A few months ago a friend of mine told me about her recent life-changing plane trip

It was the stuff of nightmares. The plane she was riding in was becoming unstable. So much so that they actually released the gas masks and were given instructions to brace themselves. She thought that was it for her.

Fortunately, no crisis happened.

A different crisis though, was slowly swelling within her.

After her horrendous ordeal, she began questioning everything.

Why still be in corporate if she’s not happy? Why wasn’t she spending as much time with her kids? What did she REALLY want to do? What is her purpose?

She is now in the process of changing her life. Aligning it.

We know stories like this. Of people suddenly sobering up in the face of some near-fatal accident or sickness.

We read about them. We watch movies and TV shows about them.

Yes, we get inspired by them, but how many of us actually ACT accordingly?

I think most of us are caught in the illusion that we have time.

But we don’t really know for sure, do we?

It’s not just because death can visit our doors anytime, but also because time marches methodically. Unrelenting. Unfeeling.

You can continue saying, “I”ll do it this year,” and soon get to realize a whole decade just passed.

It seems only like a year ago that I graduated from college, not the actual 16.

Do we really need a near-death experience to jar us into truly living?

Perhaps you can simulate one.

Close your eyes. Use your imagination.

Imagine the gas masks were getting dropped on YOUR trip. Your plane is about to crash.

You are about to die.

Now ask yourself two questions:

1. What do you regret not having done? 

2. Are these the same things you are spending most of your time on now? 

Ponder. Consider. Pray.

Then, act.

Somehow, I think Elon is still under the radar. My wife doesn’t know him. The man on the street won’t know him. He doesn’t have Jobs’s brand.

Yet, I think he’s a much more fascinating entrepreneur than Jobs ever was. (with all the Apple in my house, this is a pretty loaded statement)

Also, I think Elon wins the badass entrepreneurial name battle.

“Elon Musk” > “Steve Jobs”

He DOES sound like someone who would be captain of a martian spacecraft!

If you’re wondering what the fuss is all about, watch the fascinating video below from the recent D11 Conference.

(I’m serious, watch it! Don’t skip over to this part until you do!)

So here’s why I love this guy:

1) Not about the money – its about the impact

You know what I find most amazing in this interview? He’s able to talk about “inter-planetary life” in a business conference with a straight face. While Zuckerberg busies himself trying to find new ways to bill us for talking to people already in our network, Musk is not only trying to get rid of our dependence on fossil fuel, but he’s also saving the human race from extinction via the development of interplanetary travel.

With a straight face.

As noted entrepreneur/VC Mark Suster says, “Elon puts all other entrepreneurs to shame.”

The Tesla Model S

2) He doesn’t go after the easy thing

Attend ANY entrepreneurial event and what you’ll inevitably find is an avalanche of internet ideas. Musk advises us of the opposite thing: get out of the internet, there are too many people there.

After doing Paypal, what ANYONE would have done (in fact, what most of the “Paypal Mafia” did) is to do even more internet startups.

Instead, Musk went after bigger, more difficult fish.

3) The man has balls

Ok, tell me would you create a startup which would threaten to disrupt the main source of wealth of a plethora of Middle Eastern countries?

No?

Disruption typically makes you enemies – those who want to hold on to the status quo. Musk isn’t afraid of disrupting some of the oldest, most entrenched, wealthiest industries.

That takes chutzpah.

4) Atypical heroes

You can tell a lot about a person by asking who his heroes are. When asked of who his heroes are, we were probably expecting one of the great IT guys, perhaps Jobs or Gates (You could tell the interviewers wanted him to reply this way) Instead, Musk quickly went with Tesla (oh gosh if you haven’t read this yet, please do. Tesla rules!), Einstein, Edison, and Newton.

5) Sheer Diversity 

Let’s chronologically talk about the technology Musk tackled: the first truly universal online payment gateway, electric cars, a space exploration/rockets(it still feels weird to type that), and “a cross between a Concorde, a rail gun, and an hockey table.”

How many CEO’s do you see tackle that range of technology?

The truly impressive thing? You just KNOW he immerses himself in the technology and just MAKES himself an expert. We all know LEARNING is a key trait for entrepreneurs , but this is ridiculous.

I want to be an expert in internet payments. Done. Hmmm…electric cars seem really important – I want to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. I need to be an expert in electric automobiles (which look really good) Done. Space?…

Elon is amazing – the spiritual successor to Steve Jobs and for me, the undisputed occupant of the entrepreneurial Iron Throne. If you are an entrepreneur, you HAVE to follow, learn, and get inspiration from him.

