Chris Heivly

Chris Heivly: 3 ridiculous notions to grasp before starting a company

Posted by Chris Heivly | Aug 9, 2017

Editor’s note: Serial entrepreneur, blogger and author Chris Heivly offers three “simple ideas” to help guide entrepreneurs thinking about starting a company. DURHAM – Lets bring chaos into order with these three simple ideas. The world is littered with startup advice including this writer’s crap. My advice – keep it simple and remove as much confusion as possible from you brain. The easiest way to think about a startup is to be honest with yourself. Lets start with that little secret inside of you where you think you just may get a little lucky and take the express train to the...

Chris Heivly: The most successful entrepreneurs embody this single philosophy

Posted by Chris Heivly | Jun 30, 2017

Editor’s note: You cannot build a successful business with an approach that minimizes the chance of failure. Here’s why, according to veteran Triangle entrepreneur Chris Heivly. DURHAM – It turns out, we do get to choose how to be an entrepreneur. I have a modest and maybe even overly simple personal philosophy with which I view my life — I compartmentalize my entire existence into three basic buckets: social, business, and family. This plays out in many different ways, but today I am focused on my walls around business. I get to observe thousands of entrepreneurs in action, and...

Chris Heivly: The 1 thing experts miss about taking the startup leap

Posted by Chris Heivly | Jun 16, 2017

Editor’s note: Chris Heivly, a serial entrepreneur, Startup Factory co-founder and now entrepreneur-in-residence at Tech Stars, talk s about taking the leap in building a startup. DURHAM – Leaps are fun, dangerous, and scary but do you have a choice? For as long as I can remember, experts have expressed the decision to start a company as “taking a leap“. The metaphor is obvious -the actual moment you leap is fraught with fear. People leap into marriage (think about jumping over the broomstick). People leap off bridges attached to a bungee cord (this is the image I have in my...

Chris Heivly: The one tool in every billionaire’s toolbox

Posted by Chris Heivly | May 1, 2017

Editor’s note: Editor’s note: Chris Heivly co-founded MapQuest (which sold to AOL for $1.2 billion), was sole managing director of 77 Capital (a $25 million venture fund), and has been an executive at five software companies. Currently, he is one of two managing directors of The Startup Factory in Durham. A national writer and speaker about startups and startup communities, Heivly is also the founder of the Big Top Job Fair. DURHAM – There are 150 million adults (over the age of 18) in the United States today. Each one of us has individual interests, hobbies, training, and experiences....

Chris Heivly: Here’s what makes a great startup CEO

Posted by Chris Heivly | Apr 24, 2017

Editor’s note: Chris Heivly co-founded MapQuest (which sold to AOL for $1.2 billion), was sole managing director of 77 Capital (a $25 million venture fund), and has been an executive at five software companies. Currently, he is one of two managing directors of The Startup Factory in Durham. A national writer and speaker about startups and startup communities, Heivly is also the founder of the Big Top Job Fair. DURHAM – You know that your vision for the company is critical but you also know that you have to do this CEO thing as well. Last week I met...

Chris Heivly: Manage yourself when that pesky brain wakes you up in the middle of the night.

Posted by Chris Heivly | Apr 17, 2017

3am and I can’t sleep again. Every business decision that is waiting at the door is now actually waiting at the door. I have two choices, head to the couch and turn on the TV for distraction, or lie here for another hour with my head spinning until I hopefully fall asleep. Every one of you has been confronted with business getting in the way of a sound sleep. Some of you chalk it up to part of the pact with the entrepreneurial devil kind of like Robert Johnson and Crossroads. Some of you will attempt to trick yourself...

Chris Heivly: Tips to finding your team flow

Posted by Chris Heivly | Apr 5, 2017

Editor’s note: Chris Heivly co-founded MapQuest (which sold to AOL for $1.2 billion), was sole managing director of 77 Capital (a $25 million venture fund), and has been an executive at five software companies. Currently, he is one of two managing directors of The Startup Factory in Durham. A national writer and speaker about startups and startup communities, Heivly is also the founder of the Big Top Job Fair. DURHAM – Every manager should strive to put their team in a flow state. Have you ever been in that moment when everything seems to be going perfectly? You could...

Chris Heivly: For startups, find a trend, find validation

Posted by Chris Heivly | Mar 28, 2017

Editor’s note: Chris Heivly co-founded MapQuest (which sold to AOL for $1.2 billion), was sole managing director of 77 Capital (a $25 million venture fund), and has been an executive at five software companies. Currently, he is one of two managing directors of The Startup Factory in Durham. A national writer and speaker about startups and startup communities, Heivly is also the founder of the Big Top Job Fair. DURHAM – Every single startup founder and every single startup company is searching for one thing and one thing only – a business trend. The problem is every one attaches...

Chris Heivly: Customer or investor – which do you love more?

Posted by Chris Heivly | Mar 21, 2017

Editor’s note: Chris Heivly co-founded MapQuest (which sold to AOL for $1.2 billion), was sole managing director of 77 Capital (a $25 million venture fund), and has been an executive at five software companies. Currently, he is one of two managing directors of The Startup Factory in Durham. A national writer and speaker about startups and startup communities, Heivly is also the founder of the Big Top Job Fair. DURHAM – Allocating your time based on this decision could be the most important decision for your company. Every founder has a daily struggle on how to allocate his or...

Posts by Chris Heivly