How this founder went from assembling a computer to building an IoT accelerator

A photo of Kyle Ellicott.

This article is part of Tech in Asia’s partnership with The Jay Kim Show where we publish the revised transcripts from the show’s podcast interviews with top entrepreneurs. This is heavily revised from the original show transcripts. For the full interview, go here.

This week, I sat down and spoke with Kyle Ellicott, founder and chief labs officer at ReadWrite Labs.

ReadWrite Labs is a San Francisco-based accelerator focused on the internet of things (IoT), wearables, and emerging technologies. They have offices in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China.

In my interview with him, Ellicott shared how he found his way into IoT, how his accelerator works, what makes a good entrepreneur, and what he’s excited about in the IoT space.

Who is Kyle Ellicott and what do you do for a living?

I’m the founder of ReadWrite and the chief labs officer at ReadWrite Labs. For those who don’t know, ReadWrite is one of the first tech publications launched on the web back in 2003. It talked about the early days of technology, its ins and outs, and the real guts, if you will, of what technology was.

ReadWrite Labs is our accelerator for IoT, with offices in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and San Francisco.

How did you get started in tech and hardware?

I was born and raised in Michigan. It was there that, naturally, I fell into entrepreneurship. I say naturally just based on the history of the state and my family, which runs very deep with entrepreneurship.

I caught the bug early, starting my first business at 14 years old. My business was about hardware, custom PCs, software, and, later, network infrastructures.

I wanted to have my own computer, so my parents told me, “That’s great. But to do so, you need to get a job. You need to help pay for this.” So I did since computers at that time were still pretty pricey.

From there, I just continued blossoming in different technologies—from website design to cybersecurity, forensics and every bit of the latest trends. It just kept taking off until after college when I started my next two businesses. One was in the sports and entertainment industry, and the other was a digital agency, a first in Michigan at the time.

From there, I took giant leaps into mobile apps, big data, and all the way into IoT.

When did you stumble upon ReadWrite?

ReadWrite.com, the website itself, was founded by Richard MacManus, an amazing journalist and individual in New Zealand. I think it was in 2003 when it first launched. We acquired the publication in 2015.

What led me to co-founding this company almost five years ago was like an accumulation of everything I had worked for. I had been in startups, corporate, and education. From a very young age, I enjoyed helping people understand business—how to start and scale them. I understood the basics of raising money, but I also learned some hard lessons as my career went on.

How was your experience launching in Asia?

How does your accelerator work?

What does your accelerator look for in entrepreneurs?

What excites you in the IoT space right now?