tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58917969738247237152024-03-14T01:12:32.326-07:00OOMAAT: One Order of Magnitude At A TimeAn exploration of Startup process for tech entrepreneursJohn Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-37267839019268113282017-02-09T17:21:00.000-08:002017-02-09T17:21:06.595-08:00Next MilValChal Offer - $500 to engage in an experimentWith the previous post on the MilValChal efforts and the Startup Day offer, we talked about doing one build, measure, learn loop. The Startup Day offer was an example of that: Make a hypothesis, run a test, and learn.<br />
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I have personally told hundreds... perhaps close to a thousand people about the startup day offer. And that does not include the 10K people downsteam in my social media.... And yet, we have very very very few takers.
I have done this at Startup weekends that I was facilitating, at the Open Coffee meetings, as the Key note speaker at a Startup day conference with over 600 people in the audience, In the Lean Startup Seattle meetings. Do a BML loop and you will get $$$.<br />
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The strange thing is that this Lean Startup experimentation is exactly what startups should be doing. Fast, timeboxed experiments that lead to understanding of the market.<br />
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One of the thoughts is that our process was not as clear as it should be. This is likely a distraction and that we should take the data at face value. We made an offer, our conversion rate was very very low, so we have not yet found customer/problem fit. We have in fact had one of the Open Coffee participants run an experiment and collect the $$$ from Adam. But the handful who completed it vs the thousands that were aware of it.... Relatively high customer acquisition cost.<br />
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Adam Berk (@adamberk) has outlined the next round of the experiment. There is room for 20 people to can get this. Between now and the end of March, if you follow this set of instructions, you can collect $500.<br />
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Here are the instructions:<br />
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<li>Decide on the target persona of your next experiment (can be a customer, user, partner, NOT AN INVESTOR, someone for whom you are directly solving a problem) </li>
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<li>Talk to 5 of those people and submit your learnings here <a href="http://bit.ly/milvalchal">bit.ly/milvalchal</a> </li>
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<li> Form a hypothesis around an action you think they will take, something you can test within a month) ( the community will help you run the experiment if you do not have funds for marketing, landing pages, design, even moderate coding ) </li>
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<li> Test the hypothesis. That is, go talk to target customers, make them an offer that tests the question at hand, take something of value in exchange (money, time, space), and then deliver on the offer. </li>
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Write a blog about your learnings using this format:<br />
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<li> PARAGRAPH 1 My name is {insert name here and feel free to link to your current landing page or personal brand}. The individuals who helped me run this experiment are {link to the mentors who helped you - link directly to their mentor card on Trello OR their landing page for their experiment} The link to my specific hypothesis card on Trello is HERE. (Board Link: <a href="https://trello.com/b/rLMuxqah">https://trello.com/b/rLMuxqah</a> ) </li>
</ul>
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<li> PARAGRAPH 1.5 (Copy and paste the following = I am part of an experimental incubator that gives startups and entrepreneurs funding in exchange for testing and sharing leanstartup hypotheses). </li>
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<li>PARAGRAPH 2 This section will provide a quantifiable comparison of your prediction vs the results. This sections is mainly for mentors to get a snapshot.
I THOUGHT that 5% of 1000 of this specific segment would do this - [this comes DIRECTLY FROM YOUR HYPOTHESIS word for word]
ACTUALLY 3% of 500 people did this. In total, I have had conversations with THIS NUMBER OF PEOPLE who match the segment targeted in this experiment. [NO COMMENTARY HERE - this should be black and white which is why we ask for such specific predictions in the first place...] </li>
</ul>
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<li>PARAGRAPH 3 COMMENTARY - take the MOST SURPRISING or MOST WRONG metric - and explain why you BELIEVE this happened... this can be positive or negative. Maybe 90% of 1000 people did something, THAT'S GOOD... but really it's bad because of how far off you were. Before you try and scale, you need to know WHY. Maybe only 1% converted, maybe you only got 50 views... pick apart ONE SINGLE VARIABLE THAT WAS MOST WRONG. </li>
</ul>
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<li>PARAGRAPH 4 BONUS COMMENTARY explain the rest of the variables...
If your last experiment had negative results... restate your problem and customer statements here. </li>
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<li>PARAGRAPH 5 NEXT STEP... post it in the blog itself, and provide a LINK to the next experiment in trello. ( <a href="https://trello.com/b/rLMuxqah">https://trello.com/b/rLMuxqah</a> ) </li>
</ul>
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<br /> For you to collect the offered money, you must accept the challenge by tweeting <a href="http://twitter.com/adamberk" target="_blank">@adamberk</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/sechrest" target="_blank">@sechrest</a> within next ten days (by 2017/2/19) , must complete the challenge by end of march - Payments are limited to the first 20 people @$500 each // funds must be used to run the experiment defined in paragraph 5:)<br />
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The regular milvalchal is open to anyone, no rule changes, no limits, no entry windows (for now) , So if you want to run the whole experiment and get a $10K investment in your startup, that offer is still there:
Slingshot Ventures invests in ALL startup teams at a fixed MILLION dollar valuation if you do custdev and run experiments. More info <a href="http://bit.ly/milvalchal">here</a>John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-21351523668010314752016-12-07T07:14:00.000-08:002016-12-07T07:14:13.698-08:00Startup Day Offer - One Build Measure Learn Loop with Liberty VenturesThe early startup journey is full of unknowns. It has a lot of beliefs about how the world can and should work. As entrepreneurs, we need to ground our beliefs in the reality of what our real actual customers will actually do. The Lean Startup path way to do this is to run experiments:<br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NRKOluld__E/WEgivVyJrZI/AAAAAAAAUlY/qVEFDpqpK2QgQgSLs8GcrWqFrfV7NF3LwCLcB/s1600/build-measure-learn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NRKOluld__E/WEgivVyJrZI/AAAAAAAAUlY/qVEFDpqpK2QgQgSLs8GcrWqFrfV7NF3LwCLcB/s200/build-measure-learn.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<ol>
<li>Predict a result in the world</li>
<li>Build an experiment/test that will </li>
<li>Run the test to see what really happens. </li>
<li>Measure the results</li>
<li>See if your prediction (belief) matches what really happened (data)</li>
</ol>
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We like Data Driven Startups. If you go through your whole Lean Canvas and associated business assumption, you will be able to learn quickly and to find a business in the midst of all the data. </div>
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However, we see that entrepreneurs tend to lean into their assumptions and try to start building and then selling the solution that they have not tested and validated with the market. That is, they don't actually have meaningful Lean Customer Development conversations with real customers. If they do talk to customers, they are either "themselves" as the customer, or they are so informal in the process, that they actually don't get good data about what people are actually willing to do. </div>
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As outlined in the previous post, Just one Lean Experiment ( http://www.oomaat.com/2016/10/just-one-lean-experiment-to-progress-to.html ) , Liberty Ventures and Adam Berk (@adamberk) is offering $1000 for one Lean Experiment , which goes through the whole Build-Measure-Learn Loop and then documents it in a post. </div>
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As a special opportunity for my Estonian trip and the Startup Day in Tartu, Adam has agreed to do a specific offer again. There has been $5000 set aside for up to 5 teams that choose to commit to, complete and then document only one Build-Measure-Loop. </div>
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To start this journey , go to http://bit.ly/libertyventures </div>
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You will get to a landing page. Click on the "Get Funding" page, and then you will be asked to do a tweet. Put into the tweet - "I saw this from @sechrest" , </div>
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You will then be asked to:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li> Form a prediction (a hypothesis) </li>
<li>Post it into a Trello board via email</li>
<li>Run 5 interviews with customers</li>
<li>Document the interviews in a report form</li>
<li>Post a blog about it on medium (or your own blog) </li>
</ol>
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If you do this, loop, which should take a week or so, then you will get $1000. There is $5000 set aside. So the first 5 to complete it will get paid. </div>
