StartUP MQL

startupmql

I’m normally a pretty big thinker. I like to analyze decisions and thoughts all the way out in the future and plan for all of the various contingencies. What happens if x goes wrong and then I’m in situation y? How will that affect a, b, and c? And I continue down the rabbit hole until I can’t see the light anymore. You can see pretty quickly that this not only gets very complicated but also pretty low fidelity. No matter how much you analyze all the different possibilities you imagine, you’ll somehow miss the one that actually happens – thanks Murphy. Even if you call the first step, it’s very unlikely you’ll expect the second one. So if you have to fly a bit blind, what do you do? Just start doing. Don’t get me wrong, there are many instances where proper planning and outlining options is crucial to success. Retirement planning, for instance, is a great place to spend serious time setting up goals and milestones. In places where you have lots of historical data and mountains of best-practices, it makes complete sense to rely on the available resources. Startups are a very different animal. If you’re just starting out as a company, it will be difficult to get any real data or information on the specific problem you’re solving. If there is a ton of data, the problem might well already be solved by others. The unfortunate reality is that you’ll have to take a risk to dive in and start surrounding yourself with those experiencing the problem. You can’t do this in theory, you have to something to get it. That’s the tough part if you’re a thinker. The most important thing is just to start working on it. Ask a friend, call a mentor, join a forum. Each action will lead you just a bit closer to what you’re looking for and before long you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve made it. There are tons of great articles out there on how to approach early stage research without investing too much effort or capital that I suggest you browse through. DO This one about what to do in the first is great! 100 days of the startup After I began my startup journey with Topmarq, where we host car shows I found that my speed went up exponentially when I stopped planning for the future and just started doing. Need an article for your blog? Write it. Rather than consider all the options and plan out how to attack building a blog that will become incredibly successful, I just started writing. And turns out – it worked pretty well! I’ve written probably 15-20k words over the last month while also handling everything else going on with the company. This article on took about 2 hours to research and drives ~100 or so new people to my brand new site! classic car shows Need to build out a new feature for the site? Go figure out how to do it. As of March I didn’t know Python or Django but I just hopped in a few online courses and worked a ton at it. Rather than worry about how good I would be or what the return was, I just DID. I’m still mediocre at Django, no doubt, but I was able to build a prototype enough to get some feedback. This technique is quite opposite to what I learned at my corporate role and it took some unlearning to get comfortable with it. After some work, though, it becomes second nature and you start to enjoy the power it gives you. Checking things off the todo list is incredibly rewarding. So, what are you doing still reading? Go do something! Photo by Bethany Legg on Unsplash

