Micah Baldwin
Founder (6 companies). Failure (2 companies). Building the Happiness Algorithm. Venture Advisor to Crunchfund and mentor to Techstars, 500 Startups and more.
Discussion
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Micah Baldwin
@micah · Old Founder. Grey hairs and everything.
I’m Micah, over the years I have founded or been early at 6 startups which raised more than $350mm and exited for more than $200mm. Means lots of success, lots of failure and I am old. Other fun things I’ve done include #followfriday, which lead to death threats, a documentary and once broke Twitter. Primary area of effort is around helping founders be better CEOs and product folks think more holistically. Mentor, invest and advise startups and now at Amazon. Eats donuts. Likes dogs. Might have reversed that.
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Diane Florescu
@dianeflorescu · Marketing Assistant @ConnectiD Ltd
Hi Micah! Got a couple of questions:
Q1: We see start-ups failing/exiting the market every day. What have been your biggest challenges to date?
Q2: What would be the single biggest indicator to you that you are doing the right thing?
Q3: For someone looking to embark on their own start-up journey, what tips could you offer?
Thanks
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Micah Baldwin
@micah · Old Founder. Grey hairs and everything.
@dianeflorescu wow, lots of questions! Ok, Q1) Realizing that my biggest hurdle is my own hubris. Q2) feel pretty certain that I won't kill myself that day. (That is not a joke. I think about suicide every day, and some days its easy to come up with a reason to not do it; and some days, not so much. So much better on the former kinda days. Q3) Talk to a lot of people about your idea. Not for feedback, but for reaction. Make lots of friends. Don't ask for money too early. Believe that if a punk high school kid can build a company and sell it to Yahoo! that you can too. Remember that we live in a collaborative community, not a group of cut-throat assholes. Just find your place within that community.
Drew Russ
@drewwruss · Business Development
What is the best trait in a team member/colleague? Intellect? Sense of humor? Dogged work ethic? Etc...
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Micah Baldwin
@micah · Old Founder. Grey hairs and everything.
@drewwruss I look at people in two lenses: personality and production. I can work with someone I dont like as a person, but who produces; but cant work with someone I like who doesnt produce. Im binary like that.
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Micah Baldwin
@micah · Old Founder. Grey hairs and everything.
@drewwruss Its raining right now in SF. Done. I also think that the LA scene is at the right point in its maturation. There is no longer a need for LA to point to its successes as validation of its as a startup ecosystem, it just has successes...being involved in that scene will teach me a ton, and I am excited to be there.
Dave Schappell
@daveschappell · Startup BD, Amazon Web Services
How do you define what a startup is, and isn't?
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Micah Baldwin
@micah · Old Founder. Grey hairs and everything.
@daveschappell love this question. Is Uber a startup? They still care about revenue, but they have raised a pile. @rabois said yesterday that they have no need to IPO because they can raise billions in weeks. For me, its more of a feeling. Nice offices, salaries, and worrying about death gone? you arent really a startup any more. Maybe its by counting the time between the presentation of grey hairs? I also think that the word startup has become a marketing ploy. So large companies are creating "startups" within the businesses, or promoting that they "operate like a startup." I find this disappointing and disingenuous.
Gordon Weiss
@gordon_weiss · Bassline
How undervalued is strategic partnerships or business development in a start-up, Or will a great product proliferate on it's on merit?
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Micah Baldwin
@micah · Old Founder. Grey hairs and everything.
@gordon_weiss it really depends on where they are in the life cycle of the business. Leans on partnerships too early in the product lifecycle, and you may end up creating a yoke around your neck that you dont want to give up (cuz the money is good!). Be smart, start slow, dont elephant hunt. I don't believe great products find their market. All grew due to a hack of some sort. Either in their initial marketing (Mailbox); or their buzz (Slack); or their constraint (Facebook). Rarely does a deal make a company long term viable.
Aaron Batalion
@abatalion · Cofounder/1st CTO, LivingSocial
What is Founder Donuts? Can you share why you created it and what it's become?
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Micah Baldwin
@micah · Old Founder. Grey hairs and everything.
@abatalion its just a couple of people, now more than a couple, that get together on Saturdays to talk about life first, startups second. Its only founders and investors, and we get a chance to strip off all the BS that founders feel that they need to be wrapped in daily, and just enjoy each other as people. Somewhere, in the world of building companies, we forgot that people are interesting because of who they are rather than what they built or how much money they have.
Tyler Willis
@tylerwillis · Asteroid Hunter
How do you define success? Who are some people you consider successful?
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Micah Baldwin
@micah · Old Founder. Grey hairs and everything.
@tylerwillis I knew you would ask the hard questions, dammit. I have often said that the days I say "I am successful" should also be the day I die. After all, other than having complete satisfaction in my accomplishments, and knowing there is nothing else I can do, what else is there to live for? As for people I consider successful? My dad. 3 good kids, who are not in jail. Cornel West, has a message and articulates it. And you. Because you seem to smile more often than you dont.
Ben Tossell
@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt
What are your favourite questions to ask founders?
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Micah Baldwin
@micah · Old Founder. Grey hairs and everything.
@bentossell I really like to focus on the whys behind the company. First time founders dont really know what they are getting into, so understanding their grip on reality matters most.
Eric Friedman
@ericfriedman · Head of Expa Labs
You have said that you get other offers often, what about your role is most fulfilling that keeps you there - what entrepreneur achievements you help them hit are best for you?
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Micah Baldwin
@micah · Old Founder. Grey hairs and everything.
@ericfriedman I am very focused on adding value. I have said that my goal in life is not to make a $1,000,000 (have done that, kinda useless), but to help 10,000 people become millionaires, so they in turn can help 10,000 more. That is what drives me daily.