A man, a mop, a year, and an app
Disclaimer: I own the development company that built Aeir Talk for equity.<p>If there's anyone who can be labeled a "hustler", it's Joe Hill.<p>First, he had to sell us on the idea - we get a <i>ton</i> of people who want us to take equity stakes in lieu of cash, and we almost always turn them away. But not Joe. He had tapped the few investors in our area (Hampton Roads, Virginia) and came up short. Our area is pretty conservative, and investing usually is restricted to real estate and other safe bets. But we heard him out and realized that even though he had no business background, no history of successful exits, or any other factors that mitigate risk, he had passion and an amazing story (along with board positions in a few autism societies).<p>He partnered with EVMS, a local medical school, along with a few speech pathologists with one goal: to bring Apple-like simplicity to medical products. He took the graveyard shift at a local Marriott, and managed to support his wife and two special-needs children WHILE working out of our office during the day.<p>He launched his app last month at Start Norfolk, a regional startup weekend we put together. If you really want to be inspired, check out the launch video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2WLc1LszZ0&list=UUdXCw6_wPeDrjjwhdj25img&index=5&feature=plcp" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2WLc1LszZ0&list=UUdXCw6_...</a>