HOW TO SUCCEED AS AN EARLY-STAGE FOUNDER

By: Andrew Hutton  |  Sep 11, 2020

As enablers of entrepreneurship in Latin America, we are committed to developing and supporting initiatives designed to elevate our ecosystem. Day One, founded by Andrew Hutton, former Chief Innovation Officer at Human Ventures, is a platform devised precisely to do that, elevate what we do by providing early-stage founders the tools and much-needed accompaniment.

After eight years in the business, we understand that the entrepreneurial path is loaded with tough challenges, yet rewarding and exciting moments. Each decision is a risk, but most importantly a learning opportunity and every piece of advice from the ecosystem is like finding gold. So we know that the work behind Day One is critical for early-stage founders looking to build and scale the next new venture.

In this opportunity, we welcome Andrew as our guest contributor to talk about this exciting initiative, the purpose behind it, and their vision to expand their impact globally.

LEVERAGING THE WORK OF EXPERTS

Andrew here, founder of Day One. I’d like to give a huge thanks to the whole Polymath team for the chance to share our story. I’m unbelievably excited for Polymath to be Day One’s official LatAm partner and for the chance to work together to cultivate and grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem across LatAm.

Day One’s mission is to help people across the globe as they take the jump into entrepreneurship, by providing the support, guidance, and community that first-time founders need.

What’s exciting is that more people than ever before are already jumping into entrepreneurship. In the U.S. alone, 775,000 new businesses were launched in 2019, a number that had risen every year since 2010. And I can only imagine that 2020 will see even more people taking the leap and becoming entrepreneurs for the first time.

These will be some of the world’s most talented people, leaving or foregoing prestigious careers to build something new. But even when a first-time founder is talented and connected, they still find themselves searching for support, and far too often not finding it.

The next wave of entrepreneurs needs a new place to get started. We’re building Day One to be that place, and the first way we’re doing that is with the Day One Fellowship.

The Day One Fellowship is an 8-week program that will take a large group of first-time founders and turn them into a tight-knit community. We’re doing this in a fully virtual setting and focusing on building a diverse, international group of entrepreneurs. These Fellows will take part in a program of facilitated small groups, cohort-wide events and talks, workshops working sessions with experienced investors and operators. We’re running the first Day One Fellowship this fall, but over time the Day One Fellowship will scale to support thousands of entrepreneurs from across the globe.

We couldn’t run a successful, international Fellowship without amazing partners, and Polymath is not just our official LatAm partner but a real believer and supporter from the very earliest days.

As Day One grows in LatAm, Polymath will be right by our side. Polymath is the first place Day One Fellows can turn to for local, on the ground connections and advice – and when we can, will play host to local meetups and chapters. The Polymath team will be sharing their expertise, not just with the LatAm members of the Day One Fellowship but with members from across the globe. And as Polymath grows and extends its impact through new startups and partners, Day One Fellows from LatAm and beyond will have front row seats to collaborate and support. You can also expect Day One and Polymath to collaborate on content and events that are focused on serving early stage, first- time founders.

In the end, building an ecosystem is about working closely with amazing people and organizations. Day One has found that in Polymath, and we can’t wait to build our community across LatAm. If you’re interested in what we’re doing or just want to say hi, shoot me a line. I’d love to get connected and find ways to collaborate.

Andrew Hutton – andrew@joindayone.com