CASE STUDY - Designing the Entrepreneur's Experience | Jon Leyh
Jon Leyh, founder of Ruckus Projects
Listen to episode:
“No matter what you’re working on, there is a commonality in the process and mindsets that it takes to have an idea and put it out there - the same emotional roller coaster, to sharing their idea and getting feedback, to the reality of unexpected occurrences.”
Starting a project or business can be easier said than done and there are many touchpoints that an entrepreneur goes through when starting something. We talk with Jon Leyh, the founder of Ruckus Projects, a community of entrepreneurs who come together to create projects that matter. Jon shares his powerful philosophy about why it's important to design your experience as an entrepreneur, while you are designing your project. The right environment combined with the appropriate steps at each junction can make a key difference in the success of any project.
The Spring 2016 version of Ruckus is now closed, but here are some of the incredible projects that were built. (Note: I will be updating this page regularly as each person launches his/her web presence).
Dale Henry has created a working prototype of a virtual reality game that intends to help prevent bullying of autistic children.
Ruby Guillen combined her experience as a child advocate and tech hacker to create a better system of preventing child abuse.
Andi Israel, who has dedicated her entire career to helping the homeless population, is building affordable housing for the homeless.
Terence Latimer launched Food Tribe, a social network that helps restaurants create sustainable food practices.
Allen Weaver is making a social enterprise that will support working single mothers.
Nina Gomez built a professional support system for early-career designers and creatives.
Rebecca Borough runs a marketing agency that employs teens from under-served communities in LA and helps them develop professional skills.
Teni Ayo-Ariyo launched Seeds, a thriving community for women of color visionaries (entrepreneurs, artists, students, professionals).
Laurie Young has created a web series that entertains, informs, and inspires young girls to love science.
Megan Korns Russell is writing a business school case study that explores how to effectively address unconscious bias observed in a specific work project.
And I built and launched this podcast!
This episode's design challenge:
Do you have a project or business that you want to start? Find a friend or two with similar goals and talk about what each step of the process has been like for you. This includes the highs and lows, or asking each other for advice and feedback. As a bonus, I encourage you to set a goal to meet regularly and go through the launch process together as design your experience as an entrepreneur (or join Ruckus Projects, if you are in LA).