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John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-69347672415411603912016-11-25T15:00:00.002-08:002016-11-25T15:00:25.716-08:00Pitch foundations: Getting ready to pitch your startup<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As you are getting ready to pitch your startup, there are some good things to remember. First, you are going to need several pitch formats. A 30 second pitch (elevator pitch) , a 1 minute pitch, a 3 minute pitch, a 5 minute pitch, a 10 minute pitch. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These are not the same pitch slower. They are different pitches aimed at getting a specific thing to happen. That is, they are pitches in different contexts. And they all have the same overall task as a goal: To get to the next meeting. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Additionally, they all have the same foundation at the core. When you work on your Lean Canvas, you are working to illuminate that core business model. Let’s take a look at how that might work.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For the 30 second pitch, you are trying to provide enough of an overview that you get people’s attention. If we look at the Geoffrey Moore framework out of Tor Grønsund’s post:</span></div>
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<a href="http://torgronsund.com/2011/11/29/7-proven-templates-for-creating-value-propositions-that-work" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://torgronsund.com/2011/11/29/7-proven-templates-for-creating-value-propositions-that-work</span></a></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then we would see the following:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For ____________ (target customer)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">who ____________ (statement of the need or opportunity)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">our (product/service name) is ____________ (product category)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that (statement of benefit) ____________ .</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some of this looks remarkably like the Lean Canvas:</span><img alt="Block Lean Canvas.png" height="311" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/A9jRCZz82W8u6gbOPiHN2Vc8WTQT0lVSGF3AeSr-SxMd8VqX8mkZ-Y4t14pgjTPl02WpCsypdouOk_lA81bjju_294VoXmEeG5Mcbzizp2SamO6Z26P3Sa2r5hwdvVlfORZERgQk" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="415" /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So let’s translate the Value Proposition into the same words as the Lean Canvas:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For ____________ (CUSTOMER)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">who ____________ (has PROBLEM)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">our (PRODUCT NAME) is ____________ (PRODUCT CATEGORY)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that ____________(UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION).</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We might like to expand on that a little bit more:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For ____________ (CUSTOMER)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">who ____________ (has PROBLEM)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">our (PRODUCT NAME) is ____________ (PRODUCT CATEGORY). </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unlike existing alternatives, _______ (EXISTING ALTERNATIVE #1), _______ (EXISTING ALTERNATIVE #2), and _______ (EXISTING ALTERNATIVE #3), we provide __________ (FEATURE #1) that _____________(UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION). </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We see that _________(CUSTOMER ) are spending __________(REVENUE - Market Size) to solve __________(PROBLEM). </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This provides a little more detail on the company and how it fits into the market place. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, there are two things that are missing: A request at the end and an attention getting mechanism at the front. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where we have clarity in the business model, the task of pulling together an appropriate and effective pitch becomes much easier. Because you will be connecting with Investors multiple times as you engage in the process of seeking investment, it is always good to have a way to mix up the story a bit as well. Saying the same pitch over and over again, without updating and evolving it ends up being a signal to investors that you are not learning along the way. So please expect to be reworking and revising the various pieces of your pitch along the way. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hopefully, this will help you create a specific framework that gets you started on an effective pathway to doing a good pitch. Practice this pitch process every day, with different people, and learn how it evolves and how to make it more effective. The key is to be remarkable. That is, to have other people talking about you after you have left. Typical early stage pitch sessions have a dozen or more companies presenting at the same time. Just given Human short term memory structures, only 3 or 4 of the companies presenting will be remembered. What will you do to be remarkable enough to not only be remembered, but to have the investors telling your story for you?</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-a3fe0659-9db7-43d9-082d-df721fd991e4"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Everyone on your team should understand your core business model and be able to give a pitch at a moments notice. In a startup, everyone is a sales person. </span></div>
John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-87970034958882914402016-11-13T14:45:00.001-08:002016-11-13T14:47:41.027-08:00Lean First means Customer Discovery before Product Development I regularly get people contacting me to talk about their startup and the work they are doing. Frequently they are very very busy doing startup-y things like managing their team, organizing their tasks, raising money... But strangely, not really doing any significant Customer Development. I have run several experiments now where I have made them an offer to take a small time-out, and to run a Lean Startup Experiment to do just one Build-Measure-Learn loop in a formal and transparent way. My experience is that there is serious significant resistance among entrepreneurs to really talk to real customers.<br />
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As a person who believes deeply in the Lean Startup methodology, I would start the conversation urging you to stop building your prototype. Clear the space for you to do significant customer engagement.<br />
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The Lean Startup idea is that you put Customer Development before Product Development. That is you talk to , understand and adapt to a customer base, discovering and validating your customers before you build things.<br />
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You have three main risks:<br />
1) Technical Risk - Can it be built<br />
2) Market Risk - Should it be built<br />
3) Execution risk - Can my team build it<br />
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These are in order. Chances are, you do not have technical risk.<br />
And Chances are that you have not talked to enough customers to resolve that there are really customers who have a real problem that are really willing to pay you. (Note that there is a significant difference between the 98% of people who are cheerleaders that tell you happy thoughts and the 2% of customers who really really really are ready to pay you now to solve a problem)<br />
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You need to find 100 customers who really really really want to pay you now to solve a problem; before you take one more step on building the product, find those 100 people.<br />
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I recommend that you read these three books, in order:<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449305172/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1449305172&linkCode=as2&tag=lean-oomaat-1-20&linkId=24d3c1c5e2cb803bb7b58327868e0de3" target="_blank">Running Lean</a> by Ash Maurya<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449356354/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1449356354&linkCode=as2&tag=lean-oomaat-1-20&linkId=3f4b15a9cf5d3f81ef77d156a79b1472" target="_blank">Lean Customer Development</a> by Cindy Alvarez<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101980524/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1101980524&linkCode=as2&tag=lean-oomaat-1-20&linkId=446c8cbee964d0fb035903ab8d6f404e" target="_blank">Scaling Lean</a> by Ash Maurya.<br />
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And I recommend that you get the Startup Owners Manual by Steve Blank, and strive to read one page a day. Keep reading pages one at a time until they start falling into place.<br />
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This would allow you to get focus on this Customer Development before Product Development.<br />
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If you are ready to take a leap into a Customer Development experiment, take a look at the work of Adam Berk ( @adamberk ) as outlined in <a href="http://www.oomaat.com/2016/10/just-one-lean-experiment-to-progress-to.html">http://www.oomaat.com/2016/10/just-one-lean-experiment-to-progress-to.html</a><br />
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Remember in the Theory of OOMAAT, your first step is to find just one customer. Don't think about anything more than things that lead you to your first paying customer. Then we can worry about how we might get to ten paying customers. </div>
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John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-1226604683271812352016-11-04T14:45:00.001-07:002016-11-04T14:45:49.349-07:00Standups every 90 minutes at a Startup Weekend? Why?<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
