Accelerator program for building up a friendship

The Founders’ Island of the Technical University of Berlin is where I spent the last 60 days. Just 10 minutes away from Sankt Oberholz, a café widely popular among entrepreneurs, hipsters and MacBook-users, the island is inhabited by early-stage startups with a background in research.

I didn’t know Dr. Nico Schlömer and Dr. André Gaul three months ago and joining them as a third co-founder of PaperHive was the first of many risky decisions on our mutual entrepreneurial path. For all I knew in July, they were two open-source developers and mathematics PhDs with a vision to change science communication. For all they knew about me, I was a hyperactive person who helps social entrepreneurs around Europe and talks about bottleneck marketing, communities and growth hacking. Still, we took the leap of faith.

Building up a company is the best possible accelerator program for building up a friendship.

In no longer than three months time you can validate your relation. (By the way, this is also the time you get to speed up your product at Y-Combinator, world’s most prominent startup accelerator.) If you can relate to the points below, you are on the right path to startup success and, most probably, friendship.

• Attachment. Heated discussions about the product and the marketing from Day 1 are a must-have. Not only will you find out if groupthink will be a problem, but this is also a proof that you truly care for the team and the cause.
• The culture. No, you can’t build a company culture in only two months, but a few rituals and insider jokes are crucial. They bind you as a company, but are also the bridge to true friendship.
• Hard work. Going through several all-nighters together binds. Believe it or not, an espresso after midnight is a great proof of dedication.
• The fail. Having your first fail as a team early and staying together. Getting a “no” from a potential investor or losing an important deal might actually help your company in the long run by bringing you closer with your cofounders.
• The win. The first customer, the letter of intent from a major partner or the financial grant you needed to operate will fuel up your motivation. Celebrate and build on.

By joining PaperHive I’ve quickly and passionately embraced the cause of Nico and André to greatly increase open collaboration in research. If you love science or wish to support our cause, share your comments below or find me on twitter (@vremigrant).

PS Our coming soon page is live on paperhive.org. Let me know if you or a researcher-friend of yours (PhD-student, postdoc, professor) would like to participate in the the early beta-tests next month!