July 13, 2016
9:35
made good progress on Fulkrum yesterday, I published my first blog post What is Fulkrum?
Interesting. I was going to write about how I had an idea for how I should organize Fulkrum online after I linked to yesterday's post but when I went to Fulrkumblog, I keep getting an error message...and then when I went to take a screen shot to post here, nothing gets saved...not sure what's going on...the error message ready "Aw Snap Something went wrong while displaying your page." The idea I had this morning addressed how I should blog and make it relevant and valuable for my different users. A move away from the Fulkrumblog was formulating, it looks now like that's a very good idea. This error message seems to be an issue with Wordpress.com.
My post showed up when I switched to my Wordpress.com Reader and the link worked, it looks like the problem was when I tried to go in through the Admin area. What is Fulkrum?
9:45
Some checkpoints I can see...
Become a thought leader in medium nonprofit revenue generation.
Why medium nonprofit? They have enough money that they can pay for services and hire me as a consultant.
Write a book. Why? It builds the brand.
Use money earned assisting medium nonprofits to develop an online marketplace where medium nonprofits and businesses can come together.
Use revenue from the marketplace to expand the platform to small nonprofits and individual donors.
My thinking on this is really cloudy this morning. I wonder why. Going to take a walk, see if that helps.
10:05
Walked over to the bookstore and got a couple of Rockstars.
nonprofit.fulkram.org and donors.fulkram.org
This morning on the way to school I remembered that I can build subdomains on my hosting account. So instead of blogging to different users on different properties, I can create subdomains. As I was writing the previous sentence, I even thought I should make a startup.fulkram.org where I can blog publicly about my startup lessons learned.
If I do this though, I'm making a commitment to Hostgator, and I'm not positive they're the best choice.
10:20
Did some quick research on other hosting options, nothing made me feel like they were a better option than Hostgator, I'll stick with it for now.
10:28
created nonprofit.fulkram.org, donor.fulkram.org, and founder.fulkram.org
10:38
installed Wordpress on all 3 sites
10:46
did some quick research and settled on ManageWP for multi-site management, went to add fulkram.org as the first site and got a DNS error, redirecting should have taken me to fulkramblog.wordpress.com, what's up?
10:52
got it! typo :(
11:14
added all 4 fulkrum sites to ManageWP, made the user name and password the same for each, ran into some trouble with password saver though, it took a long time for the passwords to save, that's unusual for that service
11:34
ok, that was really awesome! With brainbucketmarketing open as a guide, I was able to install and activate plugins on all 4 sites with just the click of a few buttons. NoYce!
Now it's time to add some content. That should be my primary goal every day - put content out there, be honest, ask for feedback, use the feedback to guide me. I still have more setup work to do for the plugins but I can do that later. The most important thing would be to lock them down from hacking.
11:51
actually, it looks like captcha and limit login attempts is already enabled. I should probably improve my user names though. Will I need to change each in ManageWP?
11:59
looks like I can't change my user name, I thought I could. Manually updated Wordfence Web Application protection for all 4 sites
12:15
found a plugin that changes usernames, installed with ManageWP, changed username for all 4 sites, updated password saver (ManageWP recorded the change automatically), and deleted the plugin from the sites, all in 15 minutes, noYce!
As I was working on the sites I realized I misspelled all the subdomains when I created them FulkrAm, not Fulkrum :( only visible internally, so not too big of a deal, not worth taking the time to fix it.
12:47
took a quick break that turned into a long break
So now I've got a house with 4 rooms and a workshop out back (Fulkrumblog). The rooms are reasonably secure even though there's nothing in them. The infrastructure is in place but its not all hooked up yet. Fulkrum is the Grand Foyer. For now, the plan is for it to be the welcoming area where guests are directed to the wing that's most valuable to them - Nonprofit or Donor. The Founder's wing is where I take visiting artists and show them how the house is built and furnished. Fulkrumblog is where I can work on stuff in private.