Tonight, I am facilitating another Startup Weekend. It will be my 55th startup weekend event. When I do a startup weekend, I try to engage the group in regular standup status meetings every 90 minutes. </div>
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Startup Weekend is a business sprint. Trying to get from idea to revenue in a weekend, with a group of strangers. The surprizing thing is that 11% of these teams formed over the weekend are alive a year later moving money. ( I suspect that the teams made up of people who have been to several startup weekends because we have such a high return rate for participants. )</div>
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If we are able to get the teams formed, seated and working by 9:00pm on friday, that gives us time to get two standups. One at 10:30 and one at midnight. And then over Saturday, to do standups at 10:30am, Noon, 2:30pm, 5:00pm, 7:30pm.....</div>
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I just read the article by Jason Fried on Medium - Status meetings are the scurge - <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://m.signalvnoise.com/status-meetings-are-the-scourge-39f49267ca90%23.cn3v2wyb9&source=gmail&ust=1478382287952000&usg=AFQjCNEuIUJdQaRXE91DnJ9HgWiPE7AatA" href="https://m.signalvnoise.com/status-meetings-are-the-scourge-39f49267ca90#.cn3v2wyb9" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://m.signalvnoise.com/<wbr></wbr>status-meetings-are-the-<wbr></wbr>scourge-39f49267ca90#.<wbr></wbr>cn3v2wyb9</a></div>
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And I am sure that the Technical coders in the room feel somewhat unhappy about all the interruptions. So.... Why would I want to continue this practice?</div>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">* Help people get to know each other</span><br />
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It is frequent that teams hole up and never get to see others. By having to stand together, they at least get to see other people and to engage with them. All 100+ people stand up and circle up to do the standups. When they work right, 13 teams can be done in 8 minutes. </div>
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<br />* Use teams progress to focus the work of other teams</div>
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When teams report out things that the other teams have not thought of, often they are able to get those things one the task list and going much much faster. </div>
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<br />* To break attention to "too big to do" tasks into smaller pieces</div>
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It is frequent that people have big fuzzy ideas and have not figured out how to drive them down to small manageable tasks. By breaking things into very small sprints, we are able to get people to focus on things that move the ball forward faster. Instead of being lost in the midst of a fuzzy swamp of ill-formed ideas. </div>
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<br />* To force people to physically move and increase productivity</div>
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When people get up, move, push the blood around, they come back a bit more energized and a bit more focused. Without these breaks, people tend to get a bit fuzzy headed. A weekend is a long sprint without breaks. </div>
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<br />* To enable people to interact between teams more over the weekend</div>
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By actually physically seeing everyone together, it creates many more relationships over the weekend, than when people are only talking the whole weekend to their 6 team members. </div>
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* To help team leaders be seen as leaders</div>
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By having the team leaders report out, we help them be better known in the community and help them reenforce their role on the team.</div>
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* To build a sense of urgency</div>
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If every task you are doing has to be small. Think Pomodoro (25 minute tasks), then the need to do something now gets stronger. The whole "No Talk, All Action" motto is focused at this idea of doing instead of discussion. If you can't decide in 5 minutes, flip a coin. If you can't get the task done in 25 minutes, break it up into smaller pieces. </div>
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With Pomodoro (25 minute sprints) and a team of 8 people, with 20 hours of real working time, you should be able to get 8 * 40 = 320 tasks in the weekend. For many this is more progress than most people make in a month. </div>
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<br />* To really drive forward the sense of small rapid iteration</div>
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If all of you tests are designed to be answered in 90 minutes, you will learn much much quicker than if your tests are designed to be answered in a day. By using the Build-Measure-learn process with very quick iterations, you make much faster learning.</div>
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Most people have habits that make it hard for them to make rapid progress. By doing standups, we drive some of those habits away , at least for a weekend. </div>
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This weekend, I will experiment with using Slack + Trello as a tool and see if this helps any of these areas. Perhaps there are some ways to get people to be more effective with less interruption. However, moving your body and meeting other people are in some cases more important that staying in the current task that is taking way way too long to be effective.</div>
John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-61114512969512098802016-10-21T09:36:00.001-07:002016-10-21T09:36:20.274-07:00Just one Lean Experiment to progress to a Data driven Startup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When people use the Lean Canvas well, not only do they fill out the canvas, they generate hypotheses and then run tests around each of the hypotheses to see which are valid<br /><br />That process includes something like:<br /><br /><ul>
<li> Make a hypothesis</li>
<li> Craft a test of that hypothesis</li>
<li> Have clarity on the success metrics</li>
<li> Execute the test</li>
<li> Report out on the results of the test</li>
<li> Make a plan for the next cycle ( Perservere or Pivot) </li>
</ul>
<br />@adamberk put together the <a href="http://bit.ly/milvalchal">MilValChal</a> to explore a process to engage more deeply in running customer development tests. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://medium.com/@adamberk/01-for-your-thoughts-100-for-your-startup-hypothesis-789562799f10#.ngdy9ysqx">https://medium.com/@adamberk/01-for-your-thoughts-100-for-your-startup-hypothesis-789562799f10#.ngdy9ysqx</a><br /><br /><br />The goal is to help people make more effective progress towards doing a complete experiment cycle, with the belief that transparent experimentation will lead to value creation at a higher ROI than not.<br /><br />We have been having a conversation about how to help people focus on the basics of doing explicit experiments. So very often people skim through the experiment effort jumping directly to the conclusions they already had in mind. In our discussion about how to move people forward, we discussed doing a single full experiment. We want to bring the <a href="http://bit.ly/milvalchal">MilValChal</a> vision together. So we want to experiment with having people do one complete experiment. <div>
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To bring people full circle through one complete experiment, @adamberk has $25K to help 25 companies make focused progress to complete a Lean Experiment. He will pay out $100 to as many people as fill out the first half of the Experiment Report Board (left side) within a week of this post being published and $900 to anyone (of those people who enter the funnel in the first week) who fills out the second half and writes a medium post sharing their learnings and next steps based specifically on those learnings. <br /><br /><br />To collect the $100, you must do the following<br /><br /><ul>
<li>Accept the challenge publicly by going to bit.ly/libertyventures and entering your email</li>
<li>Click to tweet</li>
<li>Tweet a copy of the left side of this canvas filled in CORRECTLY or make it to column 3 of this hypothesis board</li>
</ul>
<br />For you to get this $1000, do the following:<br />Complete a single experiment cycle (it is harder than it sounds!)<br /><ul>
<li>Make a copy of - <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GcbuvjiuG9IKgjgNjc2EX9d26nWhjhE23AeZa2VdKVk/edit?usp=sharing">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GcbuvjiuG9IKgjgNjc2EX9d26nWhjhE23AeZa2VdKVk/edit?usp=sharing</a></li>
<li>Fill out the left side </li>
<ul>
<li>Make a hypothesis</li>
<li>Design a test</li>
<li>have clear success criteria</li>
</ul>
<li>submit first half of the report form as a link on the Trello card. By mailing to: <a href="mailto:adamberk2+r98n12o9zczmdszzdx8j@boards.trello.com">adamberk2+r98n12o9zczmdszzdx8j@boards.trello.com</a></li>
</ul>
<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
In the SUBJECT of the email write = “My <name> is, my Twitter is <twitter handle=""> . A Lean Experiment: <test name="">”<br /><br />In the BODY of the email write = “I believe that 15 submitted Interviews will prove that <n> out of of <$Y> who are <customer segment=""> will take <a action="" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" specific="" very=""> by November 1st, 2016.</a></customer></n></test></twitter></name></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Interview 15 people</li>
<li>Submit 15 interview forms by filling out this form: https://bitly.com/milvalchal+</li>
<li>Write an experiment report form -> submit completed form - mailing to: <a href="mailto:adamberk2+r98n12o9zczmdszzdx8j@boards.trello.com">adamberk2+r98n12o9zczmdszzdx8j@boards.trello.com</a></li>
