Tell us about your business/concept.
Aaron: The idea that we came into the INKUBATOR with was based on localized marketplaces, specifically like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, that are just super sketchy. The idea was that there鈥檚 a lot of people who weren鈥檛 using these marketplaces for many reasons, the biggest being safety: people didn鈥檛 want to meet sketchy strangers and that sort of thing. Then there鈥檚 transportation needs, scheduling conflicts; everyone鈥檚 used to having things come to them these days, we鈥檙e just blessed with that opportunity. But that was the idea, you don鈥檛 have to have these scheduling conflicts, or that you don鈥檛 want to meet in a place you don鈥檛 know. So we came into this with the idea of making our own marketplace but the twist was we offered crowdsourced delivery, which sort of follows the Uber model: you can actually opt to have someone deliver it to you from point A to point B and you never have to meet the person, the money鈥檚 all exchanged online through secure services like Paypal, so there鈥檚 a lot less risk of getting burnt, which happens a lot in these marketplaces. That actually happened to you, Austin, with that Nintendo Switch.
Austin: I bought a Nintendo Switch on LetGo because I thought I was going to find a good deal and I met up with the dude and he said, 鈥測eah it鈥檚 fine, you don鈥檛 need to test it鈥, and I trusted him because I assumed he鈥檇 be a decent human being, but I took it home and both of the controllers were broken on it. I tried contacting him and saying, 鈥渉ey, I thought we had a deal, you鈥檙e being dishonest鈥 and he ghosted me. Luckily it was still under warranty and I could send it to Nintendo to get it replaced, but stuff like way worse happens all the time-- there鈥檚 no sense of legitimacy between the buyers and sellers and they can鈥檛 be held accountable afterward. So that鈥檚 what we liked about this idea of having these profiles where people could leave reviews, all of their transactions are transparent, and you can鈥檛 take advantage of people.
Aaron: Much like Austin assumed this person would be as good-hearted as he is, we came into the INKUBATOR with the assumptions that this was a stellar business idea.
What attracted you to the INKUBATOR? Why is it a good fit for you/your idea?
Aaron: There were the not-so-subtle plugs in all of our classes: Zac weasels his way into every class, and when Rodney [D鈥橲ouza] was here in his classes we did a sort of light version of it, just testing the assumptions we were making and going through that process of going back to the drawing board after we test our assumptions. It naturally made its way to now having this business idea that we worked on a little bit and we said, 鈥渉ey, we鈥檝e been hearing about this INKUBATOR and if for nothing else it鈥檇 be a good experience and it would get us together over the summer to get us to work on it and not just go to Coney Island or whatever people doing during the summer.鈥
Austin: And in addition, when Aaron and I were talking about what we wanted to do the thing we were the most attracted to was the opportunity for networking. Zac lines up an incredible lineup of all these entrepreneurs in the city; we were able to meet Dave Willbrand and other people who have so many connections, such as the OCEAN accelerator, and if anything it鈥檚 just a great way for them to get to know your face and that you鈥檙e active in entrepreneurship in Cincinnati. Then for future ventures, you have a much larger network.
Aaron: Cincinnati is kind of unique in that regard because we have the advantage of being a close-knit startup community of people who absolutely should not be helping us out but who give us all the time of day that we need. It鈥檚 great. The INKUBATOR was huge in getting us into those networks and showing us the resources we have, which we might not have found without INKUBATOR. That was a huge attraction for us.
How did the INKUBATOR help you bring your idea to life?
Aaron: Big time the connections. I think even if there was nothing to it but just cold handshakes with people, even the people we met on Demo Day, that one interaction is enough to springboard into all sorts of different things. The connections are definitely huge, and also just the mentorship from Zac and Rodney and Jeff, being able to bounce ideas off of them was really helpful.
Austin: I would also say the structure of it: because it鈥檚 in your free time and it鈥檚 not a class you鈥檙e getting credit for, you take a lot more ownership over the work you鈥檙e doing. Zac gave us assignments that we really took upon ourselves, especially when it came to validating our idea and seeing if there is an actual market fit. We would set up Craigslist ads and see if we could actually do a fake prototype of this and because it was in our own free time we realized how much more difficult that is, and it鈥檚 something that we鈥檙e still exploring now but it really forced us to think of this in a practical application and not just on a piece of paper.
