 (1) Who are you and what do you do? My name is Jacob W. Bailey (Whitish) and I help free people from having to answer the phone. (2) In two sentences or less, describe how you participate in the startup ecosystem. For two of the three and a half years I’ve been in the Bay, I worked at the British Consulate helping startups make the transatlantic leap to the UK and helped them to raise more than $100MM in venture capital. During that time, I was very fortunate to build some great relationships in the startup ecosystem that continue through today. I still love being a mentor and advisor for startups that are thinking about growing or fundraising in the UK. (3) What are you currently reading right now and would recommend to others? I spent a fair bit reading over the holidays and have three books to recommend: The first is Your Best Year by Michael Hyatt given the proximity to the start of the year. I don’t agree with 100% of what he says, but it was a great read to think about getting my mindset and goals in a good place to start the year in. The second is Bluefishing by Steve Sims. I’ve been following him for years now, and absolutely love how he’s managed to be this larger-than-life individual who can make just about anything happen. In pre-covid days, I used to host events fairly regularly and used Steve as a model for creating interesting and memorable experiences. Finally, in the days before Christmas, I decided to read the original Christmas Carol. Most people think they know the story because they’ve seen it on tv or movies so often, but I highly recommend folks give it a read to remember everything they have to be grateful for. (4) What makes you stay in the startup ecosystem? Because it’s fun! I’m sure that the middle-management corporate life is great for some folks, but I love being able to come up with a crazy idea and have the latitude to just go give it a try. (5) What drives your passion about the startup ecosystem? Honestly, it’s the people. Working on crazy ideas or new tech would still be fun done by yourself, but being around so many other crazy, driven, and ambitious people makes it something more than the sum of its parts. (6) Where do you see the startup ecosystem in 5 years? I think, just like the world in general, the startup ecosystem is becoming more and more global. With the tectonic shift of the world going remote, we have seen everyone from VCs to founders get comfortable with remote teams and doing remote deals. We used to say that tech was global pre-covid, but now it really is. I think we’ll really see the ‘rise of the rest’ where startups will be less concentrated (not non-existent!) around tech metropolises like SF and NY, and more distributed across all time zones and all continents. (7) How has failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? How hasn’t it? Failure is how we learn and how we figure out how to do better next time around. It also helps us to build our grit, which is something that I think we as a society lack. There’s a great Winston Churchill quote that I try to remember when it looks like things are going the wrong way: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” (8) What is one of the best worthwhile investments you’ve ever made (could be financial, time, energy, etc.)? An annual subscription to Calm. I have been practicing meditation on and off for nearly four years, and in that time, I have noticed a tremendous shift in how I react to negative events and my ability to remain calm under pressure. (9) What do you do to refocus yourself when you feel overwhelmed or unfocused? Usually, a walk does the trick. But sometimes you just have to listen to your body/mind and, if something just isn’t going to happen that day, be ok with that and switch to something else. Have a little compassion for yourself and listen to what your body and mind are telling you. You’ll be a lot happier and more productive in the long run. (10) What’s one piece of advice you would give someone trying to break into the startup ecosystem? Network. Literally do nothing else but try and meet as many people as you can and add value to those people however you are able. I would argue that the most valuable thing any person has is their network, so it is then also the highest ROI activity that you can do. |
Founder, TryDonna.com: Jacob W. Bailey (Whitish)
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