Spotify Playlist: The Come Up, Music to Motivate

The Come Up: Music to Motivate by Kevin Siskar

is my continually growing motivational Spotify playlist with the intention of boosting entrepreneurial motivation when people need it most.

Over 7 hours of motivational Spotify music to help you grind through whatever dream you are pursuing. That means if you listen to "The Come Up" only a mere 1,282 times while working toward your goals you will have achieved that epic perfection milestone of 10,000 hours.

Casey Neistat's Startup Lesson

If you know Casey Neistat then you know in 2015 he has started doing a vlog a day. In vlog #112 Casey shares his new startup story about BeMe Inc. and how he was in the middle of fundraising at the same time his child was being born. Check it out below and in my opinion if you want to consume the most important piece of advice Casey gives, go ahead and skip to 2 minutes 10 seconds. 

The only thing in life that stands between you and everything you have ever wanted to do, is doing it -  Casey Neistat

What Makes a Successful Entrepreneur? Circumstance, Genetics, and Perseverance

Steve Jobs 

Recently Adeo Ressi, Founder of the Founder Institute, was asked, “what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?”.

In Adeo’s opinion, his answer was successful entrepreneurship is a combination of three things: Genetics, Circumstance & Perseverance.

Let’s go through all three.

Adeo Ressi

1. Genetics

The Founder Institute has completed social science testing on over ten thousand prospective entrepreneurs, measuring things like “Big 5 Personality Traits”, Fluid Intelligence, IQ, and more. The Institute then watched who became successful, and correlated back the measured traits that best predicted success, in a scientific process.

The traits that best predict entrepreneurial success are genetic, such as Fluid Intelligence and Openness. BUT, just because you have traits that MAY make you successful as an entrepreneur, does not mean that you WILL be successful. Similarly, just because you are tall does not mean that you are good basketball player.

In other words, you need the raw materials, but you also need other things.

2. Circumstance

Being in the proverbial “right place at the right time” matters a lot towards your ultimate success as an entrepreneur.

Timing is everything (..almost).

For example, Michael Diamant started iClips, a site exactly like YouTube, a few years before YouTube launched. iClips was a truly well-executed business, but the necessary bandwidth, camera penetration, and streaming technology adoption did not yet exist for it to gain massive traction. He was simply too early for the market.

Circumstances are not all market-specific, either. You can have perfect market-timing, but your personal circumstances might not be optimal. For example, you could have the best idea and timing while you are a high school student, and start to execute on that idea to the the best of your ability — but then a veteran entrepreneur does the same business with millions in venture capital and captures the whole market.

Some circumstances are in your control, and some are simply outside of your control, but most successful entrepreneurs will concede that some of their success is attributable to circumstance.

3. Perservance

You only fail in your business when you actually give up, so, in fact, no business would ever fail if people persevered.

When you look at the Founders of some of the most successful technology companies in the world, and there almost always were (and still are) times when the Founders simply refused to give up despite unbelievable problems, stress, and negative signaling

“Entrepreneurship is like eating glass and walking on hot coals at the same time” — Elon Musk

Elon Musk

An entrepreneur faces all of the debilitating problems of their own life, coupled with all of the personal problems of their team, as well as hostile operating environments, limited capital, stretched resources, no time, regulatory burdens, changing technology… the list is endless.

The loneliness and darkness of entrepreneurship is not discussed very often, but it is very, very real.

Those that persevere succeed. Those that do not, do not.

Entrepreneurial Spirit Is Driving Buffalo Forward

In recent years, much has been made about how the entrepreneurial movement is modernizing the American dream. Markets like San Francisco and New York City are home to some of the world's most recognizable startup success stories. And with good reason - being the top dog in a competitive market brings with it the advantages of recruiting top talent, visible press, and the ability to raise the innovative bar. But as billion dollar companies set up shop in big markets, a new generation of innovators is turning to midmarket cities to incubate their bold ideas. Cities like Buffalo, NY are making this possible. Buffalo is channeling its legacy of hard work - dating back to its heyday as a turn-of-the-twentieth-century giant - into a new push for entrepreneurial progress. Satish K. Tripathi, co-chair of the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council, and President of the University at Buffalo, perhaps said it best. The city is "open for business."

Taking a step back, Buffalo's innovative future is rooted in its time-tested work ethic. Last December, I reposted a video that discussed Buffalo as a city of firsts. From Frank Lloyd Wright to Theodore Roosevelt, the city boasts an impressive list of big thinkers with lasting impact. Of course, the city has experienced more than its fair share of setbacks. Following the 1950s opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, shipping and other industries moved elsewhere, businesses went vacant, and population decreased.

But today a number of trends indicate that the city is positioned for an entrepreneurial resurgence.

• A New Youth Movement - According to census data analyzed by the New York Times, from 2000 to 2012 the number of college graduates (ages 25-34) in Buffalo jumped 34 percent - more than Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, or even Boston.

• An Attractive Business Destination - A number of factors including access to an international border, a strong labor force, and low operations cost are gaining attention. Elon Musk's SolarCity made headlines last September with its announcement to commit 5 billion in Buffalo, while creating 3,000 new jobs. Beyond U.S. borders, a growing number of Canadian companies are also investing, leading to an even stronger startup corridor in the Golden Horseshoe - the densely populated region on the west end of Lake Ontario, stretching from Buffalo to Toronto .

• Renewed Sports Franchises - Not to be overlooked, Buffalo is also attracting new talent on the football field and in the hockey rink. The Bills and Sabres - arguably pivotal economic and emotional heartbeats of the city - are sporting new leadership with owners Terry and Kim Pegula and with the recent head coach hires of Rex Ryan and Dan Bylsma.

Within this movement, a number of newer companies face challenges of raising capital. To address this, organizations like 43North are incentivizing companies from around the world to incubate their ideas in Buffalo - with the potential to win up to $1 million. With support from New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo's Buffalo Billion initiative and the New York Power Authority, there is heavy commitment and high stakes in the organization, which last year received registrations from 96 countries and 50 states. The 11 winners from 2014 now share space in a new incubator at Buffalo Niagara Medical Center - specifically created to engage a collaborative entrepreneurial community.

As they wrap up registration this month, 43North wants to continue the momentum by focusing on quality global registrants to attract the best ideas the world over. This concept of exacting change through entrepreneurism is what's driving Buffalo forward. It's a bold venture for a city to bet on bright ideas and put them into action. But it's a critical step, with potentially high reward, in restoring the brightness to America's City of Light.