Success in Startupland Demands that You Stop Thinking and Start Doing

, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of Mike Baur Swiss Startup Factory Swiss exploring got me realizing how beautiful diversity is. Aside from the fact that the startup community is very well developed in Switzerland, the country is a perfect example of diversity in natural beauty, nationalities, cultures… I’m the type of girl that falls in love with cities. Whenever and wherever I travel I like to explore, meet locals, find the hidden gems of the city, not just seeing the touristic sights. But what leaves a great impression with me are the people I meet on my journey in that particular community. After meeting so many people from different countries that have found a home in Switzerland, I was excited to meet a native Swiss. I met my guest for this story, through the organized . He was a visiting guest mentor at our sessions, for a full day and was always surrounded with people eager to get his know-how. #StartUpSelfie #SwissEP peer-to-peer exchange Luckily, soon after, I had the pleasure of hosting him in Skopje, where he was on a mission as a Short Term Expert, to meet and work with the startup community.In the afternoon before his departure, we went sight seeing and to hear the story and learn more about , Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of . #SwissEP Mike Baur Swiss Startup Factory “Well, my professional journey started as a 16 year old ambitious Swiss boy fascinated by banking and the stock markets. For me it was very clear that I will work in a bank and luckily enough I got a job as a banking apprentice at UBS which was great for me. Today, I realize that being an Swiss investor and Swiss entrepreneur already made me have a very clear entrepreneurial DNA and that I was not the typical employee. More the guy who did things different took more risk, went always the extra mile and worked very hard and always focused on performance. At that time I was already very ambitious and had clear career goals and made a plan how to get there. Opportunities actually didn’t fall from the sky but I had to create my own opportunities and catch them, which I did I think this is a very important topic. Everyone creates his own opportunities, people just waiting for them have no chance to succeed in my opinion. But for sure UBS was a great platform and gave me that chance to become a top banker and top manager at a very young age. I progressed very well in my career and met a lot of very, very interesting people as private banking clients. A lot of them where entrepreneurs and since I was managing their wealth I very often knew their detailed life stories. I was amazed by these entrepreneurial stories and was honored to actually advise the wealthiest people of Switzerland. Since private banking has a lot to do with trust, some of them over the years became friends and they always told me: Mike you tick like an entrepreneur, you should jump out of the plane and take the risk! Years later (2012) when I was a top executive at the third biggest private bank of Switzerland, I jumped out of the plane and started my great journey as a Swiss entrepreneur building up today’s No:1 Swiss ICT Startup Accelerator, which is purely privately financed and a great success story. At the same time I became one of the most active Startup Investors in Switzerland and a real mover and shaker of the digital transformation in Switzerland. Today I’m really where I always wanted to be actually, and I love what I do. This gives me the inner power to be very good in what I do and for sure being very authentic. People tell me that at 42 I’m in a perfect age, not too young to be a role model and not too old to be a boring old guy :))) So let’s rock the boat !!!” — Mike says with a smile. With his experience and involvement I was eager to hear his thoughts on what is it about startups that you see that is lacking, year after year in the Swiss eco-system? “We still lack the risk takers, the ones to jump out of the plane and create the next big thing out of Switzerland!Switzerland is a great hub to create a startup, here we really have everything that is needed. Top Universities means top talents, global big corporations who are across the street, we are a wealthy country with investors and many support organizations. We have a very stable political and economical situation and we are THE innovation country No:1 in the world. BUT the mindset of Swiss people still needs to be transformed more in a entrepreneurial direction. I’m very convinced that your generation of people in Switzerland will be much much more entrepreneurial and startup focused then of my generation. So this is very good news!” — said Mike. What drives Mike Baur? Why does he do this? When was he the proudest of his professional life by far? Something I wanted to hear very eagerly. “Working with the startup teams, the different people in the teams, the different backgrounds in the teams as well from each person’s culture, but also in terms of each persons business educational background. Helping them to merge their diversity to one team, one goal, one company is the most fascinating thing for me. Motivating them and pushing them to business execution and celebrating great results! I was personally very proud last December 7th when the Wall Street Journal wrote an article about me . Quite a lot of banker dream about being featured in a top newspaper like the WSJ. I actually did it when I wasn’t a banker any more, which is even more fascinating and cool. Also, early this year in January we announced our Swiss Startup Factory Advisory Board and I was very proud because the 10 Advisory Board members are all absolute high level entrepreneurs, executives and top sports people. It is such an honor having them in our advisory board and it was hard work to get them since they first wanted to see great results of our work for the first two years.” — proudly says Mike. Stan Wawrinka (Board Member at SSUF) and Mike Baur Share your piece of advice to all young and aspiring entrepreneurs out there? _“Be different, go different ways than mainstream, be a hard working person and set yourself very clear goals what you want to achieve. Always reflect your path and adapt. Nothing is impossible in today’s connected global world. Be passionate and find your mission in life. Love what you do because only with this you can become the best in it!_ Swiss Startup Factory pushes and accelerates the top startup talents with their startup project to become the next world champion in what they do. So if you think you are an absolute outliver and a top talent in what you do together with you startup team contact me and we challenge you! Be ready!” — said Mike. For me this was an absolute pleasure, learning more about Mike, sharing his story, passion and motivation. Do not hesitate to get in touch with him and try to be in the top group of Swiss Startup Factory. I will for sure follow their work. More startup stories from the Swiss community coming next on ! StartUpSelfie Stay tuned. Cheers Story originally published at startupselfie.co Share if YOU care and click ❤

