Steven Cox - Founder of TakeLessons. Build Something You're Proud Of

Steven Cox Interview on The Big Biz TV Show

TV Interview: I had an opportunity to share the TakeLessons story with Sully and Russ of The Big Biz TV show last week. In the interview, we talked about the problems that TakeLessons solves for customers and musicians. We then talked about how we got started and our funding raise with CrossLink Capital.

 

Click here for a full transcription

Amazon vs. the World

Here's a cool inforgraphic by our friends at CPC Strategy.

 

 

 

San Diego Startup Event: Joe Kraus and Michael Robertson The difference between a big company and a startup

 

http://StevenCox.com: Internet celebrities, Joe Kraus and Michael Robertson talk about the difference between working for a company and working at a startup.

This video was shot at the 10x100x100 San Diego Start-Up event in December 2011, hosted by Sweet Labs, with support from TakeLessons, Brightscope, and other San Diego Startups.

The purpose of the event was to showcase 10 San Diego startup companies that have raised $100mm in funding, and looking to hire 100 new people.

 

 

Related articles

• Steven Cox Interview on Fox 5 News - Finding the Right San Diego StartUp Company to Work For (stevencox.com)
• San Diego Tech Startup Launch Quickpitch Event (stevencox.com)
• San Diego Startup Changes the Way America Gives (prweb.com)
• Google Ventures Leads $500K Seed Round for San Diego's Nettle (xconomy.com)

Steven Cox Interview on Fox 5 News - Finding the Right San Diego StartUp Company to Work For

 

 

http://StevenCox.com. Even with the unemployment rate in San Diego hovering around 10%, the city's startup scene is bustling with activity and creating new jobs for San Diegans. TakeLessons.com CEO, Steven Cox, talks about the 10x100x100 event where 10 startup companies that have collectively raised over $100 million in venture capital and will be hiring 100 new employees next year.

A lot of technical and web people move to the San Francisco area to find work, but you're saying there's work right here and they don't have to move?
• That's Right!
• Cheaper to buy and rent housing here than in other hotbeds such as SV, NYC.
• A lot of startups are hiring

What's it like working for a startup?
• Incredible! Faster pace. Quicker decisions. My startup: http://TakeLessons.com

For College Graduates:
o Instead of making coffee, make a difference.
o No cogs in the wheel
o Chance to work on things at a young age -- (BEST BUY example)

For Senior people
o A chance to take your knowledge and build something you're proud of.
o Make a positive, lasting impact.
o Grow leaders underneath you.
o Potential stock upside

Everyday, I wake up thankful that I get to go to work.
o Focused on building the new sort of company.
• A company with a conscious.
• A company that makes more than money, it makes a positive difference.
o Awesome people all focused on building a great company.
o Super laid-back dress code.
o No politics.

A lot of young Internet companies didn't make it in the dotcom crash. What should a job prospect consider when looking at startups?

Not all startups are created equal.
• Management -- is there adult supervision? People who have built and ran companies before.
• Culture -- Do they have a strong sense of purpose, yet flexible enough to change on a dime.
• Funding -- are they well-funded. http://CrossLinkCapital.com
• Product or Service -- is it something that truly adds value to people's lives?

What type of jobs do startups hire for and what tips do you have on landing a job there?
• Big focus on Software engineering, product management and developmet, IT
• Marketing, Sales, Customer Support, Finance, HR

Tell us a little bit about the 10 x 100 x 100 event.
• StartupsAreBetter.com
• 6pm Dec 1 at Sweet Labs (http://sweetlabs.com)
• Joe Kraus -- Google Ventures focused on mobile, gaming, local services
• Michael Robertson -- SD Local tech hero. MP3.com
• Focused on engineering and product talent

More information can be found at these sites:
http://10x100x100 and http://StevenCox.com

What's it Like Working for a Startup?

Come find out this Thursday December 1st!

Our friends at SweetLabs have banded together with ten top San Diego startups (including TakeLessons) that have collectively raised over $100 million in venture capital and looking to hire for 100 new positions.

Visit this site to register.

Why are we doing this?

We want to get the message out that you don't have to move to the Bay area to find an awesome job!

San Diego tech startups are creating new jobs right here in our backyard, in the midst of one of the worst economic times we’ve ever seen.

While big companies (i.e. HP laid off 500 San Diego employees last month) continue to struggle, local entrepreneurs and innovators have been able to build disruptive startups, secure funding, and create new jobs.

We’ve joined forces for this event with 9 other startups who have collectively raised $100 million in venture capital and have created more than 100 new jobs for San Diego. 

 San Diego’s not only a great place to live, but a great place to innovate. We’re shining a spotlight on the local technology startup community.

We all know that San Diego is the best place to live, and we want to show Silicon Valley and the rest of the world that you don’t have to sacrifice quality-of –life and settle for congested freeways and bad weather in order to work for an exciting, life-changing company that’s on the cutting-edge.

