February Venture Breakfast: The First Six Months: Psychological Challenges of a Startup and How to Manage Them
Kelly Smith, Curious Office Partners

February 8, 2008

When: Friday, February 8, 2008 7 - 9 am
Early-Bird Networking begins at 6:30 am

Where: Harbor Club , Bellevue

Speaker: Kelly Smith, CEO, Curious Office Partners

What You Will Learn:
We're often told that "startups are hard," and indeed they are. The work is strenuous, almost always under-resourced, and the hours can make a wristwatch pointless.

But is that what's truly hard about a startup? When starting out, the first big hump - leaving full-time employment and venturing out on your own - may be the most stressful one you've ever made. Those who make the transition find themselves thrown into a situation that's impossible to fully prepare for.

Drawing from his experience starting three companies and helping many more to find their stride, Kelly Smith of Curious Office Partners will provide insight and practical suggestions about taking the plunge: how to thrive when family, co-founders, employees, and investors look to you for clear answers in a field that is diametrically opposed to clarity.

About Kelly
Kelly is a 15-year technology veteran and the founder or co-founder of three ventures: thePlatform (previously named RocketVox), Imagekind, and Curious Office Partners. Through Curious Office, Kelly is an active angel investor in growing companies like Shelfari, SEOmoz, Imagekind, CoolSpotters, FeedDigest and Wishpot.

In 1994, he joined RealNetworks, where he managed business development for Europe, Middle East and Africa while based in London. Kelly started his career in the Web sector at Seattle-based Spry, which was the first commercial implementation of the Mosaic Web browser.

Presentation Slides

Puget Sound Business Journal Write-up by Cheryl Isen