#StartUpSelfie at the Swiss Startup Factory

Don’t over-plan, some of the best times I’ve had have fallen into place when something else didn’t work out. Coworking Bansko unconference team Sometimes a song can bring a thousand memories. Whether is the beat, or the lyrics, your favorite chorus, can take you back in time and space. Sometimes a specific smell can do the same to you. About a month ago, it happened to me. Group of five people, in one car en route to . The place where I learned how to ski as a kid, but somehow didn’t visited for more than 15 years… Bansko, Bulgaria We arrived there in the middle of the night and as soon as I went out of the car, it was a flashback! There is this specific smell that brought so many good memories. Anyone who has ever been there will know and for those willing to visit Bansko will notice, I’m sure. Even though not in the ski season, I was excited to be back, with the purpose of working weekend organized by . Co-Working Bansko What’s the idea behind co-working space in Bansko and this ‘unconference’, where my first questions to one of the co-founders . Matthias Zeitler “I love Co-working. It is a great working environment, that allows me to make connections with like-minded people. I met Uwe (the other co-founder) on a Co-boat sailing trip last year and we were thinking about creating a co-living space somewhere. After some research we realized that Bansko could become a great hotspot for location independent entrepreneurs like us and we decided to create a co-working space there together with Irina . Being new to Bulgaria we wanted to get to know other coworking spaces in the Balkans and show them what we plan in Bansko. We have been at various coworking conferences in the past, but we couldn’t find an event that specifically brings people from the region together. So we decided to organize our own ‘unconference’. Initially we had no idea if anyone would follow our invitation, but quickly realized that a lot of people were quite happy that we provided them with this opportunity to exchange ideas and learn about others that are involved in coworking around them.” — said Matthias. Saturday was a full working day. We were around 20 people and we split in two groups and worked on different topics like: marketing for co-working spaces, attracting digital nomads, growth hacking tools and techniques, mini acceleration programs etc… During the coffee breaks we were able to get to know each-others better. One of them is , super cool Digital Marketing Nomad from the USA and I wanted to learn more about her story: Lulu Anderson “This past October I quit my job and life in Boston with no backup plan while on a “3 week vacation” to Indonesia. I bought a laptop in Thailand and then after 2 months of working in hostels and a dive shop I decided to start pursuing some freelance work. In Vietnam I found an amazing coworking space and secured some US based clients. What I’ve learned so far is that Digital Nomad can be a very broad term — my version of it is a mix of working for trade, volunteering with dogs and 10 hours of freelance weekly. I’ve learned a lot about balancing my hourly rate and the amount of my life I want to exchange for the work I provide, it’s given me a very different perspective on what sort of work-life balance I want for the future. From August until October I helped manage Playworking in Montenegro, a coworking-coliving space. The Bansko opportunity came up and we thought it would be a great experience to network with other spaces in the Balkans. I rented a car and drove through 5 countries in 1 day to get there, which was totally worth it! So far I have learned a lot and if I can share some piece of advise would be these three things: – Have a couple thousand dollars in savings for unforeseen travel woes, bed bugs, cancelled flights, flat tires, and cool experiences that come up along the way!– Don’t over-plan, some of the best times I’ve had have fallen into place when something else didn’t work out.– Add some purpose into your journey otherwise the travel alone might not be enough reason to keep going on tough days. I bought a mountain bike in Portugal and volunteer at dog shelters all over to keep my compass pointing in a good direction.” — says Lulu. Some of the digital nomads out there need to consider visa arrangements while traveling to or staying in XY country. Coming from a non-EU country I was eager to learn more about the experience of . Digital marketing nomad, from Skopje with an idea to open up a co-working space in Tenerife. Marija Aleksovska “I’ve been outsourcing my great talents for a Canadian Web Marketing Company for 3 years now. As an Internet Marketing Strategist, my role and mission is helping small to medium Canadian businesses promote themselves on the world wide web. Working from the comfort of my home and still being dedicated to my job and company full time, I needed to find a solution for the lack of social interaction. I started by visiting the local start-up and co-working community and long story short I ended up in a car with 4 awesome people I have never met before in life, on our way to Bansko. My first trip accompanied by my money maker (my laptop) was to Barcelona. I rented a room for a month. Not being used to travel that much before, I stayed the first 3 days in my room, asking myself constantly “What have I done?”, “Why did I book the room for the whole month?”, “I think I want to go home now”. But things got better, and haven’t stopped traveling since. My favorite place is the Canary Islands, as I spent half of 2016 here, looking forward to celebrating New Year’s Eve on the beach. During these past months I’ve learned 2 crucial things so far, both of significant importance:1. You need people in your life, make friends as much as possible, you can only take pictures of monuments and nature for so long. We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world and the best we can find in our travel is an honest friend. 2. Whatever it takes, get a good internet connection and ergonomic chair and desk….and a bed…and eat healthy” — says Marija, with a huge smile on her face. Sunday afternoon, we gathered for a coffee at the foot of Pirin Mountain, before everyone departs, to reflect on the working weekend. “My biggest learning was that we all have our own ideas about what a coworking space should be, based on our personal preferences and goals. However a lot of challenges are very similar and we can learn a lot from each other. Also I am very happy that we made lots of new friends and several people are already planning to come to Bansko again, either individually or with some of their members for a workation.” — Matthias says. “I would most certainly recommend co-working space Bansko. We had the privilege to take a peek at the new office they are building and it has that ‘Starbucksy’ vibe with a coffee shop and a fireplace. Great and dedicated team as well, can’t wait to go back there and hopefully learn how to ski. Lots of tourists as well, so you’ll get the variety factor.” says Marija, who is already planing a month in Bansko for February 2017. To all my ‘location independent’ fellows out there, is opening in 10 days. Check your schedule, book your flights and enjoy the beautiful nature in this amazing ski resort. Co-working Bansko See you all there! Cheers The story was originally published at: http://startupselfie.co/ If you manage to get to here and on top of that you liked this story, show the love by clicking the ❤ button ;) Sharing is caring!

