What A Cofounder At Unconventional Ventures Wishes They Had Known Before Entering The Startup Industry
Aaron, a Cofounder/CEO/CFO at Unconventional Ventures, wishes one had fully appreciated the value of deep industry knowledge before jumping into entrepreneurship, suggesting many are "too quick to jump to entrepreneurship" without first building crucial skills and understanding. Aaron emphasizes that founders with "expert problems" based on lived experience are far more likely to succeed than those simply motivated by wealth, stating the focus should be on providing value, with wealth following as a result.
Entrepreneurship, Industry Experience, Skill Development, Financial Technology (FinTech), Value Creation
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Aaron Chavez
Cofounder/CEO/CFO
Unconventional Ventures
Arizona State University (ASU) - W. P. Carey | Barrett
Finance
Consulting & Related Professional Services
Business Strategy
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Greek Life Member, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Value of deep industry knowledge: It's beneficial to deeply understand an industry or your skillset before starting a business. Experience in the field can provide a strong foundation.
2. Entrepreneurship isn't always the fastest path: Many people rush into entrepreneurship. Gaining experience through working in relevant roles can be more effective than immediately starting a company.
3. Expert founders solve expert problems: The most successful founders often have deep expertise in the problem they are trying to solve, gained through experience in the industry.
Transcript
Have you learned anything about this role that you wish someone had told you before you entered the industry?
I think the thing I didn't know, or that I wish I'd fully appreciated more, is the value of really knowing an industry or knowing your skillset in a big way. A lot of people are too quick to jump to entrepreneurship.
It's not that I don't love the story of the founder who drops out and does blah, blah, blah. That's great, but look at the statistics. It probably isn't you, and it's also probably not necessary.
Are you dropping out to build the next hundred-million-dollar t-shirt company? In which case, yeah, you just need style. But maybe working with fashion designers will help give you a sense of that.
If you want to solve great big FinTech problems, not saying you have to work at every single FinTech on the planet, but maybe working as a financial advisor, or at a later-stage FinTech startup, or at a big business building the skills you need prior to entering makes it so much easier.
My favorite founders are what I call "experts with expert problems." So it's like, "Oh, I work in healthcare. I have these qualifications. I noticed this issue. This is what I'd love to do about it." You're speaking from a place of competence that you couldn't have received unless you just lived it.
I think that is so valuable. You can actually do five years of startup learning by doing three years of a job and one year of startup building. You can shorten your timeline by one, two, or three years by building genuine understanding versus just wanting to be rich. Everybody wants to be rich. How about you want to provide value, and then the riches will follow?