Hi Everyone,
I wanted to pass this information along to you guys. I am not making an endorsement of the product because honestly I have not had time to properly evaluate the potentials and the risks. I am simply doing it as a public service announcement. Check it out and I would like to hear back with people’s thoughts.
TheFunded Founder Institute is a new founder-centric incubator that trains new and seasoned entrepreneurs the best practices for building next generation companies. The unique 4-month program offers remote participation, the industry’s most founder-friendly terms, focused mentorship and training from renowned CEOs, resources from leading service partners, fundraising opportunities at fair market value, and shared equity upside among all participants in the companies formed. Passionate Founders can apply today at www.FounderInstitute.com – registration for the Summer 2009 Semester ends on May 10th, 2009.
Why was the Founder Institute Created?
The National Venture Capital Association recently reported that VC fundraising dropped nearly 40% in Q1 of 2009. In these dire economic times, only the highest quality, most disciplined new businesses will proliferate – and The Founder Institute was created from the ground up to create such businesses. Our focus on quality is evident in our process;
- Institute Founders receive guidance from renowned, experienced start-up CEO Mentors.
- The Institute’s unique equity-sharing model aligns incentives and ensures maximum effort from all parties involved. When one of the Institute’s companies does well, all of the participating companies benefit – and when the Institute’s Mentors help the participating companies, they share in the upside as well
- The Institute focuses Founders on non-abstract, critical company-building assignments that build successful businesses in a weekly, step-by-step fashion.
- The Institute helps Founders secure investment at market rates and under the best possible terms – instead of forcing a valuation or equity purchase at a premature stage.
- The Institute does not require Founders to relocate or live on reduced incomes.
- The Institute sets up regular meetings with investors and the public throughout the company-building process to increase quality and focus.
- Institute Partners provide discounted or free services, so Founders can focus more time and resources on building the business.
Great Founders are often overlooked by the current entrepreneurial ecosystem, and innovative startups have a dramatic positive effect on the global economy. TheFunded Founder Institute aims to help the global economy by helping smart people start new, high-quality businesses.
For more information, visit www.FounderInstitute.com, or contact jonathan@thefunded.com.
Why shouldn’t you be stupid? Why should you feel dumb when you do something other people aren’t “hip” to? Why should you should believe that following your own pattern will make people dislike you, your business and your beliefs. The truth is, being stupid could be just the thing your business needs in order to grow effectively.
How many of us could sit back 10 years ago, see a company called “Google” and believe it would be the powerhouse it is today? Not many of us. But I bet the creators did. They invented a word and did something that no one else was doing and turned it into their own brand and are now as rich as rich can be 
All because they dared to be stupid. Or how about the guys who create Youtube? Or how about Seth Godin giving away so many great marketing ideas for free every day on his blog? You know, some people actually believe that giving away things is BAD for business. Yea, go figure.
Are you scared to chase your dreams?
When you think about your dream job, or the ‘perfect life’ do you get that same exciting burst of energy and excitement that I get when I am planning different things for my business? Yeah, I bet you do. That my friends, is called Passion. I’ve wrote about passion previously on this blog and when you get a free minute or two, I’d suggest checking it out. So you’ve come to the realization that you have that burning passion, but what do you do next?
If you’re like most small business owners, or aspiring small business owners, you’ve probably let a little bit of doubt sink into your head. Maybe you’ve thought the following thoughts before:
- I don’t have the skills needed
- Where am I going to find all of the money required to do this
- I just don’t know where to start
While these are all perfectly logical thoughts to have, you NEED to realize that they should not paralyze your dreams. I was reading “The 4-Hour Workweek” the other day and came across this line in the book and it fits perfect with our current topic: “Risks weren’t that scary once you took them”. (oh, and did I mention Timothy Ferris is another guy who gives away great marketing and business ideas on his blog for free too?)
So how do we actually “dare to be stupid”?
It’s a simple concept really. Daring to be stupid is essentially the exact way you lived your life when you were a child. You were care free, did things your way and really didn’t care about other peoples opinions. That is how you dare to be stupid in a nut-shell and should be printed out in large, bold text and placed in your office somewhere.
Guerrilla marketing can be looked at as daring to be stupid simply because these marketing strategies are being put to practice in ways that other people haven’t thought of before. As a bootstrapper, you need to realize that being stupid doesn’t always mean failing. Yes, you can make a stupid decision and fail, but without action, there is no reaction. So yes, without trying something ‘stupid’ you can never fail; but you’ll never succeed either.
So find that inner child in you, dare to be stupid and jump with a leap of faith. It just might pay off more then you think.
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect – Mark Twain
Bootstrapping involves risk and risk involves taking a road less traveled. The above quote sums up a lot of the most successful business owners feelings when talking about how they got where they are. Lets face it; following the majority will only let you become as successful as they have been – if you’re lucky. More times then most though, you’ll end up with a fraction of the success as the ones before you because the public has already seen it and is tired of it.
Taking That Risk
Some solid risk assessment skills are no doubt needed in order to become a successful risk taker. This article does not mean that quitting your job with no savings and nowhere to live is the way to go. But just be sure to know that there is no such thing, in my opinion, as a calculated risk. If it’s been over calculated, it’s no longer a risk, but just another run at a business.
Why Bootstrappers LOVE Risk
Bootstrappers love risk (or at least you better get to that point) for many reasons. For most of us, it’s embedded in our DNA when we are born; natural risk takers. For others, it is a skill that is built over time. Either way, risk is a big factor in someone coasting through life or living life to its fullest.
Bootstrappers who take the risks to get to the next level in their business find one of two things:
- They fail and learn a big lesson that they will apply to their next risk
- They succeed and gain tons of profit that they would have never saw without the risk taking
If you fail when you take your risks, do not look at it as a failure, but a learning process. Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before he succeeded, so why can’t you? By failing, you’re gaining not only the knowledge to grow in a positive direction, but you’re also getting the ‘tough skin’ needed to succeed in business and move forward when everything is trying to stop you.
When you succeed in your bootstrapped business because of a risk you took, you feel like a champion. Nothing works better for increased energy levels at work then succeeding and feeling on top of the world. The positive feelings in knowing that your risk (you know, the thing everyone advised you against doing) paid off is infinite. I personally get a great feeling, not only in knowing that I succeeded, but in knowing that I proved everyone wrong. So go ahead, take that risk, you’ll be surprised at whats on the other side.
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