How I Fixed It

Jesse is the cofounder of CodeLingo, a startup building tools to help developers collaborate THROUGHOUT their work. I talk to Jesse about his unexpected path in entrepreneurship and lessons selling to developers instead of ordinary consumers!  

To learn more about CodeLingo, visit https://codelingo.io 

P.S. Some fancy words Jesse used:
- Codebase: All of the code used in an application.
- Pull Request: a process after a small piece of code has been written and tested, where it is added to all the existing code in an application.
- Technical debt: the cost of choosing an easy solution now vs. a harder solution that is more efficient in the long run.
- Devtools: developer tools. These are softwares that help programmers while they code.
- Github: A website that lets programmers store and share their code with others, who can copy and modify this code.
- API: Application Programming Interface. Fancy term for a tool others can use to interact with your code, even from different computers.
- Principles: the guiding 'rules' of a company.
- Vision: what the future world looks like if a company achieves its goals.
- ToFu: Top of funnel (ex: a customer visits a website). MoFu: Middle of Funnel (ex: a customer asks for product specifications). BoFu: Bottom of funnel (ex: a customer adds a product to their cart).
- The funnel: the sales funnel. A model where a lot of customers hear about a company, a few try the product, fewer still end up buying, and so on. Fewer customers at the end of the sales process are like the narrowing neck of a real-life funnel.
- Funnel activities: At each step, a business does 'activities' to keep customers going to the next step, like making an engaging website to keep customers from clicking away before seeing the product.
- Stickyness: Just a word to describe how well something retains customers. Ex: If the business' newsletter doesn't have readers unsubscribing, it is 'sticky'.
- Churn: The % of customers a business loses over time. Ex: Subscribers that cancel their subscription each month.  
- Boilerplate: Repetitive code that follows a template, without any unique parts. Ex: Code to login to a website.  

Timeline
00:00 Introduction
02:30 Solving Problems for Yourself
05:54 How the Product Works
07:28 Differentiating the Product
09:41 Marketing 101
12:38 Pitching to Developers
15:12 Pitching to Commercial Buyers
17:26 Authentic Entrepreneurship

Dr. Mead has decades of experience working on biotechnology, patenting a method called TA Cloning which has sold over a billion dollars! And now, he's working on another company that could help discover drugs from nature 10x more quickly.  

To learn more about Varigen, visit http://varigenbiosciences.com/ 

P.S. Dr. Mead used a LOT of technical terms. I defined them all here: https://cutt.ly/VWMHMJ2 

Timeline
00:00 Introduction
01:23 Dr. Mead's career path
06:31 Mini-science brief
08:32 Upside of academic setting
09:32 Following your interest
10:56 Challenges in academia + biotech
12:17 How to find biotech problems
13:23 Upside of industrial setting
14:24 Lessons learned the hard way
18:21 Dr. Mead's latest work
22:15 What's next for Dr. Mead

Paige is the cofounder of Nyoka Design Labs, a biotechnology startup that uses microbes to replace harsh chemicals. I talk to Paige about her unexpected path in entrepreneurship as she learned to lead on the job!  

These are some books Paige recommends to learn about leadership and self-awareness:
- Tools of Titans by Tim Ferris
- The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
- The Secret Life of Your Mind by Mariano Sigman
- Whole Earth Discipline by Stewart Brand
- The Hidden Reality by Brian Greene
- 419 by Will Ferguson  

To learn more about Nyoka, visit https://www.lightbynyoka.com/

P.S. Some fancy words Paige used:
- Bioluminescence: when living organisms create light
- UVic: the University of Victoria in Canada
- Kickstarter: a fundraising platform where anyone can contribute or start a project
- IndieBio: a startup accelerator that helps biotechnology companies grow  

Timeline
00:00 Introduction
01:10 How did you start?
03:16 Transition to entrepreneurship
05:11 Curiousity behind leadership
08:20 Complementary team strengths
09:54 How to identify strengths
12:16 Building confidence to lead
15:00 Just do it
17:44 Making contrarian decisions
20:16 Recommended Resources

Julie is one of the cofounders of Mabel's Labels, a company that makes durable labels for lunchboxes, and many other things! I talk to Julie about her initial beginning, teamwork, and how she navigated her company's expansion.

You can visit Mabel's Label's here:  https://mabelslabels.com/en_US/

Chapters:

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

1:06 Who is Julie Cole?

5:35 Origin of Mabel's Labels

8:11 The mom market

9:03 Romanticized entrepreneurship and building community

12:22 Educating your market

14:00 Making the original product to streamlining

15:38 What to do when feeling discouraged

18:04 You're not alone

18:53 Meeting the team

20:40 Don't close yourself to one thing

22:00 Work on the business, not in the business

27:16 The importance of attitude

30:00 Delegation

31:00 What would you do differently?