Can’t wait to see what he has for us next.

Looks like we’ll be having our biggest open coffee yet! 75 people now confirmed! We have to cap the attendees to a manageable level (too many people doesn’t work for the format used).

We’ll be closing off registration at 100 slots. Do register HERE now to quickly reserve your slot. (I suggest doing it NOW)

I’m excited to see everyone this Saturday, 9:30 am at the magnificent 47 East compound!

It was one of my most painful learning experiences as an entrepreneur.

Around 3 years ago I was invited to be an investor/co-founder in a mobile startup. We were four people. The resumes of my co-founders were dazzling – Ivy League degrees, corporate stalwarts, multiple successful ventures. I signed up immediately. I also proceeded to make the most sizeable investment I’ve ever made (not my usual fare as a passionate proponent of bootstrapping and  minimum seeding)

We met once a week.

On Skype.

There was no one fulltime among the founders. The company was everyone’s second or even third priority.

The deadlines were soft, chewy, and unaccounted for.

We were burning money per month on expenses. I felt my money burning away.

But hey, we’ll turn it around soon enough though! How can we, the super-awesome Fab Four fail?

Soon enough, that company folded.

I ended up actually paying more money than I invested because it turns out closing an LLC (in the US where the company was registered) is not something cheap.

I fell into the entitlement trap.

This is when I-am-so-awesome gets in our head.

As an entrepreneur, we typically become symptomatic of this when we taste some degree of success.

“Success” here can totally be subjective. To wit:

I’m making a million buck a week! I AM AWESOME!

My FB company page was liked 10 times this week! I AM AWESOME!

My dad founded a big company – my very blood flows with entrepreneurial awesomeness! I AM AWESOME! (and redundant)

We then let it get to our head. We forget why we got there: hard work, entrepreneurial hustle, starting from zero, other people helping out, God.

I have heard/read these actual quotes from entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs:

Our competition sucks. They don’t know what they’re doing. (the very typical adjective I hear a lot regarding competition is “bulok”)

No one in the world can mentor me on this because what I’ll be introducing will be first in the world.

I’m pretty sure I can get funded for this.

This sense of entitlement, this sense of “the world owes me” is quite dangerous for the entrepreneur (and frankly, anyone else).

For me, the two most important traits of an entrepreneur are hard work and learning. This whole new entrepreneurial paradigm that the likes of Steve Blank and Eric Ries are championing revolves around these two traits.

It is also precisely these two traits that entitlement slowly chomps away at:

I am so awesome, I don’t need to work that hard. 

I am so awesome, I don’t need to learn from anyone else. 

Don’t fall into this trap.

It can be easy to fall prey to this because confidence is one trait all entrepreneurs share. We HAVE to be confident if we want to survive in this unforgiving industry.

But let us not confuse confidence with arrogance.

Stay hungry. Stay humble.

Filed under: GOD@WORK, STARTUP ADVICE Tagged: philippine startups ]]> http://juangreatleap.com/2013/06/18/dont-slip-into-the-entrepreneur-entitlement-trap/feed/ 1 juangreatleap entitlement http://juangreatleap.com/2013/06/11/how-im-picking-up-the-pieces-and-launching-them-as-startups-anyone-interested-in-being-founders/ http://juangreatleap.com/2013/06/11/how-im-picking-up-the-pieces-and-launching-them-as-startups-anyone-interested-in-being-founders/#comments Tue, 11 Jun 2013 02:03:08 +0000 Peter Cauton http://juangreatleap.com/?p=3924 ]]>

Around 3 years ago, STORM was in a rut.

We made a sellable product in Flexible Benefits. We were so excited that people were ACTUALLY BUYING our product that we…

…made OTHER products instead of concentrating and building on our winner.

I blame my entrepreneurial craziness for this one. Wrote about this a bit for homegrown.ph – on the serial temptation. 

Soon, we had more products than we had people! While each idea was an innovative one and made a BIT of money for us, what we mostly produced was a boatload of mediocrity. Instead of making one GREAT thing – we did a number of  inspired but UNDEVELOPED products.

So channeling our inner Steve Jobs, we killed all our horses except for the biggest one, the one which put us on the map – flexible benefits.

It’s been a great decision.

My STORM business partner Paolo and I made a little experiment though. Among the dropped products, we decided to pursue the next-most promising (and profitable) one, and spin it off into a startup.

