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July 31, 2017 - No Comments!

Take the Leap: Reasons to Start Your Own Business

No matter what industry you find yourself in, at some point in time you find yourself thinking about what it would be like take the leap, and start your own business or company. Of course, like any big life decision, there are obstacles that we get hung up on when we consider making the jump. Sure, change and the unknown is always daunting. Add in the financial risk and it may be enough to scare off a good chunk of people.

However, what about the other side? Starting your own business can be the jolt of electricity you need to better every facet of your life. In order to find out some of the strongest reasons to start your own business, I talked to people who were brave enough to take the jump themselves. The first was Bernard Kavaler, Managing Editor at Connecticut by the Numbers. Next, I reached out to the awesome team at FourteenG, a creative marketing agency. Finally, I touched base with Dan Peleg, CEO of GlobeKeeper.

There are many reasons to start your own business, but one reason that Kavaler brought up, can best be described as the ability to combine opportunity and passion into your work:

“With a background in print and broadcast journalism and years of experience in state government, it was increasingly clear that there are a great many untold stories of what’s happening in Connecticut, often lost in the numbers of reports and analysis, in the work of small entrepreneurial business and non-profit organizations. I thought there might be an opportunity to share some of that, to help the word get out, to unearth some news – good and bad – that can impact and influence our lives in Connecticut. There are many publications, especially on the web, more interested in making heat; my goal was to shed some light.”

As Kavaler mentions above, he saw an opportunity to branch off and fill a void. That’s what having your own business allows you to do. You can capitalize and create what you think is missing in an industry or market. This is where the passion comes in. Naturally, if you are working on something that is your brainchild, you will have a passion and drive for that idea that cannot be matched by working on something that belongs to someone else. Working on something you truly believe in can have you accomplishing things you never thought you could. Kavaler mentioned the satisfaction he gets from pursuing his own idea, “Connecting the dots in ways that can shed light, help to inform people, share news that people can use, and not being restrained by arbitrary limitations can be quite satisfying.” Kavaler said, “If the articles on CT by the Numbers help get the word out about a policy or program, an innovation or collaboration, an event or initiative, that’s all to the good.” Peleg had a similar thought: “The satisfaction of seeing people using your product every day is unmatched.”

It’s obvious that Kavaler and Peleg derive great happiness and satisfaction from their businesses. Many people get stuck a rut of punching the clock and mailing it in, if you can turn your passion into your job, then life suddenly becomes more exciting. This makes it easier to put in the hours needed for a business to succeed. “If you like what you do, there’s no reason to stop doing it.” Kavaler said. The FourteenG team also talked about this idea:

“Every day we wake up excited about having unlimited opportunities. We meet great people and we work on fun and exciting projects. This morning, Mike (Shick) did an intense workout with our client BodyRoc. Then our team met up in Downtown Hartford for an event with Stackpole clothing store. Our clients are so unique. Every day is different. It doesn’t really feel like work. We’re just having fun with our friends.”

Another reason to start your own business is the flexibility it provides. “Starting your own business is about being flexible, adaptable and resilient.” The team at Fourteen G said, “One of the biggest reasons we started FourteenG was to have our own creative space without limits.” If you’re the boss, the limitations are what you place on the company yourself. This freedom allows you to take risks and sacrifice to succeed. According to Peleg, success is sweeter when you bet on yourself. “I think it's all about how much you are willing to sacrifice, and the more you sacrifice the more satisfaction you get when you achieve a success moment.”

So, to wrap up the discussion, being afraid to take the plunge is completely natural. Just know that the potential outcome can be so rewarding. I’ve had the privilege to talk to people, including this blog’s interviewees, who decided to take the chance. It’s inspiring to see people who believed in themselves enough to leap into the unknown. The FourteenG team believes that the leap is worth taking, “If you have a vision that you’re passionate about, take the leap and be prepared to keep leaping!” Finally, if you still feel hesitant about taking a chance, here are some words from Peleg:

“It is scary. If you believe in your idea, follow your dream. prepare yourself for something you never experienced before, the steepest rollercoaster of your life. Including the most euphoric moments as well as the most depressing ones, but isn't that what life are all about?”

