A Startup is a Marathon...Not a Sprint

Or maybe it's a half marathon...

Well, everybody, I did it.  I completed my first half marathon on Saturday.  13.1 miles of pavement is behind me and a world of opportunity is in front of me.  Because now that I know that I can run that far, it seems like almost anything is possible.

I was never a good runner.  As a varsity swimmer in college, I was meant to spend my time in the water...not on land (a "fish out of water" is an appropriate term for me).  So paying the $50, buying new Nike tennis shoes, and signing up for the half marathon was not the easiest thing to do.  But as soon as I signed myself up, I was determined to succeed.  So, I started training on January 1st, running mile after mile on treadmills and trails, until April 2nd, when Rock the Parkway 2011 Half Marathon finally arrived.

But what's this half marathon story got to do with entrepreneurship?  A lot, actually. 

As a mediocre runner (who was never able to run more than 4 miles in her life), a 13.1 mile run seemed near impossible.  Therefore, one of the hardest parts of the half marathon was actually getting myself to sign up.  That first initial step was one of the hardest- much like the beginning stages of a startup.  For most entrepreneurs, the first part of building a company is the most difficult: coming up with the idea, believing in it, and dedicating your life to a new business that has a 50% chance of succeeding.  My half marathon was the exact same ordeal: I signed up for a run that I had to dedicate myself to and I had to believe that I could finish, even though I was not 100% sure that I could.

When I was at the starting line, I have to admit, I was nervous.  With thousands of runners surrounding me, sporting professional running clothes, water bottle belts, and loaded iPods, I not only looked like a rookie, but I felt like one too.  Launching a startup is scary and intimidating, too.  There may be people out there that have more experience than you, more funding than you, and maybe more confidence than you.  But you know what?  Everybody has to start somewhere.  And as soon as you get to that "somewhere", the only way to move is up.

When I approached the 12 mile mark during the half marathon, I had never felt so accomplished.  I only had a little over a mile left and the realization sunk in: I was going to make it.  And as I ran that last mile (mostly downhill, thank goodness), I came to find that the sweetest part of the half marathon was going to be crossing that finish line.  And as soon as I passed the photographer's flashes, the gigantic pace clock, and the large banner that read FINISH, I felt a weight lift off of my shoulders (and the pain disappear from my knees!).  I had finished.  And man, was it sweet.  I like to equate the end of a half marathon to the first big break for a startup company.  Whether that be the first loyal client, the startup's first successful event, or the point where the startup starts generating revenue; the taste of success is very sweet, whether it's launching a business or finishing those 13.1 miles.

A startup is a marathon, not a sprint.  It's a long run that requires training and mental preparation.  But once you cross that finish line, all of the hard work pays off.  Are you ready to sign up, face your fears, and taste success?

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Written by Allison Way.
@AllisonThinkBig

Entrepreneur Tackles a Business in 120 Days

We’ve all heard about “accidental” business success—just look at the famous story of Kingsford Charcoal: today’s leading manufacturer of charcoal in the United States was accidently developed from Ford Motor Company’s factory wastes in the 1920’s.  Or take a look at Play-Doh: this non-toxic, non-staining, reusable modeling compound was originally wallpaper cleaner until kids began molding it to make Christmas ornaments. 

But were these stories really “accidents” or did these entrepreneurs succeed simply because they had no idea what they were up against?  Did each entrepreneur simply have luck on their side, or did they become a success because they didn’t see the option of failure? 

Tyler Prochnow seems to think that perhaps its a little of both.

Tyler Prochnow
Founder of Kansas City Brigade
Co-Founder of Think Big Partners

To say that Prochnow knows how to launch a business is an understatement.  As co-founder of Think Big Partners and current President of two other companies (Connexsus Technology Solutions and ACS Properties), entrepreneurialism runs in his blood.  But it’s Prochnow’s greatest success story that proves that anything is possible if you don’t know what you can’t do.  In 2006, Prochnow launched a successful Arena Football League Franchise, not in one year, not in 6 months, but in 120 days.

After conducting due diligence for an 11-year NFL veteran with an interest in investing in an AFL team, Prochnow's eyes were opened to the world of Arena Football.

“The very things that the AFL promoted were the things that I believed Kansas City supported—family entertainment, giving back to the community, players that were accessible, and most of all, football,” says Prochnow.

Over the course of several months, Prochnow studied the League, did due diligence on the Kansas City market, and made a presentation to the League's owners on the viability of a Kansas City team.  Prochnow was approved as the owner of the expansion franchise and was set to begin play in the 2007 season. 

This is where fate intervened.  In the fall of 2006, the AFL New Orleans VooDoo team suspended their operations due to Hurricane Katrina.  Prochnow saw a business opportunity as well as a chance to help the city of New Orleans. 

Prochnow made a presentation to AFL owners about starting play a full year earlier than anticipated.  The League agreed.  And the rest of the word, according to Prochnow, "happened overnight."  And so began the development of the Kansas City Brigade.

Prochnow began hiring immediately and was able to put together what he calls, "the best front office staff ever assembled.  They were the ones responsible for the remarkable success of the franchise."  Even with a world-class staff of people who rolled up their sleeves and worked around the clock, Prochnow found himself putting in 60-hour weeks, often times until 2:30 in the morning.  His days were flooded with up to 100 phone calls and countless meetings.  But he and his team were determined to see the Kansas City Brigade become an AFL success, even if that meant no sleep and an overdose of Coca-Cola.  In other words, living the life of all entrepreneurs launching a new business.

“Anything is possible if you don’t know that you can’t do it,” says Prochnow.  “Looking back, we probably should not have been able to pull of what we did in such a short period of time, but it never crossed anyone’s mind that we couldn’t do it, so we focused on our goals and made it happen.” 

And happen it did.  The first Kansas City Brigade game, held just 120 days after the League gave them approval, attracted over 16,500 fans, even when the capacity at Kemper Arena was only 16,200.  From then on, the Brigade averaged over 15,000 in attendance per game and exceeded 16,000 fans in attendance for more than half their games that season.  To say that Prochnow’s hard work paid off is an understatement. 

“Virtually everything I do in my current business endeavors came from lessons we learned when we launched the Brigade,” he states.  "We made a lot of mistakes, but we learned from every one of them, and that was crucial to the success of the venture."

From hiring talented managers to listening to the customers, Prochnow implemented his business knowledge gleaned from this nearly-impossible business venture into his current business endeavors.

See what amazing things can happen in under 120 days? 

See what amazing things can happen when you Think Big?  

Written by Allison Way.  Allison is a writer and videographer for Think Big Partners, Kansas City’s mentorship-based business incubator and startup accelerator.  To read more of Allison’s work, check out the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner as well as her articles on Helium, BrooWaha, eZine and Newsvine.