VentureSpur Entrepreneurial Interview – Cory Miller

by Kraettli Lawrence Epperson in People

We’ve continued our entrepreneurial interviews at VentureSpur and gotten some great results. Here’s the latest interview, from Cory Miller, CEO of iThemes.

Mentor Cory Miller, Founder and CEO of iThemes, recently completed his interview with VentureSpur.  Learn why Cory views web-based ventures as the new “Oklahoma Land Rush” and how mentors have impacted his life as an entrepreneur.

Check out the full interview below and read more about Cory on our mentor page!

What was the most important thing a mentor ever did for you? 

Like a guide, he graciously and unselfishly offered his time, energy and wisdom to me as I walked into uncharted territories.

What do you think an accelerator can do for Oklahoma?

We need to foster the spirit of innovative entrepreneurship in Oklahoma. An accelerator is an amazing example of giving the key resources to startup entrepreneurs in order to maximize their opportunity for success. The key, for me, is the access to mentors who have “been there, done that” and connections and wisdom that brings that I would have loved to have 4.5 years ago as I started iThemes.

What do you think a mentor can do for a startup? How can a mentor help?

A startup mentor is someone who walks alongside an entrepreneur offering wisdom and feedback through experience sharing. But additionally, a mentor is also a connector to the people and resources a startup might need.

What kind of technologies and companies do you currently find interesting? 

Anything to do with the web. Our entire business model is based exclusively on the web. I love to see Oklahoma startups and established companies exploring and innovating with how to do business on the web and we have some fascinating examples of companies doing that already.

I see an inspiring comparison of the opportunity we have on the Internet to the early days of our great state with the Land Rush and the subsequent settling and expansion of cities, businesses and jobs here.

What is the most important part of a company’s application when applying to an accelerator?

Passionate, competent, quality people … insanely committed to building and shipping something that people want or need.

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Kraettli Lawrence Epperson

Managing Director at JumpPhase Ventures
This blog is dedicated to providing advice, tools and encouragement from one entrepreneur to another. I want to keep this practical and accessible for the new entrepreneur while also providing enough sophistication and depth to prove useful to the successful serial entrepreneur. My target rests somewhere between the garage and the board room, where the work gets done and the hockey stick emerges.