John Brennan

The commodity that I see the majority of people who...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:38:00 -0400

The commodity that I see the majority of people who aren’t getting the places they want or aren’t achieving the things that they want in this business is strictly based on hustle. It’s strictly based on being outworked. It’s strictly based on missing crucial opportunities. I say all the time, if you stay ready you ain’t gotta get ready.

- Will Smith

Many thanks to Peter for sharing.

Announcing Our First Investment, $20,000 in Balbus

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 09:00:00 -0500

This post originally appeared on the Rough Draft Ventures blog on Tuesday, March 5th.

By John Brennan

Partner, Rough Draft Ventures

I’m thrilled to announce that Rough Draft Ventures is investing $20,000 in Balbus, Inc.

This is exciting for us not only because it is our first investment but because the founder, Jack McDermott, is exactly the kind of ambitious student-entrepreneur we set out to support when we launched Rough Draft Ventures last December. Despite his full course load as a junior at Tufts University and his commitment as an athlete on the varsity men’s lacrosse team, Jack has built the foundation of what we believe will be a successful, high impact technology company in the field of special education.

As someone who’s had a stutter for his entire life, you’d be hard pressed to find a founder more entrenched in his product and target market than Jack. While Balbus is growing into its broader vision as a next generation special education platform, it started out to alleviate Jacks specific frustration with his own speech therapy experience. He saw the increasing popularity of smartphones and the emergence of the app economy as an opportunity to put his own speech therapy in his pocket, and he did just that. Since he started Balbus in the fall of 2011, his two iOS apps, Speech4Good and Fluently, have been purchased by thousands of customers trying to find their voice just like him.

Moving forward, we couldn’t be more excited to work closely with Jack and introduce him to the advisors and mentors in our network who can be helpful to him and his company. The $20,000 we’re investing in Balbus will allow Jack to build out his team and run the company full-time when he’s not in class or on the lacrosse field. This is something he’s been unable to do in the past—especially during the summer—as he’s always had to take internships to bootstrap his company on nights and weekends.

Jack has shown a tremendous commitment to solving a very real problem and we’re eager to support his venture as well as other student founders who share an equally relentless passion for their product here in Boston.

Read more about Balbus and what this investment means to Jack on his personal blog.

Contact Info:

john@roughdraft.vc | @bjp

Leveling up as a student-entrepreneur

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 15:55:00 -0500

This post was written in a coffee shop in San Francisco on January 4th.

Where were you one year ago today?

I think for most entrepreneurs—especially young ones—the answer to this question invites quite a bit of reflection, and I’m no exception. One year ago today, I was spending winter break of my sophomore year at home in Connecticut gearing up to launch my first venture in private beta, Navlit. But what’s more important than that is how I got to where I am today, one year later. Here’s a look into my reflection and how I’ve gone about “leveling up” as a student-entrepreneur, if you will..

While Kenny and I started working on Navlit in August 2011, it wasn’t until I joined twitter (thanks Jack) in December 2011 that I truly “caught the bug.” I quickly realized that twitter, though an online service, can pay countless dividends towards your life offline if used properly. It quite literally introduced me to people who have gone on to become close friends, mentors, advisors, and colleagues. Twitter introduced me to the Boston startup community, and ultimately, what it means to hustle.

Sorry, “coffee hustle.”

With my introduction to twitter came my introduction to networking. I hate the word networking because it reminds me of stuffy career fairs full of disingenuous “conversations” and hopeless résumé drops, but networking in the startup community means something very different. It means sitting down at your local coffee shop and sharing where you’ve been, where you’re going, and what you’ve learned along the way. It means one on one conversations, sound advice, and the potential to foster real relationships. I began to meet incredibly interesting people this way—people who have a burning passion for whatever they are building and have so much to offer through their past experiences, both the failures and the successes. Many of these people have been my peers in Boston who juggle rigorous academic schedules with ambitious side-projects (or in some cases, real companies), while others have been seasoned entrepreneurs who have already built successful companies but are hungry to build more. These coffee meetings became contagious, and coupled with an endless desire to consume breaking tech news and thoughtful blog posts, I was caught in a whirlwind of startup addiction.

