One of my favorite new things to do with my two girls is to watch Shark Tank on Sunday nights. Funnily, I wasn’t the one who discovered the show–my 12-year-old daughter, an aspiring baker, loves the show. So, when a couple of weeks ago I learned that GoKid was chosen to become a Techstars company to join the 2016 Mobility class, I could easily explain the set up to my girls. Techstars gets 6% of the company and we get our first funding of $120,000 in cash and convertible notes. My daughters got it, but weren’t crazy about the part where I have to commute to Detroit for the summer.
The amazing part for GoKid is that we were chosen out of more than 500 companies that applied to be part of the program. Only 12 companies made the final selection which comprised of several rounds of interviews, the final one in front of 20+ corporate sponsors and mentors (a scary experience in itself). During my 10+ years in advising technology companies and corporations on innovation, I’ve attended many Techstars Demo Days in New York and was always impressed to see the companies’ pitches and presentations. So how does it feel to sit on the other side and to become a Techstars company?
Well, the first week, not surprisingly, was intense. We were challenged to think about our businesses in completely new ways, received a handful of books (out of a recommended reading list of over twenty!), needed to pitch our business, discussed our lows and highs in front of 30+ people, and learned the ins and outs of staying super organized and data-driven, while at the same time finding time to continue to run our daily operations and move to Detroit. Oh, and we will be starting a Fitbit challenge in which we’re also competing over how much exercise we are able to squeeze in. Techstars created our own Slack channel with topics ranging from “Fundraising” to “FounderHouse” (yes, as part of the experience I moved into an entire house of founders in midtown Detroit!). One of the best perks here: six so-called associates are here to help the companies with everything from coding to business planning and UX / UI design.
Week one went quickly and was well organized – some elements reminded me of school: Raising hands and being punished for coming late to sessions (one can definitely see that there are other parents in the room). So far one of the most interesting exercises was probably “peaks and valleys” in which our program director stood up first and talked for three minutes about his failures and achievements. Everyone followed his example and shared not only professional challenges but also deeply personal struggles. While it initially felt like joining AA for tech startups, I realized that this exercise was probably the most effective way not only to get to know our fellow entrepreneurs beyond their business pitches but also to realize that overcoming emotional challenges and building lasting relationships is probably the number one task for us.
John Hill, who calls himself a “network catalyst” at Techstars, led another impressive session, Power of the Network. Techstars comprises 2,100 founders and more than 800 companies, so leveraging that community – as we #givefirst – is one of the other cornerstones of this program.
All in all, a great kickoff. The opportunity to work with fellow founders in the mobility space, the strong mentor and alumni network, and program directors who are all previously successful founders is an amazing opportunity. I do have to remind myself and my girls, who are going through their final week of school and celebrating my younger daughter’s 10th birthday, that this is a temporary arrangement – until September 8 on which we will present our companies to 1000+ investors at demo day.
My girls still want to see me on Shark Tank. This experience here is probably the best preparation for it.
