#3 That time I googled "how to start a backpack business."
apparently Google thinks I'm a very hungry, possibly deranged, health-curious astrochemist.
Number #3
For a CEO, I google an embarrassing amount of simple information. I did not go to business school, and despite being the first in my immediate family to got to college, something in my performance-based, childhood Catholicism-fueled millennial brain feels a deep shame when I search for things I think I should know…
"Why did they think EBITDA was a good acronym that people would use?"
Our products have been back in the market for about 15 months now, and I still google dumb stuff weekly "Real-time example: 'Do I capitalize G in google when it's a verb?'".
Instead of a "job" with "real benefits" and "stability", I’ve chosen to build something from the beginning. At every turn, when something hasn’t existed in the way I like it or need it to be, for better or for worse, I’ve had to make it. I couldn’t find a non-profit that actually helped people for the long term in Haiti, so I built one. We couldn’t find a good recycled materials supply chain that actually paid people a living income, so we created one ourselves. I didn’t like the way brands were using the fabric we were making, so I started my own. I wasn’t crazy about my own choices for sustainable backpacks that made me feel like an actual adult, so I designed the best looking one I could imagine (and the 1000 5-star reviews feel SO good).
Googled. It. All.
The average person googles 4-5 times per day (btw, google is NOT capitalized as a verb). Besides access to all human knowledge, here’s what great about Google, which just turned 26 (!) last month. Unlike the REST of the internet (you know who you are), it’s not judgy. It’s not developing a first impression of you that comes out as mock self-righteous anger on a reddit board or a tweet. That little blinking cursor is simply waiting for your question, ready to help. The Google search bar is the nicest, most polite corner of the internet, and no matter how dumb you think your question is, I promise you there are dumber ones likely being searched that very moment (see title photo)
My grandma used to say that “asking doesn’t cost a thing,” and she was right. Asking doesn't make you look stupid. It makes you look smart. At times it's incredibly scary to not know something, but the big secret is that nobody knows, and the only person that cares that you don’t know...is you.
So, whether you're a founder, a CEO, or a person with an idea ask away...and if you figure out what in the hell EBITDA means, please let me know;)
It's For the Birds,
Ian
PS-Each week I look at the mistakes I’ve made and the lessons I’ve learned at Day Owl so hopefully, you don't have to. I also do an Instagram reel to go with this note @hellodayowls. This is all rather embarrassing for me and hopefully entertaining for you. We’re calling it all "For the Birds", and this is installment # 3. Please comment, ask whatever you want, and if this reminds you of something YOU want to share, text me...724.312.1012.
