Richard Hurley

CEO and Founder,

Hurley Piano

 

Richard Hurley is a go-to resource for parents hoping to offer their children with special-needs the opportunity to learn music. For 8 years, Richard has been developing innovative tools and techniques to allow students on the autism spectrum a music education comparable to their “neurotypical” peers.

What he’s doing is NOT music therapy, and it’s gained him many supporters. He’s now translating his unique approach to a mobile app with the power to reach more students with special needs, empower parents, and allow his current students to grow outside of classes.

Richard’s passion for music began at a young age. By 13 he was training with a concert pianist. After immigrating to the United States from Ireland, he worked for a skyscraper exterior fabricator. Then in 2009 the construction industry faced massive layoffs. Richard jokes, “Lehmann Brothers collapsed and the construction industry went into seizure so I went back to music. Satoshi Nakamoto created blockchain and I created Hurley Piano!”

Back to his true passion, music, Richard didn’t initially set out to work with students with special needs. When he began teaching his very first student on the spectrum, Richard was able to see past the “emotional storm” in order to patiently develop specialized techniques that acknowledge the dignity and intelligence of the student. As word of his success spread, he took on more and more students.

Initial validation for his approach came from parents and the success of his students. Yet, when he started collaborating with the Williams Community School he gained the insight and expertise that he needed from experts in the field. Still, he knew he needed more to really grow his venture which is why he joined the Tech Ranch community and Venture Forth.

His venture’s progress during Venture Forth was stunning with Richard himself stating, “I’ve gotten further in the past 8 weeks than I have in the past 2 years.” Now, as he prepares to expand the reach of his methods through the his app, he is in a position to positively impact the lives of many more young students.

Richard’s long-term vision for the business includes AI, IoT, and robotics. Most importantly, he wants his venture to support the special needs community, by giving back a portion of profits, and hiring as many people as possible within the special needs community.

What is the #1 piece of advice that you give entrepreneurs?

The very quality that drives you to start your own business will hold you back. Your individuality and willingness to go it alone has to be left behind, and you must learn to build teams and work with others.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve received as an entrepreneur?

Listen to your customer. Everything else is nonsense.

Perfection is the enemy of achievement.

You need advisers, people who know more than you to bounce ideas off.

What skills do you think have helped you the most as you’ve grown your venture?

Tenacity.

What has being a part of the Tech Ranch community been like for you as an entrepreneur?

Watching the cohort collaborate, communicate and innovate, watching the strength of people working together. The Tech Ranch community pushed me to act on everything I learned at the Williams Community School. 

 

    

 

Joi Chevalier

CEO and Founder, The Cook’s Nook 

Venture Forth 29 Alumni

 

Joi Chevalier isn’t just creating a place for people to cook. She’s creating a community where food infrastructure challenges can be addressed and underserved communities can gain access to food ecosystems. She’s on a mission, and she’s chosen an important place to start, East Austin.

While many would try to locate their venture in an environment surrounded by resources, Joi intentionally chose a food desert. Food deserts are areas where residents don’t have easy and convenient access to large grocery stores and healthy food. This is just one problem that the Cook’s Nook is addressing. 

Joi graduated from Tech Ranch’s Venture Forth program, but her journey to open the Cook’s Nook truly started before she even enrolled in Venture Forth. After a successful career in technology, Joi embarked on a major life change and joined an intensive culinary school program. Although 15-20 years older than most of her fellow classmates, she thrived within the 6 hour classes and intensive environment. The course taught students how to run a kitchen, but it didn’t teach them how to own a food business, and that’s when Joi realized she had identified a gap.

She saw the importance of knowing the, “business of food”, so she developed a plan to open a culinary incubator. Opening the incubator was a perfect combination of Joi’s passions: cooking, productizing, launching, and teaching others how to envision a product and get it to market. She pulled on the methods often used in technology product management.

While The Cook’s Nook may be innovative, getting others to act similarly remained far more complicated. Unanticipated challenges with construction and permitting pushed back the opening date, but Joi’s drive kept progress going.

Tech Ranch’s community has been a key part of The Cook’s Nook’s final vision, and yes, a core part of the social capital that pushed the company along. Not only do I have the best Venture Forth cohort (shout out to VF29!), who I still keep in touch with today; but I also return to Tech Ranch to talk to my SCORE mentor, ask questions of Tech Ranch staff, or just to sit in an environment (until our facility is complete soon) where I can focus on the core product and discuss with others who understand what I’m thinking.

Each time I visit Tech Ranch, I am reminded of how far I have come as an entrepreneur since walking in the first time.

Joi’s #1 piece of advice for entrepreneurs:

Be ready to change. Change is everything. Change is good. Change is how you get to the place you envision for yourself and your business.

The best piece of advice she’s received as an entrepreneur

Easy – ensure that you have the social capital to ensure your business is successful. That means creating the world of people, resources, and professionals who are aligned with you and push you forward in the ways that they can. By the way, I learned that at Tech Ranch.

If you’re interested in getting involved with the Cook’s Nook, they are looking for individuals with experience in food/ beverage and/or technology to engage as mentors.  You can contact them here.

 

On May 24th, 2017 at 1pm, the Cook’s Nook will host a grand opening.

Know a Tech Ranch Entrepreneur we should spotlight? Email marketing@techranchaustin.com to nominate them.

Learn more about Venture Forth, or any of our other programs.