<li>Write a medium post. Tweet a link to the post to: @adamberk “I want my $900” the post must contain ALL of the following… <a href="http://leaningoutloud.blogspot.com/2016/08/results-only-metric-that-matters-in.html">http://leaningoutloud.blogspot.com/2016/08/results-only-metric-that-matters-in.html</a></li>
</ul>
<br />You will have a significant number of experiments ahead of each of these key milestones: <br /><ul>
<li>Customer/Product fit</li>
<li>Product / Solution Fit</li>
<li>Customer / Solution / Value proposition Fit</li>
<li>Clarity on Existing alternatives</li>
<li>Clarity on where to find early adopters</li>
<li>Clarity on the Revenue/Expense fit</li>
<li>Clarity on the Sales Funnel Metrics mechanisms</li>
</ul>
<br />If there is an experiment proving each of these milestones, the chances of your startup having a good foundation are greatly improved.<br /><br />This pathway starts by doing one experiment. Will it help you to do a complete experiment to start with this $1000 challenge? <br /><br /><a href="http://bit.ly/libertyventures">http://bit.ly/libertyventures</a></div>
John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-65353474821709014882016-02-16T16:55:00.002-08:002016-02-16T16:55:47.968-08:00The Startup experience: Linear vs Exponential <div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 18.7px; line-height: 20.57px;">
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" 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When you are starting a company, the week by week growth rate is important to track. Initially, it will be very chaotic. Hopefully, early on, you will find a way to make your revenue process predictable. Investors are looking for evidence of this predictability. They are also looking for something else. They are looking for evidence of growth. When they are thinking about growth in revenues, they are looking for a percentage growth on a week by week basis. More data points can help you get a handle on the foundations of your business model. </div>
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Looking at the curve above. This company starts with $1000 Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR). The blue line represents an initial growth rate of $100/month, which is 10% growth in the first month. The Orange line represents a Monthly growth rate of 10% a month, month over month. While the Red line represents a 5% month over month growth. </div>
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All of these start out at the same point, but the 10% month over month growth quickly outstrips the linear growth. At the end of 3 years (36 months) , the 10% growth represents a 5X increase compared to the 5% growth curve. </div>
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More interestingly, while the linear growth started at 10%, by month thirty, it has crossed over and is the same as the 5% curve. </div>
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When you are looking at your growth oriented startup, you should be looking at at least kind of exponential growth. That is growing at a regular X% growth month over month. </div>
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If you have a 10% month over month growth, your company is approximately a 3X company. If you have 20% month over month growth, then your company is a 9X company. If you are aiming at a 10X company, you need to reach 22% month over month growth on a sustained basis. </div>
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John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-54258768085338915222016-02-14T19:56:00.003-08:002016-02-14T19:56:57.731-08:00Cashflow Projection: A Pillar of your Startup <div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />The last two boxes in the Lean Canvas are Income and Expense. From a canvas point of view it is meant to get you to be thinking about the key factors involved in your business. However, the point of the Lean Canvas is to built the foundations of your business model. To get your model to a sufficient level of detail that you can use it over time, you build a cashflow projection. Each of the details of your startup that are critical to the business process will show up in this spreadsheet.</div>
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Each box of the Lean Canvas provides assumptions and critical factors for your business model and they will form the basis of your cashflow spreadsheet. As you run your business, you will want to compute and recompute how your business model as represented by the spreadsheet matches up with the actual results that you see in your business. You will want to do this on a weekly basis. </div>
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<img src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=e32f198d20&view=fimg&th=152e30803ace2540&attid=0.2&disp=emb&realattid=ii_ikneq3kx0_152e2ebdfe76d033&attbid=ANGjdJ8-XOYQzX0mWvTmR5nx2sxKOUe7OK6eMImwMGHzgblqt440-Q3Efpdv7iv1JlxlCCHXkg4DW-TVon_2vRi2tXlrPM3FbhpKu_pmOss3UPclM6Eg-_v16SKlkbs&sz=w834-h516&ats=1455508477891&rm=152e30803ace2540&zw&atsh=1" /></div>
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Looking at the graph above, we see a business that is subscription business, which has very limited expenses and which has a 15% growth rate as the basis of this chart. The ongoing expenses over whelm the income for a long time. While we see the income starting to turn the corner, this business will be cashflow negative for more than 3 years. </div>
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However, small changes in growth rate can change the experience dramatically. </div>
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<img class="CToWUd a6T" height="258" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=e32f198d20&view=fimg&th=152e30803ace2540&attid=0.5&disp=emb&realattid=ii_ikneq3lz1_152e2ebdfe76d033&attbid=ANGjdJ-s7M3ef4OR3v1YD4uitT9CJlJ_3S9yJn8ioWEL1aekIg7hQq4IZerGqQQu7Xfd1XHMMg3QthTOhGSvGh3esccsqilBJ-fa4kTpJB5oJW_bhUxXVlqgr0HBn7g&sz=w834-h516&ats=1455508477892&rm=152e30803ace2540&zw&atsh=1" style="cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="417" /></div>
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This next graph is the same company, but with a 25% growth rate each month. This is a company , which is a 10X company, but in order to survive, it will need to take $200,000 in outside funding. </div>
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<img class="CToWUd a6T" height="269" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=e32f198d20&view=fimg&th=152e30803ace2540&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_iknff4zn3_152e2fdb26e1f812&attbid=ANGjdJ-rPv2FZkB6FM_bS0V7T5ngWZqafS5405CWsoOaXJmozbu75pt3Smer02sfJIiRYOYUWKBWGjAzpqTeq-l4VOdKM6sXFRzH0ojNCZopnU-m4dwJWQA9KyNibb4&sz=w870-h538&ats=1455508477892&rm=152e30803ace2540&zw&atsh=1" style="cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="435" /><br /></div>
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With this new cash infusion, the company is able to remain solvent, at least in this model. However, if the growth rate was higher , with just a 30% per month growth rate, that same company would not need to take outside money at all. </div>
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<img class="CToWUd a6T" height="258" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=e32f198d20&view=fimg&th=152e30803ace2540&attid=0.3&disp=emb&realattid=ii_ikneq3m82_152e2ebdfe76d033&attbid=ANGjdJ8j0fpE7JzmI6tY0XvQzfWeWKHSpibjoPEG-dTJObGjurOw33lT5-TlLreDRV4euLRf9qGWChT_iBxZJAQh0qXC-5ypc52fLNDmj38-jRV_YJG9Wd4HLuoYVWo&sz=w834-h516&ats=1455508477892&rm=152e30803ace2540&zw&atsh=1" style="cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="417" /></div>
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The small differences in revenue and the growth rate of the revenue can make substantial differences on the lifespan of your company. Digging into the details of the consequences of your assumptions will be vital to your progress. </div>
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<img class="CToWUd a6T" height="326" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=e32f198d20&view=fimg&th=152e30803ace2540&attid=0.4&disp=emb&realattid=ii_iknfq2bj4_152e3057b64fd96b&attbid=ANGjdJ_8wcJccGdYzJwJsbl2jyPNHgNuJwoLciBquqsPwTFJ5F5LjG8MzmY2jYI55gImBPP-0zByWybJL_CCmNUXmJbxmXP4rhsJj_8PCAOGKswK2tBttU9aUvHAt94&sz=w870-h652&ats=1455508477892&rm=152e30803ace2540&zw&atsh=1" style="cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="435" /><br />There are several key factors you need to work with:</div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;">The initial amount of cash you bring to the company</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">The point at which you run out of cash. Which is determined by your Burn Rate. This company has a one year Runway</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">The point at which you get to cash flow positive.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">And the point that you break even. </li>
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Spend the time to build and then regularly revise your cashflow projection for your startup. </div>
