Focus and Funding Are Top Priorities for Startups

Focus and funding were the themes shared by the founders of three local startups Jan. 27 at the latest Meetup of the Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship at Montclair State University.

“Pick one thing, and do it amazingly well,” Livecube cofounder Aaron Price told the nearly 150 attendees while emphasizing the importance of focus when launching a venture. Price talked about earlier efforts at startups, including with his brother. “We learned a lot about being scrappy,” said Price, who also founded NJ Tech Meetup.

His company, Livecube, is a gamified phone-based voting system for events. Price said Livecube is targeting a $15 billion to $20 billion space related to events; his ultimate goal is to sell his company. Until then, Price plans to build the company to sustainability on his own, and advised attendees to do the same, avoiding capital infusions from the outside as long as they can.

View photos from the event.

Watch video highlights of the event.

Scott Barnett, founder of Bizyhood, echoed a similar theme, saying raising capital should be a sixth or eighth step, not a first step.

“It’s so, so hard these days,” said Barnett about raising money out of the gate. “You’ve really got to bring your startup to the point where you’re showing some traction.” He advised entrepreneurs to give themselves at least 18 months, and to try to make their money last as long as they can.

Bizyhood is a website that provides tools for businesses to manage relationships with current and future customers. Barnett is on his ninth startup, and said focus can be the one of the biggest challenges. “We’ve got to say ‘no’ 97 times to say ‘yes’ two or three times,” he said.

Barnett also advised attendees to “date” anyone they are thinking of partnering with on a startup, so they can get to know them first in a business context and see if it’s the right fit.

A date a decade or so ago eventually led to Megan Brown and Kirsten Bischoff starting HatchedIt. Brown’s date with Bischoff’s brother led to marriage, and nearly 10 years later the two sisters-in-law launched the new business.

HatchedIt is “a virtual white board for managing your life,” said Brown. Brown and Bischoff had high-powered careers on Wall Street before pursuing entrepreneurship. They have used not only their Wall Street smarts but also their experience as mothers to hatch their startup. Besides tracking events and commitments, HatchedIt allows users to create smaller, more private social networks, an aspect important to Brown after she realized she didn’t want to share photos of her young daughter with hundreds of people on Facebook.

The Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship holds events about one a month focused on startups and entrepreneurship. To learn about more events like this, join Montclair Entrepreneurs Meetup.