He's right, it can be scary, but coworking communities can make the plunge a bit less frightening. At Upward Hartford, our aim is to provide a supportive environment, from the person working on their side business on the weekend, to the entrepreneur making their dream a reality. If you are ready to start something that is all your own, Upward Hartford is the place to be!

Thanks to Dan Peleg of GlobeKeeper, Bernard Kavaler of Connecticut by the Numbers and the folks at FourteenG!

July 22, 2017 - 1 comment.

What Top Tech Innovators Have in Common

Like with any industry, the best way to succeed in the technology sector is to study those that have been successful. Obviously not everyone who finds success is similar, but no matter how different they may seem, there are always a couple of underlying traits or qualities that they share. Before discussing what these traits are, the term “tech innovator” should be assigned a working definition in order to understand the types of people we are talking about. To help me create this definition and to pick out the traits innovators share, I enlisted the help of two knowledgeable people. The first was Frank Sentner, the Sole Proprietor of Sentwood Consulting. The second was Matt McCooe, the Chief Executive Officer of Connecticut Innovations. Both have years of experience in this area and would serve as valuable knowledge bases throughout this process.

When I asked Sentner what the term “tech innovator” meant to him, he pointed out some certain boxes that need to be checked. The first thing he clarified is that it could refer to a company or entrepreneur. He also touched upon how the innovation could refer to strictly the technological creation aspect, or it could refer to an innovation in the business model of an industry. The latter, Sentner mentioned, is often overlooked when discussing innovation. This brings up a crucial point when categorizing tech innovators. It is imperative to also look at who shifted the business model of a given industry. These men and women are sometimes overlooked, but they are the ones that affect change on everyone else in the industry. A good example of this is how Napster led the change in the music industry from hard copy products, to a digitally dominated industry. These kinds of tech innovators are just as important as the pure technological ones.

However, the pure technological innovators have become cultural touchstones that give the world something to aspire to. They are often seen as the ones who change the world. McCooe mentioned this when I asked him about the term “tech innovators”:

“I think of Steve Jobs, Elon Musk—visionaries who are wildly driven to create new products in markets that are struggling to change or don’t even exist yet. Tech innovators want to change the world, technology is their tool.”

An interesting point that McCooe brings up in this quote, is that tech is the tool for these people to accomplish their real goal of changing the world. The tech is crucial, but the real guiding light is change. This is what drives the people that McCooe mentioned above to innovate and create.

Now this leads us into the conversation of what tech innovators have in common. Tech innovators always seem to have a higher goal then just creating something that provides them consistent revenue. They want to change or shift an industry, or in some cases, the world. I think this quality helps them distance themselves from their competition because when you have a goal that is more than just financial, it gives you that extra incentive to push through the challenging times that tech innovation can bring. Having something to drive you to put in more hours or take a risk can be the difference between success and failure. Sentner talked about the idea of persistence and how it differs:

“As in any arena, persistence is vital. They don’t give up. Tech innovators are no different than innovators in any industry. They are willing to use all their resources to allow their dream and vision to come to fruition. Persistence is different than stubbornness though, you need to be persistent and flexible.”

It seems that having the innate drive inside of you to succeed is shared across the board by tech innovators. McCooe nicely summed up what this trait is, “The relentless pursuit of excellence.”

Other than persistence, another trait that was brought up was the ability to adapt or shift quickly. “You must be able to pivot quickly,” Sentner said, “Those who succeed are not afraid to alter their approach.” Learning from failure or adapting to additional information is essential for finding success. Like Sentner previously mentioned, there is a difference between persistence and stubbornness. Being able to admit when change is needed and quickly adapt can put you at an advantage in an industry going forward. Netflix is one company that shifted their plan massively. When they saw that streaming content was where home entertainment media was shifting, they changed their focus from the DVD mail service to their streaming platform. Being able to adapt and shift quickly allowed them to get a head start over other companies entering the media streaming industry.

