FMYI | For My Innovation

With the end of 2009 comes the final installment of my bootstrapping blog series (with a New Year’s resolution to blog more frequently and involve all our team members!). At the end of the day, you can plan, strategize, rationalize, work hard, and dream all you want, but so much of the startup experience comes down to intangibles. Luck is frequently mentioned as being a key ingredient. And you have to be in the right place at the right time. I’ll call all of this the “Soul glow.“

At the heart of your startup, you need an authentic soul. It’ll carry you through all the difficult times and elevate you to new heights during the good times. What is soul? I’m sure you’ll have a different definition, but to me it’s a crazy combination of passion, surrounding yourself with inspiring people, working in places with things around you to spark new ideas, a desire to collaborate with others to overcome challenges, having fun to stay sane, bringing meaning to your mission, and staying grounded with reality while reaching for goals that truly excite you. Balance is a key theme.

For me, starting FMYI in Portland was key in terms of livability and the balance between cost and work life benefits. For example, because of the public transportation system, bike paths, and urban growth boundary, commuting times are shorter here than other cities which helps the local economy. This helps reduce stress for employees and maximizes the productive hours people can spend at work. Much has been said about the population of cultural creatives in Portland. It’s important to be surrounded by creative energy and new ideas when starting a business to help you tackle all the challenges that stand in the way.

Passion is a key element in keeping the energy level high. We truly enjoy helping people collaborate more effectively and are excited that 2009 brings us closer to a tipping point. We’ve also surrounded ourselves by people who are great at getting things done in a collaborative manner, whether they’re employees or vendors. Our commitment to sustainability has been a differentiator for us and brings a greater sense of meaning to what we do. We’re doing the Northwest Earth Institute’s Sustainable Systems at Work course and had a lively discussion this morning about how we can continually improve and help others. Doing the course helps us get into a different frame of mind at work. NWEI definitely has a lot of soul!

And a key element is having fun since growing a startup is hard enough as it is. Working with great clients is the biggest factor, and is something we’re very thankful for over here at FMYI. Being located in the Leftbank Project building also helps with a brewery in the basement and a cafe featuring local/organic ingredients. Occasional karaoke sessions, although potentially dangerous, can bring some soul (literally) to the workplace.

So as I bring this series of blog posts on starting up a business to a close, I’ll raise a virtual toast to everyone that 2010 brings all of us a “soul glow.“ May all your hard work be rewarded, and your dreams realized!

Onward and upward,
-Justin

Links to the complete blog series on starting a business:
• Intro: “Head west, young man”
• Bootstrapping: These bootstraps are made for walkin’
• Growing: Grow with the flow
• Worklife: Does worklife balance exist in startups?
• Tools: Startup bliss using online tools
• Sustainability: Sustainable startups: the triple crown
• Soul: Soul glow