People think of San Diego as strictly a biotech town or a military town (or a lazy beach town) and assume that only interesting technology companies are in Silicon Valley. But in fact there are a number of great, innovative startups in San Diego doing really interesting things.

At SweetLabs, for instance, they’re re-inventing the PC by bringing the modern app experience to the desktop, so that anyone can enjoy services like Facebook or Twitter or Groupon with the same ease and elegance they enjoy on their mobile devices.  They have a great group of investors led by Google and Intel, and plan on doubling their staff over the next twelve months.

 BrightScope helps you make critical (yet too often confusing and ignored) financial decisions, such as retirement plans and wealth management.They are led by a great group of people and will be adding new people next year.

Here at TakeLessons,we're the nation's largest music lessons company, and provide the leading online platform for connecting anyone who wants to learn music with safe, certified music teachers. Backed by Silicon Valley venture capital heavyweights, CrossLink Capital (think Pandora) and SofTech Ventures (Twitter, Facebook, Groupon), we're building our teams in tech, sales, support, marketing, and product development. We're currently at 75 people and plan on adding 60-75 new people next year. 

Deal Current Network is the fastest growing white label daily deal software provider in the US and Canada. Deal Current provides deal software, deal inventory, deal distribution, and expert training to over 200 publishers. Their goal is to be the largest deal distribution network in the US in 2012. They are hiring for positions immediately.

Related articles

• Upcoming Events for San Diego Start Ups (stevencox.com)
• San Diego Tech Startup Launch Quickpitch Event (stevencox.com)
• Music Lessons Start Up Wins $20,000 (prweb.com)
• Intel Capital Leads $13M Round for SweetLabs in Bid to Re-Invent Desktop Experience (xconomy.com)
• Job growth is dependent on Start-ups (kauffman foundation)

San Diego Tech Startup Launch Quickpitch Event

On Wednesday, November 2, Brant Cooper and the gang hosted the San Diego Tech Launch event where ten start-ups gave their 30-second elevator pitch and everyone got a chance to vote on their favorites. The Tech Launch was also a great place to network and dig for talent.

Funded companies that attended included TakeLessons, Brightscope (ran by super-talented Mike Alfred),  and event sponsor, SweetLabs (ran by my buddy Chester Ng).

Below are videos and links to watch.

The Participants:

 

Official Videos:

The Winners (1-3 place)

The Runner Ups

My Video

 

Mary Meeker's internet trends presentation at Web 2.0 Summit

Mary Meeker, one of the most interesting forecasters, gave a presentation on her view of where the internet is going.

A stat I found fascinating is that ecommerce makes up less than 10% of the total pie. That means there's still a long way to go before we reach an equilibrium point. When you consider that services, as an industry, is far behind products when it comes to online commerce, it bodes well for companies like TakeLessons, Limos.com, Kitchit, and othes that are looking to create service brands that customers can trust.

I believe we're still in the early days of Service Commerce for the web and mobile.

Complete coverage at VentureBeat

Download Mary-Meeker-Internet-Trends-2011

 

 

 

Map of San Diego Tech Start-Ups

Fellow entrepreneur, Michael Bastos put together a map mashup of SD Tech Company locations. We're seeing a concentration of start-ups downtown near the Gaslamp district.

Note to Mayor Jerry Sanders: the city should work on attracting more start-ups to downtown / Little Italy / East Village by offering discounts on parking, tax incentives, etc. Make it a hub of activity and attract more jobs downtown!

Thanks Mike!

Interview with the Northwest Young Entrepreneurs Association

I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Nick Hampshire with the Northwest Young Entrepreneurs Association about building companies and what I've learned as we continue to grow TakeLessons.

Here is the Q&A:

Audio MP3 download of Steven Cox interview is located here:

 Nick Hampshire: What is your philosophy on life and business?

Steven Cox: PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT
I live my life in a way that makes a positive lasting difference on people and my environment. I support my friends and family with my time and finances. I live with the full expectation of succeeding and excelling in all I do. I understand that the value of life is not in what I own, but who I love, and what I experience. I make my life count by being a man of integrity that accomplishes greatness by reaching out to help others, being passionate about what I do, and fully developing my mind.  I don't have the right to be ordinary. Therefore, I lead, I lift the human spirit, and I will create a legacy and an empire: an empire of both inner and outer wealth, and a legacy of love.

How did you get your start in entrepreneurship?

• College: Apartment locator service, bought seven houses on land contract/options, tried to buy a pizza business
• After school: Fisher scientific, but tried to open a gym
• Left my job to work for a startup ecommerce company

Do you remember your first "big" deal as a young entrepreneur and do you mind sharing a little about it (details, thoughts, feelings)?

• College – thought I could do everything. It wasn’t until things went bad that I started realizing that there was science and methodology behind operating a business. It’s harder than it looks.
• First Startup– landed University of Nevada. Wasn’t even in our wheelhouse. Changed the business.

What made you decide to start your own business?

