If you’re thinking about attending Campfire, and you want to learn more about it, learn from someone who’s been there!

Please share a little about yourself. What’s your background? What project led you to attend Campfire?

My name is Brian Howell, and my professional background includes public accounting, business consulting, and most recently, leading an Internal Audit function within aerospace manufacturing. I attended the Campfire Troop Beta cohort in 2022 while I was exploring the development of a risk management tool to help leaders identify, assess, and visualize key risks facing their business. Through an iterative process, the Crestview.io risk management tool was developed out of my Campfire and NXTUS experiences.

As a cybersecurity and technology expert with a ton of practical skills and knowledge, what drew you to a program like Campfire?

In the spirit of continuous learning, I wanted to challenge my thinking and learn additional perspectives on starting a business through the Y-Combinator content led by Dave Cunningham, plus, the added benefit of connecting with and learning from other talented entrepreneurs and mentors here in Wichita.

What was something you learned that changed your perspective or let you look at your project in a new way?

Campfire taught me three key imperatives: (1) to start with a minimum viable product (MVP), (2) to endeavor to find product market fit, and (3) the understanding that your pricing strategy will dictate how you are able to serve and support your customer.

What are the next steps for you and your business?

We have a solid MVP with an unfolding roadmap for our clients to utilize the Crestview.io risk management platform. As for what’s next? I’m always looking for opportunities to introduce Crestview.io to business leaders who are ready to proactively identify, assess and visualize their business risk.

If you were to sit with another founder, what’s the most important reason you would give for them to attend Campfire?

Because launching a business is a challenging endeavor, and there is no need to do it alone, I highly suggest plugging into one of the amazing entrepreneurial support programs offered in Wichita, like Campfire.