FMYI | For My Innovation

So you have an idea. And some plans, energy, people interested in helping out, and a healthy dose of optimism. What next? How do you go from dreaming to making it a reality?

The very first decision is to start going after customers or investors. Not only is it hard to do both well at the same time, but strategically there’s a difference. Do you relish having control over your creative idea and the autonomy in commercializing it, or would you rather put the priority on scaling quickly with the help of others to run the show?

For me, it came down to what I felt most comfortable doing. I love talking with potential clients, understanding how they operate, and building solutions that address their needs. It was a no brainer to go after customers first, rather than investors. And I felt like we had a different take on collaboration software that we wanted to stay focused on and grow through client input.

So five and a half years ago I started FMYI in a coffee shop. I interviewed Eric, our first employee, over a cup of joe. Later I found out he kept wondering when he was going to see the office. There wasn’t one. Eric spent the first week working out of my wife’s store having to answer questions about her handbags and baskets. We laugh about it now (he’s better at leading our tech team than hawking housewares), but it was consistent with our mission to focus all of our resources on the product and what customers want.

Our team has grown FMYI through client revenue, which has made the journey more of a walk than a sprint. But if you’re passionate about your idea, and a laser-like focus on what people want, you’ll have what it takes to take on a marathon.

“Are you ready bootstraps? Start walkin’!“

Coming up in my next blog post: how to grow.

-Justin