Someone who enjoys helping people begin. A person who can look at an idea and ask what you would test first. Starting a business brings decisions that are worth discussing with someone else. Over coffee with a SEYA Source, you can give one of those questions the attention it needs.
You might have a project you keep returning to, a small experiment already underway, or a growing list of things you could do next. The right subject for a conversation is often the decision immediately in front of you.
Several people joining SEYA’s beta bring perspectives on this stage. Janelle Ryan’s subjects include helping people get started with a business. Emily Chertow brings turning a personal project into a business and being a female founder. Vernon Steward brings testing an idea and growth marketing. Lakshmi Narayanee brings brainstorming and startup prioritization, and Amora Miller brings startup operations.
A Source is someone worth meeting for their perspective, knowledge, taste, craft, stories, experience, or personality. A session is a bookable conversation. Read the person’s published session and choose the subject that fits the stage you are at.
These subjects come from people joining SEYA’s beta. They describe possible conversations; individual session details and availability will be confirmed during the beta.
The idea you keep returning to
An idea may begin as something you would enjoy making, a problem you have seen repeatedly, or a project people already ask you about. Before turning it into a long plan, you could sit down with someone and explain what keeps drawing you back.
Janelle’s subjects around getting started and Emily’s interest in turning a personal project into a business offer different places to begin. You could discuss who the idea is for, what you have tried, and which part of beginning has become difficult.
A question to bring
“This is the idea I keep coming back to. What would you want to understand before choosing a first step?”
Bring a plain description and a real example of the situation that prompted it. Let the Source ask about the details. You may discover that the most interesting part of the conversation is something you had treated as background.
Testing a business idea
Vernon’s subjects include how to test your idea. That gives a conversation a concrete focus when you are trying to decide what to learn before investing more work in a direction.
Explain what you currently believe. Who might want the thing you are considering? What have you observed? Which parts are still assumptions? You could discuss a small experiment and what different responses would mean for the next decision.
A question to bring
“Which assumption would you examine first, and what would you need to see before putting more time into this?”
Keep your own evidence distinct from your enthusiasm. Someone enjoying a description and someone deciding to use an offer tell you different things. A useful conversation can examine what you actually observed and which question it leaves open.
Choosing what to do next
Once you begin, possibilities multiply. You could refine the idea, speak with more people, change how you describe it, or work on a different part entirely.
Lakshmi brings startup prioritization and brainstorming, including an interest in making rough attempts and learning through repeated practice. You could bring the choices competing for your attention and talk about what each one might help you learn.
A question to bring
“These are the things I could work on next. Which question does each one help answer?”
Explain the constraints too. Perhaps you have a few evenings each week, a collaborator with a different schedule, or a skill you are still developing. A conversation grounded in your circumstances has more to work with than an idealized version of the project.
Making the everyday work more understandable
Amora’s startup operations subjects offer a different view. You could discuss how work moves from an idea to a decision, how people follow up, or where responsibilities have become unclear.
Bring one process you would like to examine. Describe what starts it, who takes part, and where you find yourself repeating the same explanation. Ask how the Source would look at it before choosing a change.
A question to bring
“This is how we handle this task now. Where would you look first to understand why it keeps getting stuck?”
You can use a simplified example that leaves out private business information. Keep the conversation focused on the process and the choices around it, with any implementation considered separately.
A newsletter or media idea
Jeremy Caplan’s beta subjects include entrepreneurial journalism, newsletters, the creator economy and starting a media venture. If your idea involves reporting, publishing or a recurring editorial project, that offers a more specific conversation to explore.
Bring the audience you have in mind and the question your work would return to. You might discuss how to define the subject, what you could make consistently, or what a first edition would help you learn.
A question to bring
“Who would this be useful to, and what would make the next edition worth their attention?”
For the words and visual identity around the idea, our article on branding and storytelling explores related subjects with other Sources.
Questions people ask
Can I meet a Source before I have started a business?
Choose a session that welcomes early ideas. Bring a description, what prompted it, and the decision you would like to discuss. Several beta subjects focus on beginning, testing and prioritizing.
What should I bring to a conversation about a business idea?
Bring a short explanation, any observations you have gathered, and one main question. Share the constraints that matter to you. Use material you are comfortable and permitted to discuss in a public place.
Can a session help me decide what to test first?
Testing ideas is one of Vernon’s stated subjects. Check his published session for its scope. A conversation can examine your assumptions and possible experiments; you remain responsible for the decisions you make afterwards.
Can I talk about a creative project becoming a business?
Emily lists that transition among her subjects, and Jeremy brings media ventures and newsletters. Start with the kind of project you have and look for the session closest to the question you want to explore.
Start with the decision in front of you
A business idea can open many conversations. Choose the person whose perspective fits the next question, and bring enough detail to explore it together.
SEYA curates purposeful face-to-face conversations with remarkable people in the city’s most vibrant coffee shops. Discover someone remarkable, see the subjects you could explore together, and meet over coffee in a trusted local place.
Explore SEYA with a project or business question you would like to discuss.