The official plugged in Blog for WhyGoSolo
In the Beginning...
As told by Ann Bernard (Founder and CEO)
The story of WhyGoSolo began on February 12, 2007 when I was sitting in a Chipotle in Woodbridge, Va. I wasn't in the best state of mind. I was closing a venture (LGS Coaching Agency) that I had created since getting out of the U.S. Marine Corps in 2005. It was a difficult thing for me to do and a difficult time. I felt like a failure. I felt empty, tired and disappointed. I felt like I was letting a lot of people down... including myself. I thought LGS was my key to finally being able to have a positive impact in the world, and help people live better lives.
I had invested all of my time, energy and money into to the Coaching Agency including an investment from a friend. I was basically broke and definitely depressed. I was trying really hard to see the light, to understand why this was happening and what I was suppose to do next.
I sat there, eating my chicken burrito bowl (yum,yum), while looking around, and was hit by an idea for a new venture. I went home, wrote the concept out, and emailed it to a few people, whom I thought would be wonderful partners to embark on this venture with me. I was ready to work towards making this new venture work, but I couldn't do it alone. I didn't have the will, energy or all the required skills.
The people I contacted liked the idea and agreed to meet-up. After our first meeting, I created an ambitious timeline and attempted to get everyone working towards it. Well, it didn't quite pan out. After a few meetings, it was clear that not all of us were going to be moving forward with the project. It boiled down to two, myself and Martin. With only two of us left standing; we needed to write a business plan, and for the most part, the responsibility to write the plan landed squarely on my shoulders this was a daunting and exhausting realization.
Luckily, Martin and I are almost neighbors so it was/is easy to meet when we need(ed) to. I read the Art of the Start, by Guy Kawasaki, and started by writing an executive summary, in the hope that maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't have to write a full plan. (Hello, wishful thinking and denial). After meeting with Martin a few times, we expanded on the original concept and I finally had enough meat to get started on the full business plan. I got busy writing it, which involved doing a lot of research and digging deep into my will power to be thorough and to stay motivated. Thankfully, Martin worked on doing the financial statements, which I suck at, and helped gather data.
Once we had enough information, it took me a little less then two weeks to write the plan. A lot took place during the research and writing and WhyGoSolo kept growing and taking shape. Upon completion, we sent it out to a few people for review. They sent us feedback, we answered questions, and we began meeting with many people to get more feedback. We incorporated (WGS, Inc.), got our logo designed, and opened up a business bank account. This was all around April and May of 2007.
We also began brainstorming funding options. (Note: The funding process is hands down the most aggravating, difficult, and painful part of this entire story.)
In the eight month process of getting to where we are now. WhyGoSolo was transformed and has kept getting bigger and bigger.
At the same time, WhyGoSolo almost died a few times. We've encountered so many obstacles, false hope, empty promises and dead ends. I've spent days and nights, wondering, thinking, brainstorming, banging my head against the wall and doing some good old fashion crying and cussing. The disappointment and challenges with the fund raising, with finding a development company/team, and with finding a way to make it happen tested and pushed me in ways I rather not think about any more. I picked up the saying "Live and Learn" along the way, because that's the way it is. You live and you learn. You grow and you better yourself. The faster you adapt, you learn and you grow the quicker you make things happen.
In my weakest moments, I have needed to have more strength then ever before in my life. The dream, the vision and my passion are all I've had to pick me up and keep me going. I couldn't stop believing or wanting WhyGoSolo because it would die, and with it, would die my big chance to have an impact on the world. I couldn't survive that again the Coaching Agency had been enough. I believed the lessons I learned from that, was to prepare me and set me up for success with WhyGoSolo.
Martin and I were supportive of each other, but I was (am) living WhyGoSolo 24/7 and it was (still is) my only focus. I tore myself to shreds to find ways to make it happen. Even after maxing out my credit cards, getting behind on my mortgage payments, borrowing money from my dad and counting on friends to help (my A/C broke and a friend replaced the entire system for me) I kept making WhyGoSolo, my only priority.
It became an obsession and a matter of taking small steps forward in all the right directions: from starting the blog to networking with new people and getting involved in the right communities. Sharing my pain, my sorrows, and my struggles helped a great deal; it brought about support from unexpected places and people.
The human race is a beautiful race. When you really open yourself up and reach out for help people come and offer help. What has gotten us to where we are now is a handful of people with the right skills saying "Hey, I'll help. What do you need?". I posted a blog post titled " Sorry. But, I've Been Burned Before" and generated some interest from some developers.
Finally in August 2007, things started to come together. I attended BarCamp DC where I met Keith, and Keith is now our CTO. The pace picked up quickly upon getting the development team together. With the new pace have come new and exciting challenges. I love those and welcome them.
To date, we're still unfunded but, it's a matter of time and some more efforts to make that happen. The story continues to unfold; Get Plugged In and become part of the story and the telling of our story. Check-out www.whygosolo.blogspot.com to learn more about what the beginning was like.
