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Last week Mark Suster, entrepreneur and investment partner at GRP Partners, now Upfront Ventures, gave a keynote speech at Silicon Beach Fest, offering his advice and expertise to all those interested in pursuing a life in the startup world. Suster’s tech experience is certainly varied; he has been at GRP for eight years and was previously Vice President of Product Management at Salesforce.com, which acquired Koral where Suster was Founder and CEO. Suster was also Founder and CEO of BuildOnline, an independent global content collaboration company focused on engineering and construction. Suster is nothing if not qualified in the ways of a startup company.
First thing’s first – not everyone in the tech world is living like a rock star. It can be an uphill battle, and Suster warned against the glamorization of startup life. It’s hard work. “Truth is, it’s a grind.”
His recipe for success? Take coffee meetings. At least 50, which goes along with one of Suster’s core suggestions which is: networking. Building the right relationships with people you trust will minimize disagreements in the future. Create a sense of urgency, solve real problems, and go with the flow. According to Suster, it takes tenacity in this business, along with “street smarts, risk tolerance, domain experience, and technical DNA.” Suster also emphasized trusting your own instincts and judgment, and encouraged entrepreneurs to always be on the lookout for more funding, even when you don’t need it. Capital is crucial to the survival of a startup since companies are in fact bought, not sold.
So if you’re embarking on a new career in the tech world, keep in mind that it’s not going to be as easy as Facebook or Yahoo, and you’re going to have disagreements. But if you stick with it, network, and create urgency, you could be the next Instagram, that is, as long as you drink a lot of coffee.
