FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions · Startup Secrets Sandbox

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ:

Who is Startup Secrets for?

Founders, innovators, engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs and business builders who are interested in learning how to think for themselves about how to build and scale a startup from the earliest stages.

More specifically who are you focused on helping?

innovators, engineers and scientists who are often underserved by a technical training but desire to build a business.

Bold thinkers and problem solvers who have the ability to make great breakthroughs. Many of these people are underserved in business education. They want to learn how to apply their work to solving significant problems and identifying opportunities. They yearn to make a real impact in the world by turning their innovations into sustainable ventures. If this sounds like you, you’re in the right place!

Innovation is nearly always a gradual, not a sudden thing. Eureka moments are rare, possibly non-existent, and where they are celebrated it is with the help of big dollops of hindsight and long stretches of preparation, not to mention multiple wrong turns along the way. - Matt Ridley

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First time founders

People with the passion to found a startup but who may not know what it takes (see

Have you got what it takes?⁠

) or how to think about all the elements of building an enduring business.

What if I’m a repeat entrepreneur?

We’ve been very surprised to see how many repeat entrepreneurs engage with the content to review what they missed first time around. Many also have enjoyed sharing their experience to improve our materials.

What is the Startup Secrets content based on ?

It’s principally based on experience of early stage tech founders who learned to take their ideas through to an IPO.

When designing it for Harvard, we wanted it to appeal to the first time founders and entrepreneurs across all the Harvard schools, and the content continues to evolve beyond just tech.

We initially thought it too basic for the Business School, though surprisingly we do use the material at HBS in progams like the MS/MBA and at the Rock Center for Entrepreneurship, particularly to bridge academic and practical application of startup best practices, using real world examples of the frameworks being applied.

Why a Sandbox?

As is often the case in startups, where you may have a lab to experiment before releasing things to customers, I wanted to keep a sandbox to experiment with new content and keep testing and iterating rapidly. Again just like an agile startup, I believe in being fully customer driven and validated. So please give your feedback and comments! See

How to comment in Coda⁠

What can I expect from interacting with this Sandbox?

Consider Startup Secrets a ground zero for entrepreneurs wanting a consistent set of frameworks to architect their venture covering all the basic aspects of a startup

Frameworks not answers.

Startup Secrets frameworks are designed to elicit your own thinking, create your own authentic approach to problem solving and possibly even inspire your own “AHA!” moments.

Honest case studies that share both success, failure and most importantly learning

We will listen your feedback and comments as to how to improve the Sandbox.

Note: we cannot respond to requests for help directly as there simply isn’t enough time to help the thousands of entrepreneurs who request it. Hence providing this sandbox to try to provide a broader resource and develop community learning.

Your thoughts, questions and input will inform how we continue to develop this Sandbox and that in turn may influence the main Startup Secrets program. So thank you!

Other:

Is there a Startup Secrets Community?

Everywhere we share Startup Secrets we encourage community participation including wishin the

Underscore Core Community⁠

, on campuses where we teach and mentor and of course across the globe online on platforms like

Linked IN⁠

We encourage peer communities, because we think of startups as a mutual journey of learning for all involved, and your peers are often the best people to help you.

On this site, help and support each other. If you see a question on this site and feel you can genuinely help, feel free respond to it in the comments. Note that this will be done on a trust basis, so please respect each other and bring a positive attitude at all times.

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