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?