PTM 029 – How to Launch a Tech Startup Part-Time with Kristen Carney of Cubit

Part Time Money PodcastThis episode of the Part-Time Money podcast is with Kristen Carney of Cubit.

Cubit sells demographic data: $20 basic demographic reports, a web app that people use to pull demographic data, and a consulting branch that does custom data research.

In 2009, Cubit took a small round of funding from a local Austin seed stage investment group. After the funding ran out, either Kristen or her co-founder worked a full time job while the other worked full time on Cubit.

Last November, they consistently hit their revenue goals for a period of 6 months. So she took the scary next step of leaving her six figure job to work on Cubit full-time. In 2013, both her co-founder & Kristen are full-time on Cubit.

Listen to the Podcast

Highlights from the interview:

Kristen Carney - Founder of Tech Startup Cubit1:30 – The background on Cubit and how it was started.
2:45 – Kristen’s background and experience.
3:15 – Building a tool while on the job and working for the government to have more time to work on Cubit.
4:30 – Applying for a startup program and getting $20,000 in cash (for 5%), plus services and mentors.
6:00 – What types of people/ideas make for a good startup program.
7:30 – The competition involved with startup programs.
8:00 – What Cubit does and how they do it different than competitors.
10:00 – What Cubit means and the change from Cubit Planning.
11:30 – How they spend the $20,000 and what didn’t work about the original Cubit app.
13:15 – Jobs Kristen held part-time while working on the tech startup.
13:45 – Getting back on track using customer needs. Using a simple form on the website.
14:45 – Using SEO (i.e. targeted landing pages to get the right traffic).
16:30 – Using common form requests to build out pre-packaged data. i.e. scaling.
17:15 – Switching time working on the business with the co-founder.
18:20 – The mental game of a startup. Waiting for success.
20:00 – The revenue needed to be full-time on the business.
23:00 – The continued benefit of being a part of a startup program.
24:00 – Managing contractors and growing the startup. Hiring and legal entity issues.
27:45 – The importance of listening to your customers to build a product they will buy.
28:30 – The success of SEO (organic search, inbound marketing).
29:30 – Find things that inspire your passion.

Mentioned in the Interview:

Capital Factory
Bill Cosby – Noah and the Cubit
LessAccounting.com
Running Lean by Ash Maurya
Hacker News

Watch the How to Launch a Tech Startup Google Hangout

Thank you so much for listening!

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Transcription: show

Avatar About Philip Taylor, CPA

Philip Taylor is a CPA, writer, entrepreneur, and founder of FinCon. Philip has been quoted and featured in multiple media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, Fox Business, and more. Connect with him on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Comments

  1. Avatar davidmartinez says

    ptmoney cubitplanning ashmaurya HackerNews capitalfactory title is akin to ‘How to engineer a spacecraft with a spoon’ #interestsparked

  2. Avatar HullFinancial says

    A developer who can design is indeed a golden unicorn. We looked for several years for one and never found that magical, mythical creature. If you can find one, shackle him or her in a basement and feed copious amounts of pizza and Mountain Dew!

    • HullFinancial Yeah, @antm rocks! Since we’re in Austin, Texas, I feed him lots of BBQ brisket & Lone Star instead of pizza & Mountain Dew. 🙂