Their app, FactoryKPIs, lets manufacturing executives monitor processes and deal with issues on the go from an iPhone or iPad. Below, president John Nichols shars his slow-and-steady, persistent approach to entrepreneurship. Tech Cocktail: What’s the hardest lesson you’ve had to learn so far?
John Nichols: Time and money go really, really fast. Tech Cocktail: How do you keep your team motivated at the office? Nichols: I regularly share and reinforce the Vision. They do the same with me. Tech Cocktail: What common startup advice do you completely disagree with? Nichols: That sleep is overrated. Tech Cocktail: What’s the best entrepreneurship book you’ve read and why? Nichols: The Steve Jobs biography. He overcame all kinds of obstacles and stayed true to his vision. Tech Cocktail: If you had an extra $1,000 to spend on marketing, what would you do? Nichols: Spend two hours with Guy Kawasaki and listen, write down, and learn how to get the right message to the right number of the right people. Tech Cocktail: What’s your biggest personal weakness and how do you make up for it? Nichols: Only one? Gee. I guess it’s: I wake up many mornings with a sense of FUD (Fear, Uncertainly, and Doubt). I punch through it with morning exercise, coffee,and rolling up my sleeves and getting to work. Tech Cocktail: What keeps you motivated on the hard days? Nichols: I have a list of personal, professional, and fiscal goals I look at and think about many times a day. Tech Cocktail: What do you wish someone had told you about startup life? Nichols: It’s the journey, not the destination. I took me a while to learn it. Tech Cocktail: What personality trait has served you the best as an entrepreneur? Nichols: Persistence. Tech Cocktail: If you weren’t doing this startup, what idea would you be working on? Nichols: Helping establish Asperger’s self-help groups. Tech Cocktail: How do you unwind on the weekend? Nichols: Cookouts with friends, catching up on reading, fishing, camping, nature walks. Tech Cocktail: What’s one quirky fact about you, your team, or your office culture? Nichols: Since i-KPI develops mobile apps for manufacturing professionals, I like to be as mobile as possible myself. I especially like working outdoors. Tech Cocktail: If your startup were an animal, which one would it be and why? Nichols: Tortoise. Determined, patient, persistent. Tech Cocktail: If your startup were a cocktail, which one would it be and why? Nichols: Single malt scotch. It takes years to perfect and worth every minute. i-KPI is a showcased startup at our Tech Cocktail Boise mixer in April.
