1 00:00:01,010 --> 00:00:02,050 - So we just spent a bunch of time 2 00:00:02,050 --> 00:00:04,040 talking about startup opportunities 3 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:07,050 and how to think about, evaluate, 4 00:00:07,050 --> 00:00:12,000 start executing around a new idea that you may have. 5 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:13,030 One of the most powerful things 6 00:00:13,030 --> 00:00:18,010 to do is explore lots of other avenues of information. 7 00:00:18,010 --> 00:00:20,010 There's a lot of stuff on LinkedIn Learning 8 00:00:20,010 --> 00:00:21,090 that take you to the next step 9 00:00:21,090 --> 00:00:24,030 in terms of the evaluation of your idea 10 00:00:24,030 --> 00:00:27,050 into developing the first company and the product. 11 00:00:27,050 --> 00:00:29,020 But there's lots of other people who 12 00:00:29,020 --> 00:00:30,080 have written about and are doing things 13 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:32,060 today that are really helpful. 14 00:00:32,060 --> 00:00:35,040 Examples of writers around startups 15 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:36,090 that are worth paying close attention 16 00:00:36,090 --> 00:00:39,050 to include Eric Ries, who has written 17 00:00:39,050 --> 00:00:43,040 a magnificent book called Lean Startup 18 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:46,010 that really helps you think about the dynamics 19 00:00:46,010 --> 00:00:50,010 around how to get a startup from the very beginning 20 00:00:50,010 --> 00:00:53,010 to that minimum viable product. 21 00:00:53,010 --> 00:00:54,050 And you think about people and think 22 00:00:54,050 --> 00:00:58,050 about your own career, books like the Start-up of You 23 00:00:58,050 --> 00:01:01,040 from Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha 24 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,000 are really helpful, just in terms of your own 25 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,050 introspection around becoming an entrepreneur 26 00:01:06,050 --> 00:01:08,040 and how you're going to do things. 27 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,040 Getting out in the world and actually 28 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:13,070 practicing entrepreneurship is key. 29 00:01:13,070 --> 00:01:17,040 I talk a lot about this in my book, Startup Communities, 30 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:19,070 but I'd encourage you not just to read books 31 00:01:19,070 --> 00:01:22,030 but to actually go participate in things 32 00:01:22,030 --> 00:01:25,000 like Startup Weekends, which is really 33 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,000 a 54-hour simulation of entrepreneurship. 34 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:29,050 So it's a chance for you to spend a long 35 00:01:29,050 --> 00:01:33,030 weekend with 99 of your closest friends or so, 36 00:01:33,030 --> 00:01:35,060 actually creating startups from scratch 37 00:01:35,060 --> 00:01:38,020 and going through the exercise in a very compressed 38 00:01:38,020 --> 00:01:40,020 time period of dealing with lots 39 00:01:40,020 --> 00:01:41,090 of the stuff we've talked about, 40 00:01:41,090 --> 00:01:43,060 even if at the end of the Startup Weekend, 41 00:01:43,060 --> 00:01:45,010 you throw away the idea and don't do 42 00:01:45,010 --> 00:01:47,070 anything with it, that practical experience 43 00:01:47,070 --> 00:01:50,050 is incredibly powerful, and don't lose 44 00:01:50,050 --> 00:01:53,000 sight of mechanisms like Techstars 45 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,080 and other accelerators that help you 46 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:58,050 with a group of your peers, go through 47 00:01:58,050 --> 00:02:00,010 a period of time where you're actually 48 00:02:00,010 --> 00:02:02,070 creating the startup, but with mentors 49 00:02:02,070 --> 00:02:05,000 and with mentorship around you that can 50 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,070 really help you accelerate the activity 51 00:02:07,070 --> 00:02:09,050 that you're doing so that the three months 52 00:02:09,050 --> 00:02:11,080 that a Techstars Accelerator is is actually 53 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,040 two years of real-life work. 54 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:17,020 Don't be bashful about not just sharing 55 00:02:17,020 --> 00:02:18,090 your idea with other people, 56 00:02:18,090 --> 00:02:21,070 but actively engaging with them around 57 00:02:21,070 --> 00:02:25,060 the construct of exploring and developing your business. 58 00:02:25,060 --> 00:02:28,000 And with that, good luck.