Entrepreneurs, and those who work at startups, are a special part of the workforce.

They embrace innovation and disruption. They live on the edge, and, at times, chase the latest shiny object. But their willingness to fail and try something new often enable them to make a big difference.  

The Vator community is made up of these unique people. To that end, we’ve changed our user profiles to allow entrepreneurs to express their interests and lessons about entrepreneurship. 

These profiles will allow us to highlight an entrepreneur every day.

Today’s entrepreneur is Mark Goldenson, founder of Breakthrough, which won Vator Splash SF in September.

I am:  an Entrepreneur

 

Name companies you’ve founded or co-founded:

Breakthrough.com, PlayCafe, Woosh, Stanford Squash, Stanford Bazaar

Name startups you worked for:

PayPal

If you are an entrepreneur, why?

I want to invent something cool.

List your favorite startups:

OkCupid (awesomely designed site), inDinero (much needed product), Skype (not a startup anymore but hugely valuable and disruptive)

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

Most frustrating: dealing with large/slow companies, being under-funded, not having enough hours in the day!

Most rewarding: working with terrific people, knowing what you do matters, choosing your work, doing what people say can’t be done.

What’s the No. 1 mistake entrepreneur’s make?

Giving up too early. Perseverance is the most important trait for entrepreneurs (and a lot of other professions).

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

1. Learn your strengths and weaknesses. Focus on what you do best and hire or outsource what you don’t do well.

2. Build something people want (credit: Y Combinator). Talking to customers is the best way to learn, even if you won’t make exactly what they ask for.

3. Become an expert at getting top talent. It’s cliche but true that people are a startup’s most important asset; they can maximize the chance of finding the right market and product.

4. Sad but true: more startups die from lack of awareness than lack of a good product. You don’t want to build bad product, but be prepared to market the hell out of whatever you build.

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Katie Gatto

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