My name is Eric Marcoullier and ObviousStartupAdvice.com was born out of a conversation with one of my coaching colleagues, who said, “these things are so obvious to us, but so difficult for our clients to see.” And he’s right, after 27 years, it should be easier for me to connect the dots than the people I advise. I’m not smarter, I’ve just fallen down more times. You scrape enough knees, you learn how to ride a bike.
Each week, I dive deep into one of the many aphorisms that I use in my coaching. It’s often easier to start with a phrase like “the number one killer of startups is solving problems that aren’t yet problems” and go from there, than dive right into a client’s specific issue. Frameworks are a way to empower founders and executives to identify looming problems on their own.
Because I have serious ADD, writing has always been a challenge for me. So I partnered with my friend Megan Hanson, who extracts the necessary knowledge from my brain and then writes it up for you. This is 100% a two-person effort.
Eric Marcoullier
Eric Marcoullier has been launching tech startups since 1994. He is known for his successful startups, which include IGN (IPO), MyBlogLog (acquired by Yahoo!), Gnip (acquired by Twitter) and a turnaround at Beatport (acquired by SFX2). He has been shaped way more by his unsuccessful ventures, and he assures you that there have been plenty.
Eric coaches startups and mid-sized companies on product, fundraising and leadership issues. If you’d like to learn more about his coaching, check out Marcoullier.com or email him at eric@marcoullier.com. He is also the co-founder and Chief Product Officer at luxury travel provider Manifest.
When he’s not working on/with new products and companies, Eric spends his time raising two beautiful boys, going to see live music and consuming stupid amounts of pop culture.
Megan Hanson
Megan has more than a decade of experience working in journalism, public relations and communications. After chasing her dreams of becoming a fashion journalist in New York City (yes, it was actually a lot like The Devil Wears Prada) she moved to Austin, Texas and worked in political communications on a U.S. Senate campaign and for a Texas State Senator. In 2015, she moved to Denver, Colorado and launched her own company working with a variety of clients including consumer products, alcoholic beverages, real estate development, travel and hospitality.
After working with Eric for several months at Manifest, he asked her to help him write a blog/book giving advice to the founders of startups. While she doesn’t have any experience coaching startups, she does have a lot of experience distilling large amounts of chaotic information into easy-to-digest, valuable nuggets. And Eric is teaching her how to curse more in her writing.
When not sitting at her computer, Megan enjoys hiking in the Rocky Mountains with her Golden Retriever, Murphy.
What People Say
Eric is one of the few people who I’m still friends with after he calls me an idiot.
David Sturgeon
We our known for our successes, but we are shaped by our failures.
Eric Marcoullier
Eric isn’t for everyone. He’s bracingly direct, and that’s an acquired taste.
Pascal Wagner