How Real-World Experience Helps Founders Spot Market Gaps

Cortney Woodruff, Co-Founder and CEO of Assemble, is bridging the gap between college and industry after living the problem himself. Tune in to hear how founders can stand out beyond traditional networks and pedigrees, why real-world experience helps founders spot what others miss, and what he'd tell any founder who feels like they're starting without a map.

Full show notes and transcript: https://burklandassociates.com/podcasts/how-to-build-a-category-leader-when-no-one-sees-the-problem/

=== CHAPTERS ===
00:18 --- Meet Cortney Woodruff, Founder and Angel Investor
01:03 --- From Jackson, Mississippi to the World's Top Business Schools
02:57 --- How to Seize an Opportunity With Almost No Notice
05:48 --- Moving to San Francisco, Living in a Hostel, Building From a Garage 
06:31 --- The "Laying Bricks" Metaphor for Building Something Hard 
07:54 --- The Problem Assemble Exists to Solve
09:56 --- Relevancy and Accessibility: The Two Pillars Behind Assemble
11:45 --- How One Course Reached 18,000 Students in 30 Days
15:02 --- Building What You Wish You'd Had: Finding Your "Why"
17:11 --- When a $4B VC Firm Didn't Know What an HBCU Was 
19:26 --- Does Being an Angel Investor Make Him a Better Founder? 
22:24 --- The Hardest Part of Being on the Operating Side 
25:15 --- Advice for Founders: Patience, Speed, and the Tortoise and the Hare
27:45 --- Where to Learn More About Assemble


----Stay connected with our host, Kate Adams, https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateadams22/

🔗 Learn more about Assemble at https://www.assemble.fyi/

This episode is produced by:

Brenda Hernández Jaimes: Podcast Producer & Talent Coordinator, Ellas Media
Angela R. Chong: Audio Editor & Post-Production Producer, Amplify Podcasts