#StartUpSelfie about Co-Working and Digital Nomads

Some things to take into consideration to anyone that is eager to attend huge conferences: It’s hectic! Some months ago, while I was going through my e-mail, I’ve noticed a subject line — Being a Startup Associate at , I double checked this information and even though it was so many months in advance I got my ticket and started planing my journey to Lisbon. Free Women in Tech tickets for Web Summit . Girls in Tech Macedonia (originally Dublin Web Summit) is a technology conference held annually since 2009. Just as the first industrial revolution 250 years ago left an indelible mark on the lives of the people who lived through it, tech is turning upside down everything we thought about work, social interaction, politics and life itself. There is no longer such a thing as a ‘tech’ industry — just industries that have been affected by tech — as stated on their web site. Web Summit So this was the first time they are organizing it in Lisbon and the first time they are trying to tackle the gender gap between attendees on conferences. Mainly in this past year, I have attended startup events and conferences in different countries in Europe and the biggest one so far, for me was in Vienna with 5000 attendees, where they also had a women in tech initiative. And yes, the fact is that when you see the whole picture, you will see mostly men. So, kudos to Web Summit for providing this opportunity, since there are a lot of women in tech out there! Pioneers Festival Three day event, with more than 50 000 people attending it, amazing key note speakers on several different stages and a pretty tight schedule. I wasn’t sure of what to expect, so I decided to go with the flow and organize my time with the help of their mobile app (which was working smoothly). Sunday afternoon, arriving at the airport and you can already see how much Lisbon will live and breathe the Web Summit spirit this whole week. Branded signs everywhere, registration tent at the airport metro entrance, everything well organized, only the locals were caught by surprise with the overload of people coming from all around the world. Day 1 The official happened on Monday evening with full arena and many people left outside to watch the live stream. Luckily we checked out their FB live video and didn’t went to the arena, since Monday was a day for sight seeing and learning more about Lisbon (yes this was my first time and I just fell in love with the city), while in the evening we were charging our batteries for day 1 — Tuesday. opening of Web Summit 2016 Early morning we arrived at the venue, just to be welcomed by endless queues for entrance. Even though we were registered, there were queues for entrance, for restrooms, for food, all day long… This was the most hectic day, since we were trying to figure out where all the stages are placed, everything regarding logistics and ‘My schedule’ was a mess! This was the day when Web Summit got ‘the Wait Summit’ nickname Highlight of day one, for me was and learning more about what most of the startups are working on nowadays. While they were all pretty excited to be at Web Summit, to showcase their work, one thing that they were all mostly disappointed in (even on the third day when I went to talk to them) was the fact that very rarely investors, business angels or VC’s were checking out their startup corners. Hint: Maybe next time you go to the ‘mountain’ exploring the startup directory Check out the . key notes here Day 2 We were better prepared from logistical perspective, but oh boy, we were so not prepared to have a US election fallout, all day. As I entered the MEO arena, walking to the front rows to grab a seat I was utterly shocked to witness the . trouble maker of 500 Startups (Dave McClure) have a meltdown on stage On that note, day 2 was the day were the hot topic was the new president of the United States. For me a highlight for this day was the ‘Startup University’, having a Q&A session with the panel ? and the fact that millennials are the generation that is the most ‘unsuccessful’ when it comes to love — on the explained their mission on improving this. Justin and Qasar from YCombinator if Europe’s tech scene is the second best main stage the CEO of Tinder Day 3 Storytelling and startups aside, other two things I’m really passionate about are music and marketing. So yes, this was definitely my favorite day of Web Summit 2016. First and foremost, learning that musicians (producer , rapper and RnB singer , rapper and many more) are interested in tech and Ja Rule even promoting his startup was THE highlight for me. Since there are so many opportunities and improve the experience for the consumer but also for the artist. Ryan Leslie Ja Rule NeYo Tinie Tempah FyreApp tech can do for the music industry The other highlight was live on stage — ? Gary’s message we all went home with is the following: Gary Vee Do you really need to be single-minded to succeed The Future of Storytelling is Documenting The Journey! Some things to take into consideration to anyone that is eager to attend huge conferences: It’s hectic! If you haven’t done your homework (who you want to meet, what you want to do), you’ll get lost easily. Use this opportunity to network, . Great opportunity to meet people was the night summit that was happening at Bairro Alto and Cais do Sodré (the Pink Street) where you can informally get to know people and establish a connection. key notes can be found online at any times Startups- send ‘the Hustler’ from your team to hunt for what you are looking for. Investors and speakers have their own private dinners and parties, but yes they do attend the night summit too, and if you have a friend who knows a ‘guy’ it’s even more easy for you to get acquainted. And do not forget to enjoy! In that craziness of fifty thousand attendees, yes you need to remember to enjoy and present your best self. Even though I prefer the ‘smaller’ tech events (up to 2000 people) I highly recommend to anyone to experience Web Summit, at least for once!Lisbon is amazing and was the perfect host city. who’s going? Web Summit 2017 Story originally posted HERE Show your love by clicking the heart button ❤ sharing is caring, remember that! Cheers

