Newse@nu Speaker Series: Al Goldstein on How to Dream Big
Al Goldstein, co-founder and CEO of one of Chicago's next billion-dollar startups, Avant, started his first company when he was 23 years old. The venture spun out of a problem with authority, but it's a character trait he's noticed in other entrepreneurs. Now at age 34, Goldstein has three successful ventures under his belt and is one of the oldest employees of Avant. He shared his journey and words of wisdom with a group of bright-eyed Northwestern students and community members in our e@nu Speaker Series on May 5. Take a look at our live tweet recap!
About to get started with Al Goldstein of @AvantCredit #nustartups
— Farley Center (@FarleyCenterNU) May 5, 2015
Al said he's noticed a trend among entrepreneurs: problem with authority. http://t.co/Yq9e0VPuoL
— Farley Center (@FarleyCenterNU) May 5, 2015
At the age of 34, Al says he one of the oldest Avant employees. He's actually heard he's too old to be an entrepreneur.
— Farley Center (@FarleyCenterNU) May 5, 2015
Pangea Properties, Al's 2nd company, took 500 meetings to ask for capital. About 400 of which ended in a "no" http://t.co/apa5vspcnm
— Farley Center (@FarleyCenterNU) May 5, 2015
Avant set out to create an real-time experience where consumers can apply for loans and get a response right away w/o a human interaction.
— Farley Center (@FarleyCenterNU) May 5, 2015
"What Chicago wants is a truly viral tech community...we're much closer than we were 5 years ago, but it takes time" - Al Goldstein
— Farley Center (@FarleyCenterNU) May 5, 2015
"Things that are easy to do are easy to copy" - Al Goldstein e@nu #nustartups http://t.co/CJBTGW5ETn
— Farley Center (@FarleyCenterNU) May 5, 2015
Al Goldstein looks at the TAM - Total Addressable Market - of a company. If you're dreaming big, go after a large one http://t.co/noxYtTNQfP
— Farley Center (@FarleyCenterNU) May 5, 2015
Large markets are intimidating, but they typically have less competition because of that intimidation, says Al Goldstein #nustartups
— Farley Center (@FarleyCenterNU) May 5, 2015
"Don't be afraid to hear "no" and learn from that" - Al Goldstein on approaching investors http://t.co/VOnblCxOKc
— Farley Center (@FarleyCenterNU) May 5, 2015
"Whatever complicated things your company wants to do, make sure there's a person on your team who can do it today" Al Goldstein
— Farley Center (@FarleyCenterNU) May 5, 2015
e@nu attendees thank Al Goldstein of @AvantCredit for his talk http://t.co/MMqxOmxyyU
— Farley Center (@FarleyCenterNU) May 5, 2015