Jon Carson’s Story
Jon Carson ’79 at Founder Friday
On March 4, the Blank Center hosted Jon Carson ’79 for Founder Friday. Jon is a serial entrepreneur: one of his most well-known ventures being BiddingForGood (BFG) which created an entirely new category of shopping, charitable commerce. Bidding for Good was acquired by FrontStream in July 2015. Jon is currently on his fifth venture, and through his experience, has observed what helps make a successful venture. Here were some of the highlights that you can apply to your own venture:
- When exploring entrepreneurial opportunities – look for patterns and trends. Jon reminded everyone of one of the basis: go out there and read! Two sources of information that Jon recommended were The Economist and New York Times.
- As an entrepreneur, it is important to know how to sell. You have to be a story teller, you have to be real. It isn’t just about selling the product/service your venture is offering to customers, but it is also about selling to potential employees, investors, and other stakeholders. You have to create value.
- Team is important. Having more co-founders is better but only if more is actually better. When putting together your team, you need to find the right people. Co-founders don’t need to be equal, but they have to be in the same box as you. Having the right complimentary skills will help fill any gaps you may experience as a new venture.
See you at Founder Fridays at 11am in the Blank Center!
What are Founder Fridays?
Founder Fridays, hosted by the Blank Center, is where you will get to meet some of the most interesting founders, who will share their ups and downs, their mistakes and celebrations – all with #nofilter. Open and brutally honest, these founders will tell their real deal life experience of creating a startup.