What Were You Doing at 17?
Bryce Wagner is building a med-tech company, working on an AI tool, advocating for foster children and getting his ideas in front of some very serious decision-makers.
But that’s not really what interested me about his story.
What interested me was how he got there.
I recently interviewed Bryce for Run The Money about entrepreneurship, Ecovision, learning skills outside the classroom, networking, setbacks and what he’d tell someone who has an idea but doesn’t feel qualified to pursue it yet.
One theme kept showing up:
You figure things out by doing them.
The Idea Started With a Problem
Bryce built his own computer because he didn’t just want to use technology—he wanted to understand how it worked.
That curiosity eventually led him to build software, work with AI and create Ecovision, a company that grew out of an intensely personal experience.
When Bryce’s mother became seriously ill with COVID-19, he remembered how much being outside had always helped her during stressful periods.
His thought was remarkably simple:
Why not bring nature to the bedside?
That became the starting point for Ecovision.
Build It. Test It. Make It Better.
Then came the work: testing, retesting, experimenting with VR footage, guided meditation, games and eventually a scent component designed to make the experience more immersive.
There was another lesson from our conversation that I think applies to almost anyone trying to build something.
Take the Meeting
Network, network, network.
Bryce’s advice is to take the meeting.
You don’t necessarily know which conversation will lead to the introduction, opportunity or piece of information that changes the trajectory of what you’re building.
But networking alone isn’t enough.
Know Your Stuff
His other recurring message was to know your stuff.
Do the research. Understand the problem. Learn to communicate it in terms the person sitting across from you actually cares about.
That lesson has carried over from entrepreneurship into Bryce’s advocacy work as well.
Start Before You Feel Ready
And then there was my favorite part of the interview.
I asked Bryce what he would tell another teenager—or really anyone—who has an idea but feels too young, inexperienced or underfunded to pursue it.
His answer:
Start before you feel ready.
A 30-Day Plan to Turn an Idea Into Action
He then gave me a surprisingly practical 30-day roadmap for going from an idea in your head to something you can actually put in front of people.
That includes what to do in Week 1, how to build the right small team, when to stop planning and make something real, and how to start getting yourself into rooms you probably assume you don’t belong in yet.
I published the complete conversation over at Run The Money.
→ Read the full interview with Bryce Wagner on Run The Money: runthemoney.com/bryce-wagner-on-ecovision/