When Duo Security sold to Cisco for $2.35 billion it was basically like the moon landing for the Ann Arbor startup community. Most of us had nothing to do with it, but we all remember where we were when we heard about it and still feel extremely felt proud of and connected to their success. Everybody does. It's not just the money though, it's how they did it. Everybody employee had equity. They stayed in Ann Arbor when it must have been tempting to move to the Valley. They always stayed present and accessible. It reminds me of the Pistons winning championships with hard work and toughness. For some reason it's extra satisfying when the values of the team reflect the values of the community. And that's really what this episode is about. Dug Song is going to explain how Duo didn't succeed in spite of their midwest values and ties to the community - they succeeded because of those things. You should know about two things Dug started that you can get involved in: The first is the Ann Arbor Entrepreneurs Fund (A2EF). A2EF is essentially a club for startup founders. Here's what it is and why Dug and his wife invested a million dollars to get it off the ground.The second is a monthly meetup called A2 New Tech, which is basically the friendly front door for the Ann Arbor startup community. I get value from it every single time I go. This is the last episode of Finding Your Venture for 2020. The podcast is funded by the University of Michigan Center for Academic Innovation for two more years so we'll be back next spring with more lessons and stories. The podcast is designed like a Wikipedia page. You can scan the episode titles and get the gist of the message, and if you see something interesting you can click and go deeper. This year we made an effort to feature a more diverse set of storytellers and we'll continue to do better in the years ahead. I learn so much from the diverse and interesting students in our course and building those relationships is far and away the #1 reason we teach. Teaching and creating has been an antidote to the gusher of bad news and fear spewing from my phone. People are good. You'll never regret investing time and resources into relationships with the people around you. Thanks for spending this time listening to the stories I love.

Finding Your Venture

26: Building Your Community is What Matters – Dug Song

Stories are 22x more memorable than facts. So telling a good story is essential for attracting customers, investors, co-founders, and employees. But what if your story is sort of weird and unconventional? And what about protecting your idea from competitors? The potential benefit of talking to people about the problem you're solving and what you're working on is enormous. Your biggest competitor at the start is the world's indifference. When you talk about your company and ask for help, you're activating a support network that can help you. And if you're a decent person then your network is huge and powerful, even if you don't know it. You're going to hear a story from Erika Block about how a story that doesn't make sense at first can evolve to be effective and compelling. Erika is a serial entrepreneur who has started a theater company, two technology startups, and a coaching business.

25: Share Your Idea Early and Often – Erika Block

Is it better to start a company now, or get a job first? Students ask this question all the time and obviously there's no right answer. The case for starting now is that you don't have a lot to lose. Some day you'll have a job making a lot of money and then it will be harder to walk away. The case for waiting is that you'll gain experience and contacts in a job that will make you more likely to succeed in a startup down the road. I'm in my forties and let me tell you - this question never really resolves itself. My friends and I still ask ourselves these sorts of questions all the time. Since there's no single correct path to having a career you're happy with I tell students not to overthink it too much. Be bold, try the things you're interested in, and be ready to make a change if you know it's not right. The story you're going to hear is from Dawn Verbrigghe, founder and CEO of Jottful. Dawn has a fine arts degree from the University of Michigan and took a winding path to becoming a technology entrepreneur. After college she lived in Southern California, Northern California, New York, London, and Amman, Jordan. But before we jump ahead let's hear about how Dawn grew up and what some of her early influences were. Music credit: Thank you, Grammatik!

24: (Don’t Overthink It) There’s No One Path to Success – Dawn Verbrigghe

Raising money is time and labor intensive - it's not possible to pitch everybody. So your goal is to find the right investors as quickly as possible. And here's the secret: They are just like you. Investors are just entrepreneurs trying to make money. And if you understand their strategy then it becomes obvious whether or not your business is a good fit. You can literally ask them what that strategy is and determine whether you're a fit or not. Paul Brown is a managing director at eLab - a venture capital firm with offices in Ann Arbor and Palo Alto. He's also a regent of the University- and before he was elected Regent, Paul taught this class. He's one of the reasons it's the best entrepreneurship class on campus. Of all the great lessons Paul taught in the course, my favorite is the way he demystifies venture capital. Some venture capitalists cultivate an air of wisdom and intimidation. Paul doesn't do that. So let's start by hearing Paul explain who venture capitalists are and how venture funds work.