#StartUpSelfie at #WebSummit

‘Impact cannot happen in isolation — Let’s begin!’ Christine (left) Program Director at Impact Hub Vienna Seems to me that social entrepreneurship is booming in 2016. From the point that up until 1–2 years ago, no one from my circle of friends and acquaintances had a clue about what social businesses are, to . If you are among the people that are interested to get involved or start a business that’ll tackle social problems, then this is the right time to start! 2016 Forbes list of 30 under 30 social entrepreneurs What is social entrepreneurship? Why is different than the “regular” entrepreneurship? Where can you develop your social business idea? Can a startup be a social enterprise? Well, to all these questions you can google the answers, I’m sure :) When in ‘the imperial beauty’ that Vienna is, there is this HUB that is helping people to make an impact. Especially social impact. Soon after my meet-up with , I was headed via Mariahilfer Straße to get to to meet the Program Director, . Natalie about what #MakesYouPioneer Impact Hub Vienna Christine Spernbauer is a global network of over 11000 members spread over 5 continents, with a shared focus on creating real impact. Members benefit from guidance, resources, and opportunities shared from nearly 70 Impact Hubs around the world. In Vienna they have 1200 m2 co-working space and event location, business incubator, impact-driven community and as they say ‘Impact cannot happen in isolation — Let’s begin!’ Impact Hub Chiristine and I were introduced via a mutual friend (thanks ) and after showing me around their super cool premises, we grabbed our cups of coffee and set down to discuss more about how Christine’s story started with Impact Hub Vienna and her passion about social entrepreneurship. Ljupka “When I look back at it, I can say that things fell in place for me. When I came back from China, I knew that I wanted to work with international organization. In 2009, I was part of the team (that is now ). We were working together to boost the startup eco-system through a summer school and the events. In meantime I was introduced to the and they asked me for support, so through them I met the Impact HUB team. For me, it was all new and we were a small group of enthusiasts, back in September 2010 building the whole structure up. At the beginning I was engaged as a host of Impact Hub Vienna, where I was learning a lot about social entrepreneurship and social impact. Soon I started to work with and all in all, everything was somehow connected with social entrepreneurship. I’m very proud that when I started working, it was with people with many different ideas, but one goal, to foster social impact. Five years ago, nothing was happening regarding social entrepreneurship. Now, people are approaching us, they want to join the hub and do something. We are welcoming everyone that believes that can make a difference and at we have the right environment to do so.” — says Christine. StartEurope Pioneers startuplive Social Impact Award Ashoka in Vienna Impact Hub Vienna Throughout the years, the Impact Hub Vienna team has built a great network of young entrepreneurs, mentors, investors… Also there are several programs that they are implementing such as: the , , , , , , and from last May they’ve kicked-off the . I was interested to learn more about their latest program and her role in the whole process. Accelerate program GreenStart Investment Ready Program Re:Wien Social Impact Award Social Impact Start Start:E Scaling program “Throughout the years I’ve changed my roles, but usually I’m working on these ‘white label programs’. We brainstorm with the team and when we have the structure of the program we go and pitch it to potential partners. For example the Investment Ready program was developed inside the Impact Hub with a sister organization, then in 2013 we’ve merged them. With our latest program we have 8 Impact Hubs across Europe working together to launch a new for social entrepreneurs. For one full year, up to 100 innovators will be supported with knowledge, skills and advice from top mentors. We have that are already accepted in this program, where we can help them get answers to the questions like: What does it take for one thing to travel to another city? I have a revenue model for my city, but can it be implemented in different cities as well? and more… Impact Hub Scaling is a program designed for social enterprises ready to scale locally & internationally. If you are running a social business and you would like to scale your impact across Europe, you should definitely to our program.” — adds Christine. Scaling Program teams (read: scalers) apply So to say, there are no excuses anymore! To anyone that is keeping their idea to themselves, remember it is not going to implement by itself. Now you have such a solid foundation to kick-start your (social) startup and people and programs that will support you on your journey. “Impact Hub is a place where people can connect on a true dimension. You are in an environment that fosters collaboration and you are able to connect with people that are interested in the same topic. It is a challenge, but what can you lose? Stay curious, stay open-minded and do what your gut tells you!” — says Christine. Social entrepreneurs and anyone that is interested in tackling social problems, you have so many opportunities and luckily for you and all of us, we have the to support the impact making process. Thank you Christine, for sharing your story and everything that you do at . Keep up the great work and wishing you lots of success with the programmes implementation. Impact Hub Impact Hub Vienna To anyone visiting Vienna, I highly recommend you to check out their premises and meet all the amazing people from the hub team and their members! Till our next re-union, Cheers Story originally published at https://startupselfie.wordpress.com/2016/06/09/startupselfie-30/

