It’s crazy to think we’re only a month away from launching Voodies. Here are the three biggest things I’ve learned so far during the startup journey. 

First of all, having a strong team. Having people around you that are determined, passionate, and capable puts the company in a much stronger position because not everything falls on one single person.

 As Co-Founder and CEO, I always say my job is to “find talented people and put them in positions of impact” within the company, and I feel I’ve done that very well. We now have multiple teams within the company, all performing well and contributing to developing Voodies. I realized it’s not about being the “smartest” in the room, but if you can bring together the smartest people you know in one team - that’s where you can really make an impact. 

The second thing I learned is to never stop. Never stop anything. Never stop learning, attending meetings, networking, or talking to users. It’s easy to shrug things off by saying “I’m too busy for ‘x’ or ‘y’”, but in reality, the small details are usually a pretty big deal because they reflect how you would deal with issues that will come up in the future.

 I still have 5-8 networking calls a week, talking to professionals or people in the startup space just to learn - no agenda. Users are gold. Without users, Voodies doesn’t exist. I spent months talking to hundreds of users to really understand what they needed. When you understand something, you can provide the best solution. 

Lastly, embrace the change and don’t get bothered by things. Most of the time - it’s not personal. I always say, “there’s how I feel about you personally and then professionally”. I could like you a lot as a person, but if professionally, you aren’t delivering, there’s an issue - and vice versa. These are two different factors. I think it’s important to separate the two because then you can’t act when the time is needed. 

I always critique the way I would want to be critiqued. Even though I don’t have a background in design, development, or UI, I still give my input. You never know what you could inspire. 

I think it’s important to have an open culture with a flat-esq structure to encourage the best ideas to flow. I’ve learned a lot the past couple months and I know I’ll learn more in the next couple. See you all on Voodies!