Over the course of the next 90 days, Built In Denver will be touring digital startups across the Front Range and profiling them here. Each Tuesday, we'll publish a roundup of the companies visited during the previous week and individual profiles of each company.
At Dabble we spoke with Co-Founder Jessica Lybeck.
To start, give us your "elevator pitch"
Dabble is a marketplace for classes that are a one-time (rather than a series) in-person (rather than online) experience. Anyone can be a teacher, whether they're a professor or just have a hobby they're really good at. It's a great way for people to pursue their curiosities without making a big commitment, financially or time-wise, to classes.
Dabble was founded in Chicago, correct?
Yes, we launched in Chicago in May 2011, and then I moved to Denver and launched here in July of 2012.
Why was the next market Denver?
Well I was relocating to Denver for personal reasons. But, it's also a great city to launch in. We were really excited about things like the [i4c] campaign, which we participated in and won - that was just a couple of weeks after I got to town.
There are a lot of companies here doing good things, and there's a real focus on bringing startups together. We're very appreciative of the community, and the opportunity to get to know so many coolcompanies. People here are really supportive of what we're doing, and of the startup community as a whole.
Not to mention, Denver is just attractive in general. There's this kickass company/work/career balance with life and the outdoors. People here really focus on getting things done, working hard so they can play, not on creating the front of a large corporate entity.
How are things going?
Great! So far, we've held approximately 750 classes and have over 10,000 users on the site.
Tell us how you got started - what was the original spark to create this company?
My co-founder and I had worked together in a branding and marketing firm, where we were working with other peoples’ startups. At some point we both realized that we wanted to work on a product of our own. So we got together one night, brainstormed a bunch of problems and looked for a business opportunity.
We both realized that after college we really missed making stuff, and learning new things. But most of the opportunities out there to take classes were expensive, or a longer-term commitment. It's hard to set aside the time and the money when you're a busy young professional, and there's no guarantee that the class or the teacher are going to be any good. We also realized that businesses could really benefit from the opportunity to showcase their expertise, their location, and educate people about what they offer. We knew we were on to something, and from there it just flew - we launched just 3 months after we came up with the idea for the site.
Have you had any great failures or mistakes that you've learned from?
Startups are full of ups and downs, but we have felt really lucky to have more ups than downs. You never know what reactions are going to be. Funding is where we stumbled the most – there’s not a lot of overlap between the skillsets of running a business and fundraising.
We learned early on when we had an offer from a VC who wanted a significant stake in our company that investors should be partners and people who have the same vision, who are looking forward to supporting your vision. The biggest mistake is to be moulded by people who don’t fit with your vision. We listened to people tell us that they knew how to run our business instead of listening to our guts and doing what we think is right. We got lost in the lure of money and not thinking about the right things for a few months.
What other advice would you give to someone who is just getting ready to start a company?
Talk to your customers or potential market way before you have a product to show them. We talked to a bunch of teachers before we had a name or anything, so we knew what people would be interested in before we really got it started. Your ideas not worth anything if nobody is interested in it. Ask if people would use it, pay for it, etc. Those are going to be your advisors, as well as your first customers. You don’t have to pitch people when you involve them in the conversation.
Learn more about Dabble on their website, follow them on Twitter @Dabble_Denver, or visit their Facebook page.
If you'd like to learn from Jessica directly, you're in luck! She's teaching a class on How to Land a Job at a Startup on Tuesday, April 2.
Read this week's Startup Tour Summary here, or jump to the profiles of GoSpotCheck and ModeSet directly.