After reaching out to both Frank Sentner and Matt McCooe, it seems possible to cherry-pick a few traits that “tech innovators” share. A higher purpose to drive you towards excellence, like changing the world, or making your dreams come true, seems to be a common theme. This leads persistence with the absence of ego-driven stubbornness. Finally, the ability to pivot quickly, which allows tech innovators to adapt to any situation. These traits, according to McCooe and Sentner, are found across the board with tech innovators.

Finally, I asked if they had any advice they would give to someone who strives to be mentioned among tech innovators. “Stick to your dream.” Sentner said, “Listen to sound advice and use it to empower your dream.” McCooe had similar thoughts:

“Be bold. Ignore the naysayers. Find passionate partners who will support your vision, people who will help you recognize the wrong paths you will inevitably go down so you keep making progress.”

Thanks to Frank Sentner of Sentwood Consulting and Matt McCooe of CT Innovations!

July 15, 2017 - No Comments!

Why Larger Companies Must Work with Startups

In today’s competitive corporate arena, everybody is looking for a way to get ahead of the curve and innovate. Some may think that innovation in any industry is pushed forward by the large behemoth companies and only people within their confines. However, this is not the case at all. Increasingly, large companies are realizing the benefits and quite frankly, the necessity of working with startups in their industry. This seems like a departure from the common thought that larger, more established companies want to squash any possible competitive startup in their industry to consolidate the market. This is because larger companies are now realizing the value of a positive working relationship with these hungry startup enterprises.

To further explore this burgeoning relationship between large companies and startups, I contacted Paul Tyler, the Chief Marketing Officer for Phoenix Companies, Inc. He has extensive experience in the insurance industry in terms of the startup and larger company relationship. The first thing I wanted to know is when he realized there was a need for this connection. “I reached this conclusion in 2007.” Tyler said, “For many years, my peers continually wrung their hands over the failure of our industry to reach a broader market. We failed to address the needs of many uninsured or under-insured individuals and families.” This often seems to be the case in any industry. Necessity is the mother of invention, so when a portion of your market is not being served, this creates a gap that needs to be filled. Tyler also elaborated on the changing technology landscape that caused this shift:

“In that year (2007), Apple introduced the iPhone, Facebook reached critical mass, and Amazon Web Services made incredible infrastructure accessible and affordable. Insurance had long been a social, mobile, and computationally-intensive business. Those three services promised to radically changes those three pillars of our business.”

With all these factors coming together, you might think that the larger companies were the ones on the forefront of the innovation and shift. However, as Tyler explains, larger companies had certain issues that prevented them from leading the charge:

“Implementing these technologies required new business models that defied the conventional organization structure and business processes of mainline carriers. Many of us saw the emerging opportunities, but ran into significant internal barriers when we tried to pursue them. We realized that startups had the opportunity to quickly execute on the opportunities and prove the viability of new ways to attract and serve new customer segments.”

Tyler brings up a very salient point on where startups can help larger companies innovate. In larger national, or even global companies, there are many moving parts that need to operate in order for anything new to be green lit. Startups don’t have this issue because they operate on a smaller scale and don’t having internal “red tape” to slow down the approval process. Like any industry, getting things done efficiently and quickly can be the difference between success and second place. Startups are like a small, agile animal that can move quickly and squeeze through smaller gaps. Larger companies are sizable, powerful animals that move slowly, but shift the ecosystem they are in. Together, they can cover all the bases required in any industry.

This seems like an easy decision, so have larger companies completely embraced startups? Tyler says it hasn’t reached its full potential, but his industry is moving towards full commitment:

“I’m very encouraged by the level of investment in dollars, employee time and executive attention across the industry. Many carriers have launched VC arms, invested directly in startups, established innovation labs, and even acquired innovative startups. That said, companies need to make dramatic changes to processes, organization structures, and priorities embodied by startups to truly capitalize on the disruption. That level of change has only begun.”

This is usually how change in an industry occurs. It starts with acknowledgment that this is the direction the industry is moving. Then it reaches the current stage where the industry has started to utilize the new vision, but the best practice hasn’t been established. It sounds like the insurance industry is becoming increasingly invested in what startups can offer, but still must figure out the way to maximize the potential they offer.

