Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Reflections on 2020: Brian Mac Mahon, Expert Dojo
Every year, we feature the year end reflections of founders, CEOs, investors, and others in Southern California's high tech community. We'll be posting these throughout the next two weeks. Today, we have Brian Mac Mahon of startup accelerator ExpertDojo (www.expertdojo.com). You will be able to get to all of these posts on our 2020 reflections here. Are you a founder, CEO, or investor who would like to participate? Contact our editors for details.
What was the biggest news for you/your company this year?
We became the largest accelerator in Southern California with 80 investments in over 30 countries globally. This was a big milestone for us as to grow from a new accelerator to a global brand in under 2 years is not an easy thing to do. I believe that most of our success came from startups resonating with our message to build big, fast. Our motto is that entrepreneurship is for everyone and not just the connected few but to achieve success in this arena traction is king and queen. We live that motto everyday.
It's been a tough year for many due to the pandemic; how have you or your company adapted to the business environment?
The pandemic has been a blessing for us from a process perspective. Previously we had to bring companies from all around the world to our 8 week accelerator program in Santa Monica and we were restricted by having to use local investors, trainers and mentors to keep our startups occupied. These days we have a fully virtual program which has three times more of everything because it's not so much easier for everyone to participate. We now invest in more companies, include better trainers and involve 3 times more investors in the demo days. In addition we have extended our initial 8 week program to a 8 month program which is focused on, your guessed it, traction...I would also add that the reason we have done so well this year is because we have an absolutely inspirational team here at Expert DOJO. it's hard to describe just how good our investment, growth, operations and outreach team is.
What was the biggest lesson you learned this year?
Find opportunity in chaos. This is my 4th market upset and in the first three I was defensive. The result of this was that I lost less than I might have if I was less prudent. In this one I am absolutely aggressive on every level. We hired more people, have more programming, expanded into more countries, produce better content, speak in more places and are generally more visible. Recessions are a life lesson. Embrace the fear and attack it head on.
What are you most looking forward to in the technology/startup world in 2021?
We have had great traction in India, Afrida and the MENA region. Lots and lots of opportunities there. We are extremely focused on these regions in our hunt for Unicorns in 2021. We intend to double down on investing in 2021 with 2 investments a week planned. Expect to see us absolutely everywhere. We dont want to be the Y Combinator of Start, we want to be the Expert DOJO of startup. Game on...
Brian Mac Mahon is a serial entrepreneur and investor and has owned companies in over 35 countries. He is also the owner of Expert DOJO, the largest International startup accelerator in Southern California. At Expert DOJO early stage startups receive $100,000 investment, success coaching, advice, and specialist help in all areas of their business growth. Their patented 12 step accelerator is unlike any other program available and gives direct access to specialists in branding, design, business planning, product fit, strategic planning, web development, growth hacking and so much more. In 2018 & 2019 Expert DOJO made 42 investments. They made 45 more investments in 2020. All you want to know about Brian is contained in his TEDx talk - https://youtu.be/Y6f7lFy0oW0