The only problem with what I was doing was that I was living in the abstract of true hustle. I’ve read about how difficult it is to build a business, how struggle and failure are far more common than not, but I’ve never been truly battle tested. I’ve never been in the trenches with nothing but my will and alleged passion for what it means to quite literally “start up,” which is why I’m excited to level up. I’m eager to join Price Intelligently this month and put myself to the test to prove to Patrick that I was worth the risk and to prove to myself that I can help build the next high-impact, meaningful company of Boston and the world. I’m honest with myself that I’m both scared and excited for the future. It’s my first real opportunity to sink my teeth into something very real and make it happen.

So what about my “coffee hustle?” Well, I don’t regret one cup. I’ve met people that, at the very least, I’ll be in touch with for the rest of my life. I’m thankful to move forward on my journey as an entrepreneur with a network that I can rely on for emotional and mental support. I’ve gotten a lot of advice and made a lot of new friends and I think it’s all been important to my personal and professional growth. I’ll take a lot less coffee “meetings” this year, but for good reason. I’m leveling up.

Want to chat? Hit me up on twitter at @bjp.

Discuss on HackerNews.

As I mentioned, this post was written in a coffee shop in San Francisco on January 4th. I’ve been at Price Intelligently for one month now. Stay tuned for a post soon about my experience thus far.

Moving Forward

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:10:00 -0500

I’ve put a lot of thought into my goals lately, and not so much because it’s a new year but more so because of a big change approaching in my life—taking a semester off from school to work full-time at a startup. Tomorrow I’ll be moving from my apartment in Medford to an apartment in Cambridge and on Monday I’m joining Price Intelligently.

When I started thinking about my goals for the next six months or so I had about a dozen, but after speaking with some people close to me (thanks guys, you know who you are) I’ve narrowed it down to five, broader goals.

1. Do more stuff.

I’ve been pretty intrigued by the idea of simplifying my life and putting more of a focus on new experiences versus new possessions. I donated half of my clothes around Christmas and I just traveled alone for a week in San Francisco so I’ve already done a good job of kickstarting this goal, but, that being said, I don’t think experiences have to be expensive and time-consuming. I want to try yoga, learn to sail, and go skeet-shooting, all of which require just a couple of hours of my time and don’t break the bank. As for my possessions moving forward, this piece by Dustin Curtis really resonated with me.

2. Publish more.

I’ve actually been free-writing for about 15m a day for the past couple of months, but I never publish anything. To be honest, it’s usually been because I don’t think I’m a good enough writer and I don’t want to embarrass myself, but I’ve been convinced of late that writing and putting it out there for people to laud and/or criticize is one of the best ways to practice self-improvement. Writing is a great way to reflect and better understand your thoughts, and I think I’ll find that publishing my writing will do far more for me than just making me a better writer.

3. Take more photos.

This one is simple and it goes along with focusing more on new experiences versus new possessions. I noticed when I was giving away those clothes that a lot of tshirts that didn’t fit anymore were from great vacations past, vacations I didn’t have many photos from. I’m no longer interested in buying a tshirt to remember Kirkwood, for example (one of the mountains I skied in Tahoe two week ago), but what I’d prefer is to take a photo of my buddies and I on the mountain. It’s cheaper, lasts forever, and is far more meaningful.

4. Listen more.

Anyone who knows me knows I love to talk and because of that I’d like to work on being a better listener. I really enjoyed this post on how to be popular—long story short the message is to talk less, listen more, and take a sincere interest in others. I think this will lead to stronger relationships and further learning, especially as I enter the real world where most if not all of the people I interact with will be older and wiser than I am.

