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21 Lessons Learned from My Time at Atlanta Tech Village

Recently, my company and I left @ATLTechVillage. It was bittersweet — a place I visited right after @davidcummings bought the building, and always wanted to be a member of. As I left, I wanted to write a letter, but decided a list of lessons from my time would be more welcome…

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

Here are my 21 lessons learned from my time @ATLTechVillage… to all you Villagers, entrepreneurs, Atlantans, the Community. (Many more sure to come up as time goes & things marinate, but here goes!)

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

1Don’t EVER merge into the right-turn lane in front of ATV on Piedmont too late during lunch or afternoon rush hour. Police will yell at you to “unmerge”. Talk-back & get a ticket. Think you got away? Check your rearview. She’s likely running after you.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

2If you want some mid-day entertainment, watch the traffic police during lunch or afternoon rush hour to see the above lesson in action. Warning: 15 minutes will pass without you knowing.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

3Spend more time getting your oatmeal or morning coffee, and finally say hello to the people you always see, but still never get to know. It’s amazing how many strangers with familiar faces there are in the place you spend so much of your life in.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

4If you’re going to interact with the @ATLTechVillage Community Team, be incredibly enthusiastic because that’s the level they always bring to the table. If you’re emailing, include at least 12 exclamation points. Doesn’t matter how many sentences.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

5The ATV cleaning staff is made up of some of the hardest working, friendliest folks you’ll encounter – shout out to Rossy and Crescensio. They’re likely there before you, and they’re likely there after you. Say, “hola” and “adios” more often.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

6If you enter the building and exit the building via the first floor, you have the added benefit of saying good morning and good night to the security team.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

7@Lane_JKL is great at creative handshakes.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

8The walls are thin. Realize that your Lady Gaga and “Kiki, do you love me” on the TVs and computers can be heard during a demo to Fortune 500 leadership teams (everyone).

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

9When you least expect it, those damn columns in the parking deck move causing you to scrape your car.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

10Feedback and help are literally next door. There’s so much brain power and creativity in your own office, I’m sure. But there’s even more when you consider all your friendly neighbors.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

11After walking to and from lunch on a hot summer’s day, the best way to cool down is sitting on the couch in the mailroom. It’s always the coldest, most refreshing room in the Village.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

12Don’t wait for the elevator if you’re going up or down one flight of stairs unless you’ve got a good reason. From a productivity standpoint, you’ll lose time 75% of those trips.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

13I never took advantage of the roof enough during the good weather days that I then regret during the bad weather days. When the weather’s nice, go up there.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

14Even though many of the hallways are whiteboards (paint), the writing tends to stay there for a long time. Don’t write something that reflects poorly on the Community, your company, and you.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

15Never steal food.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

16Okay, the nap room is a little weird. But when you need it, it’s the best room in the Village.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

17Freestyle (verb. To travel to and acquire beverage from@ccfreestyle machine on the 1st floor next to the Community Room) whenever you can for the exercise, for the break, for the hydration, for the community.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

18Post a bunch of times on the Atlanta Tech Village Slack and Forum to sell used equipment. It moves your inventory and keeps good tech amongst good tech people. ?

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

19Go to events as much as possible. The world is built on relationships. Those “organic” meet-ups can make the world of difference – a sales opportunity, a partnership, a creative idea to get over a problem, a friend, etc.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

20To the last point, say hello to more people, and then, go beyond to find out who people are. So many strangers with familiar faces, and the world needs more authenticity. Say hello and find out what drives people. You’ll be amazed.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

21The Atlanta startup ecosystem is bustling. Amazing to see folks taking the leap and dreaming big in ATL & @ATLTechVillage. Soak it all in. Rare to be around concentration energetic people who love what they do! Say hello. This is the Village, not Atlanta Tech Building.

— Daryl Lu (@TheDLu) August 9, 2018

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Consulting as a Means for a Product and Business

