Ryan Lawler
Venture Partner at 500 Startups
Discussion
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Ryan Lawler
@ryanlawler
Hey, this is Ryan Lawler. I'm currently a venture partner at 500 Startups, where I'm looking for early-stage startups. I have also been helping out with the 500 Startups Accelerator as part of the latest batch, and can tell you more about that. Previously I worked as a tech journalist at places like TechCrunch and Gigaom. I basically just love seeing new apps and services, meeting founders, and learning about cool new tech that they're working on.
EDIT: Thanks for all your questions, sorry I didn't get to them all!
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Ryan Lawler
@ryanlawler
@drew I miss writing! And I miss the people I used to work with, although some of them (yourself included) have moved on to other things. But I don't miss the constant deadlines, and embargoes, and some of the less glamorous parts of the job.
And anyway, I'm trying to do more writing in my spare time, which I really can do any time...
Jonathan Shieber
@jshieber · Senior Editor, TechCrunch
Hi Ryan... Longtime admirer, first-time writer. Quick question for you, why are you so dreamy?
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Ryan Lawler
@ryanlawler
@jshieber It would be easy to say I was born this way, but I've worked really hard to become this dreamy. I'd love to let you in on my beauty secrets, but unfortunately, they are secret.
(For those of you who don't know, Shiebs is a good friend and this question was a plant.)
Jonathan Shieber
@jshieber · Senior Editor, TechCrunch
Ryan... a followup question. What's the best way to turn your frown upside down?
Ben Tossell
@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt
What are your favourite questions to ask founders?
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Ryan Lawler
@ryanlawler
@bentossell "Why are you doing this?"
I feel like real conviction from founders is the #1 indicator that they see their company as something they want to work on for the next decade... Which is really how most founders _should_ be thinking about it.
John Holt
@john_holt
Hi Ryan,
Wanted to see what advice you might have regarding creating a venture firm built around investing in students at the high school and university level?
I am a student myself at Cornell and providing young entrepreneurs with the capital and resources they need to be successful is something I feel extremely passionate about.
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Ryan Lawler
@ryanlawler
@john_holt Hi John, this is a little outside my realm of expertise (having not founded a fund myself), but I would suggest reaching out to and talking to folks who have executed similar plans at other universities. Stanford has a pretty robust accelerator and investment program with StartX, and Dorm Room Fund are some good examples. I'd hunt down the people behind those programs and learn more about what worked for them!
Aby Mathew
@aby002 · Mocioun TechLabs Pvt. Ltd.
Hello Ryan, your advice to writing / publishing entrepreneurs?
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Ryan Lawler
@ryanlawler
@aby002 Just do it! Writing is kind of like running -- anyone can do it, but your results will vary mostly based on practice. I've found the best writing I've done was always more for myself than for an audience. Given the easy availability of publishing platforms and distribution, there's no reason that entrepreneurs (or anyone, really) can't start writing.
Now, all that said... If you want to write WELL, read this post from Om Malik, who's a boss: http://om.co/2016/03/26/how-to-w...
Aby Mathew
@aby002 · Mocioun TechLabs Pvt. Ltd.
@ryanlawler Thank you for the link Ryan. As mentioned in one of my comments, we are working on TaleHunt, an app that help aspiring writers to write stories in 250 characters. From our experience we came to know that, writers always love positive feedback from their readers. May be for aspiring / upcoming writers.
Alex Scott
@alexscottco · Cofounder, Revere.ai
How do you see the role of design and design thinking in small-team early-stage startups?
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Ryan Lawler
@ryanlawler
@alexscottco This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think design can be overrated in the development of an MVP. The goal of most startups is to build something that works and that people want to use. You can always make an app or website prettier or easier to use after it's launched and you know people find it valuable. But you can get bogged down trying to make the design perfect before you even know if it works or if people will use it.
Sateesh Kumar Srinivasan
@sateeshsrinivasan
Happy birthday Ryan. How do you keep yourself update on tech trends on a frequent basis. What journals or websites do you visit.
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Ryan Lawler
@ryanlawler
@sateeshsrinivasan Hi Sateesh. Great question... I still have to keep tabs on what's happening in tech, even though I'm not as laser focused on being on top of all tech news as I was at TechCrunch. As a result, I've been able to pare down my reading list a fair amount. I will read TechCrunch every day, visit Product Hunt multiple times a week, but find most of my news from Techmeme... It's an absolute must read for what's happening in tech every day.
Sunil Acharya
@acharyasunil · Founder @ Coverstory
Hi Ryan - based on your experience in news coverage, what is the most underrated industry ripe for tech innovation?
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Ryan Lawler
@ryanlawler
@acharyasunil I think there are a number of industries we don't think too much about that are still largely untouched by new technology. For instance, I'm very bullish on industrial IoT devices and applications that can provide real-time data in industries that are still managed with pretty analog processes.