5. Level up.

This is a big one that I won’t go too far into because I have another post in the works on what exactly this means to me, but as I mentioned I’m gearing up to join a startup full-time and I’m equal parts excited, anxious, confident, and nervous. I’m about to be battle tested for the first time and I want to prove to Patrick and the rest of the team at Price Intelligently that hiring me was a great decision. Once again, more on this soon.

That’s a wrap folks, hit me up on twitter at @bjp with your questions or comments. Thank you to Scott Britton for motivating me to get my goals down in writing, something he did a few weeks ago.

Hats off to J.P.Morgan Chase & Co. for such a fantastic...

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 20:12:00 -0500

Hats off to J.P.Morgan Chase & Co. for such a fantastic commercial. I’m proud as ever to be an American.

Also, shout out to the two gents at 0:30 who are definitely working on a tech startup! #freeenterprise

"The grading methodology I will use is based on the following principles. 1) I place more emphasis on..."

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:25:40 -0400

“The grading methodology I will use is based on the following principles. 1) I place more emphasis on regular and conscientious contribution than on occasional brilliance. 2) I value learning over “accurate” grading. Thus for example, I do not use “difficult” exams, merely so that they will lead to “objective” grading scores. 3) I have greater confidence in my ability to evaluate the quality of your written work than I do your oral comments in class.”

- I’m considering cross-registering for “Starting New Ventures” with Professor Amar Bhidé in the Tufts Fletcher (Graduate) School for many reasons, one of which is most certainly his grading methodology.

This is how all professors should view grading. Period.

I turn 21 on September 14th, and I’ve recently decided to...

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 18:11:49 -0400

I turn 21 on September 14th, and I’ve recently decided to give up my birthday for charity: water. It’s a charity I’ve been really fond of since I learned about it last year, and I thought that given 21st birthday’s are all about drinking it’d be an appropriate one to give up to raise money to build clean water projects.

Feel free to donate to my 21st birthday campaign here.

Thanks!

The historic Saratoga Race Course through the fog at sunrise on...

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 17:24:11 -0400

The historic Saratoga Race Course through the fog at sunrise on Saturday, July 22nd.

Two friends and I woke up at the crack of dawn to secure a picnic table for the day of racing. We had an early morning breakfast beside the track and watched some horses do their morning workout.

"We may no longer live in an age of knickers and powdered wigs, but being punctual is just as..."

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:37:18 -0400

“We may no longer live in an age of knickers and powdered wigs, but being punctual is just as important as it ever was. It has been called “a homely, but solid virtue,” and it certainly doesn’t cause one’s breast to swell in the way that pondering courage or resolution does. But related as punctuality is to discipline and self-mastery, to integrity and respect, it is – if not particularly sexy – still an essential component of the character of an upstanding man.”

Career Advice from the CEO of GE Asset Management

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 20:53:00 -0400

One of the best parts of interning at GE is attending roundtables. Roundtables are events organized by the company where a senior-level executive will speak to interns or entry-level employees about their specific business and how they got to be where they are today. Since my internship began three weeks ago, I’ve been lucky enough to attend two of them.

One of them was with the CEO of GE Asset Management, Dmitri Stockton, and was exclusive to the fifteen or so interns in my program. We were told the night before to spend some time preparing for the roundtable by learning about GEAM and preparing questions for Dmitri. However, the next morning when we sat down with him, he spent no more than five minutes giving us a high-level overview of the business, and then said to us:

“But enough about my business, what I’d like to talk to you about today is career advice. You’ll all go down your own path, and I hope it’s with GE, but if it’s not, that’s OK. I just want you all to keep a few things in mind.”