A friend recently asked me about starting a business/ building a product as a side hustle to a full-time gig vs. consulting as the gig to reveal a business opportunity. Given his personal life, building a business as a full-time gig could be extremely risky without strong revenue upfront. The potential flexibility of consulting, however, could income, flexibility, and market insight.
I’ve had experience doing both with Body Boss and 5 Points Digital (5PD), a consulting company – as a side hustle to a full-time gig and with consulting to find the next big move.
Thoughts on pursuing consulting as the means to an end:
·      Consulting is a great way to learn of problems, design solutions, network, and test market interest. Companies (startups, big corporates, etc.) serve markets with solutions at scale. Consulting is akin to a one-off solution for a singular client. Products are then extensions of solution for greater scale.
·      Practice asking questions to understand situations and uncover problems. Much like entrepreneurs would do well to perform customer discovery, consultants use probing questions to learn of problems, bottlenecks, information silos, etc.
·      Practice disseminating information – telling stories and detailing processes. Effective consultants can communicate effectively. Many can tell a story interweaving cause and effect. They can lead audiences through flows. Practicing case studies can help reinforce information dissemination and asking questions (previous tenet).
·      Remember what you’re looking to do. Consulting can be comfortable like any other job. I suggested to my friend to take a step back periodically to synthesize lessons and their opportunities. When I started 5PD, things were easy. However, I did not find the inspiration for a new product-oriented startup. I got comfortable and locked into the tactical projects. I had to stop consulting. Pick when to leap into and out of consulting according to your grander purpose.
Consulting can be fun. It can be financially rewarding and offer flexibility. It’s also a great way to leverage experience and expand into other areas to lean into and build a marketable solution.
Start practicing and expertise will come. 
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3 Entrepreneurial Lessons from Backing Into My Girlfriend’s Car

It’s been a while since I took a real-world “funny event” and pulled entrepreneurship lessons from it – notables include being attacked by a ninja cat and then the intruder at 4AM.
Let me share with you how excited I am about being in a new relationship – I backed into my new girlfriend’s car. It was a typical Sunday morning heading to the gym. Except this time, I added a nice dent to her driver door and my passenger-side rear bumper.
I don’t normally have cars parked where she parked, and I was on auto-pilot. Sadly, auto-pilot does not include auto-awareness. No excuses here – I should’ve been watching.
Quick lessons:
  1. Comfort can breed complacency. I was comfortable in my Sunday morning routine – comfortable in driveway routine. Add in a wrinkle such as a car in an unusual position, and I fail to realize it. Be mindful. Always.
  2. Technology still requires attention. I have a rearview camera and backup sensors. None of it matters if I don’t pay them attention. Backup sensors work well when the driver knows there is an object coming closer. None of it is useful without attention.
  3. All about damage control. Once I heard the crunching of metal, I knew what I had done. I had to go tell the girlfriend, notify insurance, and get ready to allocate time and money to remedy this. Once the damage is done, it’s all about reaction. (Luckily, my girlfriend’s reaction was of understanding and a positive laugh about it.)

The first and third lessons are the most important. The first lesson is about prevention. It’s about diligence and awareness. The third lesson is about adapting. Not everything will be controllable. Reaction is critical to get back on path, or onto a new normal.

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Book Review: What Got You Here, Won’t Get You Here

Recently finished Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter’s What Got You Here, Won’t Get You Here. It was cited in a meeting with a startup cofounder as a helpful book for his own success (and his company’s).
Off the bat, I was expecting a busy book of sorts, but instead, realized that the “You” in the title was more about YOU. The context shifted quickly, and I wasn’t prepared for it. Meanwhile, I didn’t know what to expect, let alone chapters and break-downs of how those who wish to ascend to greater success must constantly improve… starting with the things that – shall we say – rub people the wrong way. Yes, the book actually delved into character faults.
Goldsmith dives into 20 habits/ faults/ common rubs describing situations, ways to catch them, importance of resolving, resolutions, and some anecdotal results.
Here were some of my take-aways:
  • The book starts out acknowledging readers and leaders have all reached where they are, but that it may not actually help get them to the top. Oftentimes, folks who have been successful can attribute their success to personal talent and achievement. However, as they ascend, their influence commonly spans wider audiences. This can amplify personal habits that could stifle further progression.
  • One of the keys Goldsmith talks about to assess habits that negatively impact others including the self is surveying folks across the organization who come in contact and even those beyond – at home, as one example. Usually, this scope of feedback is much wider and deeper than what one may expect or ask – consider a leader who is looking to improve him/ herself. In this case, their list of folks to canvas would often times be much narrower focus than who Goldsmith would approach. This provides a holistic view that can identify habits’ reach and effect.

Per earlier, there were 20 habits mentioned. I read this book over a couple months, and admit I couldn’t recall many of them. However, as I look at a book summary to help jog my mind, I remember each easily. The habits are… not necessarily anything new. However, like many great minds, Goldsmith is able to put structure to habits to construct this list.