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John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-15834998482965633772015-04-28T19:43:00.001-07:002015-05-04T15:12:23.587-07:00Throwing out good work<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-5e9d86c8-0308-9eb2-0338-e99250499ee1" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.38;">“You did great work on the scenario documents”, I said. They really were a lot better. The language was clearer, the instructions for the readers were better and the actual stories were more to the point. A major improvement, after having struggled with the scenarios for months.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XL282pWS4L4/VUBE50_h23I/AAAAAAAAMZ0/6RMSuMc1Tdw/s1600/Katie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XL282pWS4L4/VUBE50_h23I/AAAAAAAAMZ0/6RMSuMc1Tdw/s1600/Katie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">“We decided to throw them out of the game altogether”, I continued. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">Katie looked understandably confused. Didn’t I just say that they were much better? Had all the work gone to waste?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">Making Playing Lean, the board game that teaches Lean Startup, has been a great challenge. Besides the actual playability of the game, we have had to make sure that there are enough startup lessons taught for the game to have value. Finding that balance had been a major part of the job.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">That is why we introduced the scenarios. They were documents describing the beginnings of well known companies in a familiar industry. The first go was at Social Media. Players could be Friendster, Myspace, Facebook or Twitter. The outcome would be up to the choices players made, counterfactual history in the making.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">Except something always felt wrong with them. It felt forced, we had to keep reminding players to read them out loud. Reading became a little awkward as the game progressed, but we could not really put our fingers on why.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">We just assumed that it was because the quality of the documents themselves were so poor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">When the typos were weeded out, the structure was better and everything was much improved, it only took one playtesting to realise it: The scenarios had to die. The concept still felt forced and awkward.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">Though the actual writing was discarded altogether, it lead to a major improvement in the game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">The broader lesson is that we fell into a trap. We convinced ourselves that the quality of our work wasn't good enough, that we could not rely on our testing until there had been major improvement. This made us discard a lot of of good feedback.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">It may sometimes be the case that low quality experiments gives the wrong idea about an experiment. But be aware, it is a dangerous line of thinking. At the extreme end of it, only a fully functional, thoroughly designed and well engineered product can invalidate your idea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">It is important to be pay attention to what kind of people you are testing on as well. Some testers are more inclined to look past visual design and basic quality issues and evaluate the core idea of a product. Others won't get past the typos and poorly matched colors before they pass negative judgement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">Before my next experiment I will ask myself: What kind of people am I testing with? How high must the quality be before I will accept a negative result? It may just save me, Katie and the rest of the Playing Lean team a lot of time.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLw5H6uWthU/VUBFHC-qsHI/AAAAAAAAMZ8/z40zNDZkC0k/s1600/simen%2Bplaying%2Blean.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLw5H6uWthU/VUBFHC-qsHI/AAAAAAAAMZ8/z40zNDZkC0k/s1600/simen%2Bplaying%2Blean.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">Twitter: @simenfur</span><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simenfur</span><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">Website: www.playinglean.com</span><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">Bio: Simen is the CEO of Iterate, a consultancy based in Oslo, Norway. He is also the co-creator for Playing Lean, the board game that teaches Lean Startup.</span><br />
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John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-55316054559551468362014-02-14T10:57:00.003-08:002014-02-14T10:58:37.574-08:00Startup Weekend as a game of Pickup Ball<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9ZxApAIJEJw/Uv5nD0dVGxI/AAAAAAAAHsg/4OxyGn8gUDA/s1600/bball-pickup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9ZxApAIJEJw/Uv5nD0dVGxI/AAAAAAAAHsg/4OxyGn8gUDA/s1600/bball-pickup.jpg" height="200" width="149" /></a></div>
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Startup Weekend is a great way to sprint from Idea to Revenue in a <span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">weekend. I am thrilled with some of the results that I have seen. </span><span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">However, when I encourage people to engage in a startup weekend, </span><span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">I often get resistance. "Oh, I already have a startup" or </span><span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">"Oh, I don't have an idea" or "I am already happy working at </span><span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">XYZ Big company"</span></div>
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Startup Weekend is a skill building sprint. It creates urgency and <span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">focus, which allow you to learn things faster than you would in most </span><span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">other contexts. Just as when you do pushups and situps to prepare for </span><span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">your marathon run, Startup Weekend gives you a chance to build skills </span><span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">and connections that are hard to get other ways. </span></div>
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Think of Startup Weekend as a game of Pickup basketball. It may <span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">not take you into the big leagues, but it does let you practice that </span><span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">shot in a way that makes you stronger and faster. </span></div>
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Every weekend, there are over 1,000 people who are out picking <span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">up some new skills, trying new roles and exploring new ideas. </span><span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">Even if you are at XYZ Big company, or are already deep in a project </span><span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">with a startup, Startup Weekend will give you a chance to gain some </span><span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">new muscles. </span></div>
John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-74482052178692598742013-02-05T14:29:00.000-08:002013-02-05T14:29:16.035-08:00Startup Weekend: What is the Point of Tweeting?<br />
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As a fan of Startup Weekends, I engage with them as often as I can. As a mentor, as a participant, as an organizer and as a facilitator. I often support people to engage in social media as a part of the process. Not only for the benefit of the event , but also for the benefit of the team. </div>
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Some folks find the discussion of social media and twitter for a team a distraction. As Eli Rubel <a href="http://www.twitter.com/eli_rubel" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">@eli_rubel</a> eloquantly puts it in his post "<a href="http://elirubel.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/how-to-rock-startup-weekend-and-land-venture-financing" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">How to rock Startup Weekend and land venture funding</a>":</div>
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<em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">-Social media BS.</em></div>
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Seriously, no one is impressed by your teams Facebook friends liking your ‘Companys’ Facebook page. Also, if you somehow land more than 1K followers, the vast majority of the audience will assume you <a href="http://www.fiverr.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(13, 164, 211); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(13, 164, 211); border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(13, 164, 211); border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(13, 164, 211); border-top-width: 0px; color: #0da4d3; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">bought</a> them. THIS IS A WASTE OF TIME AND DOESN’T COUNT AS MARKET VALIDATION. Want to impress the crowd? Go land a real customer or two.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">I have seen this thought expressed in many different ways, but basically articulating that Social Media is a waste of time for a Startup Weekend. In addition, as I study the Lean Startup Methodology, I see that there are several places where premature marketing and PR is a way to distract you from getting your critical work done. So, why do I still encourage people to engage in Social media as a part of a team at Startup Weekend? </span></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">The answer lies in the Point of the engagement. Social Media for social media sake is not very helpful, and may in fact be a distraction. However, When we look at Dave McClures ( <a href="http://www.twitter.com/davemcclure" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">@</a></span><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/davemcclure" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">davemcclure</a> ) </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;"> "<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/dmc500hats/startup-metrics-for-pirates-long-version" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">AARRR, Metrics for Pirates</a>" ( <a href="http://500hats.typepad.com/500blogs/2008/09/startup-metri-2.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Dave McClure Blog</a> ) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;"><img alt="Inline image 1" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=e32f198d20&view=att&th=13ca654040310f1f&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_13ca6402e555bf7c&zw&atsh=1" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">We see that there are several channels for acquisition. As a person, I can only talk to a few people an hour. On the Phone, perhaps a few more. However, if I have done my Twitter Dance right, then I can have thousands of people who are interested in what I am doing and interested in the questions that I am asking. