“I want to see a piece of hardware that we built from the ground up be successful in the marketplace. That first dollar of revenue is our first ticket on our license to legally be able to experiment for the rest of our lives.” — Derek Chaisson
In this wide-ranging interview, Derek shares the twists and turns of the Night Puck story so far, and in doing so provides keen insights and learnings for all start ups – all entrepreneurs for that matter. Derek is an amazingly articulate and savvy young entrepreneur who, in his words, started a scrappy business and wants to turn it into something special.
TSD-SJ manager Keith McQueen joins in the convo for a repeat guest-host appearance on the PDB.
Listen in to this episode to learn:
- About our featured craft beer: Bantam American Pale Ale (Long Bay Brewery, Rothesay, NB)
- What is a bantam?
- How to systematically de-risk a start up
- His strategy for financing the business
- Importance of having a conservative, logical business plan
- The #1 mistake the business made at the outset
- For those so inclined…a crash course in Physics 101
- How to sift through all of the advice (solicited and unsolicited) new entrepreneurs receive
- When to take the leap from the “security” of a steady job to start a new business
- How Derek came to be a Canucks fan…and what he thinks of their chances this year
- Plans for the gamification of Night Puck
- The “problems” that Night Puck solves for hockey parents
- What Derek does for fun inside and outside his business
- What he is most excited about in looking at the future of Night Puck