  • “Adding too much value: The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion.” As I write this, I realize that pointing out how I’ve recognized this in myself and how I’m trying to lessen how often I do this, I’m doing almost exactly what this habit is about – adding what I think, what I’ve done, etc. All to get some recognition. When I think about adding more of “me”, I stop and ask, “does this actually help XX?”
  • “Speaking when angry.” I just did this. I’ve been frustrated with a doctor’s office as I’ve been dealing with a chronic neck pain (herniated disc). When a doctor’s assistant called me due to a legitimately good reason (I could die without recognition of this), I responded very short-tempered. I was angry. I was tired of being passed around. I shouldn’t have.
  • “Neativity, or ‘Let me explain why that won’t work’”. This is something I have done, too. As I continue to lead and manage others (or have any relationship with others), I can be quick to jump to conclusions or express why others’ ideas won’t work. It’s unfortunate as I can stifle the others’ creativity while closing me off to new perspectives.  
  • “Refusing to express regret”. This isn’t done enough – I regret… I’m sorry… I talked to the doctor’s assistant the day after and apologized. She was just the messenger.
  • “Not listening”. Listening lets me absorb and learn. It can be done passively and actively. If I’m always pushing my thoughts, I don’t learn. I don’t expand my domain.
  • “Punishing the messenger”. Yeah, I just did this. See the story above. Maybe it’s moments like this that crystallize in me of how easy it is to keep doing the negative habits that will prevent me from being who I want to be.
  • “Failing to express gratitude”. It’s easy to live life and take things for granted – many times from the people who are closest to us (me). I feel that I should remember that each relationship is precious and must be constantly earned.

There are a lot of habits. Goldsmith did not offer a solution that I found to be effective to absorbing the habits, let alone being cognizant of them. Like the sales books (e.g. the Challenger Sale, SPIN), I can’t try to improve on everything. Instead, I have listed a subset of the habits that resonated with me most. I will work on the subset (or a subset of the subset). It takes practice. It takes diligence. However, my “There” is not that far, and I need to be ready to grasp it when it’s in front of me.

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Key Take-Aways from Howard Schultz: Turning Starbucks Around

I listened to the “How I Built This” podcast with Guy Raz interviewing Starbucks two-time (and now former) CEO Howard Schultz (from September 28).

They discussed how Schultz really took the brand which was a local coffee bean shop into a massive, global brand that we all now know. Then, he talked about his return to Starbucks as CEO when the company started heading into its lowest point – in 2008. This part of the podcast really intrigued me.
Below are some notes I took from his interview starting at 37:40.

  • Schultz refers to Starbucks difficult years (2008, mainly, like most other companies during that time) as the “years of hubris”. He mentioned how “growth and success began to cover up a lot of mistakes.”
  • Two chief mistakes Schultz realizes that contributed to Starbucks nadir: 1) “too many stores cannibalizing other stores”; and 2) “financial controls and discipline that were in place were not being leveraged – Wall Street and the stock price became an albatross on the company’s neck.”
  • “Growth became the strategy of the company… growth is not a strategy.”
  • In regards to growth, “too many stores too fast in areas that should not have had a Starbucks […] the experience which had defined the essence of the company was being compromised by efficiency.”
  • “The management team at the time started measuring yield, sales per hour, and doing things that were so dilutive to the essence of the foundation of the company. It really started upsetting me. I began to go into stores and not recognize what we had built.”
  • “Company needed to go through a major transformation in 2008 […] What it means to love something and the responsibility that goes with it.”
  • Schultz returned as CEO. One of his first moves was to shutter 900 stores and refocus on the brand and experience that brought the company to prominence. 90% of them had been open less than a year.
  • Schultz referred to training as essential for transformation. The “most telling” move he made was closing all stores at 12PM at a loss estimated at $24M in lost sales and labor. This move was to perform training at all stores.
  • “Training was so vitally important because Starbucks Coffee Company forgot how to make quality coffee. We had everyone in the company re-trained.”
  • Schultz recalled how during a time when budgets were tightening everywhere and travel was heavily scrutinized in 2008, he realized the importance to “communicate with every single store manager in-person.” This would bring together 10,000 people and cost the company $30M. This was known as the $30M speech.
  • For the speech, Schultz wanted to “tell them the truth – the real truth. If I was going to ask them to do the things we had to do – take every customer interaction so personally…”
  • As the company recovered, the “real question was – ‘what did we learn?’ We were so hungry and so driven when we started the company. When we were that successful, people got sloppy. They got lazy. This is so vitally important – success in any business, no matter what it is, is not an entitlement. It has to be earned. We stopped earning it. That’s why we got in trouble.”
  • “Building a company is a lonely place sometimes. You’re imprinted, especially as a man, of not demonstrating vulnerability. I think one of the – perhaps most undervalued characteristics of leadership – is vulnerability and asking for help. I’ve done that a number of times. I think it’s important. When you’re vulnerable and you ask for help, people come towards you. I’ve tried to do that every step of the way and be honest and truthful what I know, what I don’t. And most importantly, what I believe.”