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">I agree completely with Eli when he says "Get a real customer or two". Where I disagree is that I think that social media , when done right, is a great way to develop and audience and to acquire customers. There is a huge difference between Social Media Blathering and Social Media as a method of conversation with an audience. If you are good at Social Media Blathering, then I would have to side completely with Eli. On the other hand, if you are working to understand the Growth Hacking process of finding , engaging and validating customers , then the effective use of twitter and other social media is a great channel. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">I see twitter as a much more effective tool for spreading the word to people you don't know , compared to facebook. Facebook is great for connecting between friends and those that are already connected. It is not as effective as reaching far into new audiences who have less of an initial connection to you. So understanding the Twitter Dance and how to engage an audience is a great skill for any Growth Hacker, even at a Startup Weekend. Or especially at a Startup Weekend. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">If you come to a Startup Weekend as a coder, you do not come unprepared. You have a set of skills, libraries, previously built environments, github accounts and other tools of the trade. You are not building a whole system from scratch, but you are building upon the previous work which allows you to rapidly deploy a website or application in hours. As a Business Development person/ Growth Hacker, you should not be coming in unprepared either. Coming into the Startup Weekend with an ongoing conversation with an audience is a great resource to bring to the event. If you have a pathway to finding hundreds or thousands of potential customers, then you have an important resource for your team at the startup weekend. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">Having watched some Twitter Mavens take website traffic from 0 to 1000 unique visitors in less than an hour, I know that twitter can be a powerful tool. I also know that the twitter dance starts weeks before the event. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">It will impress the audience and judges at a Startup Weekend, when you have clear picture of your sales funnel, with your social media metrics in place and some hard numbers for your conversion rates, where you can watch people move from Acqusition , to Activations to Revenue in a rapid series of tests. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">When I facilitate a Startup Weekend, I work coordinate around a regular stand up meeting, every 1.5 to 2 hours, with an effort to help people get into the pattern of setting short term rapid milestones, which they target. If you can show that you have a Sales Funnel (preferably on Friday Night) and that by noon on Saturday, you are actively working your sales funnel, and actively working to acquire customers, you will have the key business engine built. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">If you want to rapidly build an effective business, you need to practice the process of growing an audience. One of the key skills for any growth hacker will be to figure out how to Find, Acquire and Activate new customers for the project. Startup Weekend is a great place to practice this skill. And this is why I focus on the question of twitter and social media as part of Startup Weekend business sprints. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">Are you able to attract 1000 twitter followers in an afternoon? And can you then convert 40% of them into active signups on your project by the end of the weekend? If you can, you are seriously on your way to something interesting. </span></span></div>
John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-62005891224018112752012-02-10T18:23:00.001-08:002012-02-10T18:23:42.877-08:00Six books for Startups wanting to be LeanAs the Lean Startup conversation brings some new experiences and processes to startups derived from Lean Programming and Lean Manufacturing, there are times when folks ask about what books would help then engage in the process more deeply. There are six books that often come up in conversation for one idea or another. Here is a quick list of a core set of books that are helpful for people engaged in taking the next step. <br> <div class="gmail_quote"><div><br></div><div>The Lean Startup By Eric Ries </div><div> - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307887898?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwoomaat-20&linkCode=shr&camp=213733&creative=393185&creativeASIN=0307887898&ref_=sr_1_1&qid=1328815629&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Click Here to see The Lean Startup on Amazon</a></div> <div><br></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div>The Lean Startup is the current hot book on the topic. It is a good strategic overview of the conversation and it puts a lot of the pieces in perspective. </div> </blockquote><div><br></div><div>The 4 steps to the Epiphany by Stephen Blank</div><div> - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Four-Steps-Epiphany-Successful-Strategies/dp/0976470705?tag=httpwwwoomaat-20" target="_blank">Click Here to see Four-Steps-Epiphany on Amazon</a></div> <div><br></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div>The 4 steps is the seminal book for this area. This is Lean Startup Before it was Lean startup and it covers some very important tactical issues around how to approach the market place directly. </div> <div><br></div><div>It is a bit of work to go thru, but it is worth the effort. </div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>The Entrepreneurs Guide to Customer Development by Patrick Vlaskovits</div><div> - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0982743602?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwoomaat-20&linkCode=shr&camp=213733&creative=393185&creativeASIN=0982743602&ref_=pd_sim_b_5" target="_blank">Click Here to Entrepreneurs Guide on Amazon</a></div> <div><br></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div>This is the Cliff-notes version of the 4 Steps. It helps simplify and focus some of the conversation. </div></blockquote><div><br></div><div> Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder</div><div> - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470876417?tag=httpwwwoomaat-20" target="_blank">Click Here to See Business Model Generation on Amazon</a></div> <div><br></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div>The Business Model Generation is a fun crowdsourced book aiming at focusing on the process of getting the right questions answered for your business and getting clarity on your business model. </div> </blockquote><div> </div><div>Running Lean by Ash Maurya </div><div> - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Running-Lean-Iterate-Plan-Works/dp/1449305172?tag=httpwwwoomaat-20" target="_blank">Click Here to See Running Lean on Amazon </a></div> <div><br></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div>Running Lean is a story of the journey for a startup software company using the 4 steps and the Business model generation to get to the end. Ash tells an interesting pattern and it leads to the Lean Canvas. I have used <a href="http://www.leancanvas.com" target="_blank">http://www.leancanvas.com</a> often to help focus the conversation about a startup. </div> <div><br></div><div><br></div></blockquote><div>Personal Kanban by Jim Benson </div><div> - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1453802266?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwoomaat-20" target="_blank">Click Here to See Personal Kanban on Amazon </a></div> <div><br></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div>One of the hardest things for entrepreneurs is to focus on the right thing. Personal Kanban presents an interesting method of keeping focus and getting teams to play together and to as a group focus on what they need in order to make rapid progress. </div> <div><br></div><div><br></div></blockquote><br></div><br> John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-26645649812362796352011-10-07T12:50:00.000-07:002011-10-10T10:27:13.176-07:00Order of Magnitude is 10x: tasks change at each step<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Ash Maurya ( <b><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ashmaurya" style="color: #3366cc; font-weight: bold;">@ashmaurya</a> )</b> has posted a very interesing Post about the 10x Product Launch.
<a href="http://www.ashmaurya.com/2011/10/the-10x-product-launch/" style="color: #3366cc; font-weight: bold;">http://www.ashmaurya.com/2011/10/the-10x-product-launch/</a> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">This captures some of the key issues around building a business. As you progress through the stages of different numbers of customers, you shift and need to use different tools and different focuses. When you are just starting out, you have zero (0) customers. At this point, your goal is to get one (1) customer. When you have one (1) customer, your goal is to get to ten (10). The task and process of getting the first customer is very different and more personal than getting the 10th. By the time you get to the 100th customer, you have enough data and enough history to be able to automate your processes successfully. It is always a bad idea to automate processes which you can not accomplish by hand for the first few cases. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For your first 50 customers, you should definately be working to talk to them in person. This does not mean you can't use surveys or email or ads to search for and find potential customers. But it does mean that you should get out of the building and talk face to face to them early on in the process.
