the go. Soundwise just released a series of crash courses on how to build a startup. They are sourced from some of the best entrepreneurship classes ever taught at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, taught by real founders who have built successful businesses over and over again. They cover the essential insights you need to start building your business. And the best part, they are free! Go check them out at mysoundwise.com/courses.

“Don’t be overly enamored by your product/service. It is all about what the customers get out of it.”

– James Mccartney

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Truvincio

Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook

Reference

Entrepreneurship Crash Courses by Soundwise

Seeing What’s Next: Using Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change

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How to Become A Serial Entrepreneur in Your 20s

By dcpreneur 2017-07-19 2017-07-18 Podcast

Akobir Azamovich is the co-founder and CEO of 4stay.com, an online marketplace for student housing.

Although Akobir is only in his twenties, he’s already started multiple companies. When Akobir immigrated to the US in high school, he quickly spotted a business opportunity matching foreign students like himself with American schools, and that eventually led to the creation of 4stay.com. He offered insights on how to start a tech company when you don’t know how to code, how to effectively pitch to potential strategic partners and investors, and how to quickly get customers for a marketplace at scale.

“Even with a start-up budget, if you find the right people, you can still build a star team with outsourcing.”

– Akobir Azamovich

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4stay

Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

Reference

Entrepreneurship Crash Courses by Soundwise

Airbnb

Craigslist

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How to Start A Two-Sided Marketplace

By dcpreneur 2017-07-11 2017-07-10 Podcast

Stephanie Cox is the founder and CEO of The Level Market, the world’s first online marketplace for humanitarian supply and disaster relief products.

In this episode, Stephanie talked about her journey of starting her platform with the aspiration to be “Amazon for Aid”. She offered insights on the unique challenges of a two-sided marketplace, how to build brand recognition, when to raise money, how to manage the emotional aspects of running a business and how to prioritize tasks.

“Innovate, stop finding excuses to do business as usual.”

– Stephanie Cox

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The Level Market

Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn, Facebook

Reference

Entrepreneurship Crash Courses by Soundwise

Upwork

WebShine

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How to Get Venture Capital Investors Interested in Your Startup

By dcpreneur 2017-07-05 2017-07-04 Podcast

Dan Mindus is the founder and a managing partner of NextGen Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm. What’s unique about NextGen is that they are the first network-driven venture firm. The firm has a network of hundreds of “venture partners”, who are experienced founders, executives and investors, to help the firm get investment leads and evaluate investment opportunities.

In this episode, Dan talked about the company’s investment selection process. He also offered advices on how to get early stage venture capital funding for your startup, what you need to do to get yourself prepared before looking for funding, and how to effectively pitch investors.

“Be very clear about your level of development (when pitching to investors), or they essentially will assume the numbers are bad.”

– Dan Mindus

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NextGen Venture Partners

Twitter, Crunchbase, AngelList, LinkedIn, Facebook

Reference

Entrepreneurship Crash Courses by Soundwise

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How to Build A Disruptive Product

By dcpreneur 2017-06-13 2017-06-28 Podcast

Jonathon Perrelli is the CEO and co-founder of LifeFuels, a health technology company in Virginia. Their main product is smart water bottles with customized nutrition injections, which also allows you to track your consumption of water and nutrients with an app.

In this episode, Jonathon shared how he brought LifeFuels from idea to prototype to production. He talked about how to know if there was a market for your product, and how to make sure your delivery of the product actually solved the customer problem you were aiming to solve. He also offered insights on how to attract the right talents and investment for an innovative product.

And if you’re looking to learn and grow as an entrepreneur, you should check out Soundwise. Soundwise aims to offer a wide selection of audio courses in business and personal development, so that you can learn to become a better version of yourself…on the go. Soundwise just released a series of crash courses on how to build a startup. They are sourced from some of the best entrepreneurship classes ever taught at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, taught by real founders who have built successful businesses over and over again. They cover the essential insights you need to start building your business, ranging from how to get customers, how to talk to investors, to how to project your financials and how to protect your intellectual properties. And the best part, they are free! Go check them out at mysoundwise.com/courses.

“For disruptive innovations, it is the outsider that will catalyze the most drastic changes, not the traditional experts within the industry.”

– Jonathon Perrelli

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LifeFuels

Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

Reference

Entrepreneurship Crash Courses by Soundwise

CES

Keurig

S’well

YETI

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How to Become More Resilient as An Entrepreneur

By dcpreneur 2017-06-06 2017-06-10 Podcast

Tim Hwang is the founder and CEO of FiscalNote, a software company in Washington DC that helps organizations build and manage their relationships with all levels of government, through their analytics and machine learning tools. Tim started Fiscal Note at the ripe old age of 21. And in 2016, he was named to the 30 under 30 lists of top young entrepreneurs by Forbes and Inc. magazines.

Tim is a very smart and insightful entrepreneur. On today’s episode, he talked about how he started the company in a Motel 6 with three childhood friends, the crucial elements for success that every business needs, how to build a great team and grow as a leader, and most importantly, how to get through the really difficult time as a founder.

“You need to be really passionate about the problem you’re solving. Otherwise you wouldn’t stick it out.”

– Tim Hwang

Twitter, Facebook

Reference

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram

Reference

Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram

Reference

Twitter, Vimeo, Facebook

Reference

Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook

Reference

Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

Reference

Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn, Facebook

Reference

Twitter, Crunchbase, AngelList, LinkedIn, Facebook

Reference

Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

Reference

Tim Hwang

Twitter, LinkedIn

Reference

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success, by Adam Grant