I'd like all of the posts from the different wings to automatically replicate themselves somewhere, maybe Fulkrumblog, just so I have another public copy just in case. Is that possible?
1:22
Replicators? RSS feeds? Aaggh! Too confusing. For what benefit?
The plan for Fulkrum.org in the near future is to be a gateway to donor.fulkrum.org and nonprofit.fulkrum.org. Then as I develop out the tech I need, fulkrum.org will be the marketplace that nonprofits and donors find each other.
For now (today) though, I need to publish one article of value for nonprofits.
1:31
connected and setup Jetpack for all 4 sites
3:48
After a bunch of fits and starts, a run to the bookstore for lunch, a couple of naps, I finally finished another blog post: https://fulkrumblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/ten-ways-nonprofits-generate-revenue/
Rahul should be messaging me shortly, so I'm going to have to change gears here and focus on ES.
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
published introductory post on Fulkrum blog
Tuesday July 12, 2016
2:20
Finally getting down to work. Had Transfer Student Orientation recruitment for CSUF Entrepreneur Society this morning. It took awhile for me to do the follow up work, update my portfolio strategy, and get my head back in the Fulkrum mindset.
2:31
tightened up the copy on the Fulkrumblog Welcome page: https://wordpress.com/page/fulkrumblog.wordpress.com/16
3:20
embedded a Mail Chimp form onto Fulkrum blog, went to add my LinkedIn link and got sidetracked with updating my profile and posting on FB, found my old Emergency Red Gear account and logged in, should probably delete it but I was nostalgic :)
3:33
added some links to my HuffPo and CNN articles, then published the page and tried testing it. did not work, grrrr, why is this so hard? going to take a break to clear my head
4:00
little longer break than expected, ran into Devin, then went to get some coffee
4:03
after doing a quick read of the MailChimp Help page, it looks like MC embeds don't work on Wordpress.com, should I keep trying to play around on this page or just start building our my own URL? the answer is clear.
Earlier today I had an epiphany of the slow to learn. Thinking about building a business by creating jobs based on their skills and what they like to do, I asked myself what kind of job do I want? This realization came shortly after reading an article of advice from 7 Shark Tank entrepreneurs about how to build a business. They all talked about doing what you love first, because if you focus on the money, you'll never make it. The job I would create for myself - researcher, synthesizer, and writer. After thinking it out, that feels so much better, it makes so much more sense. For all the success I'm going to have with Fulkrum, my primary role will always be blogger and promoter of others content, just like Zuck does many things but he still is actively involved in FB's code. I think I'm on to something here, and it gives me a much cleaner on ramp. The first thing I need to do (and the thing I need to do first every day) is blog. Then bootstrap my other plans from the revenue I generate doing that, but always do that.
5:36
completed an introductory post on Fulrumblog, and shared the link in ES FB Group asking for feedback
2:20
Finally getting down to work. Had Transfer Student Orientation recruitment for CSUF Entrepreneur Society this morning. It took awhile for me to do the follow up work, update my portfolio strategy, and get my head back in the Fulkrum mindset.
2:31
tightened up the copy on the Fulkrumblog Welcome page: https://wordpress.com/page/fulkrumblog.wordpress.com/16
3:20
embedded a Mail Chimp form onto Fulkrum blog, went to add my LinkedIn link and got sidetracked with updating my profile and posting on FB, found my old Emergency Red Gear account and logged in, should probably delete it but I was nostalgic :)
3:33
added some links to my HuffPo and CNN articles, then published the page and tried testing it. did not work, grrrr, why is this so hard? going to take a break to clear my head
4:00
little longer break than expected, ran into Devin, then went to get some coffee
4:03
after doing a quick read of the MailChimp Help page, it looks like MC embeds don't work on Wordpress.com, should I keep trying to play around on this page or just start building our my own URL? the answer is clear.
