Steve Case is arguably one of the best men for startups to turn to for advice. In 1985, Case had the idea for AOL, then spent the next decade pursuing the idea until it took off. Meanwhile, Jeff Vinik has invested in multiple businesses since the 1990s and most recently, turned his focus on startups by backing Embarc Collective, an innovation hub set to open later this year.
Case and Vinik came together May 1 as part of the Rise of the Rest tour, which Case heads with his D.C.-based think tank Revolution. Rise of the Rest's intention is to bring awareness to startups beyond California, New York and Massachusetts which garner a majority of the venture capital funds each year. The tour set out across Florida this week, across Orlando, the Space Coast, Tampa Bay and Miami.
The duo held a fireside chat moderated by Kim Hart, manager editor at Axios, before the highly anticipated pitch competition. We've broken down the key advice the men gave entrepreneurs.
Get out of Silicon Valley.
"In 2019, you can start up a company anywhere," Vinik said. "You don't need to be in Silicon Valley and have connections to the person next door to you. You don't need to be in New York City with communication being the way it is today — that can develop anywhere.
Silicon Valley is right for a lot of people, San Francisco is right for a lot of startups, but people say you know what, the cost of living is 40 percent less and I want my people here in Tampa Bay. I couldn’t be happier to invest money with Case and his crew. They’ll create a lot of opportunities but also do a lot of good along the way."
But, take some notes from the Valley and bring them back to your hometown.
"There are a lot of people we visited who are cautious with entrepreneurs," Case said. "Silicon Valley, we have a lot of criticism but they have the optimism of, 'How high can we go?' Some of that swagger and optimism is helpful. There's something to believe in when there are companies that are filing and have huge exits.
"We got started in 1985, 35 years ago. You got to make it happen; that's exactly what startups need to do."
Startups are a lot like hockey
"If you're building a startup, you need a big, rough, tough guy who can protect the rest of your players," Vinik said. "It all comes down to people, when it comes down to any business. And there is nothing harder than being a founder, than being a startup, than working on a shoestring budget. You're going to have the door slammed in your face. If you're not resilient...it's the same with hockey players. They go through ups and downs and if you're not able to pick yourself after disappointment — not just picking yourself up — doubling effort and enthusiasm."
"With sports, the difference between success and failure is a millisecond and it's the same with startups," Case said. "It's getting the break with a customer. With AOL, we almost didn’t make it. We struggled, we went through layoffs, I got a call from my parents, but after some bad breaks we got some good breaks. It's just understanding that and if you're an entrepreneur, it's understanding if there’s a barrier in front of you, go around it, over it, persevere and if you pick a battle know it's worth fighting for."
Commit to where you're going and keep moving forward.
"Are you committed?" Vinik asked. "We talked about what it takes to be successful, to take a great idea, incredible work ethic. It takes a personality that's okay with rejection and a little luck. So are you committed? Do you have the personality to be a founder where you may not know what your day will bring next and where you're going to go?"
"To focus on the hockey aspect, don't focus on where the puck is, focus on where the puck is going," Case said. "Understand where technology is going, the market consumer preference. I'm sure you’ll be wrong on some of it, but having a sense on what it may look like 10 or 15 years from now, where we may be and have a sense of where you're going."
