Why I do startup stuff. . .
October 16, 2009
The other day my business partner, Scott Ryan, asked me why I do startup stuff like Barcamp, Pitchcamp, Startup Happy Hour, SpringStage and Startup Weekend. He suggested that these events don’t really make us any money and they take a lot of time. I am a pretty good debater and normally I would come argue his premise that they ‘don’t make us any money’, but this time I actually thought about the real question - ‘why do you do all this startup stuff?’
First, for those of you just tuning in, I endeavor to be an instigator or catalyst for entrepreneurial activity here in the Dallas area. Back in 2005 I started this blog to share my experiences and thoughts about entrepreneurship. As a result, over the years, I have had the privileged of meeting thousands of entrepreneurs. Some just pick up the phone and call me - at least one or two catch me everyday. More simply email me - I respond to about 75% of the messages I get from entrepreneurs. There are even some who come by the office to meet. In almost all cases they are looking for feedback and advice - something I am not shy about sharing. My pet peeve - I will not sign an NDA, but I never ask for anything in return. I don’t want their cash or their stock - I am happy to share my experience, opinions and advice for free. Additionally, we (i.e. me and Scott my partner) host a happy hour for entrepreneurs each month and we even buy the drinks. Finally, we opened our offices at the INFOMART as a coworking space and server colocation to anyone working on a startup at no cost - we ask for nothing in return.
With this background I will try to answer Scott’s question. First and foremost I want to help Dallas become known for its startup and entrepreneurial community. When I started my first company my father advised me to move to Silicon Valley - I stubbornly stayed and set out to prove I could start my company and raise money right here in Dallas. Now that I am in my late thirties I thought it was time for to quit complaining about how our startup community ’sucks’ and start doing something to make it better.
You might ask yourself why I am writing this post today. For the past year I have wanted to bring an event born in Boulder, CO called Startup Weekend to Dallas. The planets finally aligned and we were able to schedule the event later next month (Nov. 20-22). I blogged about the event and sent out emails to people I hoped would participate. Turns out a number of people were turned off by the $75 charge for the event. Several people commented that I was being opportunistic, making money off of entrepreneurs. Others suggested that I ‘generally’ take advantage of entrepreneurs on a regular basis. They claimed that I ask entrepreneurs to pay (cash or stock) for my assistance. I was floored by the comments. I have NEVER taken cash or stock from an entrepreneur who participated in one of my events. I have NEVER taken cash or stock from any of the thousands entrepreneurs who have called, emailed or visited me. There are a few guys who locate equipment in our data center and they have tried to pay us, but in each case I have refused payment.
In a single case I went into business with an entrepreneur who I met at one of the happy hour events. Far from asking for cash or stock, we invested $700,000 in the business and I am excited to announce that looks as though will be the best deal I have ever done. I think my partner agrees.
So what about the $75? The funny part is that I am not charging the fee, the folks from Startup Weekend are. They are flying down, renting hotel rooms and providing meals - the fee is simply to cover their expenses. The Eventbrite account is NOT mine. So for those of you who are concerned that I am making money off of entrepreneurs be assured I am not. I have received more than I deserve from our community - I hope this is clear.