As you begin to see the patterns, you can then focus on the area where you are most likely to make traction. </span>John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-3961362964643649912011-06-23T16:45:00.000-07:002011-06-23T16:46:02.359-07:00Startup Weekend Around the World , What would it look like.<div>As we are coming up on the Bellingham Startup Weekend on June 24-26, I was looking at some of the other cities engaging in Startup Weekend at the same time</div><div><br></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"> <ul><li>Rio <a href="http://rio.startupweekend.org/" target="_blank">http://rio.startupweekend.org/</a></li><li>Boise <a href="http://idaho.startupweekend.org/" target="_blank">http://idaho.startupweekend.org/</a></li> <li>Las Vegas <a href="http://lasvegas.startupweekend.org/" target="_blank">http://lasvegas.startupweekend.org/</a></li><li>Skopje <a href="http://skopje.startupweekend.org/" target="_blank">http://skopje.startupweekend.org/</a></li> <li>Bellingham <a href="http://bellingham.startupweekend.org/" target="_blank">http://bellingham.startupweekend.org/</a></li><li>Chandler <a href="http://chandler.startupweekend.org/" target="_blank">http://chandler.startupweekend.org/</a></li> <li>Guadalajara <a href="http://startupweekendgdl.org/" target="_blank">http://startupweekendgdl.org/</a></li><li>Copenhagen <a href="http://mobilecopenhagen.startupweekend.org/" target="_blank">http://mobilecopenhagen.startupweekend.org/</a></li> <li>Bejing <a href="http://startupweekendbeijing.com/en/page/home" target="_blank">http://startupweekendbeijing.com/en/page/home</a></li></ul></blockquote> <div>It is heartening to see all of these different cities all engaging in the process. </div><div><br></div><div>Seeing all these cities doing it on the same day makes me wonder about the process of doing a multi-city team that would engage in the process where there was someone working on the project 24x3 , around the clock.</div> <div><br></div><div>What tools would you need to enable this process. Would the current use of google docs + hosting + a chat channel work? What are the tools that you would use for a startup weekend sprint? ( <a href="http://startuptools.pbworks.com/w/page/17974963/FrontPage">http://startuptools.pbworks.com/w/page/17974963/FrontPage</a> ) </div> <div><br></div><div>At lot of interesting work happens at the coffee table and at the food table as people get to know each other and work on corners of the project. What would be the remote version of that? </div><div><br> </div><div>Would using skype be enough of a tool to connect people between cities?</div><div><br></div><div>How would remote teams end up finding each other and forming?</div><div><br></div><div>Would you need to pre-seed the conversation by having someone at each event already part of the proto-team that did local recruiting?</div> <div><br></div><div>How would it be different than using oDesk to do part of the project?</div><div><br></div><div>I look forward to learning about a team that actually does this.</div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div> <br></div><div><br></div> John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-53880636160750015362011-05-26T16:36:00.001-07:002011-05-26T16:57:25.061-07:00Should I walk the outside Funding Pathway?Earlier today, I saw a question that essentially boiled down to:<p>"I see this great opportunity, it takes more resources than I have, should I put it on the credit card, get a loan , ask an Angel or get a VC?"</p><p>I had many thoughts as I read this. Let me see if I can put them into any type of order:</p><p>First, being in the midwest is not a problem for accessing capital. There are several Angel networks and more growing all the time. Rain Source Capital is based in the midwest and supports several angel groups across the country</p><p><a href="http://www.rainsourcecapital.com/AboutUs">http://www.rainsourcecapital.com/AboutUs</a></p><p>You can use Angel Soft as a way to locate Angel Groups - <a href="http://www.angelsoft.net/">http://www.angelsoft.net</a>, so finding Angels is not hard at the initial stages.</p><p>However. Getting loans, getting Angel money and getting VC money are all very different animals for very different reasons. They look like they are the same (getting money), but they are not. VC money is other peoples money, in large chunks with specific expectations. Angel Money, if it is to be really useful comes with expertise, attention and introductions into the industries. There are appropriate times for each of these and there are many more times when you should not take outside funding.</p><p>The best place to get funding is from your customer. If you have figured out how to get to the right place with the customer base, then you will have flow and you can use outside money to grow faster. If you spend outside money on operations instead of growth enabling changes, then you will have wasted the opportunity. Most people have a hard time seeing the difference between operations and growth enabling changes.</p><p>You have the opportunity to build connections and relationships with Angels before you ask them for money. If you find the right Angels, you can have conversations that will transform how you approach your ideas even before you get to the point of asking for money. The angels would much rather have a deep sense of who you are and where you are going and where you have been, than to have a quick pitch and have to make a bunch of guesses.</p><p>I sense that you have a new direction. This suggests that you are about to pivot. As such, you are still in the discovery phase of things. And you are still trying to validate the idea. And this suggests you can be focusing on testing and experimenting to know if this idea really has legs. If it does, you should be able to get orders booked. If you have orders booked and you have a product that people want, you will not need a lot of outside capital at this stage.</p><p>Build the relationships now with the funding agencies (banks, angels, advisors) , but save the request for outside money until you have a backlog of orders.</p>John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-42423046675048207872011-03-23T19:32:00.001-07:002011-03-23T19:32:54.571-07:00Twitter Pitch and the Clarity it bringsAs I am doing the planning and preparation work for a Pitch Clinic, I am reminded of an April Fool Post by Brad Feld @bfeld had on April 1st last year - ( <a href="http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2010/04/shifting-to-twitter-for-deal-evaluation.html">shifting-to-twitter-for-deal-evaluation</a> ) <div> <br></div><div>One of the biggest issues in the startup process is developing clarity. Being able to get to the point in a very effective way. Often my ideas are crystal clear to me, but they are all dreamy in some parts and all too detailed in other parts, in a way that makes it very hard to communicate. When you spend the time to go through and think out enough of the process so that you can get a clean and crisp communication of your idea, you have often done some of the core work that needed to be done to move the business idea forward.</div> <div><br></div><div>While people suggest creating an elevator pitch, there is a certain poetic quality to writing a business idea in 140 characters. If you remember to put a URL in the post, it probably should be 120 characters. </div> <div><br></div><div>If you can create this level of clarity, where the twitter post captures the essence of your business idea, you have gone a long way to being able to communicate your project. With that comes a significant momentum that will move you forward. </div> <div><br></div><div><br></div> John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-45450667382754930782009-05-09T20:01:00.001-07:002009-05-09T20:01:51.172-07:00What's in a name? A business by any other name...<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CySiTFZIphk/SgZDn-tCrHI/AAAAAAAAAGU/G-tceTNYAi4/s1600-h/tufte-napolean-map-711173.gif"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CySiTFZIphk/SgZDn-tCrHI/AAAAAAAAAGU/G-tceTNYAi4/s320/tufte-napolean-map-711173.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334025162792807538" /></a></p><br>Data or Presentation of the Data, that is the question. Whether it is nobler to be true to the data or to make it pretty and by beautification destroy the use of the data...