{"id":13493,"date":"2018-03-14T14:58:17","date_gmt":"2018-03-14T21:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fnmarketing.wpengine.com\/?p=13493"},"modified":"2018-09-21T11:35:30","modified_gmt":"2018-09-21T18:35:30","slug":"nyc-tech-mentorship-founder-princetonreview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/nyc-tech-mentorship-founder-princetonreview\/","title":{"rendered":"Mentorship with Princeton Review Founder, John Katzman"},"content":{"rendered":"

If your company is perfect, John Katzman wants to hear all about it. “Everybody has warts, everybody farts, every one of your competitors has a CEO that\u2019s tearing his or her hair out too”, said the 3-time serial entrepreneur when asked what risks he sees for his companies moving forward.\u00a0 H<\/span>aving scaled the Princeton Review,\u00a0 2U, and the Noodle Companies to a combined value of $3.5 billion, the edtech disruptor isn’t afraid to admit he’s made mistakes along the way, and takes a certain sense of pride in learning from them. In his honest, humble, and informative interview with us, the NYC-based founder discussed:<\/p>\n

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  1. Why there is nothing that shapes a product better than going out and discussing it with your clients.<\/li>\n
  2. The two mistakes founders make when fundraising.<\/li>\n
  3. How being an entrepreneur is a balancing act between utter optimism and brutal honesty.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Q: Let\u2019s start at the beginning with your MVP. Can you share any anecdotes about how that process went for you?<\/b><\/p>\n

    John:<\/strong> For Princeton Review, it was a course of 15 students I taught in New York. For 2U, it was v1 of our social LMS and a good marketing campaign. At least two of the four Noodle Companies probably spent too much time and money getting to market, a victim of my earlier successes. <\/span><\/p>\n

    At the Princeton Review and 2U we spent very little time building the perfect product or service pre-launch. As I got more confident in my understanding of the market, I was willing to spend more money building what I wanted to build, versus a leaner approach. Turns out I was wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Q: You\u2019ve never had a true co-founder. Do you have any advice for solo-founders about navigating the startup journey without a co-founder?<\/b><\/p>\n

    John:<\/strong> I like having clear authority to make decisions. But I have always managed to hook up with incredible people, and I\u2019ve always given them generous option packages.<\/span><\/p>\n

    It is NOT a good idea to be the one senior person in a company of newbies. As a solo-founder, surround yourself with smart people. There\u2019s nothing wrong with overpaying someone with more experience than the average person has in that position. There\u2019s nothing wrong with having a team that\u2019s <\/span>too<\/span><\/i> experienced. People often make the opposite mistake\u2014 they take in a bunch of kids who are straight from school\u2013smart, but clueless\u2013and assume someone will know what they\u2019re doing. <\/span><\/p>\n

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    It is NOT a good idea to be the one senior person in a company of newbies.\u00a0@johnkatzman<\/b><\/a>\u00a0@<\/s>Noodle_Partners<\/b><\/a>\u00a0
    \n    @<\/s>2Uinc<\/b><\/a>\u00a0@<\/s>ThePrincetonRev<\/b><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Q: You\u2019ve generally been the sales lead at your companies. Do you have any advice for founders about building our their sales team and strategy? <\/b><\/p>\n

    John:<\/strong> There is nothing that helps you shape a product better than going out and discussing it with your clients.\u00a0<\/span>If you have a prototype and you speak to enough potential clients, you\u2019re going to get incredible feedback.<\/b> If you\u2019re just asking them freeform what they\u2019d like to see, you\u2019re going to get crap feedback. And you have to be careful, because generally the people who will take your meeting are your friends, and your friends like you. <\/span><\/p>\n

    In addition, the CEO needs to be out there selling aggressively because:<\/b><\/p>\n