What is the most important lesson you learned during this process?
Aaron: I would say the most important thing that I learned was to test every assumption that you make because we like to take things we think we know for granted. One example I like to use is the idea that old ladies would hate to use Craigslist because they wouldn鈥檛 want to go meet people, but no, it turns out old ladies are the ones using Craigslist because they鈥檙e flipping things from auctions; we had this assumption of 鈥渨e鈥檙e going to target old ladies鈥, but they鈥檙e totally fine right now. Basically, you can take nothing for granted, you have to go and actually test what you think you know. Every single time we went out and tested something it turned into a pivot of some kind. That鈥檚 absolutely huge in defining a solid business in a startup, sort of working backward, testing everything as you go. It really solidifies a solid business.
Austin: I think I align with that 100%, another way to say that is you want to force yourself to fail as soon as possible, especially when we are talking about funding. There鈥檚 no reason to put fuel in your tank, in an analogy where you鈥檙e flying to the moon, if you鈥檙e not even aimed at the moon properly. You force yourself to fail to find the proper trajectory before investing more time and resources.
Aaron: They even warned us in the first day, 鈥渋f you鈥檙e super married to the idea you have right now, you probably won鈥檛 last鈥. That idea in the first couple weeks won鈥檛 last, unless you鈥檙e super lucky. I think every single person pivoted at some point.
How has the INKUBATOR changed your outlook on entrepreneurship?
Aaron: It was a complete 180: you have the idea that you make a super cool business idea and then you ask some people, 鈥渉ey, do you think this is a cool idea?鈥, but it鈥檚 almost the total opposite of that. It鈥檚 testing things and then making sense of it instead of trying to build a castle out of randomness, you have to find what pieces fit. It increased my appreciation of the process much more and made it sort of click for me.
Austin: It鈥檚 very backward from how Aaron and I typically approach things as engineers. We just try to find the coolest fix right away without actually identifying if that鈥檚 a problem. This has forced us to turn around and see if there鈥檚 an actual problem that exists for consumers and what their problems and needs are and if they鈥檙e willing to pay for it. We need to validate that before we even present our idea, which is really difficult. We鈥檙e really antsy and we love showing everyone what we have, but it forces us to look at it backward. In general, you view everything as a hypothesis; everything is temporary and it鈥檚 all up to change and it鈥檚 never solidified. Even if it鈥檚 a successful business it could change at any time.
Aaron: If this could help to paint a before and after picture, our first week in Rodney鈥檚 class we got a problem and then had a whole app planned, the design and its features and functions and the way it鈥檚 going to make money and they had to pull the reins hard on us like, 鈥渨oah, slow down, where did you come up with all of this, why are you making a solution you know nothing about?鈥.
Austin: It was the problem we knew nothing about.
Aaron: We literally reversed that problem [with INKUBATOR], we don鈥檛 define a solution before we define a problem. It鈥檚 completely turned our way of thinking around and it was a necessary change for the both of us.
How has INKUBATOR impacted your life?
Austin: It鈥檚 opened up so many connections into the entrepreneurial world, and I think because we鈥檝e been able to interact with so many other passionate people in an area outside of school it allows us to be more invested and open to more opportunities, like going to business pitches and going to events that our professors are talking about because we鈥檝e seen the value it provides.
Aaron: It鈥檚 that step from being a hypothesis to being something that鈥檚 real and getting out there and getting to have a face in the entrepreneurship community in Cincinnati. I know we could walk into Centrifuse right now and be like 鈥渉ey what鈥檚 up鈥 and they鈥檇 ask how we鈥檙e doing and show us around. It definitely took everything to the next step and made everything real. It launched us from the idea phase into actually doing stuff.
Austin: Like what Aaron said about being recognized by people you鈥檝e networked with, that itself is a life lesson to take out of this, when you鈥檙e meeting new people you have to make a resounding impression right away and just connect with them on a genuine level, not even trying to sell them on anything, because once you鈥檝e sold your friendship with them they鈥檒l be willing to help you with anything down the road, even if it鈥檚 a totally different business.
