Listen guys, I'm sorry.  But, I just can't do it anymore.  I can't keep having this conversation with every non-tech founder.  It's just too painful.  On you, on me, and everyone else that you've approached.  I was once on the search for a technical co-founder, so I can empathize.  

But, seriously, Please stop.   

I had an amazing conversation with Sam Rosen and Dana Levine of Speakergram this week.  Speakergram is a pretty cool company that connects speakers and event organizers.   While talking about a bunch of notable, recent pivots, they shared their new business plan with me, and we talked about whether it would count as a pivot. 

We realized that there are actually two types of pivots.

The first is the classic company do-over.  This is when a company fails at a product and effectively starts their company over with the same team, same cap table, and money already in the bank.  There are fabulous success stories of do-over pivots: Groupon pivoting from The Point, Yelp pivoting from email recommendations, and everyone's recent favorite (in process), Stickybits pivoting to Turntable.fm.
 
Kudos to anyone that pulls off a full pivot.  And if your company is in a similar situation, where you've lost faith in your original vision, then hell yes, you have to do something. But be careful.  I find our perceptions of pivots suffer from a survivor's bias.  While do-over pivots have worked in the past, they're usually not the optimized strategy.   There's a culture emerging in Startup Land where full pivoting is almost part of the strategy. 

Even if you manage your cash flow well, you risk the loss of momentum that is so vital to a startup's life.  Engineers that were recruited under some awesome, bold vision get antsy when the company can't find direction.  Once a company decides to pivot, it becomes a ticking time bomb ready to implode.

There's a better way  

Sam used the word veer  to talk about some sweet new ideas he and Dana have for Speakergram.  In the course of building Speakergram, they've landed on some really powerful needs in the market.  Like good entrepreneurs, they've smart enough to really listen to their early customers and gravitate towards their customers' biggest needs.  Through disciplined customer development, they've worked their way towards a market and a problem that is much grander than their original idea.  (You'll have to ping them directly to learn about it...)

While I promised them I wouldn't say here what they're doing, I can tell you that it fits perfectly with what they've already done.  They're going to have an unfair advantage in building it because their current users already want it, it aligns with their brand, it matches their skill set as a team, and it fits the the general vision they sold to their investors.  And yet, it's not some trivial optimization.  It's a 15 degree pivot that allows them to leverage their earlier work for a much bigger opportunity.  It's a veer. 

I have no idea if Sam and Dana will make it big.  I can say, however, that Speakergram will have a much higher probability of success because this is not just some lottery ticket, haphazard, I-hope-to-get-lucky, pivot. 

One last footnote:  I usually hate to caveat my own posts, but I should say that there is a perfectly fine time to do a full start-over pivot.  And that's doing it early, before you have investors bought in on a vision.  One of the many great things Paul Graham does during Y Combinator is help founders choose do-over pivots before they get too far down the wrong road.  Watch the FloType interview as a perfect example.

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Dear MBA friends, professors, fellow entrepreneurs:

It's time for a real discussion about why our business school programs are failing at the education of entrepreneurship.

This is not yet-another rant about how business schools students suck at startups.  That's been done, over and over again.  I would like to engage you all in an actual discussion.  I have one goal: to help our business schools get better at teaching entrepreneurship.

I judged a business school entrepreneurial pitch event in May.  Teams of hard working MBA students had spent 10 weeks preparing investor pitches for their companies. Faculty were heavily engaged.  Successful entrepreneurs were brought in to judge the teams.  And as I listened to each team present, all I could think about was how silly this all was.  Absolute silliness.  These students' presentations were so removed from what actual investment presentations look like.  One judge told me in the hall that he had seen more entrepreneurial savviness from a 12 year old's lemonade stand.  He was only half-joking.  And this was an elite top 10 program.  What is going on? Seriously, what is going on with our MBA programs??

It wasn't from lack of effort.  They had worked really hard.  I talked to many of the teams and this project was one of the most important activities they had done in business school thus far.  They were truly proud of their hard work.

It wasn't from lack of support.  The faculty were fully engaged and passionate about teaching these students.

It wasn't from lack of good ideas.  Some of these students had ideas that I know could be immediately fundable if done right.  I saw several that had the potential to become big businesses.

Seriously.  What is going on?  I talked to several faculty members.  These are scholars and teachers for whom I hold the upmost respect.  I told them that this whole eship program was a disservice to these students.  The students had not only failed to learn about entrepreneurship, they had learned many things that were just plain wrong, totally divorced from real world application.  This program was not a foundational piece of education that would help them be successful once outside of classroom. It would hurt them.  As in, they would literally have been better off without going through the experience.

And here's the kicker.  The faculty members agreed.