• I grew up poor. Wasn’t happy washing dishes and working for other people.  I liked the creativity and struggle. I liked the uncertainty.

As you have started different businesses over the years, have the lessons you learned while starting each business changed? If so, how have they changed?

• Balanced optimism: I now focus not just on the upside, but immediately how to mitigate risk.
• Long term: entrepreneurship is not a quick fix to wealth. Some people get luck, but there is a very big chance that you or me will not be lucky. Thus, we have to understand there is a large price to pay, and we have to be willing to pay the price.  Else, just go get a job.

What do you see as the biggest challenges that entrepreneurs face?

External

• Blind towards risk
• Trying to do too many things for too many people– no focus
• Not clearly identifying a problem

Internal

• Arrogance
• Understanding your own weaknesses
• Stay up: “Certainty in the face of fear”

If you had to do it all over again, how would you start?

1. Find a problem
2. See if it’s a big enough problem that, if you can solve it, it will make a difference.
3. Focus on solving that problem. Find people that will support it through money and/or time.
4. Don’t think about the exit.

To all of the young entrepreneurs getting started in business now, what advice can you give?

• Plan on a long journey. The ‘quick hit’ is the exception.

• The 4-hour workweek? Complete horseshit.
• Want to build something that lasts? Work ½ day. (12 hours!)
• Because it’s a long journey, pick something where you’re passionate about solving a problem for others.

Have confidence in yourself and your ideas, but don’t believe your own hype.

• Don’t let optimism overpower realism.
• Admit when something isn’t working.
• Measure everything.
• Fail fast.

Build a team. Your job is to:

• Share the vision
• Hire smart
• Build a culture where others can strive

Capital: Raise enough to allow you to make mistakes with respect to your plan, but not so much that it makes you cocky  which leads to laziness.

• Your forecasts will be off.
• Stuff you though would work, won’t.
• Competitors will not sit idle.
• Perfection is the enemy of good enough.

Know what your shooting for

• Have written goals – Quarterly, monthly, weekly.
• Hold each other accountable

I often get asked questions about "quick cash" techniques while someone is getting started with a venture; if you had to make $1,000 in one week with no list, minimal cash, and no contacts, what would be your strategy?

• Honestly, I would say that you need to go get a job. Entrepreneurship is not a one-week thing.

What systems have you created or borrowed to manage & grow your companies?

• I have a personal goals system that allows me to manage different areas of my life (spiritual, career, relationships, social) and see results year after year. I’ve applied that to business as well.
• SEED – SELECT – AMPLIFY: Don’t ever put out perfection. Just get it out and iterate.
• Culture matters - create a culture of owners where they focus on constant improvement.

How have you used Strategic Partnerships with other companies & individuals to grow your business?

• Life is about people, and business is about providing value for those people.
• When you cut deals, you have to focus on the value you can provide.
• Deals take forever
• Never count on them to go through.
• After they go through, most of them won’t work out
• So, don’t rely on them to make your business. Don’t ever be reliant.

If you could go back and do something differently, what would it be and why (business or life in general)?

I would’ve been less arrogant in my 20’s. Looking back, I now know to stay humble and learn from everyone I can.

What closing thoughts/suggestions/advice do you have for young entrepreneurs?

• Some people are built for companies, some are built for entrepreneurship. Find your flow. There is no one answer, only a right answer for you.
• Don’t worry about someone stealing your idea. It’s already been thought of and tried. Focus on building a team that can help you execute.
• Your first two companies or your first 3-5 years will probably not be a big success. That’s ok. It’s part of the journey. Breathe and be ok with it.

Getting your startup to $10mm in revenues

Here is a post (the first of two) from Steve Carpenter on the different potential business models for internet startups right now and some of the metrics necessasry to get to $10mm in revenues.

I believe that services are one of the best internet business models for the next 10 years for the following reasons:

• Price shopping. It is tough to compare a service provider to another using an apples to apples comparison. There are no SKU numbers because it's not a standardized product. Thus, it gives good companies the ability to establish brand and customer care around the service in order to raise value.

• It's just the beginning. Web services is still in its infancy. While there are well-established players for social networking, gaming, and product commerce, services is still the wild west. This leaves room for smart companies to position themselves and get a foothold without having to knock off the 800 lb. gorilla.

• Accepted. Services are an integrated part of the economy. You're not trying to teach an old dog new tricks. You're just making it more efficient for people to buy.

• Demographic shifting. More and more people in their 20's are reaching the age of starting their careers, having kids, and arguably increasing their spending power. As this happens, there will be a natural shift towards the web. People will seek out service providers over the web because that's what they're used to.

• Better technology. It's now worlds easier to discover and choose service providers on the web. Word of mouth is effectively shifting to the web through rating systems, transparent customer feedback, microblogging, and other tech advances. Over time, this will leave a digital identity of most businesses out there, and customers will use the feedback to make quicker, better-informed decisions.

13 Ways To Get To $10 Million In Revenues (Part I)