Jonathan York is an optimist. After years in venture capital and a life of entrepreneurship he’s learned the alternative doesn’t usually work out too well.
The former CEO and current associate professor of entrepreneurship at Cal Poly now sees bad news as educational, openness as a virtue and a beer pong ball washer as a less-than-stellar start-up idea.
Last month York made his pitch in the Huffington Post for SLO as a brilliant business alternative to the metroplexes to the north and south and for why the SLO Hothouse is not a typical incubator (spoiler: it actually produces tangible products, not just apps).
York recently sat down and came clean about simplicity, housing in the new HotHouse and his admiration of Magic Johnson, whom he watched run the floor at Michigan State.
Which personal quality do you like most?
Optimism – I haven’t always been this way, but since I have been in the startup business, I have learned that one has to be optimistic to build the persistence it takes to succeed. Now I try to convey that to my students and the startups I coach. Bad news is actually good news many times because you have learned about what someone doesn’t want so you can quit trying to sell them that!
Which personal quality are you working on?
Simplicity – I have a tendency to over-engineer my solutions to problems, which makes me have to work twice as hard to keep up!
Which living person do you most admire?
Magic Johnson. I got to watch him play when he was a freshman in college, and I have always admired his determination and creativity and the way he has reinvented himself.
What do you most admire in other people?
Openness to learning that what they think is true may be wrong. The worst entrepreneurs are those who fall in love with their idea and close themselves off to what the evidence is telling them.
What is the most unusual idea you’ve ever heard pitched for a startup?
A beer pong ball washer – it was my first quarter at Cal Poly after having been in the venture capital business, and I thought, wow, I’m in for a different ride! Luckily, that was an exception, and I have been totally impressed with the ideas, and work, out of my students.
Why is it important that housing be included in the new HotHouse space?
I think it is an exciting idea that can only add to the enthusiasm around entrepreneurship in San Luis Obispo and help us retain the brainpower and enthusiasm of these amazing young folks who come here to go to school.