Entrepreneurship for Software Engineers

You might be an entrepreneur if…  You can visualize solutions without a requirements doc  UX/UI is important to you, even if it’s not your job  You code in C# or Java, because your job requires it, but you learned RoR or Python to see what it could do  You care about what customers want

The Paul Graham Test  You take work a little too seriously  You are genuinely smart  You get s*&t done  People can stand to be around you  You are willing to say, “I don’t know.”

You get frustrated…  When your employer responds slowly to customer needs  If there is a better way to build it (quickly)  Impact ≠ Reward  People around you “punch a clock”

…and you’re doing something about it  You contribute to open source projects  You participate in meet-ups, hackerspaces, blog, or contribute to discussion groups  You’re helping a start-up on the side  You’ve built a functional prototype

But do you have a company?  Is your product a feature, product, or business?  Is it a product or services business?

Do you have a customer?  Does your technology solve a current or future need?  Is it a big or small market?*  What do you know about the customer, the competition, technology and market trends?  Do you offer a “complete solution”?**

There is only one way to find out  Build a minimally viable product (MVP)  Architect in a way that allows for rapid prototyping, iteration and flexibility  Get customer feedback through interaction  Do it with the least possible $$$

 Build MVP and get some validation first  Your funding strategy depends on answers to the questions:  Feature, product or company?  Small or big addressable market  Success requires lots of help (read: $$$)  Marketing team, advisors, investors and employees  To get big fast requires giving up control (usually) Fundraising

 Read:  Read: dna/ dna/  Visit for more information on available resources and to applywww.jumpstartnetwork.org  Talk to Kendall Wouters If that sounds fun to you…

Or, Go Work For A Start-up

What Start-ups Are Looking For Core Values Technical Skills Adaptive Excellence

What Start-ups Are Looking For Core Values Match Technical Skills Match Has Adaptive Excellence

What Are Core Values?  Set of shared principles that unite a team  Reinforced each time someone is hired, rewarded or fired  Non-negotiable, do not change, even when strategies change  You either have them or you don’t

What is Culture? Where core values = how you do things

What Start-ups Are Looking For Core Values Match Technical Skills Match Has Adaptive Excellence

“Less than 2% of the population has what it takes to succeed in a high- growth technology business” - Adeo Ressi, The Founder Institute It Sounds Hard, Because It Is

Will You Get Paid?  Probably less than you make now, but hopefully not for long  Equity participation  Non-monetary benefits:  Impact  Autonomy  Mastery

What You Can Expect  Long hours  Uncertainty and dynamic/fluid strategy  No rule book  Accountability - nowhere to hide  Start-ups are risky, but…

 Visit for a list of open jobs at NEO technology start-upshttp://bit.ly/jHnNEF  Connect with entrepreneurs and help them in your spare time (try before you buy)  If that sounds fun to you…