The Inventive Journey

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode traces Noah Labhart’s path from computer engineering student to corporate developer, musician, agency owner, and startup co-founder. He emphasizes learning from an early project failure, starting small, and surrounding yourself with supportive people—especially his wife—during entrepreneurial lows. The discussion ends with a practical overview of software patentability and boundaries around novelty, obviousness, and abstraction.

Main Topics: Early education and technical foundation (Priority: 5/5): Noah describes starting in computer engineering at Texas A&M, switching to applied mathematics with a computer science minor, and eventually adding a full computer science degree before beginning his software career. Balancing tech work with a rock band (Priority: 4/5): He explains how playing guitar since high school and joining a church-connected rock band influenced his job decisions, including changing employers to make touring and rehearsals feasible. Corporate career at Alcon and entrepreneurial itch (Priority: 5/5): Noah recounts eight years at Alcon, working in document management, sales commissions, and manufacturing IT, while feeling limited by not seeing direct results from his effort, which pushed him toward entrepreneurship. Failed agency launch and hard lessons (Priority: 5/5): His first independent project went badly, requiring him to return client money from his savings. He learned to start small, validate more carefully, and grow by building on wins rather than overcommitting. Building Variable and startup growth (Priority: 5/5): Noah co-founded Variable after identifying a manufacturing labor marketplace opportunity. The company grew steadily after a pilot launch, expanding across multiple states and markets while he phased out other ventures. Support systems and resilience (Priority: 5/5): The conversation highlights the emotional reality of entrepreneurship and the importance of having encouraging people—especially a spouse—who can provide stability during setbacks and low points. Software patentability and IP boundaries (Priority: 4/5): Noah asks when software is patentable; Devin explains novelty, obviousness, and abstraction, plus how software patents depend on concrete technical steps, inputs/outputs, and more than a simple abstract idea.

Key Arguments: Entrepreneurial success often comes from learning through failure; Noah’s worst business decision became his most important lesson. Starting too big without enough operational support can lead to costly mistakes, especially in software/services where scope is hard to control. A business should grow in step with capability, using early wins to build confidence, process, and scale. Support from a spouse or trusted inner circle is critical because entrepreneurship includes emotionally difficult stretches. Seeing a direct impact from your work can be a major motivator to leave corporate life and start a company. Software can be patented, but only when it goes beyond abstract ideas and meets requirements such as novelty, non-obviousness, and sufficient technical specificity. For software inventions, the key questions are what inputs are used, how they are processed, and what concrete output or technical result is produced.

Data Points: Years at Alcon: 8 years - Noah worked at Alcon Laboratories before fully pursuing entrepreneurship. Duration of band involvement: Most of the first 4 years at Alcon - He played in a rock band while working corporate jobs. Year launched mobile development agency: 2015 - Noah started his own mobile development agency after leaving corporate life. Year Variable was formed: 2016 - Noah and his co-founder formed Variable after discussing a manufacturing labor marketplace idea. Pilot launch date: February 2017 - Variable launched its pilot in early 2017. Geographic expansion: 10 states - Noah says Variable is now operating across multiple states. Market presence: Nearly 20 markets - Variable has expanded into nearly 20 markets. Number of children: 3 - Noah mentions he and his wife have three young kids.

Pivotal Quotes: "You got to surround yourself with people that are going to tell you that because there’s going to be days where it just sucks." — Noah Labhart: On why supportive relationships matter during difficult entrepreneurial periods. "Rather than trying to mastermind this agency thing, I’m just gonna start out with agency just being me." — Noah Labhart: After his first project failure, he decided to simplify and start smaller. "How are we maintaining those wins from the beginning and growing on top of them rather than trying to just tackle the whole thing and eat the whole elephant in one bite." — Noah Labhart: Describing the core lesson he carried forward from his early business mistake.

Implications: Entrepreneurs should validate ideas, scale cautiously, and build strong personal support systems. For software founders, patentability depends on technical substance, not just code or a general concept.