Startup Junkie Asks: If you were to start over today, would you do anything differently?

The Northwest Arkansas entrepreneurial ecosystem is privileged to have a number of leaders who represent successful startups, Universities, entrepreneurial support organizations and more. Want to learn from the leaders? We’ve polled the men and women of the Northwest Arkansas entrepreneurial ecosystem on several informative topics. Here are some of their answers: If you were to start over today, would you do anything differently? 

Jeff Amerine, founder and managing director of Startup Junkie:

 “I would spend more time with my kids, and I would truly be present.  Kids and grandkids are the only legacy that really matter.”

 Carter Malloy, founder of AcreTrader:

“Tons, but that’s not an option. Regretting decisions is dangerous and making mistakes is an important part of developing as an individual and as a company. Equally important is the ability to reflect: why was the mistake made and what can I/we do better next time.”

Edwin Ortiz, founder of Luncher:

“It’s easy to over plan and focus on the shiny things of starting a business. If I was to start again, I would start faster and spend all of my time in two things: talking to customers and improving our product.”

 Rick West, co-founder and CEO of Field Agent:

“Stay more focused and fail fast with 1-2 big ideas as opposed to 5-10 interesting ideas.” 

Omar Kasim, founder of Con Queso, Juice Palm and Plomo:

 “I think that part of becoming a gritty entrepreneur is experiences failures, embarrassment, and mistakes firsthand. I’ve had plenty, and I wouldn’t do it any differently.”

Brett Amerine, COO of Startup Junkie, co-founder of Cadron Capital Partners:

“I’m not sure. The lessons through mistakes, failures, and successes that I’ve learned have been instructive to this point and seem to be helping pave my future. I guess if I could go back in time, I’d consider starting a business or joining a venture company early in college.”

Canem Arkan, managing director of Endeavor Arkansas:

“Embrace change. As a young professional, it was easy to seek comfort in the known. I enjoyed being good at my job and so wanted to keep the parameters of my job somewhat the same. However, it was only when I started taking risks in my career that I truly started to thrive. Taking risks meant that I would not always know what the next step would entail, whether I would be up to the task, or whether I would even ultimately succeed. It did however mean that I would continue to grow.”

Christine Pummill, Community Manager at Plug and Play:

“No, I wouldn’t change a thing. I learned just as much from the bad choices as I did with the good ones. I wouldn’t give up or change my journey for anything.”

Angela Grayson, founder of Precipice IP:

“Learn more about marketing BEFORE starting my business.”

Have a question for leaders in the Northwest Arkansas entrepreneurial community? Send it to caleb@startupjunkie.organd look for the answers in an upcoming blog post.