Wary of committing the same mistakes again, Pao and I swore we won’t be involved operationally in this new one. So we then looked for TWO MORE co-founders for the would-be firm: a Pitcher CEO and a DOM (Borrowing Maoi’s awesome definitions).  Pao and I would only continue to be involved on a board level.

A few months after?

Strata.ph was launched. What Strata wants to do is to disrupt the way companies manage their people through an online platform which manages competencies.

Within the first few months of operations, it has already managed to secure lucrative b2b contracts. Using the standard of “How much time does it take for the startup to make its first million,” this, by far has been the most successful startup I’ve been involved in.

How has Strata.ph done this?

Here’s why it worked:

1) Fulltime founders

Really quite crucial. Self-explanatory.

2) Sharing the STORM marketing database

Storm and Strata have the same target market.

So instead of Strata calling clients on the phone and asking:

Good afternoon! I’m _____ from Strata. We sell an online competencies platform. May we talk to your HR Director? (pause to listen)

Uhm, no he isn’t expecting my call. 

Hello? Hello?!

We can instead call clients on the phone and ask:

Uy, Jun how are you? How are the kids and their first days in school?” (pause to listen)

Sounds good! Kamusta naman ang flexible benefits ninyo? (pause to listen)

I’m glad to hear that! Tawagan mo lang ako kung magkaroon kayo ng problema ha.”

Dude, do you remember that sister company I told you about? The one doing an online competency framework? Would you have some time this week to meet with them?

This is a BIGGIE.

3) The board knows the market and the business – from a startup perspective

Pao and I are members of the Strata board. Who better to help the CEO and COO of new HR technology startup than another CEO/COO pair who run a successful one?

So where does this all point towards?

I’m now looking at the remaining dropped STORM product lines with a glint in my eye.

Does anyone want to help me put them up?

There are 3 HR ideas I want to pursue and build startups above. 

Here’s who I need (it should be pretty obvious if you’ve read the above):

1) I need people who can commit FULLTIME or if you’re working fulltime, someone who is SERIOUSLY considering a fulltime leap.

2A) The first idea has something to do with training and development. I need 2 people for this one. I need a pitching CEO, and a STATISTICIAN – someone who loves numbers and analysis.

2B) The second idea has something to do with recruitment. For this I might need 2 people as well people. A pitching CEO (ideally someone with recruitment background),  a tech guy who knows how to build web products.

2C) The third idea is an OD consulting play. It ALREADY has a pitching CEO, I would need a partner for him – preferably a someone with an OD background.

3) I need people who will LEAD and be accountable. I need entrepreneurs.

These people I’m looking for will really be STARTUP FOUNDERS. I will not be involved directly in operations, so it’s up to you to build the company.

If you’re interested, send me a line at peter@juangreatleap.com. Do attach a CV and a cover letter as to why you think you’d be a great fit.

Want to take a leap? Send me that email now!

WHAT: OPEN COFFEE (JUNE EDITION)

WHEN: June 22, 2013 9:30 am

WHERE: 47 East Compound, 47 Esteban Abada Street, Loyola Heights, QC (Right in front of the MCDC school)

It’s that time of the month again!

For those who’ve been to one of the sessions, you already know how awesomely helpful open coffee is when it comes to networking, validating ideas, and finding opportunities are concerned. I’m excited to see all the familiar faces!

For those who haven’t gone – you just have to check out for yourself what all the fuss is about!

Do click HERE to reserve your slot!

(Do bring a minimum fee of P100 to pay for coffee and simple snacks)

(Know anyone who would benefit from joining Open Coffee? If so, be a blessing and share!)

May Edition

April Edition at Bo’s Coffee

March Edition

February Edition

I love it!

It’s brightly lit, incredibly functional, spaceous, and comfortable to work in. There are no “manager” rooms. There are whiteboards and wallboards everywhere, and multiple spaces for different kinds of meetings.

Pictures below!

The main reception area

Our main hallway

Tech and QA work area

The pantry

Conference Room

marketing/sales/hr working area

Looking closely, you would also see rather peculiar items in the office:

Like this old restaurant-style chair…

Try spending 8 hours working on this steel chair

And of course, our infamous “orange chair.”

No, you wouldn’t want to see this in a high-resolution picture. Yep, its THAT grimy.

These “artifacts” belonged to the very first Storm office – the one-bedroom condo where I lived.  The bedroom became my house – everything else was transformed into the office.