23: Find Investors That Match Your Startup – Paul Brown

One of the first things every startup should do is form an advisory board. An Advisory Board is a magical mental construct that gives you access to all of the skills and experience you need but don't have. It's an excuse to regularly talk to smart people without paying them very much and if you're not doing it then you're leaving your best player on the bench. Kate Putnam is an angel investor and helps lots of founders as an advisor. After a quick introduction Kate is going to talk about what it means to be on an advisory board and how companies can benefit. We'll talk about how to find advisors, how to compensate them, and the difference between an advisory board and a board of directors.

22: Form an Advisory Board, It’s Cheap and Valuable – Kate Putnam

I used to think Mission Statements were just a nice idea. That was before I ever faced an existential crisis as a leader. In the moments when I had to lay off my friends, or got sued, or watched revenue fall off a cliff I had zero good options, no idea what was going to happen, and yet I had to make a decision and take action. In those darkest of moments the only thing that helped was remembering why we even started the company in the first place. What do we value? In those moments where everything looks terrible you want to have a mission statement that actually means something. That you actually believe with all of your heart. Because if it's just empty words, then in that toughest of moments, you really have nothing. And you'll lose heart and give up. So now you're going to hear a crazy story of this actually happening. This story is brought to you from Delcie Bean. Delcie is the founder and CEO of Paragus IT. He's going to introduce himself and the dive right into the story. Then we'll circle back and define terms and walk through how to do this for your company.

21: Mission, Vision, Values, and Purpose Make Impossible Decisions Possible – Delcie Bean

Being a leader means unlocking the potential of the people you work with. Some people are naturals at this, but the rest of us need to be intentional about it and work hard at it. And most of the time we don't do it because it feels like a waste of time. That's what this episode is about. You're going to hear from Dawn Leaks who is the CEO of Lioness Magazine. Lioness is a media company focused on female entrepreneurs, and Dawn is really thoughtful about what it means to be a great teammate. So let's start by hearing about Lioness and how the company got started. Music Credit: Grammatik

20: Invest in Your Teammates – Dawn Leaks

In this episode we explore the intersection of your personal and professional lives. As much as we all try to keep these things separate - it's impossible. As the whole world starts working from home this fact has been on display in Zoom calls around the world. But it's always been true. The people we spend time with at work and at home are crucial to our happiness and success. Chris Nolte is founder and CEO of Per'La Specialty Roasters in Miami, FL. This episode starts with some background about the coffee business and how Per'La got started. Then in the second half we talk about the importance of maintaining positive relationships in your startup and at home.

19: Find Great Partners (in Startups and in Life) – Chris Nolte

Sometimes we're the last ones to see and appreciate our own growth and potential. This is true for a lot of students who are becoming adults. Transitioning into the professional world is strange when you've been a kid your whole life. But the work you've put into school and jobs and learning about life hasn't been for nothing. You know more than you give yourself credit for and if you choose to start a business there are people who will pay you for your talent. In our class we force everyone to do customer discovery and a lot of people ask "why would anyone talk to me about this stuff when I'm just a student?" And my answer is "You're not just a student." You're a smart curious person who's interested in making something better. You understand technology in ways that don't come as naturally to older generations. And sure, a lot of people will be too busy to engage with you, but for some people you might be exactly what they're looking for. Lisa Sauve is Founder and CEO at Synecdoche Design Studio. In this episode you'll hear Lisa describe the transition from architecture student to startup founder. We hope that hearing her story will help you feel more confident approaching customers for your new venture. Music Credit: Grammatik

18: You’re Not Just a Student – Lisa Sauve

When you form a company the goal is to create something that will have a bigger impact on the world than you could have as an individual. It's up to you what that impact looks like. For some people that means money. But impact is about more than money. Whether your goal is to dismantle systemic racism, fight climate change or to solve a problem that is interesting to you, forming a venture means establishing a structure that can scale beyond you. Christie Wong Barrett is the CEO of MacArthur Corporation. MacArthur is an automotive supplier. During normal times they make stickers and labels used in manufacturing. During the COVID-19 pandemic MacArthur got invited to do something different but important. This is the story of how they responded.

