by Chris Heivly | Aug 27, 2026 | Community, Founder Tips
A few weeks ago, I spoke at Techstars’ 20th birthday celebration. They asked me one question: why should a founder lean on their startup community? So founders reading this — listen up, this just might change your success arc. I’ve been asked versions of...
by Chris Heivly | Aug 20, 2026 | Community, Founder Tips
At MapQuest, I had no community. To be fair, it was Lancaster, Pennsylvania in the 90’s. Who knew what a startup community was? I had colleagues. I had a company. I had leaders who smiled in support at executive meetings but had their own agenda in the hallway. I...
by Chris Heivly | Jul 16, 2026 | Founder Tips
Every founder has two faces. There is the public face—the one everyone sees. It is the face on stage, in the investor meeting, at the all-hands, on LinkedIn, in the podcast interview. It is confident, optimistic, and composed. It says, “We’re excited about where we’re...
by Chris Heivly | May 18, 2026 | Community, Founder Tips
The unknown is almost always bigger and nastier in our minds than it is in real life. That’s just how we are wired. When we can’t see around the corner, our brain fills in the blanks. And rarely does it fill those blanks with calm, rational, “this will be fine”...
by Chris Heivly | Mar 26, 2026 | Founder Tips
When you are a new entrepreneur, mentorship can feel like this magical thing. You imagine one coffee meeting, one smart person, one brilliant piece of advice, and suddenly the fog clears. Problem solved. Path revealed. Off you go. That’s not really how it works. Real...
by Chris Heivly | Mar 12, 2026 | Community, Founder Tips
Simon Sinek has that amazing Tedx talk about “starting with why”. It is a fantastic way to craft a message around your business “why” instead of what or how. But what if you applied the same thinking to your work. I used to think the question was, “Will my mom or dad...
