Recently, I exited from Fleetbit, the company I co-founded right out of college. While the company didn’t turn out to be the kind of wild success we initially hoped for, I am still extremely proud of what my co-founders and I have accomplished over the past 2 years. The company is profitable and has a stable revenue stream from more than a dozen customers; our product is live and stable; and I think we helped push the taxi industry forward. Had Fleetbit not been around, I don’t think any of the existing dispatch software vendors would have embraced mobile as quickly as they did.
The past 2 years has been an amazing journey that was filled with both joy and disappointments. The company was featured on national press like Techcrunch, National Post, BNN, etc. I got a chance to go to China and pitch Fleetbit to prominent VCs and executives. Last but not least, the team drove all the way from Toronto to San Francisco then back, chatting with local taxi fleets in each city along the way.
Despite the modest success we achieved with Fleetbit, there are also deep scars on my back from this experience. They are my badges of honor, but those scars also serve as stern warnings for me and any other aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start a tech company. Below are the 3 key lessons I learned during the past 2 years.
THE BYSTANDER 