#StartUpSelfie #30 about social impact

Says Triin from the biggest tech incubator in the Baltics — Tehnopol. Triin from Tehnopol Storyteller that is , made me loose track of time, when the phone buzzed reminding me that I need to head to for their . It was a real cool showcase of tech startups surrounded with amazing startup enthusiasm and energy. With my next guest we agreed on meeting at the HUB since I was fully booked and wasn’t able to visit their premises, but next time I will check them out for sure. Villu Garage48 HUB Saturday’s Tech Fair + Waffles She’s a Startup Incubator Program and Community Manager at (as she says) the biggest tech incubator in the Baltics — . When and why joined the startup community and what is the incubator offering? Tehnopol Triin Mahlakõiv “Before 2009 I didn’t even know about what a startup is. It all started when I joined an early stage startup that was developing a mobile application as a service for kindergartens. Coming from a traditional background, being independent in the startup eco-system is very challenging and important, but you always know that you can rely on the community here, that is very supportive. With ‘s incubation program we support 30 startups from different countries, for 1 year. We invest up to 10 000€ worth of expertise to start-up companies in one year to find the first seed investment or reach export markets. Our main focus areas are ICT, green- and health technologies. Because we are very well connected, when there is a lack of investment in the Estonian market, we send those startups to Finland for this kind of support. When a startup is selected for the incubation period we help them with determining a scalable business model; build sales, marketing and PR strategy; develop investor readiness and find investments; reach out to significant contact network. Anyone interested in joining our incubator can but remember that we are looking for a scalable and technology based business idea, motivated team and ambition to create a successful business.” — says Triin. Tehnopol apply I was interested to find out her opinion about does every startup need to go through some kind of incubation or acceleration program, is that necessary? And of course, from her experience so far, what would be her advice for the young entrepreneurs and early stage startups? “Startups do not need to go to an incubator/accelerator, but I would highly recommend it. For example we are dealing with high tech startups. Some, or many of the startup founders do not have business background. These programs will get them going faster, help them avoid some of the mistakes on their journey. Our program is very practical and hands on, where everything and everyone is focused on your business. In this way you will also be part of the community which will bring you additional incentives. One of the coolest programs in my opinion is with whom we collaborate and we advise people to try out that experience as well. Whenever I travel, I try to learn more about the startup community in that city, just like you do. So my advise would be, to try to go international with your business as soon as you see an opportunity. Just don’t overthink, just do it. Why limit yourself and operate your business only in your country. Do a research and see where you are needed. It doesn’t always have to mean that you will be successful if you expand to the US or Western Europe etc… Maybe emerging markets are where your product and/or service is needed. Now more than ever, we are connected and the possibilities for doing business internationally are limitless” — adds Triin. Startup Chile She’s also very good at networking, as she introduced me to my next #StartUpSelfie guest, that soon will be featured here. It was my pleasure meeting Triin and discussing about different topics, finding many similarities in our professional journey and promising that we will stay in touch. Surely we will have the opportunity to meet again and as I said I will head directly to next time I’m in Tallin.Calling all tech startups to go and and wishing them lot’s of success. Tehnopol check out their program and apply Soon another story coming from Tallinn, make sure you subscribe to via e-mail. #StartUpSelfie Cheers Story originally published here: https://startupselfie.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/startupselfie-25/

#STARTUPSELFIE #25 “Startups do not need to go to an incubator/accelerator, but I would highly…

Stop Fighting Data Sync Issues—This Guide Makes MySQL-to-PostgreSQL Transfers Easy

Stop Wasting Time on Broken Data Syncs—Here’s How to Do It Right with Apache SeaTunnel

