The Early Days of Building a Startup with Maximus Yaney
Maximus Yaney, of Kangaroo, joined us for a fireside chat to discuss losing it all and starting again, raising capital, building for simplicity, fast iteration in hardware, and much more!
Here are some of the most important insights that we were able to take away from our conversation with Maximus:
There is a ridiculous amount of capital out there. For most startups, raising capital from investors is one of the most challenging aspects of getting started. As Maximus shared his extensive startup experiences, he acknowledged that in today’s economic environment, it almost seems that there is “unlimited capital.” Therefore, the challenge for today’s entrepreneurs is less about accessibility, and more about finding the right match. He also added that raising capital has a lot to do with patterns, so make sure to do your research and really seek out the Angels/VCs that are inclined to your idea or industry. Maximus summarized that “when you come in with an awesome idea, passion, and enough insight to match what that capital is looking for, then the capital is going to be there.”
Focus on exponential tasks. What’s interesting about Kangaroo, is that they were able to launch both a hardware and software product in 90 days. But, how were they actually able to pull it off? Maximus told us that “as soon as I get a startup going, the first thing I do is focus on exponential tasks that don’t necessarily involve building software, hardware, or product.” Instead, these exponential tasks focus on building the basic infrastructure for your startup—things like creating an offer letter or setting up a LinkedIn and Crunchbase page for your company. Often overlooked, these tasks reduce the amount of friction in your startup and allow you to fast forward once you decide to build your team and product. At Kangaroo, they spent their first two weeks working on exponential tasks, which then allowed them to spend the rest of their time building both the software and hardware components of their first product. This simple strategy has paved the way for such fast iteration, that by the 212th day of operation Kangaroo has already created prototypes for the rest of their product line (security cameras, doorbells, and much more).
Start anywhere. If you want to become an entrepreneur and start a startup, then start anywhere. Your idea will never execute itself, and the only way you can build something is by starting with substance, no matter how small. When Maximus and his co-founders had the idea for Kangaroo, they also had to start somewhere in order to get things moving. For them, their first piece of substance was their company name, and through countless iterations, they were able to put something out there that marked their beginnings. A simple action, like creating a name, puts you in a position to take on bigger tasks that build off one another. Above all, the beauty about starting anywhere is that is doesn’t have to be perfect—it’s only a starting point and change is inevitable. As Maximus said, “a half-baked plan executed now is way better than a perfect plan executed later.”
Maximus Yaney is the Co-Founder & CEO of Kangaroo, a startup that aims to make this world a safer place through super simple, smartphone-monitored, home security products. Founded in early 2018, Kangaroo has already built a 30 person team, that was able to launch both a hardware and software product within 90 days. To date, the startup has raised $4.4M in their seed round, as they look towards expanding their product line to provide a holistic home security experience. Before Kangaroo, Maximus was the Founder & CEO of Titan Aerospace (Acquired by Google in 2014) and the Co-Founder of Mohawk, an e-commerce solutions provider.