Javier is the cofounder of Afino, a startup that helps employees better engage with remote work. I talk to Javier about his experience with understanding users' needs and growing his own self-awareness!  

These are some books Javier recommends to learn about building products:
- The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
- Inspired by Marty Cagan
- Purple Cow by Seth Godin  
To learn more about Afino, visit www.afino.io  

P.S. Some fancy words Javier used:
- QICSI: The Queens Innovation Centre Summer Initiative. An entrepreneurship accelerator that Javier attended at his university.
- 5 Whys: A process where you ask why five times to find the root cause of a problem. More information here: www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/plays/5-whys
- MVP: Minimum viable product. The most basic version of a product that entrepreneurs can create to check their ideas.
- Product Hunt: A platform that compiles new startup products from around the world.  

Timeline
00:00 Introduction
01:20 How did you start?
02:58 Pivots in the Pandemic
04:25 Finding the root cause
10:31 Real problems vs. user ideas
13:45 Hard lessons learned
16:03 Testing prototypes
17:25 Measuring progress
20:55 Reading recommendations
22:35 How to read   
24:02 Life routines

Alessandra is the cofounder of Algi, a company that makes energy bars with algae! I talk to Alessandra about her company, how she's navigating sustainability, and how we as consumers can navigate those same issues.  

You can visit Algi at:   http://algifoods.com

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

1:25 What does the bar taste like?

3:17 Getting people to try something new

4:30 Sustainability

9:07 Target demographics

14:55 Reflecting progress

15:27 Organizing/action plans

21:49 What to do when you feel like you aren't making progress

25:42 Celebrating

Kurtis is the cofounder of Maesos Technologies, a startup that builds smart sensors for farmers to manage crops. I talk to Kurtis about his VAST experience with user interviews and user personas today.  

These are some books Kurtis recommends to learn about users:
- The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick
- The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
- Escaping the Build Trap by Melissa Perri
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg  

To learn more about Maesos, visit www.maesos.com/  

P.S. Some fancy words Kurtis used:
- Scouting: When farmers visually inspect their crops to check for signs of damage.
- IoT: The Internet of Things. Kurtis uses it to refer to sensors in farms that can send data between each other via wifi / cellular data.
- Cash Crops: Crops sold to earn a profit, rather than for personal consumption. For example, corn.
- Wind Machine: A tool for farmers that lets them move warm air onto crops to avoid freezing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg2rIiF7VXo
- Concept: An entrepreneurship training program for students at the University of Waterloo.  

Timeline
0:00 Intro
01:11 How did you start?
02:50 Describe your product
04:30 Finding the problem
09:03 Choosing Exploratory Questions
13:14 Reviewing Interview Data
17:43 Making User Personas
20:46 Choosing Validation Questions
24:08 Importance of Interviews
26:31 Scheduling Interviews
28:51 Recommended Resources

Ayush is the cofounder of Change Room, an app that helps customers find local sustainable fashion stores. But it wasn't always like that. I talk to Ayush about his three-year journey making several pivots to get to where he is today.  

To learn more about Ayush's company, visit www.changeroom.io  

P.S. Some fancy words Ayush used:
- DECA: A highschool business club in North America that teaches students about topics including entrepreneurship.  
- MVP: Minimum Viable Product. The simplest version of a product you can use to test your business idea.  
- Ontario Summer Program: Also known as the Summer Company program, this is a grant in Ontario, Canada to support students in starting companies.
- Parliament Hill: In the capital city of Canada, Ottawa.
- Marketplace: an online platform that connects buyers and sellers. Like Ebay or Shopify.  
- React Native: A programming tool based on the Javascript language. It is used to create mobile apps.  
- Waterloo: Ayush says this referring to the University of Waterloo in Canada.
- Velocity: An entrepreneurship pitch competition for students at the University of Waterloo.  
- Software as a Service / SaaS: A software product that is delivered over the Internet (ex: a mobile app or an online software).  
- Boutique: A small store that usually sells luxury products like clothing.  
- Retailer: A store that sells goods from manufacturers to everyday consumers.  

Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:14 How did you start?
3:42 Basic Validation
6:01 Finding a cofounder
6:42 Complicated Tech Issues
8:39 Better Validation Tips
12:00 Talking to Customers
14:37 Iterating from Feedback
16:14 Just Apply
18:31 Making Bad Assumptions
21:31 Finding Advisors
22:49 Cold Calling Tips
25:52 Their Current Product
27:57 Picking a Niche
28:53 Reflecting on Pivots

Arda is the Chief Communications Officer of Roll Scooters, an e-scooter company operating in several cities across Canada. We talk about his experiences starting a company as an immigrant to Canada and all the lessons he had to learn along the way.  

