Scrapping His Way to A Successful Startup with Jeremy Smith Founder of SpotHero.com

Jeremy Smith cofounded SpotHero with Mark Lawrence and Larry Kiss. SpotHero is an on-demand app that makes parking easier for the daily driver. They have disrupted the traditional parking industry.

He has helped build the company from zero to 73 team members, their app has helped over 2 million cars park, there are over 1000 parking facilities that have partnered with them and. Spothero has raised over 27 million to date and has grown to over 13 cities.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [0:24] Jeremy’s introduction of his guest, Jeremy Smith.
• [1:20] Jeremy’s experience traveling for 4 months and why he did it spontaneously.
• [4:43] Where Jeremy wants to go personally and in business in months and years to come.
• [5:50] How Jeremy thinks people should think about entrepreneurship.
• [7:05] What Jeremy advises for those hesitant to take the risk of entrepreneurship.
• [9:36] Uncomfortable things Jeremy has done to push himself forward.
• [12:45] The decision Jeremy made to do an extended silent meditation.
• [14:42] Daily meditation practices in the midst of a busy life.
• [15:57] What Jeremy wanted to do when he grew up: Be a business owner.
• [16:40] Early entrepreneurial efforts in Jeremy’s life: sales in his early teen years.
• [18:10] How Jeremy used his early experiences building his current company.
• [20:13] The leap from corporate to SpotHero: what it looked like and how he did it.
• [23:45] Cubs games, social media promotions, negotiations with parking garages.
• [25:11] The early days without the technology.
• [28:17] How Jeremy met his cofounders.
• [31:42] Supporting himself while working on a startup company full time.
• [33:28] Could Jeremy write his own future?
• [36:22] Hiring the first employees the summer of 2012.
• [38:06] The decision to take outside money.
• [40:18] The best advice Jeremy received, from a past girlfriend.
• [43:31] Expanding the company into other cities.
• [45:42] The logistical nightmares involved in expansion.
• [47:00] Lesson learned: Have a clear conversation about roles very early on.
• [49:00] Things Jeremy will do differently in his next company.
• [53:27] How Jeremy’s team went about attracting good talent.
• [59:27] The milestones of SpotHero from Jeremy’s perspective.
• [1:01:10] Things to watch out for when raising money for your company.
• [1:02:29] Challenges faced building a tech company.
• [1:05:50] Why Jeremy is glad the business was not only “his baby.”
• [1:07:30] Jeremy’s proudest moments with SpotHero.
• [1:09:45] How to connect with Jeremy.

In this episode…

How badly do you want success? It's an important question to ask yourself when starting a company. Jeremy Smith, co-founder of Spothero.com wanted his companies to succeed badly. He was willing to sleep on couches for two years, attend social functions just for the food, and ride his bike everywhere in order to save money so that he could make the company thrive. Jeremy doesn't see them as sacrifices, he sees them as opportunities.

In this great conversation with Dr. Jeremy Weisz, Jeremy Smith shares his journey as a co-founder of spothero and tells the difficulties, the adventures, any exciting milestones that passed as the company expanded across the nation. You'll learn lots of great insights from Jeremy's lessons learned.

Writing his own future.

The attitude Jeremy Smith brings to his company is the same attitude he has in all of life. He sees it as an adventure, something to be lived in the moment that shouldn't be too scripted. He's proven that in the adventures he's taken to live a kind of life that he wants to live. One of those adventures was a four month backpacking trip that started in Russia and ended in Australia, and he didn't plan any of it ahead of time. A one way ticket, and he was on his way. That attitude of courage, boldness, and adventure, is part of what makes him a successful entrepreneur.

Jeremy got bitten by the entrepreneurial bug when he was still an early teenager. He took on the role of a salesman, going door to door to support a local fundraiser and was very successful. He also knocked on neighborhood doors to get work shoveling driveways, and asked his customers to pay what they thought his service was worth. It's that kind of hustle that has made him successful all the way through the start-up phases of his new company.

Spothero.com is not your ordinary company. It integrates technology, a practical human need, and the resource of spare parking spaces in cities across the nation, to give people exactly what they need, when they need it. The challenges have been huge, but the rewards have been equally huge. This is one of those conversations that is so full of practical help that you'll want to listen to it again.

Resources Mentioned on this episode

• www.SpotHero.com
• Jeremy (at) SpotHero (dot) com