Today's Entrepreneur: Joshua Kaufman, co-founder of Atly

Today's entrepreneur is Joshua Kaufman, the co-founder of Atly, a user-generated social mapping platform revolutionizing location-based knowledge sharing, leading the company’s product division with his immense passion to build and create. 

In addition to overseeing the development of the Atly app, Kaufman also serves as an advisor for Switchboard and MyPrize, and is a Managing Partner for Metroid Capital, leveraging his knowledge of the tech and finance industries to help support and build successful startups. Since starting his first company at age 16, Kaufman has extensive experience building company’s from the ground up, harnessing his passion for tech, entrepreneurship, and learning to develop thoughtful product offerings.

I am a(n):

Entrepreneur

Companies I've founded or co-founded:

Atly, LegendsCard, Switchboard

Companies I work or worked for:

Atl, Switchboard, RECUR, Metroid Capital, HoMedics, Companion Inc., LegendsCard

Achievements (products built, personal awards won):

Social mapping application (Atly)

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

I like making things people use

My favorite startups:

Atly

Why did you start your company or why do you want to innovate inside your company?

Thinking through the way people discover places and things to do, current mapping platforms don’t simplify the decision making process for users. They fail to provide in-depth insights into unfamiliar places, instead overwhelming users with overgeneralized information and struggling to connect users with points of interest that are most tailored to their specific wants and needs. Maps, like advertising and much of social media, have long been ripe for a personalization revolution to go beyond traditional generic search functions and draw upon the ‘wisdom of the crowd’ to connect those who share similar interests in order to identify the most desirable hotspots.

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

Frustrating: It can be exceptionally boring and hard for extended periods of time.
Rewarding: Feels incredible.

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

Fall in love with their own ideas. Ignore customers.

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

• Pick a Lane: Successful entrepreneurs focus on a single, well-defined business proposition or market, aligning their creative ideas with investor preferences for a concentrated, successful execution that generates consistent returns.
• Stay the Course: Long-term success requires founders to prioritize perseverance, dedication, and consistency over the initial excitement of new challenges, as staying focused on goals throughout the ups and downs is crucial for overcoming the high failure rates in entrepreneurship.
• Fail Fast, Fail Cheap: Embracing the inevitability of failure in the startup ecosystem, entrepreneurs should view it as an opportunity to learn and quickly pivot to more promising ideas, minimizing time and capital investment and increasing the chances of eventual success.