The actual product or service a startup offers isn’t the only thing that larger companies can gain from this relationship according to Tyler. “In the life insurance space, we can learn how to better approach problems from the customer’s perspective, not our own.” Tyler said, “Too frequently, industry veterans assume that we know the problems better than our customers. Products can easily be developed that have no market.” This brings up an issue that deals with the larger scale that these companies work on. Startups are closer to the market they deal in, so they may have a better understanding of what is needed in an industry. Tyler summed it up best, “A startup lives or dies by the problem it intends to solve. Insurance carriers desperately need this skill.”

It’s now clear what larger companies can gain from startups, but for a true two-way partnership, startups must gain some value from working with larger corporate counterparts. The obvious plus is that larger companies provide startups with the resources they need to make their vision a reality. Startups can gain access to things that can make the difference between success and failure. Tyler brings up more excellent points in terms of startups learning from the companies that have been involved in a given industry for years:

“Startups in our industry can benefit greatly by listening closely to the advice of industry veterans from established carriers. Insurance is a highly regulated and operationally-complex business. Speed is essential for building a new business. However, it remains equally critical to respect privacy, comply with a host of regulations, and create a stable operating environment in order to deliver on commitments that span well into the future.”

As a startup, having someone who can guide you through the process, so you don’t hit major speed bumps can save you a lot of headaches, time and money. As Tyler said, they can also help you create a framework for continued success down the road.

So, it seems that this relationship is mutually beneficial for both parties involved. That’s why at Upward Hartford one of the pillars, we stand upon is creating and fostering connections between startups and larger companies. With both types of businesses in our space, connecting the two sides has never been easier. The vision of Upward Hartford founder, Shana Schlossberg, is for the hub to act as an intersection where startups and and larger companies can connect and work together in an innovative, informal environment.

To this end, Schlossberg has been reaching out to the Fortune 500 companies in the Greater Hartford area to move innovation teams to Upward Hartford. Last month, XL Catlin was the first company to sign a 12-month lease for an office next to Amnetpro, a Colombia based IoT company that will be setting up operations in Hartford.

Special thanks to Paul Tyler from Phoenix Companies Inc.

July 11, 2017 - No Comments!

Upward Hartford’s international appeal

July 11, 2017 - No Comments!

Upward Hartford is ground zero for city’s fledgling entrepreneurial ecosystem

July 8, 2017 - 1 comment.

Meditation and Mindfulness for the Business Professional

If you’re like many business professionals in the 21st century, you may have trouble staying focused or managing work stress. That’s why being grounded in life is essential to personal growth and happiness. This is where mindfulness and meditation comes in. You may have some preconceived notions about these two words, and feel like you don’t have time to take a “break” and “do nothing”. However, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Try to think of mindfulness and meditation as a tool you can use to gather your energy and focus it on the task at hand or to control a stressful or emotional moment and return to neutral. A quiet moment even once a day can do wonders to your emotional and mental health. It is a moment to ground yourself, not an unproductive “break”. To find out what mindfulness and mediation means to a person who does it routinely, I asked Azmath Rahiman, recent UConn MBA graduate, principal of Evolvize, who does financial and strategic consulting for businesses and who was been practicing mindfulness and meditation for 5 years.

“From what I’ve learned, meditation and mindfulness is observation of yourself. Your mind is always wondering everywhere. Thoughts will always arise, but the goal is to realize they pass soon and that everything is temporary. That is the goal of the meditation and mindfulness to me.”

Let’s say you are ready to embrace mindfulness and meditation, but are confused on the actual process. First off, you don’t need to schedule a large portion of time out of your day, this can be done in a brief window of time. Rahiman suggested an easy practice for beginners:

“For a beginner, I suggest start small. Right after you wake up, just sit and observe your breath; really focus on it. It will help concentrate your mind. Your brain will start to wander, just always bring attention back to your breath, do not react on any thoughts. Do this 5-10 minutes every day, morning or night, for a week. You can also do this with light exercise. This will allow you to observe and focus movement focus on body.”