And so he began his presentation with a slideshow titled, “Career Advice.” It had ten bullet points:

continual learning is the single most important thing you can do to position yourself for success.

preparation allows you to play offense.. being unprepared can lead to negative consequences.

be prepared to take risks and learn from failure.. stay in the game and keep getting better.

move close to the things you fear the most.. you have more capacity than you may realize to conquer these fears.

approach your life choices with a clarity of purpose.. visualize the success you desire and ensure you have a road map to achieve it.

build a broad set of experiences.. take on not only different opportunities but the tough ones—this is where you will find some of your best learning experiences.

protect your reputation and brand.. put integrity at the center of all you do.. it only takes one event to damage your brand.

dream big.. set the highest expectations for your lives.. you must first believe you can be great if you expect others to believe you can.

seek out mentors who can help.. people are always willing to invest in those who invest in themselves.

give something back to your community.. you are the next generation of role models.

With each point, he elaborated. He always had a personal anecdote to share about a time he failed, a time he succeeded against all odds, and how he continues to practice self-improvement to this very day. I can speak for every intern in the room when I say that we were absolutely floored. This is the kind of guy you can listen to talk all day. It certainly wasn’t what we expected the roundtable to be like, and I’d be shocked if there’s ever one like it again.

Here are a couple of key quotes that I took down as well:

“Why are you here?”

We were told to make sure that we hold ourselves accountable and ask ourselves that question on a regular basis to make sure we’re not giving the answer we know we shouldn’t be.

“Mentors have an enormous impact on not only your career, but your life. They put their socks on the same way as you do in the morning, just remember that.”

He accredited a lot of his success to the mentors he formed relationships with early on and pushed him to follow the principles he shared with us throughout his career and his life. He also encouraged us to reach out to those people who seem may seem so distant due to status, because, well, the socks. [Full Disclosure: I totally dropped him an email that afternoon]

“Teams really make the difference. Play your position, run with the ball when it’s your turn, and stay close together so not to fumble.”

I’ll end here with that awesome quote, because team is everything. Hit me up on twitter at @bjp with any comments.

Discuss on HackerNews.

Me and @webbsimpson1, #USOpen champ! (Taken with Instagram at GE...

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:13:30 -0400

Me and @webbsimpson1, #USOpen champ! (Taken with Instagram at GE Headquarters)

We will roll up our sleeves. We will move forward together. We...

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 18:30:00 -0400

We will roll up our sleeves.

We will move forward together.

We will overcome.

We will never forget.

I found this newspaper clipping taped to a cabinet in the room where I get coffee in the morning at General Electric in Fairfield, CT. It was published by GE in The Wall Street Journal on September 21, 2001, just 10 days after 9/11. When I got home today I did a little research and learned that this image became very popular in the weeks following September 11th. Some even drew comparisons to the popular WWI “I Want You for the U.S. Army” posters . At 10 years old, I was too young to pick up on something like this in the news (or at least remember it), but when I saw it today at the office it gave me goosebumps. I’ll definitely be sharing this around to friends of mine who’ve probably never seen it before either.

Looking forward to hearing @ericchurch perform tonight at the...

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 18:54:39 -0400

Looking forward to hearing @ericchurch perform tonight at the #CMTawards..

A gorgeous morning on the water.. (Taken with Instagram at Brant...

Sat, 19 May 2012 10:25:07 -0400

A gorgeous morning on the water.. (Taken with Instagram at Brant Lake)

"The difference is that with Instagram, there is just something special about those images: the..."

Thu, 17 May 2012 21:24:21 -0400

““The difference is that with Instagram, there is just something special about those images: the filters, the moments that it captures, the context,” he continues. “It’s the DNA of the Instagram user, the type of user who is hyper-connected and very visual. They’re not uploading albums—not just a bunch of random pictures of a vacation. Instagram is: I see something, I want to capture it, carefully select a filter to make it more personal, and share it with my network. It has more value somehow than the bulk-uploaded memory files of Facebook: the volume of Facebook versus the individualistic, artistic approach of Instagram.””

- Adrian Salamunovic, co-founder of CanvasPop, said this in an interview with Fast Company’s Austin Carr about Instagram’s true value to Facebook. Salamunovic worked closely with Kevin Systrom and saw Systrom’s intense focus on the user and nothing else—especially not a revenue model.

