Garage Entrepreneurs

by Eric Tags: Advice, angel investors, co founder, Entrepreneur, experiences, recruitment, Social Networking, venture capital

Nov. 4^th 2009

I recently had a chance to interview entrepreneur and Canadian native, Ben Yoskovitz, Co-Founder of Standout Jobs and the man behind ‘Instigator Blog’. Ben has been an entrepreneur for 12+ years in the Web space, working extensively in web and software development. I had a chance to ask Ben a few questions about his experiences as an entrepreneur.

Eric: How did you start out as an entrepreneur?

Ben: I started my first company in 1996 while I was still at McGill University. I connected with my three partners at the time while working for an online magazine (remember, this was 1996!) They were interested in starting a company, and I joined along with them to help out. That launched me into being an entrepreneur. That company was later acquired by a U.S.-based firm. From that point in 1996 onward, I’ve been an entrepreneur. Incidentally, I did still complete my degree at McGill (which was a BSc. in Psychology).

Eric: Tell me more about Standout Jobs, your current startup.

Ben: I started Standout Jobs in 2007 along with Fred Ngo and Austin Hill. Since starting the company, it’s evolved considerably. Our focus shifted from helping small companies and startups with their recruiting effors, to helping larger companies, with broader recruitment needs.   It [is] really about taking the tools and techniques companies were using for marketing themselves and applying those to recruitment.

Eric: You say that you learned more in 2007 about business and startups than in all years prior – could you elaborate on that?

Ben: In 2007 we founded Standout Jobs. That was a big learning experience versus my previous experience founding companies, because it was done with a much bigger vision. We also raised capital for Standout Jobs from venture capital and angel investors. Up until that time my experience with raising capital was extremely limited.  [Since] Standout had just started, we hired employees, began product development, raised capital and we were racing like maniacs.  It’s been an incredible experience.

Eric: From that experience (2007), what do you think your greatest strength is as an entrepreneur?

Ben: My greatest strength as an entrepreneur is that I get things done. I can be extremely productive, even in a situation that requires you to juggle a ridiculous number of balls simultaneously. I have met a number of entrepreneurs that are stronger when it comes to their vision for the future, but I’ve always leaned more towards execution than anything else.

Eric: Where did you learn all your “entrepreneurial secrets”? What was your biggest source of information/motivation?

Ben: I don’t think there are any real entrepreneurial secrets. Luckily there are a lot of mentors out there who are willing and able to help young and first-time entrepreneurs. I do recommend you find a mentor with previous startup experience; it can be a huge help.

My motivation comes from within. I don’t think it can come from anywhere else for an entrepreneur.

Eric: What is the best advice you would give to an entrepreneur just starting out?

Ben: First, find a mentor (or two, or three). Find someone who has “been there, done that.” And once you’ve found them, use them. Don’t just list them as an “advisor” on your corporate website.

Second, get involved in the startup community. There’s no excuse for not getting involved, participating and networking.

[Finlly], understand customer needs and validate, validate, validate. A common mistake is for people to get a “good” idea, build something right away, launch it and then look for customers. That’s a big mistake. You need to take your idea and validate it against customer needs. I would recommend every entrepreneur reads Steve Blank’s Four Steps to the Epiphany, and that every entrepreneur does a Google search for “lean startup” and looks up the concepts being pushed by folks like Eric Ries.

Eric: Thanks so much Ben! Great lessons for entrepreneurs. I wish you all the best with Standout Jobs.

You can check out Ben’s blog at http://www.instigatorblog.com. Be sure to connect with Ben on Garage Entrepreneurs.  Check out Ben’s profile here.

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