(how I wish my old hard drive didn’t crash so I could’ve shown some pictures here)

I always joke around the office that we have to throw these chairs away, that I would designate them as prizes in our Christmas raffle for the poor soul who would end up “winning” it.

That restaurant chair there was donated by a friend of ours who closed down a restaurant. Nope, those chairs don’t have ANY bend on them. They are as uncomfortable as you can imagine.

That orange chair was the only comfortable chair we had. It was also a donation from someone who already had it retired in their home stock room. (Of course we still had to sit on the hard chairs – this comfy chair went to our first employee – our programmer) (Hi Angela =)

Truth is, I would want these items around for as long as they would hold up. They’re continual reminders of our journey. It’s a reminder of what we went through and who we are. Of how incredible Blessed we are. Actually, this is what I feel when I walk around the office. It’s not “wow, we have a nice office,” rather, it’s “wow, we’re pretty blessed!”

You see, back then, we had nothing.

We had no experience in running a firm, no mentors, no “donations” from any relatives, no MBA’s, no high QPI’s, no funding, no fancy methodology, no automatic clients referred by a powerful relative. We just had 2 things going for us: an idea we believed in (flexible benefits), and a powerful desire to see it through.

Then we just leapt and committed.

This is partly what fuels my passion in telling you to do the same: I really believe you can do it. Perhaps all you need might be a little push. Hopefully, this can be your push. Trust me, you don’t need any of the above-mentioned stuff. Anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong.

Don’t wait. Leap.

(Do visit us at 602 Centerpoint Building, Julia Vargas cor Garnet Streets, Ortigas Center! And if you have anyone in mind who might especially appreciate this post or will find it useful, do click those buttons and share!) 

Fear has been my constant companion all throughout my startup career.

I remember feeling I might be laughed at as I was about to present my idea to potential partners or investors.

I remember that crippling feeling. That extreme doubt I felt when I was about to resign from my fulltime job.

I remember hearing all the “no’s” in this journey, the disheartening voices and fearing they actually might be right.

I remember delaying the first-ever post of Juan Great Leap (JGL) for weeks for fear other people might judge me.

After developing several startups (both successes and utter failures), and the unexpected growth of the JGL audience, you’d think I finally would be free from fear’s clutches.

It’s still there.

I’m still scared things might not work. I’m scared people will laugh. I’m afraid of what other people might think. I’m afraid a new startup idea might flop.

The difference now is, not only have I learned to live it, but I have learned how important it is to EMBRACE IT, especially in today’s business climate.

Let me explain.

Continuous Innovation Is Now a REQUIREMENT

The industrial age is dead and dying, along with all its guarantees (being an employee of one firm for life, worry-free retirement, etc…).

Innovation is the new currency.

Innovate or DIE. (RIP: Kodak, the big-label music industry, the dodo, etc…)

Companies know this.

Witness how ALMOST ALL companies have “innovation” as a company value, or how billions are poured into R&D.

This is true for both companies and of people.

For example, programmers now cannot invest too heavily in being an expert in one platform. HR people are finding out that job descriptions are getting obsolete (or at best, very high maintenance) because they change all the time. The best corporate managers are those who are able to maintain excellence despite getting deployed to handle very different things and cope with a diverse set of problems.

So how does one cope in this new dynamic?

Becoming flexible.

How does one THRIVE in this new dynamic?

You HAVE to take risks.

Risks automatically comes with a possible downside. That downside is something we fear. (no fear? then it might not be that much of a risk for you)

You want to THRIVE in this environment? Then you have got to face your fears.

Embracing Fear

Quick story. After our first, well-attended Juan Great Leap conference in Ayala-TBI, we were brainstorming as to what to do next. The safe route would have been to do another keynote / panel discussion affair. But then an idea came to mind: what about a group speed dating activity which involves 20+ entrepreneurs?

We all saw the positive possibilities, BUT…

It had never been done before. It would be a logistics nightmare. There were so many questions. Would people hear one another? What if nobody came – this was something very different, so people might not immediately see its value.

It was either going to be work splendidly, or it would crash and burn. There was little in between.

While we were talking about this. A familiar feeling made itself known to me.

Fear.

This was the precise point when I knew we HAD to do this group speed dating thing.

Reverse Spider Sense

Spidey’s spider-sense tells him if he is in any immediate danger (spider sense tingling!). Fear has become something of a reverse spider-sense for me. If it tingles – there is opportunity!

