Startup Grind Kalamazoo: Surprising Lessons for Entrepreneurs from a Songwriter & Entertainer

“Love what you do.”

Those were the first words I jotted down from our guest that evening, Rene Meave. Spanning many states, many years, and many musical notes, that love is imperative to his story. It started in Texas, and today, it continues in Michigan. Loving what you do is so crucial to being an entrepreneur because, as Rene can tell you, it takes passion to push through all life throws at you.

Rene grew up surrounded by music in a large and musical family in Weslaco, Texas. So large in fact, Rene recounts that when they had friends and family over, they had enough musicians to put together two or three bands. Rene was a drummer, something that came quite naturally to him. Growing up in such a musical environment, he was exposed to a huge variety of sounds, genres, and styles.

Rene admired one place in particular, Motown, where all of his favorites had learned, trained, and recorded. Aspiring to learn from the best, Rene had the dream of going to Detroit, but didn't have the means. Over time, Rene played in the local bar circuits with family and friends until he was 15. That year, his family friends offered to take him to Michigan to help out as a migrant farm worker. His world grew bigger that day.

On the Road

The summer came and went, working in the fields during the day and playing local gigs at night. When winter came, Rene stayed, hoping to work for Gibson in Kalamazoo. When that didn’t pan out, he ventured to Detroit to try out Motown, this time staying with relatives who gave him several months to find a job. Once again, the job market wasn’t on Rene’s side, so he returned to Kalamazoo to stay with a friend.

Networking with local jam bands in the bars, Rene found people to play music with, but also uncovered some of the adversity to his dream of writing original material. Most bars at the time required set lists, predominantly covers of other people’s work. Since he couldn’t find any others who wanted to write original material, Rene did it alone, while packing the bars with the jam bands. He put in the work, recorded a solo album, and continued getting gigs.

During a chance event, Rene played for a band missing their guitar player. After the show, Guillermo Martinez, the band’s lead, congratulated him and said they should play again soon. Two years later during another chance encounter, this time at a farm workers advocacy group meeting, the pair re-met, and formed Los Bandits de Michigan. The band’s formation led to a lot of moments Rene is most proud of, including three album releases and a documentary about the band, Los Bandits: More Than a Tex-Mex Band. Nowadays, Rene is still songwriting, and formed the Chili Peppers Songwriting Club to help local writers network, get feedback, and share their passions.

Although unsure about what lessons I could gain from a musician about being an entrepreneur, I walked away realizing there were more similarities than differences.

Love What You Do

Rene stressed the importance of loving what you do, because without it, that long journey will wear you thin. For instance, Rene started as a full time worker and was a musician in his free time, something all too common as entrepreneurs transition from their day job to their dream job. Loving what he did allowed Rene to face the adversity against his dreams of original songwriting.

Always Be Improving

Before bands could play original material in bars, they played covers, which wasn’t an improvement in Rene’s eyes. Despite this, he kept improving his craft of songwriting and playing. Rene attributes songwriting to much trial & error – because no one writes good music every time. The importance of persistently trying is essential, whether you’re writing a song or starting a business.

Know Your Strengths and Hire for Your Weaknesses

Rene played drums and wrote songs – that’s not exactly enough for a band. Recognizing his weaknesses, he found other musicians who sang, played guitar, or other instruments. The same goes for a business, find people that excel in your weak spots.

Diversify Your Income

Although playing shows every night might have been Rene’s dream, he recognized that it takes more than a dream to be successful.  He needed various full time and part time jobs to supplement his band’s income. To this day, he still sings praise to hustle and work every job you can find.

Chance and Networking

Both of these were hugely important to Rene – he met a lot of his bandmates while networking in bars, but he met one of his key collaborators twice through chance before forming Los Bandits. Network when you can, but also realize that sometimes luck is a factor as well on your journey.

This piece was written by Kyle Simpson of the Startup Grind Kalamazoo community.