Eric Koester, founder of Main Street Genome and Zaarly, talks about serial entrepreneurship, how Zaarly went from idea to app in a matter of weeks, and his dedication to the small business economy.

Eric Koester is what many would call a "serial entrepreneur." He spent several years as an attorney at Cooley LLP before falling into the gravitational pull of the startup world. After a serendipitous 54 hours at Startup Weekend, he co-founded Zaarly, a marketplace to locate local small businesses and service providers which Fast Company named one of the "50 Most Innovative Companies in the World." Today, he's the founder and COO of Main Street Genome, a technology startup developing tools for the small business economy.

In this extended episode, we talk to Eric about what it means to be a Chief Operating Officer, the definition of "startup," his time at Zaarly, and aspirations for Main Street Genome.

Listen here and subscribe so you don't miss an episode!

You are never the ex-founder. You are always the founder. And there's only one of you...So no matter what, your fate is in some ways always tied to the company going forward.

Eric can be reached at @erickoester and on his blog Growing on Trees. Main Street Genome at @MainStGenome and www.mainstreetgenome.com. The Protagonist @hughandcrye, #theprotagonist.