Drew Garcia

Founder / CEO of SyncUp, incubated at Idealab in Pasadena, CA. Experienced product manager with focus on productivity apps - previously at SugarSync, TimeBridge, & Yahoo. Stanford MBA.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewgarcia
Pasadena, California, United States
Member since March 20, 2015

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About

Investor interests

Locations of interest	Pasadena, California, United States
Credentials	None

Education

Stanford University , MBA

University of Utah , BS , Business

I am a(n):

Entrepreneur

Companies I've founded or co-founded:

SyncUp

Companies I work or worked for:

Idealab, SugarSync, TimeBridge, Yahoo, Siebel Systems, Accenture

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

I have a strong desire to scratch my own itch - I want to solve real problems that I have (and the people like me have). This gives me the passion and energy I need to get through the ups and downs.

My favorite startups:

Slack, Evernote, IFTTT, Acompli, Sunrise, x.ai

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

It’s frustrating when you have a vision and want to execute quickly, then find the technology you have to build is difficult and will take longer than expected. Its rewarding when you give your product to a user, then watch the light bulb go off and hear feedback on all of the amazing features you can build, which are already under development or on your product roadmap.

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

For consumer-focused startups, the biggest problem I see is not focusing on ease of use. It’s not sufficient to solve a real problem using amazing technology - if the UX is bad, no user will ever take advantage of the solution.

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

1. Lean testing matters - it’s critical to validate your concept early before investing in product design.
2. Be truly passionate about the problem you are solving - real passion is required to make it past the initial euphoria of your business idea.
3. Talk to people a lot - look for opportunities to meet people and tell them about your product. You never know when you’ll get good advice, new beta testers, or referrals for key hires.

Full bio

Experienced product management executive with a focus on productivity apps. Currently founder of SyncUp, a new startup creating an intelligent productivity app targeting busy consumers. Previous product management experience at SugarSync (cloud-based file sync and sharing), TimeBridge (cross-calendar scheduling platform), and Yahoo (Yahoo Mail & Yahoo Calendar). SyncUp is based out of Idealab, an incubator located in Pasadena, CA.