Accelerators Teach You Pacing | 3 Tips from Ben Smith (Chancebending Ventures)

Our very own Sean Goldfaden appeared on serial entrepreneur and rockstar investor Ben Smith’s podcast Chancebending in February 2019. Lucky for us, Ben recently returned the favor by talking business opportunities and becoming one of YouTube’s first business leads in Los Angeles— all on this week’s episode of Demo Day.

Here are some of our key takeaways from Ben: 

1. Always Look For The Waves, and Know When To Jump On 

Business ideas may come from a spontaneous stroke of genius while strolling the Strand—  for others it might arise after a six-hour caffeinated reading of Business for Dummies. But for Ben Smith, it’s a matter of finding the right wave to ride (we are from Los Angeles, after all).

As an entrepreneur, you need to train yourself to hop on when you feel the next wave coming. When Ben discovered how high the percentage of searches were voice-activated, he figured out how to ride that wave by starting the Voice Entrepreneur community.

If you find something that a) is intellectually interesting and b) looking like a wave—  it’s cowabunga, dudes.

2. Search For The Smartest People In The Industry 

Reading and researching are great skills, but the best learning comes from talking to the smartest people in the room.

When Ben wants to learn about a new field, he finds the experts in that industry and does all he can to get in touch with them. He befriends them, seeks to understand their ideas, and offers them help in return. He has become a master of the ecosystem.

Ben draws an analogy to jazz music: “Get together and jam. Sometimes it’s amazing, sometimes it’s not. I want to find the jazz musicians everywhere I go.”

And make sure you’re ready to rattle your own tambourine, as well. Just because you’ve sought to play with the best, doesn’t mean you don’t have value of your own to share. 

3. Accelerators Teach You Pacing 

Joining an accelerator announces: “I’m serious about this and ready to take the next step.” But different companies will benefit in different ways from different programs.

For Ben, going through MuckerLab meant learning the proper pace at which good startups move. “You have to move fast, on a weekly scale…that kind of hustle is required 100%.” 

He later explains, “You don’t raise money on good ideas, you raise money on growth. You don’t raise money on the car, you raise money on how fast it’s going.” 

For some, the funds and network acquired during an accelerator program might be what propels your company forward; for others it’s the all-evasive soft skills—like the ability to pace your growth—that will set you up for success. Either way, accelerators can offer immeasurable value to you and your budding business. 

Want to Learn More?

Ben is a guy that loves building companies. “That’s why I like the jazz musician analogy. You gotta like playing music and enjoy the jam — enjoy the process.”

We hope you enjoy the jam with us.

Tune in to hear what Ben thinks about winning mindsets, teamwork, prioritizing, and much more on this incredible episode of Demo Day. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our Demo Day Website. 

As always, please comment on what your biggest takeaways were.