Lessons from Dash - navigate your own course

First-time entrepreneur Robert Acker, CEO of Aha Mobile, shares advice on receiving advice

As a first-time entrepreneur, I can relate to the first piece of advice Robert Acker, shared in his "Lessons Learned" segment. "Don't be too persuaded by somebody because of the past success they had," said Robert, CEO of Aha Mobile, a young startup that received $3 million in financing from Venrock this past spring.

Acker is a former senior marketing manager at Dash Navigations, which develops GPS-connected devices. Essentially, Aha Mobile is pretty similar in that it is leveraging mobile devices and GPS capabilities. Aha wants to make information you need while driving - like nearest gas station, coffee shop, road congestion - readily accessible. In many ways, Aha is an extension or an improvement upon Dash. 

I asked him what lessons he learned from working at Dash. Apparently, he's learning to chart a new course.

"Here in Silicon Valley, you get a bunch of great advice," said Robert. "The challenge is to figure out which set of advice applies best to your specific situation... Your job as an entrepreneur is to decide which advice to take, and which to throw out, no matter who the source may be."

The other piece of advice Robert offers is to focus, and rise above the emotional rollercoaster. 

"Know that you're going to home one day and think that it's all failing and that it will all come crashing down, and the next day you’ll think you’re the next Google," he said. The challenge in experiencing these highs and lows is to keep the employees calm and focused. (Note: These highs and lows are experienced by all entrepreneurs, even the seasoned ones. Watch Chris Larsen's lessons, who says entrepreneurship is like being taking out to be executed only to be released and have a banquet in your favor.)

His last piece of advice is to adapt and learn how to be flexible. Don’t have an all-or-nothing option, he said.

An entrepreneur's job is "a winding path to the eventual solution.”