We delivered a presentation and had a great discussion at NYTFA last night. We had an active discussion, talking about the qualities of an entrepreneur, how startups today are different from those in the past, and gave examples from our own experience building and operating Chatfe. When you think about and work with these questions like we have, the examples are personal.
Entrepreneurial thinking can come from anywhere. I talked about Laura Gilbert, an artist friend who exemplifies entrepreneurial thinking to me. She came out with a Zero Dollar bill print during the 2008 financial crisis, which was a great blend of creativity, market timing and execution.
To show how startups have changed since the dotcom and telecom bubble I introduced elements of Lean Startup methodology, by talking about my experience at cocktail parties over the years. Of course, we gave shout-outs to Eric Ries and Steve Blank, who have both influenced us a lot. And then we went on to share some examples of the way we built and operate Chatfe structured around keeping costs low and learning continually from customers. Even in our private beta phase there’s a ton of learning.
Thanks again to NYTFA for a great meeting and for the active discussion.
