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As we’re dreaming up amenities and experiences for entrepreneurs in South Downtown Atlanta, I’m reminded of the early years, when things were much more challenging and lean.

When I first moved to Atlanta in 2002, our big customer at the time, Noble Investment Group, was kind enough to provide office space for us in a couple of empty rooms at the end of the hall on the 14th floor of a beautiful skyscraper. As part of the arrangement, we were able to use their kitchen with foosball table. Now, while the foosball table might seem like an overdone perk for a cool office vibe, we wore that table out and played for hours and hours.

After a little over a year working out of their office and sharing space, we needed to get our own office and went through the typical startup process at the time: looking at subleases, because facilities like the Atlanta Tech Village and co-working spaces didn’t exist. We found a great little sublease at 550 Pharr Rd. that was furnished and ready for occupancy. Only it was missing one critical element: the foosball table.

We had just spent our last dime getting things situated, and I really wanted that foosball table. So I did something that I wouldn’t recommend: I went over to Dick’s Sporting Goods, and at the time, they had an offer where if you signed up for a Dick’s Sporting Goods–branded credit card, you would get $50 off any purchase. So I signed up for a new credit card and got $50 off the brand-new $200 foosball table. Again, not recommended, as it’s a slippery slope to sign up for lots of credit cards and go down that rabbit hole. But while the business was growing nicely, the hard truth is that the faster you grow, often the more cash you need—and we didn’t have enough cash.

After hand-assembling that new foosball table in the sublease, the amount of foosball we played relative to the previous office went down dramatically. It wasn’t the foosball’s fault; the culture evolved, the team changed, and we spent more time doing things like going out to lunch every day as our new activity.

Now, anytime I see a foosball table, I think of those early years and of signing up for a credit card just to save 50 bucks. I’m grateful for those memories and for being able to reflect on how the priorities, resources, and journey have evolved.

For entrepreneurs in the hurricane of building their businesses, remember that this is one moment in time, and that as you keep pushing forward, it too will evolve and hopefully improve. What might be a fun team activity around a foosball table might not be the same vibe the following year. But holding onto those memories—even if there’s a little financial hiccup, like signing up for a credit card to try to keep the foosball vibe alive—makes it that much sweeter. Enjoy the journey today, right now.

Whenever I visit a founder at their office, I always ask for a tour. Naturally, the entrepreneur perks up, eager to show off their environment. So much time, energy, and thought go into building a cool, collaborative office that there’s a sense of pride and joy in sharing it with others. Beyond the basics—like how they organize the floor plan, conference rooms, breakout areas, and kitchens—I’m also on the lookout for ideas to bring back to our own office.

For example, many years ago, I visited another startup’s office and noticed a giant TV mounted on the wall right by the front door. It displayed a scoreboard of their most important goals, color-coded red, yellow, green, and super green based on their progress. This was visible to everyone—employees and guests alike—making it clear where the company stood on its key metrics. Inspired, I immediately implemented this at our office, installing a massive TV in the lobby connected to a Mac Mini. It displayed a Google Sheet that automatically updated with red, yellow, green, and super green indicators based on our metrics.

Today, depending on the startup, the office often serves as more of a way station, with employees splitting their time between a couple of days in the office and a couple of days working from home. While office usage has changed since pre-COVID, it still plays an important role for most companies. My recommendation for entrepreneurs is to always ask for a tour when visiting another entrepreneur’s office and to look for ideas they can adapt for their own environment. Constantly tinkering and improving across everything is one of the great joys of being a founder.

Last week, I caught up with a very successful local entrepreneur. While I knew parts of his story, I hadn’t yet heard the origin of his idea. With enthusiasm, he shared the moment that sparked it all: a use case in the internet communications world that was becoming increasingly common but was incredibly cumbersome and tedious. That lightbulb moment led him to create a startup around a new human-centered process that eliminated friction and increased distribution, making the process super efficient.

This story isn’t about the specifics of his idea but the value it delivered to customers. Too often, entrepreneurs chase shiny new technology or ideas that are only marginally better than existing alternatives. When hearing a new idea, consider these key questions:

1. Is this solution ten times better than the alternative? Many new products offer only a 10% improvement, which the market often ignores. True success comes when a product addresses a real need and is exponentially better.
2. Can this only be achieved with new technology? Too often, entrepreneurs build products whose output could still be produced manually or outsourced to a junior employee or AI. The best innovations are those that are impossible without specialized software, enabling what was previously unachievable.
3. What are the growth prospects for this market? The most promising markets may be small today but are growing rapidly. Look five to seven years ahead and assess whether the market will become large and significant.

I love hearing founders’ origin stories, and this one was exceptional. Entrepreneurs would benefit from reflecting on these three questions about product value, innovation, and market timing to guide their ventures toward success.

Last week, I caught up with an entrepreneur who shared an update on his company’s progress. The business has been growing steadily, boasting a critical mass of over 1,000 customers. Now, they’re contemplating their next round of financing. From a business perspective, the company checks many boxes that investors look for: high gross margin software, a solid growth rate that’s fast but not hyper-growth, and a large market with low single-digit overall growth.

However, the challenge lies in potential scale. In its current form, the company is unlikely to grow large enough to become a standalone, publicly traded entity. To attract analyst coverage and interest from broader markets, a publicly traded company typically needs around $500 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and a growth rate exceeding 30%. For this business, that target feels unattainable under current circumstances.

The startup has already raised some capital and has been relatively efficient, burning roughly $1 for every dollar of recurring revenue. Now, the entrepreneur faces a crossroads in the financing market. Growth equity investors might offer a modest valuation, aiming for a three- to fivefold return in three to five years. On the venture capital side, high-profile VCs seek moonshots with the potential for a hundredfold return—something this company doesn’t currently fit. Yet, the entrepreneur is highly ambitious and determined to build a large, standalone business.

So, what’s the next step? Should he explore new product lines to transform the company into a multi-product business, despite its modest scale and limited resources? Or should he consider finding a home for the business now, allowing him to pursue his next idea in a year or two? This is a high-class problem, as the entrepreneur has already achieved a notable level of success but aspires to do more.

My recommendation was to align the next round of funding with the business’s current potential and evaluate whether a smaller amount of capital could maintain optionality. Too often, entrepreneurs raise as much money as the market allows, which isn’t always best for the business. Here, raising capital requires careful consideration, especially since the entrepreneur aims to build a larger business than the current market supports. He’ll need to either expand the product line, adding complexity, or temper his ambitions and consider building another company in the future.

Last week, I attended a startup event and met with various entrepreneurs. One of my favorite questions to ask is, “What’s going well, and what are your latest challenges?” During one conversation, an entrepreneur shared that their company had pivoted to a new product direction and was experiencing tremendous success.

Curious, I asked what prompted this shift and what customer discovery and feedback had informed it. As we delved deeper, the entrepreneur revealed that the change stemmed from an introduction made by a local startup community leader—a “community super connector.”

A community super connector is someone who loves people and excels at making thoughtful, value-adding introductions. These individuals are rare and incredibly valuable for nurturing and growing startup ecosystems. They might be venture capitalists, marketing or sales consultants, accountants, or lawyers. Regardless of their industry, they derive value from helping the community and are genuinely passionate about fostering connections.

These connectors are extraordinarily talented at building relationships and are critical for pollinating new opportunities through introductions. Entrepreneurs would benefit greatly from identifying the community super connector in their city or region. A simple way to find them is to ask a friend, “Who’s the most connected person in the startup community?” Because of their natural inclination to engage, super connectors are eager to meet new people.

Every startup community has a super connector, and their role is vital in sparking new relationships that drive innovation and growth.