I also contacted Matt Thieleman, Founder of Golden Bristle, who has been practicing mindfulness for 6 years and had made it his career. He outlines what he likes to focus on during his sessions:

“I try to help people use very old meditation methods in practical ways. I'm a huge fan in traditional breath-focused mindfulness meditation because it's accessible. We can always rest our attention on our breath, no matter what's going on around us. It's basic but is the best building block. I like to use gratitude- and compassion-building meditations as well. It's important for people to learn to focus on positive things nowadays. And I'm doing more and more with technology-based mindfulness exercises. It's such a huge part of our lives that we need to be aware of how we interact with it. I also get people to try mindfulness exercises by relating to their everyday experiences. We've all been upset in traffic or caught ourselves scrolling through Facebook without knowing why we're there. We can train ourselves to become more aware of when that happens. And finding small moments to practice mindful awareness is the best way to start.”

There is no set way to practice mindfulness or meditate, so I will go through some other common practices I have seen that can work for the business professional who is short on time.

For some, a quiet room and a seat are all they need. In that case, just sit, close your eyes, and focus on your breathing. For others, you may need some help, and there are a couple ways to go about this. First off, you may need some music, which in that case just find a suitable playlist and start the process mentioned earlier. Another option is to browse YouTube and pick a guided meditation video. This is a great option for a beginner because of the variety of videos and the guidance included. The options of videos vary in length, voice, style and just about everything else you can imagine.

Another method that may suit a beginner is an in-person guided mediation session. These sessions usually include a meditation leader, a group of people and some other things like music, candles or incense. This is a great option for a beginner because you may want to bring a friend or do it with, or do it with other people the first time. Also, mediation leaders are fantastic at creating an environment optimal for mindfulness and meditation. All of this may make it easier to make meditation and mindfulness a routine practice.

So now that you have some methods to try, you may be wondering what making a routine out of meditation and mindfulness can do? I asked Rahiman what benefits he has gained over the past 5 years of mediation and mindfulness:

“For any professional, in any field, mediation and mindfulness will help you with engaging with others. You also learn not to let the short-term effect your judgment. Long term goals become important, because you learn that the short term is temporary. This leads to better emotional management. I do a lot of investing, and after I’ve made meditation a routine, I’ve started to see the market as an emotion. It fluctuates so often, and now it’s easier to avoid rash emotional moves. Taking emotion out of it keeps your thought process in business based on theory and logic.”

Emotions can get the best of you in the business world. Having a better understanding of them allows you to temper them and make sound, logical decisions. Thieleman had similar things to say about the positive aspects he has gained:

“It has helped me to be more aware of myself, in terms of what's going on in my own head and body. I'm more in control moment to moment of my emotions and can find the right words more often. I keep a daily gratitude journal, which helps me stay focused on my personal “Why”, and on the important tasks I need to accomplish every day. As a business owner, my personal and professional lives are fully intertwined, so this all helps at home, too. I'm more patient and more present with the people I care about.”

From those who have practiced mindfulness and meditation for years, it sounds like it benefits both your personal and professional life. Another thing that seems to be a theme is emotional control. Meditation and mindfulness, makes you more aware of how you are feeling at a certain time. This emotional awareness allows you to acknowledge the feelings, but not let them cloud your judgement, where logic and practicality are best suited.

After all of this you still might be skeptical or hesitant, and that’s fine, this quote from Rahiman is an excellent take on why you should give it a try:

“It is not pseudo-science. I’m an engineer, I value science and factual evidence over everything. All meditation and mindfulness is, is training your mind to observe yourself. It can change your perspective on everything.”

Increasingly, founders are now using meditation to improve themselves and their work and give them the strength to create better and stronger companies and become great leaders. That’s why we at Upward Hartford will be building a dedicated meditation room that will operate 24/7. Members will be able to enter the softly lit room at any time of the day and meditate. There will also be guided meditations once or twice a day. We believe this will be a vital tool to insure the companies at Upward Hartford will reach their full potential.

July 1, 2017 - 1 comment.

How to Spot a Good Business Idea

Like me, you may turn on the TV and start flipping through the channels and the show Shark Tank catches your eye. How could it not? It gives you a look inside at what some well-known investors think and do when evaluating business ideas. Unfortunately, TV shows might distort reality in order to create tension and excitement. So, I decided to talk to two successful investors and find out things they look for in a business idea.

