So you want to Start a Company

I haven't talked much at all about the company I started many moons ago. Since things have been heating up there recently, its been on my cranial front burner.

First some background. for those of you who are interested in starting your own business and for the just curious. I was a professor in a business school at a small, regional, New England university in 1994 when I walked into my office and my computer had sprouted speakers. I played around with some sound files and with PowerPoint and immediately felt that this was the learning tool of the future. You could put any kind of image on the screen and have a friendly voice explain things to you. You could play the class over and over again until you got it. The professor needed to just record his lecture once and from then on would only need to add updates and improvements.

Fast forward to 2001. I was pretty much burned out on academic life. One introductory class I had taught 50 times. So I lined up some investors and set out to create an online company that delivered continuing education credit to insurance agents. It was a slow and arduous journey.

Today we have two potential offers for the company. In two or three months this long adventure may finally be over. I won't suddenly become rich, but at least I won't have to worry about how to pay for college for my four offspring. But it's never over until the check has cleared the bank and at least three or four more steps remain before that happens. I'll keep you posted.

What I wanted to talk about here are the most important lessons I've learned from this process. If anyone is interested in the full story, I'll be writing a book about the whole experience. Stay tuned for that. Anyway, here are the lessons that stand out for me at this point.

1. Hook up with someone who has been through the process before AND who is highly ethical. You'll need him/her all through the journey. I was SO lucky to find an initial investor/co-founder who turned out to be the most honest and honorable person I have ever met.
   
2. Never give up. Whenever you run into a road block, you should think; "What are my options for solving this problem?" Not; "Oh no, this isn't going to work."
3. Keep your costs as low as possible.
4. Pay attention to your corporate legal papers. Little things that don't seem important in your Shareholders Agreement, often are HUGE later on (like now for me).
5. Let things simmer. After you implement something new, don't rush to judgment. Give things some time. It'll also give you some down time to do something else. It'll also help you to avoid popping a blood vessel. Burn out is a big problem.

In the end, nothing is more career satisfying or just plain fun for me then creating an entity from nothing. Actually hiring people. Seeing that first sale. Watching things grow. Actually taking a salary. I tried to enjoy every step along the way.

However, what continues to amaze me is the greed in which many people are trapped. I, unfortunately, got some greedy %*$#& involved who turned out to not care about anything except themselves. These unhappy people were the biggest disappointment for me. People who I thought were decent turned out to be something else. That's the biggest reason why I'm praying I cash out now. Greedy, unhappy people are no fun to deal with and if its not fun - I don't want to do it.