That's right.  They know.  They know this is awful stuff.  And they're desperate to get it right.  They know that their entrepreneurship programs are an eye-sore, and they want to make changes.  They're turning to alumni for advice.  They're creating strategic steering committees to discuss the problem.  They want solutions.

It's time for a real discussion.

***

I've been thinking a lot about this for the last several years.  And I've got some opinions to share on the topic.   Let's be real though.  There aren't going to be easy answers.   We need to dive into some tough topics, and I need your help to do it.  For the time being, I'm focused specifically on helping actual business schools.  As a Y Combinator alum, I know that there are other ways to teach entrepreneurship outside of the classroom.  This is my attempt to focus on fixing it inside the classroom. I've listed out a few initial questions I would like to tackle:

1. What are the root causes leading to business schools failing at the education of entrepreneurship?

2. What are the current best practice for teaching entrepreneurship in a business school setting?

3. What solutions can we recommend to business school faculty to help them make real positive change in the curriculum?

I would like your help with these questions.  Please feel free to leave your comments here on the blog or on Hacker News.  Also feel free to write your own blog post and link to it in the comments.  Please email me your more substantive thoughts at humbledmba AT gmail.com.  I would like to find several people that are interested in joining me in a collaborative follow-up post.  Please send me your perspective — I won't publish anything without your permission.

Please also forward this on to your MBA and entrepreneurship friends and colleagues.  I am contacting Tuck, my alma mater, to have some candid conversations with them.  I would love to hear from people at other schools.  I'm going to do several more posts on this subject.

I'm really looking forward to this discussion.

Most Sincerely Yours,

Jason Freedman

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I did an unvacation in Tupelo, Mississippi this past week.  An unvacation is my new M.O., in which I travel to someplace fun but don't take significant time off while there.  My old friends Henderson and Rebecca live  in Tupelo, and it was a really special opportunity to spend some time with them.  One of the many great benefits of doing startups is that it's not that difficult to work from anywhere.  So for the last few days, I've been working out of cafes in downtown Tupelo, enjoying the warm Southern hospitality.

I love working from other places because it helps me leave the echo chamber of Silicon Valley.  Within the U.S., Tupelo, Mississippi is about the farthest one can possibly be from Silicon Valley.  My friends Henderson and Rebecca met at Ole Miss (Hotty Totty!).  They've been married for 4 years now and have made Tupelo their home.  Henderson is practicing law and Rebecca is teaching high school, while also working on her masters.  They have rabbits in their backyard, and they look forward to starting a family together. And just like everyone in Tupelo, they think about money.  They save every chance they get.  And while they're not poor, they can't afford to waste.  Henderson and Rebecca are good people, working incredibly hard to build their lives together.  I'm so proud of them.

After 4 days, I'm now heading back to San Francisco.  With a bit of perspective, I've been thinking a lot about what we're all doing here in StartupLand.  Specifically, I'm thinking about our startups and how they are affecting life for Henderson and Rebecca in Tupelo.  There is one moment from this trip that has randomly become stuck in my mind

Before I left Tupelo, we asked a passerby to take pictures of us.  We each handed her our own camera for the picture.  She took the pictures and handed our cameras back to us.  

So I know this is nuts, but whatever, I'm a startup guy.  I immediately thought of photosharing services, of course.  We were using separate cameras!  I thought of all the entrepreneurs I know that are working their asses off to be involved in that exact moment.  Instagram, Facebook, LiveShare, Color, Path, TwitPic, Posterous, and on and on and on...

It makes me just a bit sad.  Henderson and Rebecca asked me all weekend to tell them about what goes on in Silicon Valley.  They felt like I was a window into this world where the future was being written one line of code at a time.  I wanted to tell them about all the incredible innovations that are occurring in startups right now.  Cool, new technologies that will make their lives better in incredible ways.  I wanted to demonstrate something awesome that would immediately play a role in their lives.  And while I did tell them about a lot of cool stuff.  I left feeling like it was unsubstantial.  

Is it just me?  Does anyone else feel this way??

How many of us are solving real problems?  How many of us are doing something that is going to improve the lives of Henderson and Rebecca in Tupelo, Mississippi?  How many of us are making something that is going to help them save money or help them make money or help them increase their quality of life?  

It's been 3.5 years since Tim O'Reilly told us all to stop throwing sheep and do something worthy.  He told us that day, "You have to ask yourself, are we working on the right things?"

***

I'm glad we've moved past throwing sheep at each other on Facebook.  I'm glad we've moved past acquiring users by downloading someone's contact list and spamming their friends.  The startup ecosystem is much healthier than it was in 2008.  But still, I'm concerned.  As a fellow geek and early adopter, I'm psyched for one of the photo-sharing concepts to really take off.  I think it'll be sweet to instantly share pictures with my friends in cool new ways.  But I know it's not a huge problem for Henderson and Rebecca.  It's just not an issue that affects them.  I'm concerned about how many of us are working on problems that just don't matter all that much to the rest of the world.