Earlier today I had an epiphany of the slow to learn. Thinking about building a business by creating jobs based on their skills and what they like to do, I asked myself what kind of job do I want? This realization came shortly after reading an article of advice from 7 Shark Tank entrepreneurs about how to build a business. They all talked about doing what you love first, because if you focus on the money, you'll never make it. The job I would create for myself - researcher, synthesizer, and writer. After thinking it out, that feels so much better, it makes so much more sense. For all the success I'm going to have with Fulkrum, my primary role will always be blogger and promoter of others content, just like Zuck does many things but he still is actively involved in FB's code. I think I'm on to something here, and it gives me a much cleaner on ramp. The first thing I need to do (and the thing I need to do first every day) is blog. Then bootstrap my other plans from the revenue I generate doing that, but always do that.
5:36
completed an introductory post on Fulrumblog, and shared the link in ES FB Group asking for feedback
Hello and welcome to Fulkrum. I'm glad you're here.
I have a vision. I've worked with nonprofits and I've seen how they struggle to generate revenue. I've seen how they struggle over every dollar. And I've seen how they fight and squabble with other nonprofits when they should be working together.
There's got to be a better way.
I'm an entrepreneur. In my mind, that's just another way of saying "problem-solver." As I go about my day, my mind is constantly coming up with different ways of doing things.
As a volunteer, I'm friends with local nonprofit founders. In listening to their mission, I heard so much potential. Just one thing. They lacked resources.
Problems are only opportunities in disguise.
I saw what resources my nonprofits had. I saw what they were already doing. I came up with a plan for the founders. I thought it was going to be great!
They weren't interested.
The problem with being a small nonprofit founder...it takes all of your time and energy. These founders weren't interested in starting new projects, even if it meant easing some of their funding concerns.
They weren't interested in taking time away from their mission to pursue an unproven revenue strategy. I understand. It didn't bother me. I'm an entrepreneur. I saw this as one new problem to solve.
Fulkrum was born out of that rejection.
I have a vision for Fulkrum. I think it's a really good one, but as a marketing and entrepreneur student at Cal State Fullerton, I've learned no one knows if they have a good solution until the customer tells them they do.
This blog is about you (a nonprofit professional) and I working together to build a business that best meets your needs, the needs of a small to medium nonprofit founder or marketing director.
I hope you join me on this journey. More importantly, I hope you contribute your insights to help me build the best possible solution for your problems.
I want to see nonprofits focus more of their time on what they do best - accomplishing their mission.
You can reach me at chad@fulkrum.org and please connect with me on LinkedIn.
To our success,
Chad
Monday, July 11, 2016
What do I do next?
Monday July 11, 2016
12:42
What do I do next?
It's the most difficult question I face as an entrepreneur. No one is telling me what to do. The business plan and revenue model haven't been proven or established. The question is different than my other most difficult question - what should I do first? Today, I'm lost, not sure what to do. Other days I have so many ideas I don't know where to start. It might not be an issue. I just looked over my calendar for the week. Rahul is supposed to get in touch with after he's done at Advising. Until then, I need a system that can get me on track and keep me on track when I'm lost. Stream of consciousness journalling works pretty well when I have a spark of an idea, how can I adapt it for when my mind has been on other things?
2:12
updated my portfolio, quick nap, walk, sandwich, another nap
2:32
procrastinated with CNBC for a few minutes, then took a bathroom break
Realized on the walk to the bathroom that I don't have my testable hypotheses written down. If I'm looking for a place to start, that's a given.
Starting from the most basic place possible...
Value Proposition: NPO's need help with marketing. If I can provide a solution with a proven ROI, I can make money. The easiest thing for me to implement would be a freemium membership model. I would fill it with PLR content, and continuous upgrade the content, making more specific and relevant to NPO needs. In exchange for the value add, the site will serve as a data gathering platform for me to test my hypotheses and find out exactly what NPO's need (not what I think they need) and what they're willing to pay for, and then delivering that content for them. I could use the revenue created to fund the feedback I receive.