Transforming Legacy with Domain-Driven Design, V: Insights

My initial encounter with ChatGPT was driven by sheer curiosity when it was released. I was particularly drawn to articles discussing code generation, even though I don't personally write code. And I initially believed that feature wouldn't be relevant to me. However, there came a moment when I found myself working on one UML diagram that I wasn't too eager to create. In my quest to simplify or expedite the process, I turned to various methods. I usually craft UML diagrams using PlantUML code... here, the realization struck me: this is a form of code, and code can be generated. Thus, ChatGPT evolved into a valuable tool for my diagram creation, and now I'm excited to share my experiences with you. A Few Words About UML stands for , and it serves as a language for specifying, visualizing, constructing, and documenting artifacts of software systems. UML draws from concepts in object-oriented programming languages; having development knowledge is beneficial for UML modeling but not mandatory. UML Unified Modeling Language It is primarily designed to describe aspects of software design, but it also offers a set of behavioral diagrams to model business or user requirements. In my role, I engage with IT business processes, specifically focusing on modeling them for analysis, optimization, and translating them into a clear format for developers to implement. When it comes to modeling, I employ various approaches and tools, one of which is UML. Here's the beauty of it — you don't have to be a software engineer to utilize UML. I use it to navigate through business processes implemented with software, but it goes beyond that — it's remarkably versatile and can be applied by various roles at different stages of development. All in all, give it a try; you might just find yourself loving it. Draw vs Code Like any diagram, you can easily draw it — it's simple, convenient, quick, and provides a clear view of the process and the outcome. Numerous graphic tools are available for this purpose, and I do use them. However, more often than not, I choose the "code" approach, thanks to PlantUML. , an open-source modeling language and tool, allows you to generate diagrams based on plain text language. In simpler terms, you can write code in PlantUML to create diagrams. PlantUML I enjoy sketching diagrams in my 'creative mode,' but more often than not, I either convert them into code afterward or write the code directly. There are two main reasons for this: You can insert, move, and delete blocks in your diagrams much more efficiently Changing the order of blocks in drawn diagrams often leads to modifications across the entire diagram, affecting other blocks and links. When working with code, you don't need to concern yourself with the visual aspect; you're dealing with a text, and PlantUML takes care of the graphical representation for you. You can work with and store simple text files instead of dealing with pictures This is particularly beneficial when encountering images of diagrams in documentation. The quality may be compromised. It's impossible to continue working with such diagrams, and they can only be redrawn, not edited or extended. Another significant advantage is that , allowing you to enjoy the benefits of code generation and seamlessly integrate them with UML. I'll share some examples from my personal experience below. ChatGPT understands PlantUML and can generate code You can use any code editors for PluntUML. I personally prefer Visual Studio Code and PlantUML extension in it. Another way is to use online redactors like or others. https://plantuml.com ChatGPT, Write PluntUML Code for Me Example 1 – I Don’t Wanna Start It With a Blank Slate Let’s create a Use Case diagram for a Taxi application. First, I use a prompt: use syntax from https://plantuml.com/ru/use-case-diagram, create a use case diagram for a taxi app ChatGPT generates a code: @startuml
left to right direction
actor "Passenger" as passenger
actor "Driver" as driver
rectangle "Taxi App" {
  usecase "Request Ride" as request
  usecase "Cancel Ride" as cancel
  usecase "Track Ride" as track
  usecase "Payment" as payment

  passenger -- (request)
  passenger -- (cancel)
  passenger -- (track)
  passenger -- (payment)

  driver -- (track)
  driver -- (payment)

  (request) --> (cancel)
  (request) --> (track)
  (track) --> (payment)
}
@enduml Visual view: The idea is fine, but having only four cases seems insufficient. I request to add additional cases and enhance it with some syntax examples, as there are none similar in PlantUML. Prompt: add more cases, you can use different types of links such as include, extends and generalization, syntax: (case1) .> (case2_includes_case1) : <<include>> (parent) <|-- (child) (case1 extends case 2) .> (case2) : <<extends>> Then I ask multiple times to add more cases again and make some specific requests to fix errors. Here is the final outcome from ChatGPT: @startuml
left to right direction
actor "Passenger" as passenger
actor "Driver" as driver
rectangle "Taxi App" {
  usecase "Request Ride" as request
  usecase "Cancel Ride" as cancel
  usecase "Track Ride" as track
  usecase "Payment" as payment
  usecase "Rate Driver" as rate
  usecase "View Ride History" as history
  usecase "Select Ride Type" as selectType
  usecase "Provide Feedback" as feedback
  usecase "View Driver Information" as driverInfo
  usecase "Update Profile" as updateProfile
  usecase "Promo Code" as promoCode
  usecase "Emergency Assistance" as emergencyAssistance

  passenger -- (selectType)
  passenger -- (request)
  passenger -- (cancel)
  passenger -- (track)
  passenger -- (payment)
  passenger -- (rate)
  passenger -- (history)
  passenger -- (feedback)
  passenger -- (driverInfo)
  passenger -- (updateProfile)
  passenger -- (promoCode)
  passenger -- (emergencyAssistance)

  driver -- (track)
  driver -- (payment)
  driver -- (rate)

  (request) ---> (cancel)
  (request) ---> (track)
  (track) ---> (payment)
  (track) ---> (rate)
  (history) --> (payment)
  (rate) --> (payment)
  (rate) ---> (track)
  (cancel) --> (request)
  (selectType) --> (request)
  (feedback) --> (rate)
  (driverInfo) ---> (track)
  (updateProfile) --> (track)
  (promoCode) --> (payment)
  (emergencyAssistance) --> (track)
}
@enduml I like the cases, but not the connections between them. So, I edit that code a bit. Here is the final result: @startuml

actor "Passenger" as passenger
actor "Driver" as driver
rectangle "Taxi App" {
  usecase "Request Ride" as request
  usecase "Cancel Ride" as cancel
  usecase "Track Ride" as track
  usecase "Payment" as payment
  usecase "Rate Driver" as rate
  usecase "View Ride History" as history
  usecase "Select Ride Type" as selectType
  usecase "Provide Feedback" as feedback
  usecase "View Driver Information" as driverInfo
  usecase "Update Profile" as updateProfile
  usecase "Promo Code" as promoCode
  usecase "Emergency Assistance" as emergencyAssistance

  passenger -- (selectType)
  passenger - (request)
  passenger -- (track)
  passenger -- (payment)
  passenger -- (history)
  passenger -- (rate)
  passenger -- (updateProfile)
  passenger -- (emergencyAssistance)

  driver - (request)
  driver - (payment)
  driver - (rate)
  (request) --> (track)
  (track) --> (payment)
  (track) --> (rate)

