What I Learned At Digital Garage

This was my first Digital Garage that I ever attended, but it definitely won’t be my last.  I learned so much and met wonderful people at the same time.  It’s something that usually doesn’t happen, so when it does, you have to appreciate it. When I left my last position working within DC, I said to myself that I would never again go to the city unless it was the weekend or after hours.  The trek from Fairfax to DC, and going back on my words, was met with an abundance of knowledge.

I attended four Digital Garage panels.

Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Startup Financing Panel

The first panel I went to was a panel compiled of angel investors, bank representatives, and government investors who answered questions about how to finance your startup business. I am not sure of the name, but I think this sums it up. Even though my business has very little overhead, and I made the decision to come up with the money for the non-profit organization that I’m starting with my own money, I still thought that the information that I gathered at this panel was something that I could use if I ever needed to go to external sources for funding. Some of the key points that I won’t forget are:

1. Do your research
2. Be passionate about what you are trying to get funding for
3. Invest your money first
4. Think of possible questions that investors and/or banks might ask

The moderator asked the panel what they thought the health of the market was.  The overall consensus seemed to be one of optimism but that it wasn’t going to get better in the near future.  It seemed the feeling was possibly around mid-2011.

Mobile Madness

The second panel discussed the mobile app market as of now and future.  The panel did a great job of covering the overall development cycle of a mobile app, pricing model, and advertising.

When it comes to development, the panel discussed how some people miss the mark on the importance of having a well-written design before actual designing.  Also, extensively testing after they finish developing the mobile app.  As someone who knows about the software development lifetime cycle (SDLC), CMMI, and ISO9000, and has seen some companies who follow industry-best practices to produce great technical solutions to those who never follow it, I know how important this is.

Requirements drive your design.  If you don’t have detailed requirements and have the done the research to go alongside that, then when it comes to design, your team and you will be lost. It is one of the reasons that going through the requirements gathering process and analysis stage before you even start coding is essential because all you will do is waste everyone’s time.  Believe me. I have seen the errors companies make at this stage.

Testing is just as big. It’s like [ONE OF THE PANELIST HIS NAME MINDGRUB] said, “Try to break the mobile app.” It’s something that anyone, regardless of what he/she is trying to build, should do. If you have enough money to hire a tester, then I recommend you do that.  You can have your developers do the testing as well, but it’s like writing. A writer is going to miss something that an independent editor could pick up. It’s the same with testing.

Women Entrepreneurs

This was definitely my favorite panel out of all of them.  Even though it was a panel of women entrepreneurs, they discussed topics that could be used by anyone, regardless of gender.  One of the first and most excellent questions asked was “How do you go about finding a mentor?” It’s something that I have been asking myself because I have always believed a mentor is very important in someone’s life. This person can give sound and wise advice because he/she has been there. Also, you can bounce your questions off that person, and he/she can tell you if you are heading in the right direction, or you might consider rethinking a few areas.  I am pretty shy, so I definitely had to hear how to find a mentor.  Their advice was the following:

1. Make a list of what you want out of a mentor
2. Read business papers and focus on the profile of people
3. Contact the person and keep the compliments rolling

So simple, and it’s something that even a shy person can do it.

They also discussed when to take the plunge.  I think the general view was to ensure that your business is making enough money for you to leave your full-time job.  It gets more difficult to leave your full-time job when you have more responsibilities (i.e. family). However, you can tell that these entrepreneurs were glad that they started their own businesses.  Even if there were occasional hiccups, they still were glad that they could what they are passionate about.  It’s the reason that I decided to go off on my own because I want to love what I do, so it doesn’t feel like a job.

These women were amazing, and I was so glad that I was able to listen to them speak.  They were very inspiring, knowledgeable, and helpful. If I was able to have them as my mentors, I would be happy. However, I know that some lucky people out there already snatched them up before I was able to.

Keynote by Hooman Radfar, CEO of Clearspring

I stayed to hear the keynote by Hooman Radfar, CEO of Clearspring. He had just gotten back from a trip to Africa where he helped villages get clean water. It was impressive that he had just gotten off a plane to talk to us. Radfar discussed how the DC area is a great place to start a business, and how we have so many resources around us.  By his speech, I could tell that he was very passionate about his work, and that now he wanted to start helping others as well. 

Overall, it was a great experience, and I am already awaiting the next one.

Photo Credit: Santana Row Parking Garage, originally uploaded by mischiru.