One of the investors I contacted is Mark Herschberg, Managing Director at Disruption Ventures. Mark is a highly experienced investor who has had a lot of success in the field. When I asked Mark what was one trait a business/company must have before he would consider funding, he brought up seeing some evidence of success:

"We are an early stage fund but still need to see some traction. Typically, that means some type of revenue; in some cases, it may just be usage, such as when there is a clear monetization stream that can be turned on later but in the early days the company doesn’t want the friction or even the distraction from growth. As much as the founders and investors may like an idea, may believe in the idea, and may understand the market, there is no more clear validation than having a customer spend their money on the product or service, everything else is speculative to one degree to another."

 
This touches upon many things some companies or entrepreneurs might overlook. Having a million-dollar idea with no proof, is different than having a product with tangible value, whether it’s revenue or a large/growing user base. As Herschberg said, investors want to see something that has already had some form of success because it lowers the risk. They can see that there is a market out there, and with funding and guidance, that growth can be scaled.

 
Another investor a talked to is Kirill Bensonoff, CEO at Unigma. When I asked him the same question he touched upon evaluating the people who he would be investing in: “The first thing I do is give deference to the founding team, which to me is more important than an idea.” Bensonoff brings up a vital aspect many investors look at which is, WHO am I investing in. An idea might be fantastic, but if an investor doesn’t believe or trust the person who they’d be investing in, does the quality of the idea really matter? Herschberg gave his thoughts on this balancing act:

 
“They are both important, of course. The saying in the startup world is that VC’s, “invest in people, not products.” This is true in that we know the company will pivot in ways none of us can predict. It’s also critical to know that the people at the helm can steer the startup though all the rough seas that a growing company faces. But don’t think that means you can be less than thoughtful on your idea. Even when I’m sure the model will change significantly I want to see how the founder thinks about the company. Do they understand the industry, and how their business fits into it? Do they know the margins? How did they calculate revenue per sales person? All this discussion helps me understand how they think.”

 
It seems that successful investors have the common trait of evaluating the idea and people, and how they coexist. This can lead to lack of foresight in terms of the people behind the idea not thinking ahead and constructing their company for scaling up. Herschberg talked about this common pitfall he sees when evaluating ideas and companies:

 
“So many things work at a smaller scale, but the founders don’t have a clear model prior to scaling up. Companies need to have a plan for attracting users and recognize that the first 100 customers are different than the next 10,000, or the next 100,000.”

 
This lack of planning can be a red flag as an investor. Are they founders unprepared for the challenges ahead? Evaluating the founder’s abilities is essential for deciphering between a quality investment and one that can leave an investor disappointed.
Another thing that both Bensonoff and Herschberg brought up is getting caught up in a “hot” industry, or just the “herd” mentality in general. Herschberg touched upon investors overvaluing the “hot” industry:

 
“Investors sometimes overly focus on what space is hot. Right now, it’s VR (Virtual Reality) and AI (Artificial Intelligence). Investors have a herd mentality, so when a space is hot, they want to get into it and tend to overvalue the companies in the space.”
This does not mean avoid the “hot” industry, but a diligent investor will look extra carefully to make sure they aren’t getting caught up with the buzz. Bensonoff summed it up best: “Don't worry what the "crowd" thinks.”

In conclusion, it seems that successful investors keep an eye out for some key things. First, they evaluate the founders along with product, because both things must work for success to happen. Also, they will evaluate the company’s ability to scale up and continue to grow. Finally, they self-evaluate, and make sure they aren’t getting caught up in the latest “industry craze”. To close the blog, I will leave you with some sound general advice from Mark Herschberg:

 
“New investors tend to get caught up in the idea. There are lots of great ideas; lots of ideas that can absolutely work and make money. The biggest hurdle facing companies usually isn’t the idea, but the execution. It’s being able to scale up the sales, marketing, staffing, and operations. It’s creating repeatable, scalable processes all while the company, customers, competitors, and industry change under their feet. Yes, make sure the product/company is viable, but the real diligence is making sure they are likely to execute well over the next few years.”

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