  (selectType) --> (request)
  (cancel) .> (request) : <<extends>>
  (rate) <.. (feedback)  : <<include>>
  (payment) <..(promoCode) : <<include>>
  (driverInfo) .> (track) : <<extends>>
}
@enduml Certainly, you can incorporate more scenarios. For example, there's no information about user registration and login. Furthermore, you can guide ChatGPT to create a diagram related to your designs. The key is that you have a foundation that you can use. Example 2 – I Need to Check and Enhance a Diagram I have a simple version of a sequence diagram for picture storage solution with a reverse proxy: @startuml
participant Client
boundary "Reverse Proxy" as Proxy
participant Back
participant FileStorage
participant Admin
actor Editor

Editor -> Admin: Add picture
Admin -> FileStorage: Add picture

Client -> Proxy: Get picture
Proxy -> Proxy: Check cache

alt cash is not empty
Proxy -->> Client: Return picture
else cash is empty
Proxy -> FileStorage: Recieve picture
FileStorage --> Proxy: Picture
Proxy -> Proxy: Save to cache
Proxy -->> Client: Return picture
end
@enduml Let’s improve it. My prompt: I'm designing a solution for storing and using images, check this diagram and edit it if necessary ChatGPT suggestion: 1. **Participant Name Clarification:**
    - Consider renaming "Back" to something more descriptive, like "Application Server" or a similar term that better represents the functionality.
2. **Actor Placement:**
    - Move the "Editor" actor to a more standard position, usually at the top.

@startuml
participant Client
actor Editor
boundary "Reverse Proxy" as Proxy
participant ApplicationServer
participant FileStorage
participant Admin

Editor -> Admin: Add picture
Admin -> FileStorage: Add picture

Client -> Proxy: Get picture
Proxy -> Proxy: Check cache

alt cache is not empty
    Proxy -->> Client: Return picture
else cache is empty
    Proxy -> ApplicationServer: Receive picture
    ApplicationServer --> Proxy: Picture
    Proxy -> Proxy: Save to cache
    Proxy -->> Client: Return picture
end
@enduml I don’t like the point about actor placement, so I put it back; everything else is fine. Then I repeated several times a prompt: check this diagram and enhance it if needed and write prompts: show how ApplicationServer get pic from database add focus of control add some corner cases To finalize it, I adjust the focus of control and make some changes to the naming. Here's the final result: @startuml
participant Client
boundary "Reverse Proxy" as Proxy
participant ApplicationServer
database FileStorage
participant Admin
actor Editor

Editor -> Admin: Add picture
activate Admin
deactivate Admin
Admin -> FileStorage: Add picture
activate FileStorage
deactivate FileStorage
Admin -> ApplicationServer: Store metadata
activate ApplicationServer

Client -> Proxy: Get picture
activate Proxy
Proxy -> Proxy: Check cache

alt cache is not empty
  Proxy -->> Client: Return picture
else cache is empty
  Proxy -> ApplicationServer: Receive picture request
  activate FileStorage
  ApplicationServer -> FileStorage: Retrieve picture from database
  alt picture not found in database
    FileStorage --> ApplicationServer: Picture not found
    deactivate FileStorage
    ApplicationServer -> Proxy: Notify picture not found
    Proxy -->> Client: Picture not found
  else
    FileStorage --> ApplicationServer: Picture data
    deactivate FileStorage
    ApplicationServer -> Proxy: Send picture to Proxy
    Proxy -> Proxy: Save to cache
    Proxy -->> Client: Return picture
  end
end

deactivate Proxy
deactivate ApplicationServer
deactivate Admin
deactivate Editor
@enduml Drawbacks First of all, you have to check everything because "ChatGPT can make mistakes." It is not meant to be a replacement for you but rather a tool to streamline and optimize your work. The most common errors are related to PlantUML syntax. Sometimes, it happens in the middle of a conversation, and I have to fix it and get ChatGPT back on the right track. Second, I use a free version of ChatGPT 3.5, and it has ups and downs. Sometimes, it works worse and gives some random answers for the same prompt. Third, ChatGPT understands some diagrams better than others. For example, it does much better with sequence diagrams than use case diagrams. However, despite these limitations, ChatGPT remains a valuable tool and an excellent assistant capable of increasing your efficiency and saving you time. Conclusion I use ChatGPT on a permanent basis in my work. If you're a manager, analyst, developer, tester, or in any other role, you can make use of UML. If that's the case, consider writing and generating PlantUML code — it will save you time and boost your efficiency. I hope my experience will be useful and inspire you. Thank you!

Stories, News & Mentions about STARTUPMQL

Categories

Trending Topics

Stories, News & Mentions about STARTUPMQL

Startupmql’s Stories on HackerNoon

Categories

Trending Topics