Ep 015: Building A Team That Works w/ Luke Sophinos

Luke is a student entrepreneur from San Diego State University.
He has won numerous awards such as winning 1st place in SDSU’s
Lean Model Competition and awarded the top student entrepreneur
at San Diego State University during the Spring of 2015. His
software company, Coursekey, aims to improve the lack of
interaction in classes and is currently being used by more than
5000 students in Southern California.


 
STRATEGIES USED TO FUND BUSINESS

We went out and recruited top tier engineering talent at San
Diego State. I was able to lock in a couple engineers and bought
into the vision and have been with us since. That allowed us to
put out software at a very low cost. We got to our alpha version
last Spring for around $1200. From that, after proving what we
had, we funded ourselves completely off business plan
competitions.
FOUNDERS

I started a totally different concept with another individual,
and that ended up not working out. While that process was taking
place, we were in recruiting mode and we brought on some really
talented kids that I would consider to be co-founders today
because we wouldn’t be where we are without them.
DESCRIBE A MOMENT WHEN YOU FELT LIKE GIVING UP

Early on was the most challenging. We had a totally different
concept and we stumbled upon someone who was doing the exact same
thing. We almost threw in the towel, but fortunately we ended up
recruiting and pivoting and recruited a straight hustler, Ryan
Vanshur. He really propelled us and helped us all see the value
in the idea and got us out there grinding and putting in the work
that was required.
HUGE SUCCESS

Being able to recruit the team that we had was a huge success. On
top of that, one of our favorite memories was when we went down
to Brigham Young University for the International Business Plan
Competition. There were over 3800 student teams there and we
finished in the top 11.
SUPERPOWER

My entrepreneurial superpower is being a generalist. I think a
lot of entrepreneurs really try and focus in on one talent, which
is very valuable, but being able to dive into every aspect of the
business (finance, accounting, etc.) is extremely important for a
founder.
KRYPTONITE

I’m a little bit of a pleaser. I try and make everyone happy and
sometimes that’s not how it should be.
IF YOU CAN HAVE ANY SUPERPOWER…

I think being able to tell when people aren’t being honest with
you would be my superpower.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE OR APP

Sunrise Calendars


 
RECOMMENDED BOOKS

How to Win Friends & Influence People