Brennan McEachran, CEO brennan@soapboxhq.com

@i_am_brennan @SoapBoxHQ

5 things Skateboarding taught me about Startups

Have you ever seen someone fail? like, flat out, face-first?

Well, let me introduce you to Skateboarding

Ouch.

Brennan McEachran @i_am_brennan •  Skateboard to work (in the summer)

•  Self taught developer

+ Business School Grad.

•  First-time CEO & Co-founder @SoapBoxHQ

Hi

Lewis PlattFormer Hewlett-Packard Chairman & CEO!

If only HP knew what HP knows, we would be three times more productive.”

“

The front lines have great ideas, but no way of bringing them to HQ’s attention

80% of an organization’s potential for improvement lies in front-line ideas.

— The Idea-Driven Organization

Save/Generate !$2M from top down projects!

T H E 8 0 / 2 0 R U L E O F I N N O V A T I O N

Save/Generate !$8M from bottom up projects!

Organizations need a way to manage the vast potential from

the front lines.

N E E D

Suggestion Box

No Accountability!No Feedback Loop!No Prioritization!No Filtering or Managing!

No Analytics + Insight!No ROI!No Two-way Conversation!No Aggregating Ideas!

SoapBox

No Accountability!No Feedback Loop!No Prioritization!No Filtering or Managing!

No Analytics + Insight!No ROI!No Two-way Conversation!No Aggregating Ideas!

Move ideas from your front lines, to the bottom line.

W E C R E A T E D S O A P B O X T O H E L P O R G A N I Z A T I O N S

I N D U S T R Y L E A D I N G C L I E N T S

I N D U S T R Y B E A T I N G T E A M

W O R L D C L A S S C U L T U R E

Follow, @i_am_brennan for this… open sourcing soon…

I N D U S T R Y B E A T I N G , W O R L D - C L A S S R E S U L T S

Remember this guy?

Nyjah Huston

Arguably the best Skateboarder in the world.

5. The best are actually Nuts.

15 ft.

Got Up. Did it again.

Most people would never attempt it. Most people would have got their senses knocked into them during the first fall. He kept going.

80% of businesses fail within first 5 years

No. 1 reason for failure? “Going into business for the wrong reasons”

4. You better %@&#!* believe it.

Take the Leap of Faith. (“Don’t believe your own B.S.”) Go in with full intent to stick the landing.

“Leap of Faith”

Jaime Thomas landed without injury, but his board snapped upon

impact with the ground.

3. Success isn’t judged by the logo on your shoes. (hint: It’s how you stick the landing)

“To me skateboarding is just a lifestyle. It wouldn’t matter if I was pro or not, I’d still be skating everyday.” - Ryan Sheckler Raising a round of financing isn’t the finish line. It’s not even the starting line. It puts more money on what’s already working.

2. Innovation never happens in Isolation.

Rodney Mullen is known for the most innovative tricks. However he’s also the first to say that a trick is never invented in isolation. Tricks, like ideas and businesses, all build off of earlier concepts and ideas. Find a team of people who can push you and expose your work as early as you can so they can push you harder.

1. The Idea is the Easy part.

Brennan McEachran, CEO brennan@soapboxhq.com

@i_am_brennan @SoapBoxHQ

Thank You

Brennan McEachran, CEO brennan@soapboxhq.com

@i_am_brennan @SoapBoxHQ

Q&A