Great vulnerability and story shared by Howard Schultz in setting aside hubris for the greater good.

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What Would You Do Differently?

I met an entrepreneur recently who is approaching a similar market and product that I once did. Before meeting, he realized I had written a book, so read it beforehand. It resonated greatly for him. As we met, he had a few specific questions including: “if you could do it all over again, what would you change?”
There was a lot I would change as I’ve outlined on this blog and in Postmortem of a Failed Startup: Lessons for Success. There are always ways to improve. But one major lesson stuck out at me – start out smaller, more deliberate. Start out with a very specific product addressing a very specific pain.
This would invariably lead to quicker rollout of the product. This would lead to quicker feedback. This would lead to quicker iterations. This would lead to… success? I’m not sure, but I feel this approach would have been much smarter.
Success does not follow a formula. The most brilliant minds have failed. It’s critical to fail at times, too. But the approach to success can be tuned in to mitigate risk. I think my big take-aways after all these years also line up with being loved by customers (the product, at first) to create something wanted… needed. With that, I want to tackle opportunities with a focused effort and building something that enables my customers that also aligns with my vision in mind.
Looking back at your ventures, what would you do different?
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Risk-Reward vs. Success-Failure and Others Lessons from a Serial Entrepreneur

Serial entrepreneur Gregg Oldring recently wrote a post about his recent startup that failed – “Afraid of failing at a startup? Let me tell you what it feels like.” Naturally, I wanted to dive into the title given my past.
There were a couple lines I really enjoyed. Sharing those here, and highlighting my own experience.
  • “When I frame the analysis as risk-reward instead of success-failure, we did well.”Maybe because I failed before with Body Boss, but this was incredibly resonating. Like Gregg highlighted, there was so much gained from the experience that isolating the outcome based on commercial success would be vain. In the end, we threw out risk to attempt something special. The reward beyond was worth it.
  • “One of the things that I hate about being an entrepreneur is that sharing the uncertainties I have about my business usually carries with it negative consequences that outweigh the benefit of transparency. When someone asks, ‘How’s business?’ the answer can seldom be, ‘It doesn’t look like it’s going to be sustainable.’” Geez, this ateat me towards the end of Body Boss. I felt like a fraud when I spoke to others – prospects, yes, but especially with my personal connections (friends and family). The weight of faking a smile was heavy. So heavy, in fact, that I avoided any discussion about the venture as much as possible.
  • “I’m not embarrassed or ashamed that Inkdit didn’t thrive. My friends, family and community haven’t made me feel that way. In fact, they’ve done quite the opposite. I’ve been reminded that I have many people who support me.” As the dust settled from shutting down Body Boss, friends and family came from everywhere pledging support. It was humbling. In many ways, too, I was proud. Many applauded our courage and how we built something from nothing.

Gregg’s experience from failure sounds a lot like mine. As I read the comments to his article, I’m reminded of the power of sharing unsuccessful stories and being vulnerable. Confidence in what we’ve achieved and where we’re heading gives us power to go again. Sharing our stories gives others the confidence and support they, too, can go for greatness.

By the way, you can read more about my experience from my book Postmortem of a Failed Startup: Lessons for Success. It’s a quick read so you can learn, apply, and go (e-book and paperback available).
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The “New Normal”

Atlanta is notorious for stress-inducing traffic, and it’s going to be even worse since one of the busiest roads collapsed on March 30th due to a fire.
Collapses (read: “failures”) have their way of teaching us. So, I want to take a moment to share a few reactions from this debacle.

Enabling New Day-to-Day Experiences

Atlanta’s traffic is well known, but to be honest, traffic is on par with other major cities. The difference is perhaps volume due to our limited public transportation options. (And poor take-rate for the options that do exist.)
This new challenge will motivate many daily commuters to try travel alternatives. The key here is how this will affect the day-to-day. By integrating public transportation into the daily lives of so many for an extended period, commuters can more accurately reflect on how public transportation can affect their lives.
Too often, in the past, public transportation services like MARTA have discounted transportation for special events. Commuters for special events, then, rarely consider MARTA for anything but special events. They certainly would not associate the ease of daily commuting when their limited experience includes jam-packed trains.
Forcing the day-to-day can be a real eye-opener for many.

