Sasha Hoffman

This week I interviewed a woman named Sasha Hoffman. She, her partner, and their soon to be addition to the group, have recently started working on a concept that will help with the inability to find parking in heavily populated areas, such as downtown Boston. They developed this idea from personal issues: getting many parking tickets and being late for meetings due to a lack of free spaces.

We talked a little bit about mistakes that entrepreneurs often make in their startups. Sasha had two main topics when it came to this. The first is that entrepreneurs will sometimes hire too quickly, and fire too slowly. They do this in order to get their company out the door, but in the end will make the business grow before its ready to. If someone is the wrong fit for the company, they are just wasting the money (a very important thing that requires a lot of attention in the beginning stages). The other really difficult thing for people starting a business, is that business becomes their baby. They have an idea or concept in mind, and they want to follow through and do it just the way they want to. It is sometimes hard to let go of the reigns, and let other people do their jobs. That one person can't do everything, though they will probably want to.

I then asked if Sasha had any advice for young people aspiring to be entrepreneurs. She first spoke to the subject of knowing your partners very well. She described it as a marriage, they are your other half. Sasha met her partner at an event where they were both nominated for an award. They have known each other for years, have worked through many different business ideas, and are now moving forward with this one.
She shared the advice not to begin a startup right out of college. She thinks working at other startups to learn the ropes and witness mistakes is the best way to figure out how to move forward with your own idea. It's important to work for smart people, in areas that interest you. It is beneficial to you and the people who will eventually work for you if you have a general understanding of all the different types of jobs people will have in your startup, and the best way to do this is to diversify your work in preparation for this. Without necessarily working in each department or becoming an expert, paying attention to things happening in someone else's startup is a great way to learn.
The most important piece of advice Sasha felt passionate about, was not starting a company until you're ready to. Everybody wants to be the 24 year old billionaire and become famous because of the amount of success at such a young age, but the reason these 24 year olds get so famous, is because they don't come around very often. Most people who start companies are in their thirties, after working in several different places and doing extensive planning, and building their networks.

I would like to thank Sasha Hoffman for taking the time to talk with me and answering my questions.