To learn more about Arda's company, visit www.rollscooters.com/
Arda also recommends these books to learn about entrepreneurship: Venture Deals, Running Lean, Obviously Awesome, and The Lean Startup.
And these websites when doing market research: CB Insights, Betakit, Crunchbase, and other companies' blogs.  

P.S. Some fancy words Arda used:
- Technical cofounder: in startups, the cofounder who creates the product (ex: programming software). Usually, not all cofounders will work on the product.
- VC: Venture Capital. Venture capital companies invest directly in individual startups so that startups can access the money they need to build their business.
- Angel. Angels are individual investors. They invest in startups at a very early stage (maybe even before a product is built).
- Lean Startup Movement. A book called The Lean Startup gives very widely-used advice on how to start a business. The community of entrepreneurs who use the book's lessons are part of the Lean Startup Movement.
- Techstars. This is one of the largest startup incubators in the US. Many companies will join a startup incubator, almost like a 'industry association.' They get benefits like access to advisors, funding, and more.
- Heuristic Design. A design process where you create a checklist of criteria that your product must fulfill. For example, a criteria that a website takes under 3 seconds to load. Every time you change your design, you go back to this checklist and make sure you're meeting all criteria still.  
- User interview. A design process where you invite customers to try out a new product design before it's released to the public. You interview the user to get feedback on what to improve about your product.  

Timeline
0:00 Intro
1:01 How did you start?
2:16 What is Roll Scooters?
3:43 Starting entrepreneurship  
7:11 Challenges while scaling?
9:00 Lessons from failure?
12:24 How to measure success?
13:35 Doing everything at once
17:25 Value of mentors?
18:03 How to use customer data?
20:48 Dealing with competition
21:52 User interview/design tips

Will is the founder of Zentein Nutrition, an health-focused protein bar brand. We talk about his experiences starting his ecommerce company while being a student at Western University in Canada. Also, how he built such a positive customer base for Zentein!  

To learn more about Will's company, visit www.zentein.ca
Will also recommends this tool for SEO: www.ahrefs.com  

P.S. When Will mentions 'Western' / 'Ivey', he's talking about Western University. And though he said he had to do 300 pages of reading / week, that was his own choice in case anyone's worried :D  

Timeline
0:00 Intro
1:06 How did you start?
2:40 How to validate ideas
5:45 Stressful pivot
7:31 Startup Accelerator Benefits
9:26 Maintaining mentors/networks
11:40 Student Founder Pros/Cons
14:17 Amazing Ecommerce Branding
16:48 Ecommerce Resources?
18:03 How to use customer data?
20:21 Managing Interns
24:01 Reflecting on mistakes
26:05 Any big failures?

Hanna is the cofounder of Cove, a startup building an app to prevent mental crises. We talk more about her experiences designing this app while not being able to talk to mental health patients (due to ethics restrictions). She definitely found creative ways to get around that problem!  

To learn more about Hanna's company, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ5TZ-2vn0I  

P.S. Some fancy words Hanna used:
- UI design = user interface design. Making decisions about the literal visuals users see (ex: a blue button or a red one?)
- UX design = user experience design. Making decisions about the overall process users have (ex: is it easier to sign in with email or with Google?)  

Timeline:
0:00 Intro
1:00 How did you start?
3:34 What's your background?
4:45 Design tips in healthcare
8:32 User interview issues
10:45 User interview alternatives
13:37 Handling mixed feedback
20:55 Any big failures?

Sam is the cofounder of Vision Spatial Technologies, a startup that builds safety equipment for recreational facilities like ski resorts. We talk more about his experiences with mentorship, build-measure-learn cycles, and MVPs in this interview.   

To learn more about Sam's company, visit www.visionspatialtech.com  

P.S. Some fancy words Sam used:
- MVP = minimum viable product. The least complicated product that allows you to test if your business idea makes sense.  
- Build, measure, learn cycles = cycles of building an iteration of a product, measuring data (ex: user signup rate), and analysing that data to see if the product iteration is successful.  
- Compliant Mechanism = A flexible 3D printed part that can bend to perform its task.
- Raspberry Pi = A type of 'mini-computer' that can fit in the palm of your hand. It can take in data from sensors (ex: temperature sensors) and send that data to other electronics (ex: a wifi transmitter).
- Backend server = a computer running that deals with parts of software that users don't interact with. For example, saving and retrieving data like user settings.  

Timeline
0:00 Intro
1:03 How did you start?  
3:16 What is your product?
4:28 How to measure good ideas?
8:16 How to test MVP?
10:35 How to improve MVP?
15:32 What are design cycles?
20:33 Accountability in design cycles?
21:58 Getting unstuck in design cycles?
23:28 Benefits of mentorship?
27:33 How to maintain mentorships?