17: Organizations Can Do More Than Individuals – Christie Wong Barrett

Nothing makes me feel worse about myself than reading about somebody else's giant fundraising success. Since revenue numbers for private companies aren't public information, fundraising PR is the best way to pick at that scab of self doubt sitting in my subconscious. And I know it's not the thing that matters. I know this. But I forget sometimes and need to be reminded. That's where Alisyn Malek steps in to save me. Alisyn graduated from the University of Michigan College of Engineering. She worked at GM for almost eight years before starting a company called May Mobility. May Mobility has taken a different approach to deploying autonomous vehicles - one that is actually working - and this year they are the third fastest growing company in Detroit. Alisyn is so cool. And I'm excited for you to hear her story. Song Credit: Grammatik Photo Credit: TechCrunch

16: Raising Money Isn’t the Point – Alisyn Malek

There are 7.8 billion people in the world and you just need a handful of them to care about your startup. So it makes sense that most people you reach out to are going to ignore you. But for a lot of us that rejection feels bad. And that's why the #1 most common issue I see among rising (and experienced) entrepreneurs is that they haven't pitched enough people to draw any conclusions about what's happening. Yesterday I talked to somebody who sent three emails and was stuck because nobody replied. That's an example of getting discouraged too quickly. You're going to hear a story from Jen Baird that will recalibrate your expectations about how many people you need to pitch. Jen is a 5x founder. Her best known win was with Accuri Cytometers, which was sold for $205M to Johnson & Johnson in 2011. Today she's the CEO at FifthEye. You're going to hear her talk about why you have to pitch lots of people before you can start drawing any conclusions about the opportunity. Music Credit: We'd like to thank Gramatik for our theme music for Season Two, "Muy Tranquilo".

15: You Probably Haven’t Pitched Enough People – Jen Baird

Have you ever felt like you don't belong? It sucks. The list of things that can make you feel like an outsider goes on forever. Race, gender, sexual orientation. Your age. Every startup founder I know has felt like a misfit at some point and here's why that's not a coincidence : The world as we know it was built by 'normal' people - so normal people don't see anything wrong with it. Being 'weird' or different gives you an advantage in locating problems and imagining a future that is different but better. The story you're going to hear is from Kim Gamez - founder and CEO of Mi Padrino. She's a mother of five from the midwest who dropped out of beauty school to become an entrepreneur. She raised venture capital to launch a party planning app used by more than more than a million users in the Hispanic events market. She's funny and confident and determined to win. I hope you hear something you can relate to in her story. Thank you to Gramatik for allowing us to use "Muy Tranquillo" as our theme music during Season Two.

14: Being Different is Your Advantage – Kim Gamez

Did you know that 0.05% of startups raise venture capital? Some startups require venture capital to succeed but most do not. And because focus is our only competitive advantage in the early days, it can be harmful to put too much emphasis on fundraising. Especially fundraising that is actually just thinly veiled vanity. Raising money is like buying gas on a road trip: sometimes you need to do it, but it's definitely not the main objective. And there are a hundred ways to raise money. The more expansive your thinking is about fundraising, the less trapped you'll feel in your startup. In this episode we'll hear how MySwimPro skipped venture capital and raised money from their customers Fares Ksebati is the Founder and CEO of MySwimPro. Fares is like a flywheel of positive energy that is completely genuine and fun to be around. Fares's enthusiasm is contagious and it was a pleasure hosting him at my house in Ann Arbor to tell this story.  

13: Be a Creative Fundraiser – Fares Ksebati

I didn't appreciate our legal system until my company got sued It's a funny story now that I'd be happy to tell you over a beer - but at the time it was scary. I was afraid that we would lose our company, but I was even more afraid that I would lose my house and somehow put my family's future in jeopardy. Neither of those things happened, and in many ways this is a result of how our legal system is structured. Believe it or not, the United States is a still an incredibly great place to start a company. It's easy and inexpensive to do so legally, and doing that creates a separation between you and your company. If you're thoughtful about a few key things when you're starting your company, you'll save time and money and stress down the road. But lawyers cost money, so startups avoid them So for this episode I asked Joe Morrison - one of the best startup lawyers in Ann Arbor - what advice he would give a new entrepreneur that he met at a cocktail party. Off the record. Friend to friend.  Joe represents early and high-growth companies in an outside general counsel capacity. He focuses on technology-enabled emerging companies and the venture capital firms that invest in them. In Ann Arbor he's known as a very approachable resource with a ton of reps under his belt. Rather than overwhelm you with how smart he is, he does a great job of simplifying things that can easily become complex. Joe and I recorded this story at the Bodman offices in downtown Ann Arbor.

12: Get the Legal Basics Right – Joe Morrison

Lessons and Stories for Rising Entrepreneurs: Produced in partnership with University of Michigan Center for Entrepreneurship

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Finding Your Venture

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