Entrepreneurship

Eurie Kim: How to Know if Entrepreneurship is For You

10/12/2021

Eurie joined Forerunner Ventures in May 2012. Over the past 15 years, Eurie has evaluated and aided a wide variety of companies in their quest to define business models, identify target markets, understand consumer behavior, and overcome operational and competitive challenges to drive growth. Eurie also has a personal passion for entrepreneurship, which inspired her to launch an artisanal leather goods brand as well as serve on the founding team of a European luxury brand incubator. At Forerunner, Eurie has supported investments in 30+ early stage companies and currently serves on the Board of Directors of several Forerunner portfolio companies

I really love listening to Eurie because I feel like she’s just done it all. Her information is just so helpful in figuring out where you can go and where you shouldn’t go and what you can do when you go wherever you go. I really admire her attitude in entrepreneurship. I love that she explains that you can be an entrepreneur at any point in your life, and that there are constant opportunities along the way in life that you can jump into. She makes the point that entrepreneurship is something completely individual and different for everyone. The goals are different. The milestones are different. The plans are different. The teams are different. I love that explained that you can be successful in a myriad of ways—you just have to pick where you’ll best fit and thrive. And it seems that those opportunities are endless & everchanging too.

Entire Talk: Fav Quotes

“We all want to be successful. But what does that mean?”
“I didn’t know how to do anything, but I earned a lot of hard skills that I use everyday of my life.”
“I just wanted to try something different. I wanted to get out there and try something new.”
“If I’m not ready now, I’m just talking. I’m never going to do it.”
“I think it’s more important to be doing something entrepreneurial over something stable.”
“Paths to success are non-linear.”
“You’re you. You’re special in other ways and you need to figure out what works for you in what opportunities come.”
“Figure out what things drive you, and what you’re uniquely qualified to go and do.”
“Your first job is definitely not your last job. All of them will weave together to create a fascinating story of where this person comes from and where they’re going.”
“A big company is a place where you can gain a lot of skills and a really large network.”
“There are a lot of ways to participate in entrepreneurship. There are opportunities all along the way.”
“Don’t think that anyone’s grass is greener. It’s just as hard.”
“The secret to success is the result of preparation, hard work and failure.”
“Failure is the only thing that really helps push you to the edge. If you haven’t failed, you haven’t pushed yourself hard enough.”
“Be nice to everybody.”
“You can always find opportunity in people. Network.”
“Birds of a feather fluck together.”

The Right Way to Network

“Networking at it’s best is when you know that you have to give to be able to receive.”
“If you want to network, be really good at figuring out how you can help others.”

The Traits of Great Founders

“More often than not, that you’re an inventor, self-starter, passionate and a problem solver.”
“Your job as a founder is to sell all day long.”
“You have 5 dollars in your bank account, and a lot of things to accomplish.”
“If you’re not visionary, maybe [entrepreneurship] isn’t something you want to do.”
“You need to be able to know who to bring to the team, how to get them there and how to empower them. If you’re good at that, you will be a successful founder. And the benefit of that is that it’s 100% ownership. It’s your baby.”
“You’ll know in your heart that you’re ready to start.”
“Test and iterate, you can still be successful doing that.”

Founder vs Founding Team Member

“You need complimentary skills.”
“The key benefit is learning how to be a founder without having to be the founder.”
“If you’re gonna do it, you might as well start your own thing.”

Early-Stage Startups Need Generalists

“The super skill here is that you can be a jack of all trades.”
“The small network is something really important to think about.”
“The right timing is when you feel passionate about the idea and the team. Because you need that passion to fuel you forward.”

High Growth Means Hectic Work

“You need to be really, really, really good at setting your own goals and milestones to move forward.”
“You can’t be waiting for somebody to tell you what to do or that you did a good job.”
“If you’re the type of person who can hit an opportunity and hit the ground running, and move along as fast as you can go, this is a good place for you.”

Who’s Best Suited for a Big Company?

“Be eager to be taught. You thrive when someone else is teaching you to do things, and you love feeling like that mentorship and training is stabilizing in your life.”
“Eager to be taught, team oriented and thrives in structure.”
“I see a lot of competitors here too.”

What’s Your Risk Threshold?

“There are so many ways that you can evaluate your own opportunity set — Financial flexibility and risk appetite.”
“How can you have this amazing breakout idea if you have one foot out and one foot in? It already takes so much time and energy to be successful.”
“There are no grades in entrepreneurship. You have no idea what you’re doing. You have to create your own goals and milestones. Even if you meet the milestones, they’re always moving.”
“Everyone only thinks about founders as breakout success millionaires—not the case. It really is something that’s all encompassing.”
“What is [potential failure] feel like to you, and is that ok?

Interested in the whole talk?
https://ecorner.stanford.edu/videos/how-to-know-if-entrepreneurship-is-for-you-entire-talk/

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Josh McFarland: Answering Startup Questions

9/22/2021

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Josh McFarland is a partner at Greylock Partners (a Venture Capital Fund), an experienced product leader and entrepreneur who specializes in designing, building and scaling technology-driven businesses. Previously, he was VP of Product at Twitter, founder and CEO of startup TellApart, which he grew at Greylock as an entrepreneur-in-residence in 2009. In 2015, Twitter acquired TellApart for more than $500 million — the largest acquisition in Twitter’s history. Before that, McFarland was a lead product manager at Google.

I really enjoy this presentation because it answers so many of those “startup biz” questions. He’s super helpful and super positive. I think it’s so important to put your ego aside and let others take your brand to the next level. He talks a lot about working/communicating with people—the right way to do it and the kind of people you’d want around you in a start-up. You need to surround yourself around people who are going to support, encourage and fuel you, (YES ENERGY). Other things he covers include learning to argue well and fighting for what you want, as well as knowing when to let go. He covers so many crucial skills. I personally feel that communicating with and managing human beings is a dwindling skill. And he really reinstates the fact and the practice of doing so, when you’re starting a company. I also love how he discusses creating a safe, organized and energetic space for work. And not just for yourself, but for everyone else. Startups should be a place where you love to work and create in; where you look forward to being in. And of course, Josh makes sure to mention giving it your all and going all in with everything you have in a startup. That’s always a wonderful and encouraging reminder, and will be even better with people who believe the same thing.

FAV QUOTES

“The act of entrepreneurship is so difficult; there is no right time.”
“Starting a company is like eating glass and staring at the abyss of death.”
“There is no right time to start a company; but there’s also no bad time to start a company.”
“Surround yourself around people with YES energy.”
“Seek it out” (yes energy)
“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”
“How do you get what you want? Get on the other side of fear. Just go for it.”
“You need momentum.”
“The way to build value is to make money, not to save money.”
“Learn to argue well.”
“Look for confident humility.”
“Know what you want to fight, know what you want to let go.”
“Make your space great and rely on your rituals.”
“You’re in control of your destiny.”
“Make no little plans.”
“Bring the full force of everything that you have to creativity, to passion, to drive, to expectations of outcome. It will be worth your time.”

If you’re interested in watching the whole thing: https://ecorner.stanford.edu/videos/answering-common-startup-questions-entire-talk/

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