WASHINGTON — Any successful startup business starts with a simple, but crucial question for would-be entrepreneurs.
“First and foremost they need to figure out what exactly they’re solving,” said Anik Singal, who last week opened a 26,000-square-foot learning center in Rockville, Maryland — called Lurn, Inc. — for teaching the specifics of starting a business.
But it all starts with that look in the mirror.
“What’s the big problem? What’s their hook? What’s their angle?” said Singal. “That may sound like a simple thing, but there’s a lot there; and that can determine how big you can scale.”
Most startups come from humble beginnings.
“That’s how I started. I started in a dorm room, and then my parents’ basement,” Singal said.
In addition to education, small business owners can use shared work space and streaming audio and video studios.
And, the facility has extras to enable energetic entrepreneurs to relax and network.
“We have nap rooms, arcades, Ping-Pong tables,” Singal said.
Subject discussions include how to build a website, get better leads or hire better team members.
Singal, who was named one of the top three U.S. entrepreneurs under 25 by Business Week, has had his companies listed twice among the “Fastest Growing Companies in America.”