This is the New Normal

Mark McDonough, commissioner of the Georgia State Patrol’s Department of Public Safety came out asking commuters to be patient citing repairs could take months.
One of the best parts about his address was cutting to the chase – “… get up earlier. Find a new route. This is new normal.” There is no value in whining and crying about what happened. It’s happened. Adapt.

Where and What We Can Learn from Collapse

There was a joke going around that this was actually the second major Atlanta collapse this year – the Atlanta Falcons’ major Super Bowl crash being the first.
Atlanta entrepreneur Jon Birdsong shared this post – “Why Atlanta’s Collapse(s) Are Good For Us”. In this post, he reflected on how the Falcons’ collapse made him reframe resiliency by studying the orchestrator of the greatest Super Bowl comeback ever – Tom Brady.
Birdsong read books and articles about Tom Brady, and adapted much of his own lifestyle to be more like Tom’s. Everything from daily habits like diet and exercise have changed Jon for the greater. Birdsong credits the Falcons’ loss as the motivator.
Had the Falcons won, Birdsong would have been ecstatic and hugely supportive. However, the loss has given him a new way to look at life beyond the game.

Life happens. Sh!t happens. Adapt, and keep going. This is the new normal.
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Lessons from Soccer and Recent Mistakes

I recently recalled one of my most vulnerable experiences. (You can find a cut at the story here, too.) In this case, it was how I was cut from the varsity soccer team both my junior and senior years. I shared the story to illustrate the lessons I’ve learned through soccer.
As I reflected on this experience again and while meeting with a young entrepreneur recently, I recalled the following lessons from soccer:
  • You’re only as good as your last game. This is actually not true, but it sets up for some great motivation for your next game.
  • You will make mistakes during games. However, the game keeps going. You need to, too.
  • You and everyone else will be caught up in the game. Realize that what happens on the field can affect what happens off it. Realize when mistakes and emotions occur. Realize there’s a season full of games. Realize there are years of seasons.

I’ve thought about these a lot recently and the need for authenticity and vulnerability. In this way, a couple mistakes that have occurred recently that I hadn’t thought about before:

  • Collateral damages. I have a “shopping list” of people who I’d like to work with. I’ve worked with many in the past. As I build out my team now and consider future endeavors, I think about this list. Further, that list contains persons who are part of teams of people I know. When I consider the people I want to work with, I think about the opportunities available for each individual. This, however, can fly in the face of the others on the team – the potential for collateral damage amongst individual relationships.
  • Being impulsive. Yes, I can be impulsive. Couple this with my love for language and phrases, and I have a recipe to say the wrong things too quickly. I appreciate the way authors express thoughts or how orators influence crowds. My excitement, then, can cause me to use phrases that may not actually echo what I mean. In today’s world with rapid, instant messaging, this can be dangerous.

It’s funny as I think about soccer. Truly great, experienced players are thoughtful, calm, and patient. Read: not impulsive. Recent mistakes have illustrated little in the way of experience.

Especially under duress, I realize the need to reach deep for patience and thoughtfulness. However, business is not like a game. Sometimes, you don’t get to keep playing. Sometimes, things don’t just stay on the field.
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Start Your Own Lessons Learned

It’s been a little over a week since I wrapped up #100Strangers100Days, and I’ve given this a little reflection. As you can imagine, I get a lot of questions on what’s next and what my lessons have been. I find the question for lessons learned interesting.
When I think about lessons we learn, we learn them because they somehow resonate with us. They resonate with us so we can remember them. When I create my list of lessons learned, they will be my own.
I’m wondering how many people will try to learn their own lessons, or are they looking to me for the Cliff’s Notes. Meeting the 100 Strangers required no patented process. Required no money. Demanded little time. (What took a lot of time was everything after the meet.) Anyone can do this.
Again, the lessons will be my own, and though, I might paint them in a light that is best seen and understood by others, they will be mine.
Meeting a handful of Strangers today, tomorrow, over the next two weeks, and learning from the experience (and maybe making some great connections), just requires an initiative. Then, those lessons will be your own. Don’t need to blog about them. Don’t need to bust out a voice recorder. Don’t need to start with “Who are you?” Instead, your lessons and journey starts today, and you can take whatever path you wish.
(This is true beyond meeting Strangers, too.)
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