Givvy Blog

One of the blogs I like to read is from Ben Casnocha - a guy who started his first company at age 14 and knows just about everybody in Silicon Valley.  He’s now 20 or so an in college and just wrote an article for the U.S. State Department on high tech entrepreneurship and what policies and cultural attitudes in America enable the creation of new businesses.  Here’s his post on his blog about this article: Ben Casnocha: America and High Tech Entrepreneurship.

Here’s a key excerpt:

America’s cultural attitudes are even more important to its entrepreneurial success. In the United States, if you have the courage to start a business, you are celebrated and you are encouraged. You are seen as an innovator, a pioneer, a successful rebel. If you fail — and there’s a good chance you will if you start your own business — most Americans will shrug it off as a learning opportunity. There’s no shame in failing. Families, schools, and the media alike share this acceptance of failure.

Wow - I wish the world was like this when I was 20 (hint:  first term for Reagan).  I was a Junior at UConn and nobody I knew started businesses.  In fact, very few of the adults I knew had their own businesses.  Sure, some retailers and small business guys - but real ventures?  Nope.  When I went to NYC to work at Chase Manhattan Bank, I was following a typical path.  I actually started getting the e-bug in the mid-1980’s and took a course at Harvard Extension on starting a business sometime in the late 80’s.  But still I hesitated… none of my friends started businesses and when I said I wanted to they all shook their heads and muttered something about stability, etc.

Boy were they wrong!!  Most of these guys have been laid off not once, but several times. My lovely wife Susan has been a company person for her whole career.  She’s one of the survivors at First Marblehead after they laid off more than half of the company on Monday.  In her career she has been fortunate, but she has seen many people lose great high-paying jobs at great companies, only to find their career options more and more limiting as head into their late 40’s and 50’s.

My biggest regret as an entrepreneur is that I didn’t start 20 years ago.  It’s never too late - really - but it is a lot harder with a mortgage, 2 kids, etc.  If you’re looking for safe and steady - startups ain’t it.  But then again, that can be said for a lot of people toiling at large companies too…

I got my first taste starting up Financial Fusion from within Sybase in late 1999 as part of a team lead by Michon Schenck, a good friend and very talented executive (and Givvy board member).  When the tech market cratered in 2001/2002, Michon left for IDC and I finally made my move and started Digibug.  In many ways Digibug was not the success I had hoped for.  However, our investors got their money back, I got back the cash I put in, and we sold the assets to a competitor last month.  Plus, I got a huge amount of very valuable experience.  We’ll call it a wash.

With Givvy we’ve got a far larger market opportunity, virtually no competition today, and I am fortunate to have a great (albeit small) team to work with.  Most importantly - we’re building something that people really can use to better their impact on the world through giving.  We have our very own mantra - “better giving” - and a real chance to make a difference.  Hopefully we’ll have a success too, but right now we’re having fun!