Local entrepreneurs Mike Trigg and Max Schauff imparted insights into their careers, starting businesses and making it in the entrepreneurial world to over 50 eager entrepreneurial, business and technology students at the Founder Stories Fireside Chat on Oct.10 at Morgridge Hall.
The event, hosted by Transcend UW and the UW Tech Exploration Lab, brought together UW-Madison alum and LineLeap founder Schauff with Wisconsin native Trigg who discussed topics relevant to young entrepreneurs, including risk-taking, networking and perseverance.
Schauff, a UW-Madison College of Engineering alum, co-founded LineLeap, a mobile app allowing users to skip lines at bars and won $15,000 at the Transcend UW Innovation Competition in 2018 for the idea.
Trigg spoke about his decades of experience in technology startups, including telecom companies and data analytics firms in Silicon Valley.
Schauff credited Transcend’s prize money for launching the company.
Transcend UW is a student organization that provides students access to entrepreneurship resources, including funding for startups and networking events connecting students to alumni and professionals.
Transcend UW President Siddharth Singh said he “hit [Schauff] up” for the fireside chat because he won Trancend’s competition and is “an inspiration to all student entrepreneurs.”
LineLeap is a success story deeply rooted in the culture of the UW-Madison, Schauff said. Not only did Schauff and his co-founders propel their startup through a UW competition, their app’s ground zero was Whiskey Jack’s “25-cent beer night.” On a fateful, frigid Thursday night, LineLeap received its first signups when Schauff promoted the platform to students in line. LineLeap has since been valued at over $100 million, serving over 1.5 million users at more than 500 bars nationwide.
Both Trigg and Schauff brought their wisdom to over 50 eager entrepreneurial, business and technology students present at Morgridge Hall.
Founders say youth is an advantage, not a weakness
Shauff, only a sophomore when he started his journey, encouraged other entrepreneurs to start early. ”There’s very little risk at [this] time of your life,” he said.
Trigg said experience in a field can limit a person’s innovation, creating “blinders” to new ideas. “You can be super scrappy [when you’re young], and the learning is tremendous,” he said.
They encouraged students to pursue their goals in entrepreneurship and take the first step toward executing an idea, regardless of access to capital or expertise.
Kyle, a senior and business major in the crowd, expressed concerns about finding internships and networking during a Q&A portion of the event.
In response, Trigg stressed the importance of networking “organically” throughout his career, through a series of introductions and connections.
“When you’re starting out your career, that can feel like, ‘oh, I’ve got to do networking,’ and that feels sort of superficial. The best sort of networking happens really organically. The question I like to ask is: Who else would you recommend to talk to?” Trigg said.
Before they took their leave, Schauff and Trigg imparted a final piece of advice for the students.
“We’ve been told ’no’ a thousand times,” Schauff said. ”I think it's just smiling, taking it on the chin and moving forward. Eventually those ‘no’s turn into ‘yes’es.”
Trigg implored students not to fear failure. “You can move on, and go to the next thing — that’s what makes it fun,” he said.
