BROADCASTS.com

Published: March 16, 2015, 7 a.m.

b'We live in a world of technology, and start-ups are so prominent. There are many different challenges, and things can scale very fast. Start-ups are very serious business.\\xa0Here\'s how you can learn from one\\xa0of the tech industry\'s brightest ventures and\\xa0scale your business quickly, effectively and for longevity.
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\\nMost of us have the notion that start-ups are wildly successful and make people millionaires. However, AJ says that is nothing farther from the truth. Instead, if you plan to create or participate in a start-up business, you will be working long hours, not making much money, and be stressed out.
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\\nIt is a wild ride with a tough learning curve. Yet, AJ finds it fulfilling. People involved with start-ups need to take risks, be prepared to absorb as much information as possible, be a part of everything, and have a willingness to learn. Go with your eyes wide open!
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\\nAJ never envisioned the fast growth of his company. It took a lot of hard work and dedication. Also, there was a lot of fear of the unknown, in trepidation, and concern. What lies ahead? Are we making the right decision?
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\\nBut you can\\u2019t slow down and take time off if you want grow your business fast and be successful!
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\\nAbout AJ:
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\\nIn 2010, AJ founded iCracked in his college dorm room out of necessity. He kept breaking and cracking his cell phones, so he would take them apart and fix them.
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\\niCracked offers on-demand repair and trade-in network services for iOS devices. Now, his company features more than 1,885 certified iTechs across the United States (and 11 other countries).
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\\nChallenged Issue:
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\\nWe challenged the issue of how to grow a young business extremely fast and more importantly, how to do it properly.
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\\nAJ\\u2019s Actionable Tips: How to grow your business fast!
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\\n\\t* Hiring Employees: Is this the best person in the world for this job right now? Wait for the right person! And remove existing employees who are not right for the company.
\\n\\t* Capital: Every company goes out of the business the same way. Scale each department according to revenue.
\\n\\t* International/New Markets: What may work in one market wildly fails in another market. Make sure to change your business plan as needed.
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\\nTop Quotes:
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\\n\\t* \\u201cI think one of the important things of being a founder is really putting yourself in the shoes (of your customers).\\u201d
\\n\\t* \\u201cWe\\u2019re servicing hundreds of thousands of customers a year, which was not even in our wildest dreams three years ago.\\u201d
\\n\\t* \\u201cWe\\u2019re kind of going down that dark, winding path of starting a company where we know 90 percent of the start-ups that we\\u2019re involved with will probably not be around in five years.\\u201d
\\n\\t* \\u201cYou are probably going to work harder than you ever have in your life.\\u201d
\\n\\t* \\u201cYou have incredibly high highs, but even lower lows where you start doubting yourself.\\u201d
\\n\\t* \\u201cIf you\\u2019re going to take money from people, make sure you research and know exactly who they are and what their expectations are.\\u201d
\\n\\t* \\u201cFail fast, move fast, and make sure your company doesn\\u2019t die while iterating and trying new things.\\u201d
\\n\\t* \\u201cIt\\u2019s just been a wild ride. I don\\u2019t think I\\u2019ve slept very much over the last three years.\\u201d
\\n\\t* \\u201cYou have to diversify quickly and you have to stop doing things that aren\\u2019t making sense very, very quickly.\\u201d
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\\nGuest Links:
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\\n\\t* iCracked (icracked.com)
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\\nResources:
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\\n\\t* WhatsApp (http://www.whatsapp.com/)
\\n\\t* Uber (https://www.uber.com/)
\\n\\t* Instagram (instagram.com)
\\n\\t* Facebook (facebook.com)
\\n\\t* Y Combinator (