What Start-ups Need to Get to the Next Level

Tim Barton is the serial entrepreneur’s entrepreneur. From his first company built while a college student through building and exiting Freightquote to (most recently) co-founding Edison Spaces and Menlo Food Labs, Barton is never far from a startup.

He shared his story to a packed house at the September 13 meeting of Association for Corporate Growth.

Currently, Barton is helping oversee the expansion of Edison Spaces, which has two locations in the Kansas City area. Edison Spaces is one of the first companies he helped build after Freightquote. The aim of Edison is to make it easy and convenient for businesses to set up in professional spaces. The company was born of necessity – he and his startup team needed a place to work but weren’t ready to buy or build a home.

“It would take three months to set up an office with tech, furniture, etc., and that was after the two-month negotiating that had gone on for the space,” he said. “We started Edison to solve problems. With us, you can move in tomorrow.”

Barton’s other startup, Menlo Food Labs, is nearing the November opening of a chef-based, food market concept restaurant in downtown Overland Park.  His goal with Strang Hall, the new food hall, is to solve several problems.  

“We want to bring the cool factor of the Crossroads to Johnson County,” he said. “But we wanted a project that would create a community and be profitable. We want to create a true, miniature urban environment in Johnson County.”

The restaurant will also solve other problems, he said. One is mixed-use developments needing higher-end restaurants in a world where it’s rare to get a great chef or restaurant included instead of a chain. A connected problem to solve is that not all great chefs are cut out to be business owners.

That’s where Barton and his team come in. Unlike other food halls, Strang Hall will be more of a chef collective. Menlo will handle the business functions for the chefs, leaving them free to menu plan, create and help create the community feel Barton wants to build.

As he moves on in his serial entrepreneurship career, Barton has gained a collection of stories and points of advice and lessons learned that he’s happy to share. What advice does he offer to the many entrepreneurs he mentors? Barton pointed to several keys in building his businesses.

“Governance is really the best remedy for problems,” he said. “Most startups don’t have an intentional board. Entrepreneurs are myopic and moving fast. You really need somebody who’s not moving at your speed to caution you about problems. It could be your dad, your brother, your neighbor who’s an accountant, etc., it just needs to be people who aren’t you.”

He’s learned that hiring is an art and that if you realize a mistake has been made, it’s best to move on quickly. The same is true when it comes to shuttering a failing business. He uses the analogy of rolling rocks uphill.

“They weren’t designed to go that way,” Barton said. “You have to find downhill traffic.”

The tipping point on closing a business should also be based on whether there’s been market adoption of the business’s product or service, and perhaps more importantly, whether anyone else wants to contribute money to its growth.

“If nobody else will invest in the business, it may not be a good idea and you may need to retool.”