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Extremely insightful interview from Ross Kimbarovsky c0-founder of crowdSPRING.  Ross spent 13 years as an IP trial attorney before entering the tech start-up world.  These guys have a very interesting story that I think most people who watch will have something to takeaway.  Ross and his business partner spent six months thinking and discussing all the reasons why crowdSPRING could NOT be successful.  Ross said, “the smartest thing we did was to recognize we didn’t know everything.” He said they went to trusted friends and asked them to be brutally honest about their thoughts on the business.  Ross went on to tell us how they raised Angel funding of 3mil from local people whom they had targeted as investors they actually wanted involved in their business.

When asked about customer service, Ross stated, “delivering what the customer expects is average, we strive to provide much more.” We’ve used crowdSPRING and can actually attest to this.

Ross’s (3) tips to startups:

1. Build a great community
2. Be flexible and willing to change often
3. Stand for something

Let us know what you think in the comments below.