2:37
got a message from Rahul, he wants to meet at 3:30, I'm going to run to the bookstore real quick
3:05
saw Rahul on the way back from the store, he's grabbing lunch now
What are my steps to revenue with the Value Prop I sketched out?
1. Create a website that makes a value pitch and collects emails
I already have a start on this. I created fulkrumblog on Saturday. I could add a Mail Chimp sign up form to it fairly easily, but I can feel the analysis paralysis setting in as I think about it. What do I ask? Not sure. Wouldn't it be better if it was on the main URL so I could add other features to it? Probably. The point of these actions is to put something out there for me to get feedback. To get feedback, I have to know what for, I need a testable hypothesis. But I want to take action now. I want something online. Ok, so just do it. Even though I know it's going to be crap. Even though I know I'm going to have to redo it. Even though I know that nobody is going to go to it unless I ask them to. Do it anyway.
3:50
created a form but didn't like the way it looked once I put it on the page, Rahul stopped by as I was making changes
5:15
finished up with Rahul, really good man, going to shut down for now, and start up again at Steven and Julie's
12:42
What do I do next?
It's the most difficult question I face as an entrepreneur. No one is telling me what to do. The business plan and revenue model haven't been proven or established. The question is different than my other most difficult question - what should I do first? Today, I'm lost, not sure what to do. Other days I have so many ideas I don't know where to start. It might not be an issue. I just looked over my calendar for the week. Rahul is supposed to get in touch with after he's done at Advising. Until then, I need a system that can get me on track and keep me on track when I'm lost. Stream of consciousness journalling works pretty well when I have a spark of an idea, how can I adapt it for when my mind has been on other things?
2:12
updated my portfolio, quick nap, walk, sandwich, another nap
2:32
procrastinated with CNBC for a few minutes, then took a bathroom break
Realized on the walk to the bathroom that I don't have my testable hypotheses written down. If I'm looking for a place to start, that's a given.
Starting from the most basic place possible...
Value Proposition: NPO's need help with marketing. If I can provide a solution with a proven ROI, I can make money. The easiest thing for me to implement would be a freemium membership model. I would fill it with PLR content, and continuous upgrade the content, making more specific and relevant to NPO needs. In exchange for the value add, the site will serve as a data gathering platform for me to test my hypotheses and find out exactly what NPO's need (not what I think they need) and what they're willing to pay for, and then delivering that content for them. I could use the revenue created to fund the feedback I receive.
2:37
got a message from Rahul, he wants to meet at 3:30, I'm going to run to the bookstore real quick
3:05
saw Rahul on the way back from the store, he's grabbing lunch now
What are my steps to revenue with the Value Prop I sketched out?
1. Create a website that makes a value pitch and collects emails
I already have a start on this. I created fulkrumblog on Saturday. I could add a Mail Chimp sign up form to it fairly easily, but I can feel the analysis paralysis setting in as I think about it. What do I ask? Not sure. Wouldn't it be better if it was on the main URL so I could add other features to it? Probably. The point of these actions is to put something out there for me to get feedback. To get feedback, I have to know what for, I need a testable hypothesis. But I want to take action now. I want something online. Ok, so just do it. Even though I know it's going to be crap. Even though I know I'm going to have to redo it. Even though I know that nobody is going to go to it unless I ask them to. Do it anyway.
3:50
created a form but didn't like the way it looked once I put it on the page, Rahul stopped by as I was making changes
5:15
finished up with Rahul, really good man, going to shut down for now, and start up again at Steven and Julie's
Sunday, July 10, 2016
first draft Mail Chimp form
Sunday July 10, 2016
2:33
Late start today, planned on hiking early and getting to school by 10am. It wasn't really a plan, just a thought. We didn't get hiking until 12 and then we ran some errands after. I'll only have a few minutes to work before an online meeting with Jack and Rahul from ES to clean up the website and integrate Mail Chimp. I'm going to work on the Mail Chimp I set up yesterday, to (hopefully) make the ES setup go smoother.
