A few lessons from this program
What can you learn about building a startup from an investor who helps launch multiple companies at once?
Matthew Jacobson is a partner at Launch Box Digital, a seed investment and accelerator program that helped launch 9 companies last year. In the program he recorded with Mixergy, he offers advice for startups, including:
Find the real problem – MyGameMug, a Launch Box investment, found the real problems that gamers had by going to message boards and asking gamers about their problems. Many told them that they liked playing against others online, but they hated playing with people who used foul language or who are agressive. From that input, they decided to build a matchmaking service for gamers.
Get mentors – In his program on how to get funding, Dan Gould said getting advisors is the first step because they open doors to investors. Matthew pointed out that the long-term benefit of having advisors is the mentorship they help you work though your business’s tough times.
Be flexible – Buzzable, another Launch Box investment, started as a local, mobile couponing company. After working on that business, they realized that the business was too local to scale. So they changed their model and decided to focus on group messaging for colleges.
Have a developer on the team – There are lots of options for outsourcing development work, but you can’t built a startup based on their work alone. You need to have a developer on your team early on to keep costs down and to help shape the product.
