In the Spotlight: Evan Knowles

Hi friends - Logan here. Welcome to Season 7! We are back from our holiday hiatus and ready to hit the ground running with a new season. To kick things off, we wanted to share a significant update from within the Middle Tech team - Evan recently went through an acquisition of the startup he’s been building over the past 3 years (we’re omitting the name due to confidentiality requirements of the acquisition).

Evan’s recent blog - Reflections on the Last Three Years of Building a Startup - is one of the most transparent reflections you’ll find on the journey of taking a startup from inception to acquisition, shared from the perspective of a Kentucky entrepreneur. In this season opener, we breakdown and build upon the most important learnings that Evan shared in his writing.

At the risk of inflating his ego, Evan is truly a special talent when it comes to bringing ideas to life and building companies. I’ve had the privilege of spending time with hundreds of incredible entrepreneurs during my time at Middle Tech, and I can tell you that Evan is as talented as they come. I’ve personally learned an immense amount from him, and it’s awesome to see him take his learnings and put them out into the world for others to benefit from. We hope you find it useful.

Key Takeaways

1. Entrepreneurship as an Art and a Science - Evan describes the journey of entrepreneurship as an art form, particularly in the early stages. It takes a high degree of creativity, experimentation, and a constant learning process that can't be taught in a traditional educational setting.

2. Importance of Sharing Ideas and Receiving Feedback - A crucial process in entrepreneurship is the willingness to share ideas and receive feedback. Many potential entrepreneurs halt their progress due to the fear of criticism or rejection. Evan advocates for sharing ideas and developing prototypes as a way to understand the viability and potential of an idea.

3. The Mental Health Impact of Entrepreneurship - Evan transparently shares how the high-stress environment of building and running a venture-backed startup impacted his mental health. Constant rejection, immense pressure, and balancing work & life are just a few of challenges that entrepreneurs face when working to make an idea a reality. At the risk of stating the obvious - it is not for the faint of heart.

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