I thought this was the perfect way to describe Instagram and a users train of thought when they go to use the service. I still open and take pictures with Apple’s “Camera” app, but it’s interesting to see the difference between the pictures I take with it versus the pictures I take when I open Instagram and apply a filter—the Instagram photos always (usually, hah) have some deeper meaning. I didn’t really realize that until now, and that’s what makes a good product. I automatically turn to Instagram when I want to capture a photo that’s worth something to me. I don’t even think, I just do.

Anyway, here’s the interview.

The #TuftsTBA is coming along. Entrepreneurial alum, take note!...

Tue, 08 May 2012 14:02:39 -0400

The #TuftsTBA is coming along. Entrepreneurial alum, take note! cc @artpapas @mark_jacobson @DanSlate (Taken with instagram)

"Each speaker addressed this question with vigor and passion, and made it clear that the separation..."

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:06:00 -0400

“Each speaker addressed this question with vigor and passion, and made it clear that the separation of learning from education is an indispensable problem; learning must be reunited with education if we are serious about making real change.”

- Check out this compelling review by The Next Web of the Skillshare Penny Conference held this past weekend in NYC. As a college student hustling on my own startup and doing my best to contribute to the startup/tech scene in Boston, I always find myself thinking about the separation of learning from education. I’d love to hear some thoughts on this, especially from students.

Hit me up @brennanjp

Dinner, Anyone?

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:09:12 -0400

This weekend, The Princeton Entrepreneurship Club hosted the East Coast Startup Summit to “bond with students from across the country, build a stronger student startup ecosystem, and unite over today’s growth in east coast tech.” Fortunately for me, a few student-entrepreneurs repping Boston did a fantastic job live-tweeting so I could follow along from afar.

While Managing Partner of Union Square Ventures, Fred Wilson, was speaking, two of his quotes in particular resonated with me:

“Students need to start hanging out with angels and VC’s. This is why Silicon Valley works.” (thanks, Smit)

“The relationship between universities and startup communities is dependent on cocktail parties and relationships.” (thanks, Cory)

Boston has more than 300,000 college students studying in and around the city for most of the year and a rapidly growing startup scene flush with angels and VC’s searching for the next big thing. While I’m sure it’s already happening here and there, I’d urge for more college students interested in startups and entrepreneurship to start reaching out to people they find interesting and people they think they can learn from. And it doesn’t have to be investors—it can be CEOs, co-founders, employees, interns, whomever.

I just got back from dinner in Harvard Square with Scott Pollack, who does Business Development at American Express (and clearly entrenched in entrepreneurship), and three other Boston area student-entrepreneurs, and we had a blast. While we definitely talked BD and what exactly it entails/the ins and outs of closing a deal, we talked an even greater deal about entrepreneurship and life in general. He had a lot of advice for me as I’m growing into myself as an entrepreneur and making some big decisions in the near future, and I’m damn sure he learned some and more from the four of us as well. I took a lot away from the dinner and I know we’ll be keeping in touch.

Fred Wilson said that Silicon Valley works because basically everyone is on the same level and everyone is hanging out all the time—Stanford students and SV studs alike. I hear all the time that the startup scene in Boston is a tight-knit community. As I work harder to contribute to that community, I’m finding that it is indeed true. So I urge fellow students: find someone you really want to have dinner with and just go for it. What’s the worst they can do? Say no? Ignore your tweet/email? Make it happen and invite a few like-minded, motivated students. Try Grub With Us!

So I ask: Dinner, Anyone?

Thoughts? I’m always around on twitter: @brennanjp

PS - Fred Wilson mentioned cocktail parties. I’m totally down for that as well!

And here’s the back.. cc @navlit #StartupSwag (Taken with...

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:26:21 -0400

And here’s the back.. cc @navlit #StartupSwag (Taken with instagram)

New #StartupSwag from @navlit! (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:23:54 -0400

New #StartupSwag from @navlit! (Taken with instagram)