Ideas can come from anywhere. Take the origins of Trendi Guru, which began after watching hours upon hours of Project Runway (a show where people design clothing). My significant other, T, kept exclaiming “I want a dress like that one!” after almost every show. However, there was no way to find that dress, or even something similar – barring an intensive hours-long internet quest. One day after several episodes and a well deserved nap, (which, in my opinion, is a very effective idea-generating activity and comes highly recommended) an idea was born.  What was the idea, you ask? 1 click shopping of similar clothing items from pictures.

This was not my first entrepreneurial idea (I’ve had plenty), but it was an idea where I truly understood the need- and I could see my target customers people similar to myself and my girlfriend enjoying the end result; happily buying similar clothing products, online with just a click of a button.

It has taken almost two years, countless hours spent on R&D, endless product iterations, tirelessly chasing investment, building a team, dealing with the tensions that inevitably emerge when the going gets rough,  grit, determination, solid problem-solving skills, a level head, positivity, the ability to develop the skills of those around you, and more, to take this relatively simple idea and turn it into a product. Our hard work is beginning to pay off and now any business can install our one line of javascript plugin on their website, allowing their users to purchase similar products from online images.
During this ongoing journey of growth and discovery, I have had the privilege of contact with many amazing people, entrepreneurs, mentors, and accelerator programs – including MassChallenge, 8200 EISP, and SigmaLabs, all of which have shaped Trendi Guru’s continuous development – and my own.

At the core though are 5 pieces of advice that have resonated with me

1. Work on something you love with superstars (or superstars in training).

Find your team: Photo credit to Olaf Gradin https://www.flickr.com/photos/gradin/168875652

It’s not more complicated than that. One should Find incredible complementary co-founders, hire only people who you believe in, people with incredible potential, and by working together unleash each others great potential! After doing this, place yourself with access to experienced mentors and start-up environments (accelerators, co-working spaces etc. are great for this). By doing this you are already setting yourself up for success. Is this easy? Of course not, but entrepreneurship and start-ups are not sprints, they are long distance marathons.

Here are some helpful resources:

  • Meetups via www.MeetUp.com
  • Try http://founderdating.com/ or a similar platform.
  • Ask your friends, or friends of friends!
  • Hacker Spaces for example: http://telavivmakers.org/index.php/Main_Page
  • Hang around universities! Masters Students working part time on their thesis may be wonderful candidates, or the bus stop just outside the Technion/Harvard are great places.

2. Whatever you are building (business or product wise), it will take 3x as long. This is (thank you Dr. Rutman) a quantified version of Hofstadter’s recursive law (“it always takes longer than you think, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s recursive law”).

3. Data is king – Test, learn, iterate, and repeat. Your goal as an entrepreneur is to venture into the unknown, explore and come back with data that tests the critical assumptions of your business as quickly as possible and learn from your results. For Trendi Guru, it’s the effective click through rate of users buying similar items – what’s your KPI?

Showing the data: Credit of image to JDhancock https://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/8031897271

4. Pay it Forward– No one gets anywhere without a little help of someone along the way. No entrepreneur is an island, and you can always lend a hand. As my mentors have said before, “building a successful business is hard enough, how can you not help others trying to do the same?”.

5. Learn from Failure. Ido Yablonka Sr. Director at Yahoo our mentor at SigmaLabs put this into perspective for me last week. As long as you grow from failures, and apply the knowledge- you heighten your chances for success. Paraphrasing a great salesman – ABL “always, be, learning”

As we bring our product to market, myself and Trendi Guru will continue to learn, adapt, develop and grow, but at our core- we know that in order to be an entrepreneur, you first must be able to dream, then execute while building an incredible team, culture and business!

So what are you dreaming of? What idea are you currently putting to the test? Reach out and let me know if there is anything I can help you with, please feel free to reach out at kyle@trendiguru.com , give me a follow on social media https://twitter.com/kylegiddens, https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylegiddens. Also, if you would like to learn more about how we are helping publishers monetize their content through our clothing recognition API or how we are changing the world of online clothing discovery and advertising for publishers, reach out and I’ll be happy to show you.

Currently, Trendi Guru is being accelerated at SigmaLabs Accelerator, surrounded by incredible entrepreneurs, mentors and startups.

P.S. Thanks T. 🙂