Sian Morson: "The Story"

Stayin' Alive in Tech

Our guest Sian Morson has always followed that nagging idea that keeps her up at night, and this persistence has allowed her to dive into mobile before most people saw its potential, bootstrap her own mobile app business, Kollective Mobile, launch her own beauty app, and now serve as an LP for Backstage Capital. Coming from a background in film and design, Sian can speak to everything from the history of emojis to how to lead a bespoke app-creation company without an engineering background.

Sian leads us through her career journey while sharing her perspectives on being a black female entrepreneur, what makes a good founder, and when to tackle a big idea.

For listeners who are startup founders or are thinking about a startup, this is another guest whose advice you would otherwise be paying to hear. Sian explains how the challenge of finding a technical co-founder shouldn’t stop any potential entrepreneur in their tracks, and hear one of the more surprising traits she looks for when hearing pitches.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Sian is the CEO of Kollective Mobile, a mobile development agency in Oakland, CA.
• Mentor at Backstage Capital
• Arlan Hamilton on inc.com: “VC Arlan Hamilton: The Qualities I Look For in a Founder”
• The first book written on Sketch, Sian’s Designing for iOS with Sketch
• Learn Design for iOS Development
• Ebony magazine and the Cast Beauty App: "Black-owned App Helps Users Stay Beautiful No Matter the Weather"

MUSICAL INSPIRATION FOR THIS EPISODE ON SPOTIFY:

"The Story" by Brandi Carlile

ABOUT THIS PODCAST

Stayin' Alive in Tech is an oral history of Silicon Valley and technology. Melinda Byerley, the host, is a 20-year veteran of Silicon Valley and the founder of Timeshare CMO, a digital marketing intelligence firm, based in San Francisco.

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