Now, when evaluating opportunities, I LOOK for that fear.

Is the fear in me?

If there is no fear, then it could mean either of 2 things:

1) I am not interested in the opportunity.

Subconsciously, I already know I don’t find (or at that moment I am not finding) the opportunity presented interesting. Perhaps because its not within my realm of expertise, or perhaps I just think it isn’t feasible for me.

Possible scenarios like this would include: someone inviting me to invest in a startup in a field I don’t really understand that much, or listening to a salesperson pitch a product I have no use for.

2) There isn’t a great deal of risk

If there isn’t a risk, then I am not too worried about it. Chances are great the possible returns won’t be so hot, either. I can say yes to the opportunity, but it won’t really keep me up at night imagining the possibilities.

Possible scenarios like this would include: someone wanting to give me a 1% share for a startup in return for monthly advice, or doing maintenance work in the office, or choosing what tiles would suit the office bathroom.

But if there IS fear?

Then I probably would be asking a LOT of questions about it. I would be nodding or shaking my head vigorously. I would be up – a lot of times all night – thinking of the pros and cons.

If there is fear, then I know that my subconscious is HIGHLY considering this course of action. It ALREADY knows if the opportunity in question is internally feasible for me or not. I wouldn’t even feel the fear if it were OUTSIDE my capabilities. (see #1 above) Fear tells me there is a possibility I can pull it off.

I ALSO know that this would be something WELL WORTH doing, or at the very least, worth a much longer consideration time. Fear is a sign that the returns would be awesome.

This could involve pursuing a huge pivot for our firm, or pondering the high cost of a GREAT hire, or asking someone to be key member of the founding team or the board, or doing a sales presentation to the CEO or the MANCOM of a potential huge client (not really a decision, but an opportunity nevertheless), proposing to my wife, saying goodbye to my decade-long HR career, or even me in my room, musing about a potential strategy.

Fear has ceased to become crippling. It has become my friend. It can be your friend too.

Hoooh! My friend, Your Friend…Whatever Peter! I’m miles away from that! I’m afraid to even tell my friends I’m thinking about starting something!

It’s a process (like EVERYTHING worth its while), will NOT come overnight, and there are no shortcuts.

Here are some tips that may help:

1) Surround yourself with healthy risk-takers (don’t know anyone? go to startup events, go to open coffee – LOOK for healthy risk-takers)

2) Fail

In some ways, this might be like swimming. The only way for you to learn is to dive in.

There is one HUGE thing that happens when you fail – YOU REALIZE ITS NOT THAT BAD.

Because of our primitive survival instincts, we pre-programmed to assume the WORST. (OHNO, I will be out on the streets if I fail! I will be the laughingstock of the barkada, nay, the whole country! Woe is me! WOE IS ME!)

It’s not that bad.

Of course, I’m not saying you should DELIBERATELY fail – but try doing things out of your comfort zone. Perhaps you can try starting the thing you’ve always wanted to do but always feared, but do so by…

3. Starting with smaller risks

Start with low-risk items, and gradually proceed with bigger ticket risks.

Got an idea?

Level 1: Do a powerpoint (not so risky)

Level 2: Invite close friends and present your idea (a tad risky)

Level 3: Invite not-so-close friends you think would be an expert on your idea and present (riskier)

At this point, you’re BOUND to get some negative comments / rejection already (this ALREADY could be felt as a huge failure for some people)

Level 4: Recruit a Co-founder. Among the people you’ve talked to, do a formal proposal saying that you are DOING the idea and you NEED their help as a partner (risky)

Hey guess what – you’ve started a startup!

(Know anyone who would appreciate this post? Hit the buttons and share below and share!)

Filed under: GETTING STARTED, Life in a Startup, Small Steps, TAKE THAT LEAP! Tagged: philippine startups, startups unplugged ]]> http://juangreatleap.com/2013/05/30/how-you-can-use-fear-as-a-reverse-spider-sense/feed/ 3 spideysense juangreatleap tarantula relay spideysense stairs http://juangreatleap.com/2013/05/28/pitchcraft-postscript/ http://juangreatleap.com/2013/05/28/pitchcraft-postscript/#comments Mon, 27 May 2013 17:04:25 +0000 Peter Cauton http://juangreatleap.com/?p=3852 ]]>

(from L-R) David Cruz, Richard Cruz, Maoi Arroyo, Me, and Karen Hipol

I had a great time at the Pitchcraft Event last Saturday at AIM. With nearly 70 people, there was a lot of energy in the air. Most importantly, I saw there was a lot of learning happening.

