January 6, 2011
No. 1 Lesson: Growing pains happen.
Today's entrepreneur is Nick Grant, CEO and Founder of ZippyCart and Killer Infographics.
He is one of the tens of thousands who are on Vator, home to entrepreneurs who innovate, create, and facilitate ideas and products.
Our entrepreneur profiles allow members to share interests, lessons, mistakes as well as insights from their startup journey. So if you are an experienced inno-"vator," or a first-time entrepreneur, we'd like to hear from you.
ZippyCart is a comprehensive online resource that candidly rates, reviews and compares ecommerce software and shopping carts, providing the most robust and up-to-date technology for any merchant in a small to mid-size business to build an online store. Killer Infographics is design agency dedicated to manifesting top-of-the-line infographics for the web.
According to his entrepreneur assessment test (VEQ), Nick is good at negotiation skills and sales execution. He's also a thought leader.
You are a(n):
Entrepreneur
Name companies you've founded or co-founded:
ZippyCart.com & KillerInfographics.com
Name companies you've invested in:
ZippyCart.com & KillerInfographics.com
Name startups you worked for:
BlueNile, CarDomain, AllStarDirectories, Wishpot, ZippyCart.com & KillerInfographics.com
If you are an entrepreneur, why?
I want to be my own boss, and be in control.
List your favorite startups:
HypeM.com, Indochino, Zaarly, LiveMocha, JackThreads,
What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?
The most frustrating part is knowing that you need to continue to put in the time and effort to get the proper rewards you want. Some days can be rough, but you have to be persistent and dedicated.
The most rewarding part is watching something you created grow and expand to become a real company that people know about and respect.
What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs make?
Trying to avoid failure. Just jump in and go for it. You cannot be afraid to launch a product or experiment or else you will hinder your startup and inhibit growth.
What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?
1 - Growing pains happen. therefore you need to pay attention to when this is occurring, so you can intervene and try and ease the pain. As revenue and staff increase, the dynamic of the business changes, and therefore you need to adjust accordingly, to ensure that you can continue to grow and take things to the next level.
2 - Be smart about asking for help and leveraging the right people and resources. Most entrepreneurs cannot do 100% of the work by themselves, so you need to know when to ask for help and who to ask. Sometimes it is an online resource, other times it is another local startup / entrepreneur, or a skilled developer you may have worked with in the past. If you do get help from someone, make sure to be humble and thankful. Also, make sure that they know you would be happy to return the favor, should they need help on something which you have expertise in.
3 - Startup life is a full time job. when I say full time, I do not mean 40hrs a week, I mean all the time. Be prepared to work whenever or wherever, as the work never stops. Granted some nights and weekends are mellow, but other times it can be pure chaos and little sleep.
Related Companies, Investors, and Entrepreneurs
ZippyCart
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
ZippyCart has quickly become the leading site for merchants looking for a shopping cart or ecommerce solution.
ZippyCart will guide any type of ecommerce user, with or without experience, through web analytics, page rank, SEO, web hosting, side by side price comparisons, even on down to matching the right shopping cart to its users based on their ecommerce needs.
Every year, a panel of 7 independent industry experts and the ZippyCart team undergoes a rigorous review that tests nearly 100 shopping carts and ecommerce solutions in the market. This review process includes thorough testing of each ecommerce solution, secret shopping of customer support, technical support, and sales staff, and polling of current customer opinion of each ecommerce solution.
Based on a 1-5 point scale, and 10 weighted factors, a detailed analysis of each software solution is determined. The company reviews hosted, licensed, and free shopping carts and write candid reviews to ensure that ZippyCart readers have all the information necessary to make the right decision the first time. Any ecommerce solution earning a ZippyScore of 3.5 or above receives a thorough shopping cart review which is placed on ZippyCart.com for prospective and current merchants to utilize as a resource when searching for software to power their online store.
The culmination of this process includes the list of Top 10 Shopping Carts of the Year, updated expert reviews, and awards recognizing excellence for specific categories in ecommerce including Best SEO, Best Customer Service, Most Innovative, Best Social Media Tools, Best Marketing Tools, and Most Extensive Storefront tools.
In addition, ZippyCart provides its users with many tools to make managing an online store a less daunting task. From an ecommerce news blog, an active forum, to an array of ecommerce resource guides, the transition from brick and mortar retail to building an online storefront has never been easier.
Killer Infographics
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
About K.I.
Killer Infographics is an infographic design firm located in the heart of Seattle’s historic Ballard neighborhood. We feature a team of highly talented people that come from all walks of life with one very important thing in common: they are amazing designers! Led by Internet marketers, our staff knows how to create viral worthy infographic designs that get the attention they deserve. We work to ensure that your designs are high quality, affordable, and link worthy
K.I Clients
Our clients range from small businesses to large corporations known throughout the world. We work with any time zone and will make our schedule fit yours. We also will provide you with ideas and research for any infographics we work on with you. If our service doesn’t convince you, our prices will.
Who is K.I
Killer Infographics was founded by Nick Grant and Amy Balliett. Two Internet entrepreneurs who hailed from other sides of the country and met for the first time in Seattle in 2008. Grant uses his history in business development to help our clients add infographics to their overall marketing strategy or product offering. Balliett uses her experience in SEO and design to manage a team of skilled designers while keeping SEO value a top priority with all designs.
Submit Infographics
Submit Infographics is a user generated infographic gallery brought to you by Killer Infographics, in which webmasters everywhere can submit their infographic to be featured on this site, complete with a review, link back, and an audience that is obsessed with infographics... all for FREE!
To learn more about us, view our extensive portfolio, or talk business contact:
amy [at] killerinfographics.com
nick [at] killerinfographics.com
Nick Grant
Joined Vator on
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