2:35
My first question: How many lists should I set up? One for nonprofits and one for businesses? It seems like it makes sense. I believe Mail Chimp creates a sign up form for putting on web pages, does this form have an option for two paths (like the Influences.club home page)?
2:33
Late start today, planned on hiking early and getting to school by 10am. It wasn't really a plan, just a thought. We didn't get hiking until 12 and then we ran some errands after. I'll only have a few minutes to work before an online meeting with Jack and Rahul from ES to clean up the website and integrate Mail Chimp. I'm going to work on the Mail Chimp I set up yesterday, to (hopefully) make the ES setup go smoother.
2:35
My first question: How many lists should I set up? One for nonprofits and one for businesses? It seems like it makes sense. I believe Mail Chimp creates a sign up form for putting on web pages, does this form have an option for two paths (like the Influences.club home page)?
2:57
took a first pass at creating a form in Mail Chimp, much more bare bones than I was expecting, nothing put on line yet, switching gears over to ES now
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Fulkrum org registration and chad at fulkrum org setup
Saturday July 9, 2016
6:51
fulkrum.org registered with NameCheap
cost $12.48 for 1 year
6:56
fulkrumblog.wordpress.com created
7:03
redirected fulkrum.org to fulkrumblog.wordpress.com
7:15
added title and tagline to fulkrumblog
added Archimedes quote
added mission statement, not 100% happy with it
"Fulkrum's mission is to diversify nonprofit revenue by partnering with businesses."
How about...
"Fulkrum's mission is to create revenueopportunities for nonprofits by partnering them with businesses."
Better, but not perfect.
7:50
After investigating options for email - simple and cheap are the goal - I decided the best thing to do will be to set up the domain on HostGator (free, it's already paid for), continue to redirect the site to fulkrumblog.wordpress.com (for now), and create a domain email (free)
7:54
set DNS to HostGator
8:00
added Fulkrum.org to cPanel
8:04
installed WordPress with QuickInstall
8:19
added BWS Captcha and Limit Login Attempts to Fulkrum.org
8:24
created chad@fulkrum.org
added forwarder to chad.armstrong@brainbucketmarketing.com
8:27
redirected fulkrum.org to https://fulkrumblog.wordpress.com/
8:52
published a short About Fulkrum page - I believe search engines cache the page even when it's redirected
tested redirect, working good
8:57
started mailchimp
9:07
calling it a night, working from Cassy's, room is filling up and I can't concentrate
6:51
fulkrum.org registered with NameCheap
cost $12.48 for 1 year
6:56
fulkrumblog.wordpress.com created
7:03
redirected fulkrum.org to fulkrumblog.wordpress.com
7:15
added title and tagline to fulkrumblog
added Archimedes quote
added mission statement, not 100% happy with it
"Fulkrum's mission is to diversify nonprofit revenue by partnering with businesses."
How about...
"Fulkrum's mission is to create revenue
Better, but not perfect.
7:50
After investigating options for email - simple and cheap are the goal - I decided the best thing to do will be to set up the domain on HostGator (free, it's already paid for), continue to redirect the site to fulkrumblog.wordpress.com (for now), and create a domain email (free)
7:54
set DNS to HostGator
8:00
added Fulkrum.org to cPanel
8:04
installed WordPress with QuickInstall
8:19
added BWS Captcha and Limit Login Attempts to Fulkrum.org
8:24
created chad@fulkrum.org
added forwarder to chad.armstrong@brainbucketmarketing.com
8:27
redirected fulkrum.org to https://fulkrumblog.wordpress.com/
8:52
published a short About Fulkrum page - I believe search engines cache the page even when it's redirected
tested redirect, working good
8:57
started mailchimp
9:07
calling it a night, working from Cassy's, room is filling up and I can't concentrate
birth of fulkrum as a name
Saturday July 9, 2016
I've been struggling with a name over the past few days. The name is important for several reasons. The most important reason right now, the reason why I need to do it first, is so that I can establish a domain with an email address and set up Mail Chimp.
