Ever since entrepreneur Mark Stellen launched his first business, mobile ticketing company ZebraPass, in the late 1990s, finding solutions to problems has been his “life’s work.”
“People think of entrepreneurs as people who just make money,” Stellen says. “The reality is that great entrepreneurs, and I never consider myself one of those entrepreneurs, when they find a solution that makes someone’s life better, I’m just there for that smile and that service. It’s really exciting and engaging and what gets me up in the morning.”
The 53-year-old Gaithersburg resident founded technology, real estate and franchise companies. He is a former co-director of the Georgetown University Summer Launch Program and was appointed director of the Lab for Entrepreneurship and Transformational Leadership at Shady Grove College in Rockville in 2020. He is also the author of his three books. Entrepreneurship Guide for Students.
Stellen’s latest venture is University Startups, a Bethesda-based technology company that teams up with longtime business partner John Jabara to provide online curriculum to help students in low-income areas. The idea is to build a personal path to college, job opportunities, and career success by fostering an entrepreneurial spirit.
“Entrepreneurship teaches you empathy. It teaches you to listen. It teaches you how to get feedback,” Stellen says. “When you experience entrepreneurship, you become risk-averse. You’re willing to try new things. That’s what life is about.”
Here are five things Stellen says every entrepreneur should know:
Please do not team up with friends.
“Many people will say, ‘I’m going to work with someone who has the exact same skillset as me and thinks the same way as me.'” This can be a recipe for disaster for two reasons. there is. One is that there is no backlash. Second, a venture capitalist comes in and says, “You guys are exactly the same. I don’t need both of you, so one of you has to leave.” You need to hire people with skill sets that you don’t have. ”
Find a mentor.
“One day you might think you’re going to run a unicorn company and go to a private island, and another day you might think you’re going out of business. So you need someone you can just talk to and get advice from. But you need someone you can trust, someone you can talk to, someone who is sympathetic and empathetic, and someone who will listen to you.”
Your speed is your secret weapon.
“Speed of action is a real competitive advantage for any startup. Go into the community, listen, understand the problem, build a solution quickly, and hear from customers about what works and what doesn’t. Imagine an organization that gets feedback and builds something within a week.”
IInvesting is not validation.
“People confuse the two. Validation is when the customer uses the product and pays for it. People think, Raised $5 million from ‘X’ investors. It’s not validation, it’s the belief that you can turn it into validation. ”
Keep learning.
“I read or listen to over 100 books a year. I’m a learning junkie. That’s a tremendous competitive advantage I have as an entrepreneur.”
This story appears in the March/April issue of Bethesda Magazine.
