Ryan King has never liked working for people. As he says it, he is “psychologically inept at working for other people.” A native of Melbourne, Australia, King started his own graphic design business after graduating from high school. Having studied and worked for several architecture projects, King joined the Melbourne Founder Institute Program, which allowed him to turn his general concepts for a business into Coincraft, a cloud-based cash-flow management software system designed for architects that allows them to forecast and adjust to unexpected costs on projects.
Like many young entrepreneurs, King had ideas for a business that could help solve a problem he witnessed in his day job, but his ideas were broad and not specific enough to really even form a pitch. But then he heard about the Founder Institute which he says he hoped would give him an “...underlying framework on how to create my own startup.” According to King, not only did the program give him this fundamental understanding of how to start and run a business, he also says it helped him build many connections in the Melbourne startup community. Furthermore, the program helped him narrow down his ideas and inform his actions to get his business off the ground.
The program was difficult, especially considering that King was working four days a week at the time. Despite this, he learned many lessons from the program, the most valuable of which was how to receive criticism. He learned to not become defensive, nor blindly follow criticism given to him. He also gained a better ability to separate the good advice from from the bad. As he says:
It isn’t easy being judged, but it’s tough love - if you can rationally argue with your top critics than you have a solid concept for a startup.”
In addition to the many life and business lessons King learned during his time in the Founder Program, as a graduate, he was given a massive network of mentors and other graduates with which to expand his business when he decides to grow it. But for now, King is still building the software, arranging the legals, and talking to investors.
When asked what his favorite part of the class was, King says it was getting to have a few beers with the mentors after class.
The best feedback and advice comes out after a few beers.”
If you are interested in launching a company in Melbourne, enrollement is still open for the Melbourne Founder Institute.
