MBA Startups: Taking The Entrepreneurial Route At Kellogg

Another great resource that I took advantage of at Kellogg was its Venture Lab Internship opportunity. During that internship I got to watch venture capitalists interview entrepreneurs. I gained a great deal of insight that helped me to navigate my own campaign for funds later on. I already knew what VC’s would be looking for.

If I could give one piece of advice to those coming behind me, it would be to remember that cash flow is king. When I was a consultant, all I cared about was P/L (profit and loss); now all I care about is how much money is in the bank.

I’m in the process of franchising my business and looking to open San Diego and New York and finance the actual franchising process. To help me accomplish this, my next fundraising goal is $500,000. That is the amount that I will need in the bank to successfully make that transition.

Again, it all comes back to cash flow. My business was cash flow positive by month four. I’m painfully cheap, and that has benefitted me in business. I actually had to delegate spending money in my business because I have such hard time doing it. Fortunately, I worked hard enough as a consultant and had little time to spend on extracurricular activities, which has left me with money in the bank. I’ve yet to take a dime out of my business, and that has allowed me to make investments in its growth that I expect to pay healthy dividends in the near and distant future.

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