This is just a reminder for all of us, myself included, to stay focused on solving problems.  Real problems, not just the ones that ride the current popularity wave.  Build something people want because it makes their lives better.  When we all stay grounded in this focus, we as an entrepreneurial community do great work.  I know it's possible to make money with fads and flips, but the real value for us all is in solving real problems.  

I apologize for being melodramatic, but fuck it, this is how I feel.  Henderson and Rebecca in Tupelo, Mississippi are counting on us to do meaningful work.  I want to make them proud.

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I talked with an uber-talented 27-year old the other night.  She's been working at the same startup for 3.5 years, helping it grow from 7 employees to over 100.  While she started as a utility infielder, helping out with everything that needed doing, she's now become a sophisticated online marketer.   She's ready to try something new, and she asked me if I could be helpful.   I don't know her well, but I'd be comfortable making reasonably introductions on her behalf. We had the following exchange:

Me: What are you looking for?

Her:  Anything, really.  I just want it to be a good a fit.

Me:  What sized company would be right?

Her: I'm comfortable with both big and small companies.  It's more important that I like the people.

Me: Is there a particular industry that interests you?

Her: I want to be passionate about the product, but I'm otherwise industry-agnostic.

Me: So, how can I be helpful to you?

Her: If there are any good startups you'd think would be a good match, I'd love an intro.

Well, this just drives me fucking crazy.  I actually really want to help this person.  I also have the ability to help her.  But I need her to help me engage.  She doesn't realize it, but she's making it very hard for me to really provide concrete help (read: introductions).  Because she was flexible about everything, I can't really think of a good contact to offer.  I like making introductions when it feels like there is a high probability of a match.  However, I don't want to waste anybody's time, so I won't help her throw darts at the startup map.  Her inability to make any specific preference decisions makes it sound like she hasn't thought through what she really wants.  I'm thinking in the back of my head:  go figure out what you want, and then come back when I can actually be helpful.  But what I tell her is this:

Sounds good.  I'll let you know if I hear of anything.

And I won't.  She won't pop into my head again.  Maybe if someone in the next 2 days randomly asks me if I know anyone in online marketing looking to make a jump. Maybe then.  But really, she just lost out on an opportunity to make some real progress in her job search.

And here's the kicker.  She was being 100% honest.  She's done small and big companies.  She's done several different industries.  When she says she wants to be passionate about the product and have a great fit with the team, that's all true!  She has honed in on what works for her.  She thinks that by being flexible, she's expanding her possibilities.  

However, the opposite is true.  She'll have fewer opportunities come her way because people like me can't figure out how to help her.  But there's a trick to solving this problem.  It's not super hard to pull off, and I've seen it work fabulously for many people.  Here's the trick:

Step 1: Create a Specific Plan A

This little trick is all about positioning.  Whenever you talk to someone about job search stuff/career advisory stuff, give them a very specific interest.  For instance, tell me that you're interested in joining a seed-stage team focused on mobile payments.  Or a post-Series A startup doing social discounts.  Or a high-growth startup in advertising optimization.  Whatever!  Just make it very specific.

If she had said she was interested in mobile payments at the seed-stage level, I would have immediately thought of several people with whom it would be ideal for her to chat.  I would send a warm intro saying that she shares a similar passion and ask them if they would be willing to chat with her.  These people, regardless of whether they were hiring, would be happy to make further introductions if she impressed them with her passion and intelligence.

And now, she would be making progress.  Talking to great people.  Meeting founders of startups.  This is HOW she'd find that group of people out there that will make a great fit.

Step 2:  Create a Specific Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D

Now that you're making progress meeting people related to Plan A, start a new stream of networking around Plan B.  Let's say you're also interested in social discount companies.  When talking to a new person that could be helpful with introductions or advice, tell them that you want to get into social discounts.  Don't make mention of mobile payments.

And presto!  You've got a new stream people to meet.  New startups, new founders, new opportunities for serendipity to strike.  

As long as you're being respectful and not wasting anyone's time, most people won't care that you have other interests.  You can even caveat it a bit if you want to let people know that you have other interests outside of your 'focused' plan.  But don't caveat too much.  One, having multiple interests usually goes without saying and two, the goal here is to present an ability to focus.

If you're one of those talented people that works incredibly hard, has contagious energy, but hasn't quite found the the perfect place yet...ping me on LinkedIn and I'll do anything I can to help.

But one final note.  There are some people that seem to network as a full-time obsession.  If you're one of those people and you take this advice to an extreme, you'll come off as unauthentic and untrustworthy.  As with anything, apply some reason and some respectful tact in how you handle yourself.

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