photo credit: Hamed Saber via photopin cc
I was truly touched by all the support I received in the article’s comments section and on twitter. So much so, I thought I’d post an update so people would know what happened.
Dude, Where’s Your Technical Co-Founder?
Flash backward to Thursday, December 13, 2012, 11:30am CST. I’ve just finished my 6 minute presentation to 10 members of the gener8tor decision committee, and the Q&A begins. Keep in mind, during my first presentation I proactively acknowledged my need for a team member who can write software. And despite this need, I’ve developed a great minimum viable product working with an awesome design and development agency in New York, which is project managing developers in the Ukraine. And I am one last, minor bug fix away from launching my beta.
Back to the Q&A.
For the next 25 minutes, which felt like an hour, I was hammered about not having a CTO (Chief Technology Officer) and how this adds risk and concern to my biz model. I mean, I knew those guys were concerned about this deficiency, but geez! I clearly had no idea about the extent of their concern. And I thought with their connections they could help me find a proper solution. After all, it’s not like I have to start building a website and application from scratch.
I looked every person on the committee in the eye, held my breath, and asked them the following question, “does not having a co-founder who can write software prevent me from entering the accelerator boot camp?” Everyone of them said, “no.” They said, “we invest in people and we believe you can execute.” They also said, “you’re doing a great job selling yourself and your project.”
So far, so good.
Some of the guys in the room shared my perspective that they could help me find a tech co-founder. BUT some of them viewed the co-founder deficiency as a concern they needed to discuss. Translation: I was on the bubble. And I learned, unlike in earlier boot camps where they selected up to 7 of the 10 final presenting start-ups, this time they were only going to select 5. Gulp!
I left that meeting dazed and confused about what just happened. As I was getting in the elevator, one of the committee members stopped me and said, “don’t sweat it.” To which I replied, “dude, I AM sweating it.” He was one of the people who thought the accelerator could help me find a tech co-founder.
So, Am I In, Or Am I Out Of The Accelerator?
My favorite white wine. Balanced. Smooth. Yum!
I walked into the wine section of the grocery store to grab a lil’ cheese and a few bottles of wine to consume with my friends before we watched The Dark Knight Rises that evening: Best. Batman. Movie. Ever. There, I said it.
I went over to the Vouvray section to buy an acceptable alternative and glanced at the 2010 Michel Picard Vouvray, which pales in comparison to the 2009 vintage. Then I looked a little closer, and I’ll give you one guess what I saw…A bottle of 2009!!! I looked even closer and found another bottle of 2009!!!
Two bottles of my favorite, hard-to-find wine? How lucky was that?!
Little did I know, this was a harbinger of sorts.
After leaving the store super-excited I found my favorite wine, and getting in the car, my cell phone rang. I picked it up and…it was two of the gener8tor founders congratulating me on being accepted into their winter boot camp!!!
I was so excited and thankful, I forgot to pick up my dog from daycare!
As a participant in the winter boot camp, my start-up will receive a small amount of seed capital in exchange for a reasonable amount of equity. But the most important things I will receive are access to the gener8tor network and resources, their start-up know-how, and the credibility to approach serious investors.
God is good.
@jamesoliverjr
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James, This has been quite the past couple of months for you? Twins & gener8tor? That's just awesome. Congratulations on both! Very happy for you and I can't wait to see the final product of WeMontage.com.
Thanks, DJ. Really appreciate it. The last week has definitely been "interesting."
I dig the new bio update, "Dad of twin babies". Way to stay resourceful and manage the product. Can't wait until the WeMontage beta launches.
Thanks, Mark.
A great way to start the New Year, James – congratulations! : )
Wine and cheese, yum!
I haven't had the brand you mentioned, but I will keep an eye out.
A nice Argentine Malbec is nice : )
Make it a great year, James!
Thanks, Mark. You too, buddy,
So happy for you James. Best of luck to you on the accelerator program and more importantly on the twins. Hope they are doing well. You are a proud father of a start-up and twins, what a start to 2013 for you.
Now, go pick up your dog from daycare. : )
Ha! She is actually with a friend since I'm in Madison, WI at the accelerator.
Twins are doing well-getting stronger every day.
Congratulations! :D
Thanks, Carrie. And it's surreal having two new little ones.
Storytelling at it's finest and an epic conclusion to your earlier post. That being said congratulations James! Extremely excited about the progression of your project even though that level on entrepreneurship is way over my head.
It would have been funny if you had gone back into the store and bought another bottle of wine!
..and “dude, I AM sweating it.” made me crack up!
Thanks for making sure I found this post!
Awesome! Thanks, Jacob.
And all the time God is good. Congrats Brother. Keep pushing, very proud of you. By the way I am going to pick up a bottle of your favorite wine when I get back home. In Vegas with the wife right now for a little R&R. Wemontage.com is a go. By the way Doggie Day Care? Sure hole you had on some Cazals and a Kangol when you went in there. Lol!! Ahh how marriage domesticates us.
Thanks, man.
Let me know how you like it. I just found another two bottles of it at my favorite, local wine store.
Good story! Congratulations. Starting something makes everyday exciting.
Thanks, Daniel. Really glad you enjoyed the post. Things are exciting for sure.
Congratulations. I would say you are the proud Dad of triplets. :-)
Triplets? Oh man! I guess so. Twins, plus the startup. Triplets indeed.
Congrats again my friend! Never doubted for one moment that you would get in.
Appreciate the vote of confidence. The accelerator has been great so far. It's pretty great being surrounded by so many entrepreneurs, with so much passion.
Oh, and everyone is A-D-D like me!
Great story. Thanks for sharing James! I'm a triplet myself so I (or more accurately, my parents) can definitely somewhat relate to having your hands full with twins. ;)
Check out what we're up to at CoFoundersLab, http://www.cofounderslab.com/, a free online matching platform to help entrepreneurs, like yourself, solve this exact problem of finding a co-founder. Accelerators often do look at team first. It's possible to get in as a solo founder, but your odds certainly increase with a great team.
We've made dozens of matches already, like Mobiplug, a TechStars Boulder 2012 grad that found their 3rd co-founder with us and recently raised a $2.7M Series A! More on their story here: http://www.cofounderslab.com/find-a-co-founder/su…
But don't take my word for it, listen to David Cohen, co-founder and CEO of TechStars, talk about why and how TechStars uses our platform for team-building and what he looks for when accepting applicants to the program (hint: TEAM is key!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_xZn_Y2ZIE&fe…
Good luck to you!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
I agree team is very important. I watched the video and think it's amazing CoFoundersLab has been a great asset for TechStars. The one thing TechStars has going for it, among many, is the ecosystems in its locations. Unfortunately, the ecosystem is not as robust in the city in which my accelerator is located. Thus, it's less likely CoFoundersLab will be able to help me.
I went on the site and did a quick search and my suspicions were verified. There just aren't enough people engaged in my city compared to Seattle, NY, etc.
That said, if you have any other suggestions, I would be keen to hear them.
Again, thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to comment.
Cheers.