AJ Forsythe

Website: www.iCracked.com
Redowood City, California, United States
Member since March 15, 2011

My name is AJ Forsythe and I founded iCracked Inc. when I was a Junior at Cal Poly. iCracked is a national iPhone repair company and is unique in that we license our business model to college entrepreneurs nationwide with the intent of capitalizing on both the iPhone repair market (a $600 million dollar market) and the entrepreneurial spirit of college students that haven't been tapped by entry level corporate jobs. We market a 'business in a box' that teaches our iTechs how to run and market a small business. I am 23 years old and graduating from Cal Poly this June. It has been an incredible journey and we are just getting started. In terms of the future, I am fortunate enough that I can be employed full time through my company. We have brought on Anthony Martin to the team to help with our national expansion, and we are moving up to Palo Alto next month to star an active recruitment effort to bring the right individuals on our team. We are confident in our idea, and iCracked will be (if it's not already) the nations largest iPhone repair company. We have over 20 locations nationwide and are planning on expanding to 100+ college campuses in the next 6 months. Quote_down

About

Education

2011 Cal Poly - SLO , BS , Psych / Bio

I am a(n):

Entrepreneur

If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I want to change the world.

My favorite startups:

LinkedIn, SquareUp, iCracked, SLO Down Wines,

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

It's rewarding to create your own future and know that the outcome of whatever project is defined by hard work... and being in the right place at the right time.

What's frustrating is the time it takes to develop the right team, I'm learning to listen to what my mind consciously says is the right choice, but to trust gut instincts over logical reasoning.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

Failing to see your idea how consumers see it.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

"Failing is inevitable, If you don't fail, you are not taking risks worthy of a startup. If you fear failure, you won't take the risks." - Neil Young, ngmoco

Always keep moving forward and never miss an opportunity to network with like minded people.

A lot of entrepreneurs with new ideas are afraid to share them with people, investors, and companies because they are afraid their great idea will get stolen. It takes a great person to make a great company, rarely does the idea itself have to be great. Bet on the Jockey, not on the horse.

What do people misunderstand about being an entrepreneur?

That you're unemployed. You may not be getting payed well, if anything. But you're certainly employed by your idea. Eat, sleep, and breathe your startup.

Full bio

My name is AJ Forsythe and I founded iCracked Inc. and work full time on expanding and building the company. iCracked is a national iPhone repair company and is unique in that we license our business model to college entrepreneurs nationwide with the intent of capitalizing on both the iPhone repair market (a $600 million dollar market) and the entrepreneurial spirit of college students that haven't been tapped by entry level corporate jobs. We market a 'business in a box' that teaches our iTechs how to run and market a small business. iCracked replaces the broken screens and components on all iPhone models and most repairs take less than 15 minutes. We also sell DIY kits for tech savvy individuals as well as offering a nationwide mail in repair service.

Feel free to visit us at www.iCracked.it

After starting iCracked I feel like I'm addicted to growing new ideas and companies. As naive as it may be, I want to be a serial entrepreneur. I am glad I started early because now I know what I love doing.

I have lived in just about every region of the US and call both Texas and California my home. I enjoy Scuba diving, working on my 30 ft sailboat (awesome story of how I got it), Skiing, spearfishing / lobster diving, hunting, camping, making wine with my brother, traveling, and networking with new people. My brother, Chip Forsythe, also has a startup wine company called SLO Down Wines and they make incredible wine. We bottled 8,000 bottles a few months ago and its great. Feel free to look them up or order a bottle. www.SLOdownwines.com