The idea comes for Fulkrum comes from the Archimedes quote: "Give me a lever long enough and fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world."
This quote joins all parties together around a central idea - moving the world.
Fulkrum.org is available. I'm not 100% in love with the name but it works better than anything else I've thought of so far. In addition, the misspelling allows me to do something cool with the logo. I can turn the "k" into a fulcrum and lever.
Here's one idea
I'll open it up to people who are better at design than me, but I want to give them a general idea.
I would change the lower part of the "k" into a full triangle, like a fulcrum.
Veronica likes a thinner version of the K I drew by hand, with only the bottom leg like a thick triangle.
next steps:
register fulkrum.org
set up hosting (use HostGator since I already have it, or find something better)
create email address (could I do this without setting up a site? I think namecheap gives me that option)
I've been struggling with a name over the past few days. The name is important for several reasons. The most important reason right now, the reason why I need to do it first, is so that I can establish a domain with an email address and set up Mail Chimp.
The idea comes for Fulkrum comes from the Archimedes quote: "Give me a lever long enough and fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world."
This quote joins all parties together around a central idea - moving the world.
Fulkrum.org is available. I'm not 100% in love with the name but it works better than anything else I've thought of so far. In addition, the misspelling allows me to do something cool with the logo. I can turn the "k" into a fulcrum and lever.
Here's one idea
I'll open it up to people who are better at design than me, but I want to give them a general idea.
I would change the lower part of the "k" into a full triangle, like a fulcrum.
Veronica likes a thinner version of the K I drew by hand, with only the bottom leg like a thick triangle.
next steps:
register fulkrum.org
set up hosting (use HostGator since I already have it, or find something better)
create email address (could I do this without setting up a site? I think namecheap gives me that option)
incomplete history of the idea up until today
Today is July 9th.
This idea is about 8 weeks old. I don't remember exactly when it came about.
May 21, 2016
The idea had definitely NOT formed yet. On this date or earlier (I couldn't find the exact date in my calendar but I have a follow up email from Jacque dated May 21) I met with Coastal Angels Jacque and presented a revenue idea to her and suggested we meet with Sinan among other discussions about Coastal Angels strategy. She wasn't excited about the idea, and my suggestion to bring in Sinan for mentoring. Her rejection (or at least coolness) of the idea and the suggestion to bring in Sinan surprised me. Nontheless I thought the idea was good. And I had already emailed Sinan about it, so I decided I would still meet with him and get his input. This period was a seminal event for me. It was during this time that the idea evolved beyond helping individual nonprofits.
The meeting with Sinan still hasn't taken place. He's cancelled every time. Still I try. This is ok though, it's given me time to develop the idea.
May 26, 2016
Shortly after meeting with Jacque (May 26?), I spoke with Marie and Jaz during CTCF outreach about expanding their business relationships already in place. I could tell just by talking with them I wasn't going to make progress here either. This established a belief in my mind - nonprofit leaders aren't good at business, that's why they're in nonprofits. This is a little surprising with Marie since she's a successful (I think) real estate professional, but it's the impression I have.
Early June, 2016
I don't have the exact date but I met with JJ to get some signatures and I asked him about creating an MVP. I said I was looking to create a Fiverr type website and he explained that an MVP could be a lo-fi version.
June 13, 2016
Fullerton Collaborative at Fullerton Library. "My name is Chad Armstrong, I'm a marketing and entrepreneurship student at Cal State Fullerton, and I'm working on a business that allows nonprofits to diversify their revenue by partnering with local businesses."