Just a quick summary of what happened, for those of you who missed it:

First, Karen Hipol of Carillion Partners (yup, she of the $100 million fund) came in to give the first talk: WHAT should the pitch contain. Then, Maoi Arroyo of Hybridigm delivers the second talk: HOW the pitch should be given. After a short break, the panel/simulation activity began. First a panel of experts are introduced: technology serial entrepreneur David Cruz, AIM professor and entrepreneurship expert Richard Cruz (not related to David), and Karen Hipol.  The panel and the audience are then shown 5 selected pitch videos from Shark Tank. Both the audience and the panel are given a chance to chime in after each video. Finally, the audience is asked whether they would want a chance to do REAL pitches to a select group of investors in a post-event happening in 2 weeks. (14 volunteered)

Here are some of my observations and musings, post-event.

A) Entrepreneurs are willing to pay for LIVE! 

This was the first Juan Great Leap PAID event, so I was paying a lot of attention as what would happen. Scores of people would attend our free events, so I was wondering what would happen if we attached a price tag.

I asked this precise question (would you pay P1000 for a startup course) to our JGL newsletter recipients (thank you for ALL the respondents!), and while the majority said yes, there a number of people who said entrepreneurial people (the target market) would find a ton FREE content on the web and will not pay. I found this to be a very credible argument – so I was eager to see what would happen with our own “MVP” which Pitchcraft represented.

3 weeks of marketing yielded 70 people.

There is still a large number of people who would want to learn LIVE! from experts – even entrepreneurs. I guess there is still something with a LIVE! learning session – the learning is more palpable, you learn with a community, you can network (with both audience members and the speakers), and when the content is good – there’s just a larger chance of not only education, but inspiration (try watching a training video for more than 10 minutes – even if the speaker is really good, I doubt if you’ll get the same impact).

Same reason as to why we still go to concerts even we could just download past ones.

I’m pretty happy with this development – not because I will be able to earn from it (I don’t earn anything from JGL activities), but because we can give you BETTER events and even more value-adding activities down the line.

B) Paid Tickets Magically Make Flakers Disappear

Yes, the last 2 JGL big conferences attracted around 200 people, but also had around 400+ signups. No matter how much I begged for people NOT to flake because the tickets are finite (someone will LOSE a slot if you flake), we still encountered a bunch of them. Our monthly open coffee attracts 60-70 people with around a 50% flaker rate as well.

Flaker rate in Pitchcraft? ZERO.

It’s a pretty predictable stat, but still, this makes me think.

I’ve always vowed to make what we do here free and as reachable to EVERYONE as possible. But this flaker thing is making me think. Open Coffee, because of what it stands for, will ALWAYS be free. But now I’m thinking the big conferences might actually benefit from say, a very reasonable P300 fee. (Tell me what you think!)

3. The Community Thing Is Just Awesome

It’s sappy, but it really warmed my heart to see so many JGL “regulars” learning at the event. I mean, for a number of these guys, I KNOW their stories, and where they are, and what some of their struggles are, and I just KNEW they got a lot of value.

Jode, Ricci, Tet, Mano, Burns, Luis, AJ, Alex, Romylee, Randy, Albert, Rona, Kath, Grace, John, and all the others whose names I have forgotten (because I am simply the worst “HR” person alive as far as name-face association is concerned) – thank you for supporting not only the event but JGL as a whole. I pray that we may always deliver what you guys NEED to take your ideas/startups to the next level.

4. Maoi is the REAL DEAL

Quick, think of the best stand-up comedian you know.

Now, think of the best teacher you’ve ever learned from.

Now proceed to COMBINE these.

THAT is the Maoi Arroyo experience. In a delectable mix of irreverence, wit, timing, experience, entrepreneurial knowledge and wisdom, she gave such a memorable talk that must have been exhausting to deliver (thank you, Maoi). You HAD to be there. (you can ask ANYONE who attended how this went)

(If you have a biotech/natural science-related idea and you need someone to help you get to the next level, do reach out to Maoi NOWand get Hybridigm to help!)

(more Pitchcraft pictures here)

Pitchcraft is on for tomorrow, and I’m really excited for all the learning we’ll be doing!  Last day to register! (You can also register during the event as well) Attendance is at around 70 people now. See you tomorrow!