Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and Built to Last, talks about assembling the right people on the bus, and in the right seats, before deciding where to drive it. Ryan and I took that to heart, particularly as we started this endeavor.
Upon meeting him, and in the initial weeks that followed, I peppered Ryan with plenty of interview-style questions, drilling towards the root of his motivations, experiences, and personality. Ryan did much the same with me. And in the end, when he asked himself, "can this guy with the (marvelous) beard be trusted," fortunately, his answer was "yes."
We've found that where one of us has weakness, the other has strength. And when one of us is making bad assumptions, the other one provides checks and balances. Ultimately, ideas are stronger after they tumble through our ideation process. And sometimes, what comes out looks nothing like what went in; but, I guarantee it's better.
-Fran
~~~~~~~PROGRESS UPDATE~~~~~~~~
As we get closer to launch later this month, and as the list of to-do items dwindles (and they are replaced with new to-do items) we have two major objectives:
1. Finish the Minimum Viable Product (MVP), which will be used for our initial launch.
2. Secure external funding, which will help us grow our team and expand our service/feature offering.
Ryan is delivering #1 and I'm driving #2. We've seen progress on both fronts. Ryan spends most his time with our developers, Bob and Logan, creating and testing. I spend my time learning about the financing process and interfacing with individuals who have experience in this area. We've even been approached by folks wanting to invest. Exciting times!**
**We've been bootstrapping our efforts for quite some time, and we are approaching the point where it makes sense to raise capital. In fact, not doing so could limit our growth. Ryan and I believe strongly in lean start-up principles (i.e. be frugal and wise) as we steward resources. We will continue to champion these practices as we surpass milestones.
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