June 21, 2016
I met with Alycia from Pathways of Hope to get more specific feedback.
June 22, 2016
Met with Kevin Kwan Martinez to brain storm the idea and how to scale it down to something I had the resources to make progress on now. Meeting with Sinan was supposed to be next day, but he cancelled.
June 27 to June 30
The week after meeting with Kevin was CHESC and I didn't make much progress on the idea other than quickly going through Steve Blank's and Eric Ries's online courses.
July 6, 2016
Sometime during the next week (Wed July 6, I think) I ran into Devin Masterson who liked the idea and told me to stop researching and start collecting emails. He's totally right. That's the exact same advice that Steve Blank gave in one of his lecture's. I gave Devin license to kick me in the ass whenever he wants.
July 9, 2016
I've been trying to get an email sign up form online ever since, but I keep getting stuck in the details. Since I have a multi-user business, it's been difficult to figure out how where to start and how to come up with a name that works for all users.
Why do I feel like I need to have a name? To set up a domain and email address that I can use with Mail Chimp. I think I came up with one yesterday. Fulcrum.
This idea is about 8 weeks old. I don't remember exactly when it came about.
May 21, 2016
The idea had definitely NOT formed yet. On this date or earlier (I couldn't find the exact date in my calendar but I have a follow up email from Jacque dated May 21) I met with Coastal Angels Jacque and presented a revenue idea to her and suggested we meet with Sinan among other discussions about Coastal Angels strategy. She wasn't excited about the idea, and my suggestion to bring in Sinan for mentoring. Her rejection (or at least coolness) of the idea and the suggestion to bring in Sinan surprised me. Nontheless I thought the idea was good. And I had already emailed Sinan about it, so I decided I would still meet with him and get his input. This period was a seminal event for me. It was during this time that the idea evolved beyond helping individual nonprofits.
The meeting with Sinan still hasn't taken place. He's cancelled every time. Still I try. This is ok though, it's given me time to develop the idea.
May 26, 2016
Shortly after meeting with Jacque (May 26?), I spoke with Marie and Jaz during CTCF outreach about expanding their business relationships already in place. I could tell just by talking with them I wasn't going to make progress here either. This established a belief in my mind - nonprofit leaders aren't good at business, that's why they're in nonprofits. This is a little surprising with Marie since she's a successful (I think) real estate professional, but it's the impression I have.
Early June, 2016
I don't have the exact date but I met with JJ to get some signatures and I asked him about creating an MVP. I said I was looking to create a Fiverr type website and he explained that an MVP could be a lo-fi version.
June 13, 2016
Fullerton Collaborative at Fullerton Library. "My name is Chad Armstrong, I'm a marketing and entrepreneurship student at Cal State Fullerton, and I'm working on a business that allows nonprofits to diversify their revenue by partnering with local businesses."
June 21, 2016
I met with Alycia from Pathways of Hope to get more specific feedback.
June 22, 2016
Met with Kevin Kwan Martinez to brain storm the idea and how to scale it down to something I had the resources to make progress on now. Meeting with Sinan was supposed to be next day, but he cancelled.
June 27 to June 30
The week after meeting with Kevin was CHESC and I didn't make much progress on the idea other than quickly going through Steve Blank's and Eric Ries's online courses.
July 6, 2016
Sometime during the next week (Wed July 6, I think) I ran into Devin Masterson who liked the idea and told me to stop researching and start collecting emails. He's totally right. That's the exact same advice that Steve Blank gave in one of his lecture's. I gave Devin license to kick me in the ass whenever he wants.
July 9, 2016
I've been trying to get an email sign up form online ever since, but I keep getting stuck in the details. Since I have a multi-user business, it's been difficult to figure out how where to start and how to come up with a name that works for all users.
Why do I feel like I need to have a name? To set up a domain and email address that I can use with Mail Chimp. I think I came up with one yesterday. Fulcrum.
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