Start-ups: Learning to ride a bike

I have vague memories of learning how to ride a bike. Many of my friends were already two-wheeling, and I was determined to join them. But, like most ambitious kids, the first few days learning to ride were disheartening. In addition to a few scraped knees and shed tears, I kept hearing that voice in my head say, “I’ll never be able to do this!”

Well, we all know how this goes. I got back on the bike many more times, and with some grit and determination, I tossed the training wheels and learned to ride with ease and confidence. So yes, “I can do this!”

When people find out that I’ve founded, co-founded, or run my own business, I’m often met with this tired response: “I could never do that.” Sound familiar?

To naysayers, let me ask: What’s the worst thing that can happen when you start your own business? It’s metaphorically like learning to ride a bike; you fall down, skin your knees, get up, brush yourself off, and try again. When starting a business, you may lose a little bit of money and certainly some time, but the lessons learned will be invaluable, and with time, patience and effort … you may well find success!

Like learning to ride a bike, starting a business won’t be easy. When I’ve started businesses, I had my share of rejections on sales calls, financial setbacks from mis-allocated resources and failures from poor decision-making. But these were just scraped knees (so to speak), and I learned from mistakes, listened to feedback (customers), and pivoted until I got it right. Like learning to ride a bike, right?

So how do you get started? Well, you’ll need some helpful hands. Just as my father held the bicycle seat while I wobbled progressively toward traveling independence, Iowa has a robust ecosystem of resources to support intrepid entrepreneurs as they begin their startup journeys.

The Iowa Startup Accelerator (ISA), Techstars Iowa, Entrepreneurial Development Center (EDC), the Iowa Ed. Tech. Collaborative, and John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers (JPECs) are a few of the organizations with dedicated staff and resources for founders and start-ups. They provide helpful programming and advice as well as access to subject matter experts and academic, professional and industry coaches to help entrepreneurs navigate challenges and decision-making.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) and Small Business Development Corp. (SBDC) are ubiquitous with a staff willing to offer advice and help identify sources for funding and support.

Additionally, resources to help qualified start-ups secure funding are pitch competitions, grants (POCR, SBIR, etc.); loans (KIVA, SBA, etc.); and venture capital (ISA Ventures, Next Level Ventures, Ag Startup Engine, etc.).

With resources like these, just about anyone can start a business. So anyone thinking about starting an entrepreneurial adventure in Iowa shouldn’t say, “I could never do that.” Instead, they should fearlessly embrace their inner-child to get on the proverbial bike and go for it! Remember, you’ve got this and Iowa has resources available to help you succeed.

Alex Taylor lives in Coralville and is an entrepreneur and the managing director for the Iowa Startup Accelerator.