Upgrade to Pro — share decks privately, control downloads, hide ads and more …

The Accidental Founder

beyond tellerrand
November 19, 2012

The Accidental Founder

This talk was given at beyond tellerrand 2012 in Düsseldorf.

Description:
What happens when a passion evolves into a business? And unexpectedly, you're required to figure out how to manage staff, pay the bills, and compete with others — all while trying to keep the passion alive?

Throughout his 13-year career, Cameron has been passionate about many things: user experience design, HTML/CSS, typography, app design, writing, advertising, team collaboration, remote working, charitable giving, and so forth. Eventually, this passion led to an unexpected yet profitable business (more than one, actually).

Cameron will share the mistakes and successes he's encountered as a passionate creator, unexpected business owner, and accidental founder.

More info about beyond tellerrand:
http://beyondtellerrand.com
http://twitter.com/btconf

beyond tellerrand

November 19, 2012
Tweet

More Decks by beyond tellerrand

Other Decks in Design

Transcript

  1. HI.

    View Slide

  2. View Slide

  3. placeki en.com

    View Slide

  4. THE ACCIDENTAL
    FOUNDER
    @CAMERONMOLL

    View Slide

  5. youtube.com/watch?v=q-RLqLx1iYI

    View Slide

  6. View Slide

  7. View Slide

  8. View Slide

  9. View Slide

  10. View Slide

  11. Credit: joshuabudich.com

    View Slide

  12. I don’t think this music thing is going to
    work out for you, Cameron.
    PERCUSSION TEACHER, CANDIDLY

    View Slide

  13. View Slide

  14. THINGS I’VE DONE WRONG.
    THINGS I’VE DONE RIGHT.

    View Slide

  15. View Slide

  16. MISTAKE #1
    ASSUMPTIVELY
    DEFINING THE USER

    View Slide

  17. View Slide

  18. View Slide

  19. MISTAKE #2
    OVERASSESSING
    THE VALUE OF
    TECHNICAL SKILLS

    View Slide

  20. TECHNICAL
    SKILLS
    SOFT
    SKILLS
    CREATIVE
    THINKING
    TEAM
    FIT

    View Slide

  21. View Slide

  22. Skills can be taught, but working with a
    jerk is no fun for anyone.
    NOAH STOKES
    C0-founder, Bold

    View Slide

  23. MISTAKE #3
    FAILING TO DEFINE
    THE PROBLEM

    View Slide

  24. Anton Fokker
    1890-1939

    View Slide

  25. Once the problem was stated, its
    solution came to me in a flash.
    ANTON FOKKER

    View Slide

  26. Design is as much a matter of finding
    problems as it is solving them.
    BRYAN LAWSON
    How Designers Think

    View Slide

  27. View Slide

  28. TRIUMPH #1
    PUSHING MYSELF TO
    DO THINGS I’M TOTALLY
    NOT QUALIFIED FOR

    View Slide

  29. View Slide

  30. c =∑
    n
    h=1
    {hg
    ׃ }
    (s,o)

    View Slide

  31. Credit: @hellogeri

    View Slide

  32. TYPE CITY
    veer.com/ideas/typecity

    View Slide

  33. View Slide

  34. View Slide

  35. View Slide

  36. View Slide

  37. View Slide

  38. View Slide

  39. TRIUMPH #2
    AN OBSESSION WITH
    QUALITY, AUTHENTICITY,
    AND DETAILS

    View Slide

  40. View Slide

  41. LIBRO DI
    M. GIOVAMBATTISTA
    PALATINO
    archive.org/stream/librodimgiovamba00pala

    View Slide

  42. View Slide

  43. View Slide

  44. View Slide

  45. View Slide

  46. View Slide

  47. View Slide

  48. View Slide

  49. View Slide

  50. View Slide

  51. The details are not details,
    they make the product.
    CHARLES EAMES

    View Slide

  52. View Slide

  53. View Slide

  54. View Slide

  55. View Slide

  56. View Slide

  57. MISTAKE #4
    AN OBSESSION WITH
    QUALITY, AUTHENTICITY,
    AND DETAILS

    View Slide

  58. View Slide

  59. View Slide

  60. The imagination of the good artist or
    thinker produces continuously good,
    mediocre, or bad things, but his
    judgment, trained and sharpened to a
    fine point, rejects, selects, connects.
    FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

    View Slide

  61. View Slide

  62. View Slide

  63. TRIUMPH #3
    PASSIONATELY
    PASSIONATE ABOUT
    PASSION

    View Slide

  64. WRITE

    View Slide

  65. WRITE
    + PASSION.

    View Slide

  66. TRIUMPH #4
    COMMITMENT TO
    GIVING BACK & MAKING
    A DIFFERENCE

    View Slide

  67. View Slide

  68. View Slide

  69. View Slide

  70. View Slide

  71. View Slide

  72. PHOTO: MARK AVINO

    View Slide

  73. View Slide