Serial
LA-based entrepreneur Fred Krueger -- a name you may not know. But you should.
Krueger has started 12 companies. 8 of them were highly profitable and successfully exited, including his most recent success with ad-tech company
Gradient X (others included Adconian and iWin). 2, in his own words, were “complete disasters.” And, 2 are still pending -- including his favorite,
Needly, which empowers anyone (yes, anyone) to create beautiful and professional websites. Fred expects Needly to become his biggest success yet.
I sat down with Fred last week -- and we had a free-wheeling conversation about Needly, entrepreneurship in general, and his thoughts about “the next big thing.” I found him to be incredibly open and passionate (including our shared passion for music).
Let’s start off with Needly.
Fred tells me that it is his real baby -- in which he is “all in.” He explained that web publishing is now primarily one-to-many for multi-media content, and he sees the future being “many to many” -- moving beyond text and still images to rich immersive content. Some of that “many to many” content will be private. Some will be public. But, all will be drop-dead easy to create with Needly. Not only does he believe the market opportunity here is “big.” In his words, it is beyond big -- “it is YouTube style big.” Needly is Fred’s singular focus right now. One thing he has learned -- one of his many lessons of what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur (more on that below) -- is that such singular focus is essential for success. “If you try to do two things you’re really hurting yourself. One is the right number.”
So, what’s the next “big idea” (and massive market opportunity) that Krueger sees for the next 5 years in the tech world (apart from democratized multi-media web publishing)?
Fitness and wellness, that’s what.
In Fred’s words, “it’s clear to me that technology can solve this” -- “this” being the health crisis we face in this country. It’s not just about the usual apps like Fitbit and Jawbone, though. It’s about significantly more deeply monitoring your health, fitness and wellness progress. This kind of immersive monitoring requires more than just the technology element (although that too is essential). Seizing this massive market opportunity requires the “human element.” And, this human element includes both: (1) your own personal dedication (he highly recommends writing a daily journal about the choices you make, because writing it down really forces personal reflection); and (2) wellness counseling from live human beings (who scrutinize your ongoing metrics in regularly scheduled in-person meetings), as well as a good dose of peer pressure from those near-and-dear to you who likewise have access to your ongoing metrics because they care about you -- and want you stay on track) (you can, of course, make your metrics available to your personal trainers, doctors, and others as well). It is what he calls the "feedback loop" that is essential to do it right -- and truly transform lives -- and it is this critical feedback loop that Krueger believes is currently missing. Krueger envisions an Apple store-like wellness experience for those regularly scheduled consultative sessions to fill that void, something I can absolutely envision myself as he explains it.
So, I ask, why doesn’t Krueger pursue this vision himself, since he certainly has the means and cred to go for it?
This gets back to his fundamental teaching of entrepreneurial focus described again. As excited as Krueger is for this fitness and wellness market opportunity, he tells me he “is even more passionate about web publishing.”
Finally, what are Krueger’s lessons for entrepreneurial success apart from the need to be absolutely focused and “all in” on one idea at a time?
(1) don’t start something you aren’t completely passionate about;
(2) don’t assume you can disrupt a major incumbent leader by just adding more features;
(3) do stick with something you know about (Krueger sticks to ad-tech);
(4) it’s the people stupid -- “the number one determinant of success is people”; and
(5) have money (you can never have enough cash to build).
Words of wisdom with which I wholeheartedly agree. Of course, Krueger is a uniquely powerful messenger to deliver this message. Few have had as much consistent entrepreneurial success.
I can’t think of one ...
First, I visited our good partner WeWork’s newest NYC home downtown near the World Trade Center memorial. It just opened one month ago, and it already is packed to the gills (this picture below to the left captures the scene). The energy and creativity are palpable. It is impossible for any real human being to not be inspired by the collective passion reflected in that sea of Macbooks and farmers’ tables (and as the smooth wafts of lattes filled the air).