<br><br>I understand the value of a clear and effective presentation of data. The work of Edward Tufte is a fabulous study in making effective presentation of data. The map of Napoleons march to Moscow is still an iconic diagram for me. <br> <br>However, on a regular basis, I am confronted with the situation where people use spreadsheets as though they were pieces of paper. So they merge columns or they eliminate columns to make things print out nicely or worst of all, they alternate the meaning of data in a column from row to row. The spreadsheet is a simple form of a database. When you try to make it pretty, you break the database part of it. You remove the ability to sort and reorganize and plot the data. So this tension between the effective use of the data or the effective presentation of the data is a fundamental issue. For spreadsheets, it is worth the effort to have one set of sheets which represent the data and different sheets which represent the reports or views of the data. <br> <br>When we are choosing the name of a project or a company, we look around for something that captures the business. This often boils down to the domain name. When we talk about the company we want to have the name of the company and the name of the website be the same. We want to be able to say the name or write the name of the company and the domain name is obvious to the casual observer. But even with this idea to guide us, there are other issues that arise. <br> <br><b>The Google Test</b><br>After you select a name, the first thing that most folks do is to google the name to see how many hits you get. If you google for "google", you get 2,590,000,000 hits. I wonder how many hits they would have gotten before they started the company. Searching for googol, we 1,990,000 hits. The advantage of picking a name that has a low number of google hits becomes particularly appearant when you try to look up documentation about Ruby on Rails and you end up in the midst of train web pages. <br> <br><b>Name Relevance</b><br>While selecting a name like Google does not initial imply search, it does imply large numbers of items and gets you into the right zone. To select a name like Johns Machining vs a name like ProtoMold leads your efforts in two different directions. In looking at business plans, and reviewing the business names, there are alot of names used which do not help the company. I have seen:<br> <ul><li> Names which you can not write after hearing it</li><li> Names you can't spell even if you heard it</li><li> Names which have nothing to do with the business at hand</li><li> Names that leave you with an impression of a different business</li> <li> Names that are too long to keep straight. </li></ul><br>Each of these get you into trouble, but lets take the last one. There are many times when information is passing by and it has to be sliced and diced to fit into the screen space that is available. While Twitter has a 140 character limit, it is not the only place where space is at a premium or where titles are important. I have my gmail account set up to collect RSS feeds from different places that I care about. Some of these folks put up articles with titles like:<br> <br><ul><li> Things to do this week</li><li> Top posts of the week</li><li> Good words</li><li> Crime watch</li></ul><br>And the sad thing is that these are the same from week to week, so they actually end up conveying no information and actually cause me not to follow the link.<br> <br>As an alternative, some of the feeds that I watch put together pithy lists with punctuation: <br><br><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><b>Angel Conference + Beer and Blog + Cre8 Camp + OSU Expo</b><br></div><br>This lets you know what you are looking at. <br> <br>In the same way, when I look at gmail, my screen has 30 characters for the user names and 70 characters for the subject and then a little bit of the message. If you are effective with you email, you try to make the subject be short, to the point, and clear. If you split the difference and have a subject of 35 charaters, then you should have the first 35 charaters of your message be meaningful. This pattern can help communicate what is in an email message. <br> <br>In the same way, when companies are submitting business proposals to angel groups using the Angelsoft.net tool, they are put into folders where there is a directory showing the list of the companies. It shows the name of the company and then a limited number of characters. On my screen, 30 characters are shared between the name of the company and the beginning of the first description paragraph. Often when people are writing their first paragraph, they start out with the name of their company and it ends up looking something like:<br> <br> MyCompanyName - MyCompanyName is a .....<br><br>From this I conclude that it is best if you have :<br><br><ul><li> a name which is short</li><li> a name which is pronouncable</li><li> a name which is a clear reflection of what the company does</li> </ul><br>and that the paragraph that follows starts with the 3 words that are the core description of your business. <br><br>So instead of getting: <br><br> MyLongCompanyName - MyLongComp<br><br>You end up getting<br> <br> ProtoMold - Fast Plastic proto<br> <br>This idea of having short and effective names and clear focused carries on into the Angel pitches. When you get a Pitch Desk for an angel pitch, they suggest you start with the Problem, then tell the Solution and then go into the business structure.<br> <br>We end up seeing business pitches, where the title of the page is "Problem", "Solution".... After dozens of pitches, these all run together. Don't spend that valuable large font title on "Problem", Tell me what the actual problem is... In Big Letters.<br> <br>And when you pick a business name, make sure that it sticks with me in the same way. <br><br><br> .<br> John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-4818556902145810552009-04-11T19:44:00.001-07:002009-04-11T20:02:48.789-07:00What is the Lemonade Stand of the Internet?Everyone has done a lemonade stand or gotten a drink from one. It is the definative small business example and it is a cultural icon for the entrepreneur. So much so, that it is used in schools to teach business issues. But thinking in terms of current business reality, it makes me wonder: <br> <br><div style="margin-left: 40px;">What is the online equivilent for the lemonade stand? <br></div>
<br>If I look thru my list of <a href="http://oomaat.com/2009/04/how-to-make-money-on-internet-or-what.html">Online Revenue Models</a> I see that some are easier to implement. Some things which can generate revenue quickly as a small one person shop. These are different from those things that take some other large component to make it work quickly:<br> <br>Short term opportunity or easier to do: <br><ul><li>4. Ads - <a href="http://wordsearch.armoredpenguin.com">http://wordsearch.armoredpenguin.com</a></li><li>5. Sell a product directly - <a href="http://Amazon.com">http://Amazon.com</a> <a href="http://Frogstore.com">http://Frogstore.com</a> </li> <li>6. Sell a product Indirectly - Amazon bookstore <a href="http://Puzzazz.com">http://Puzzazz.com</a></li><li>7. Subscription - <a href="http://Netflix.com">http://Netflix.com</a> </li><li>15. Donations - Ala NPR / Public Radio - <a href="http://WikiPedia.org">http://WikiPedia.org</a> </li> </ul><br>As opposed to Longer term harder to do things: <br><ul><li>1. Get paid to do it - Consultants, webdesigners - </li><li>2. Increase Sales of an existing product - <a href="http://www.Pepsi.com">http://www.Pepsi.com</a> </li> <li>3. Reduce costs for an existing process - <a href="http://www.UPS.com">http://www.UPS.com</a></li><li>8. Enable an Exchange - <a href="http://Ebay.com">http://Ebay.com</a></li><li>9. Float - <a href="http://paypal.com">http://paypal.com</a> (old model) </li> <li>10. Sell Aggregate User Data - <a href="http://Janrain.com">http://Janrain.com</a></li><li>11. Product Placement - <a href="http://Vidoop.com">http://Vidoop.com</a></li><li>12. Pay for Job Post - <a href="http://Craigslist.com">http://Craigslist.com</a> (Selective sales) </li> <li>13. Pay for Support - Open source - <a href="http://project.net">http://project.net</a> </li><li>14. Sell Online Real-estate or virtual Items - <a href="http://SecondLife.com">http://SecondLife.com</a> </li></ul><br><br> The great things about the lemondade stand is that the goals are clear, the process is clear and it ends up being all about execution. <br><br>Looking even closer at the list, it seems that ads and donations are the quickets and easiest. <br> <br>Easiest: <br><ul><li>4. Ads -> Set up a Blog and turn on ads</li><li>15. Donations - Ala NPR / Public Radio -> Put up a donate button </li></ul><br>A little more work:<br><ul><li>5. Sell a product directly -> Requires fullfillment </li> <li>6. Sell a product Indirectly -> Sign up with Vendor to resell product</li><li>7. Subscription -> set up a subscription, membership</li></ul><br><br>While both Ads and Donations require you to create content that is valuable to the reader and then to attract an audience, it seems that ads generate more revenue for the level of work. <br> <br>This Suggests that suggests that the Lemonade stand of the Internet is to create a Blog and put up ads on it. <br><br>The steps to this would be: <br><ol><li>Set up a bank account to keep all the revenue in, keeping money separate from the personal money. </li> <li>Sign up for Blog software - Let's use Google Blogspot - <a href="http://www.blogspot.com">http://www.blogspot.com</a></li><li>Sign up with Ad provider - this is a part of blogspot by clicking on monitize. Ads will be inserted into the blog.</li> <li>Write content that is valuable to an audience. </li><li>Spread the word that you are writing and build an audience. </li></ol><br>Does this seem like the simplest revenue and business model on the internet? Would this be the canidate for the "Online Lemonade Stand"? <br> <br>What would your choice be? <br><br clear="all"><br>John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-3679157795417735912009-04-11T18:26:00.001-07:002009-04-11T19:26:45.338-07:00How to make money on the Internet or What is you Revenue Model or Monetizing your web app business models.<br>What are the different meta models for generating revenue from a web page or an online business? I have been collecting a list. I have been planning to write about it in detail, but I just saw a post that makes it clear that I should just get the list out and then work on the additions later. <br> <br>I was sent a link for this article: <br><br><a href="http://www.boxuk.com/blog/monetizing-your-web-app-business-models">http://www.boxuk.com/blog/monetizing-your-web-app-business-models</a><br><br><br>Which is interesting, but more complex than I was working on. In double checking the list and comparing it to the list I was working on, I did not find any new models. They seperate out on other axises , and go into more details. For example, I consider "Licensing Content" to be "Selling Something directly". However, I am still looking for more large scale models to add to the list. <br> <br>Here is the list of all the meta catagories that I have been able to identify:<br><br><ul><li>1. Get paid to do it - Consultants, webdesigners -</li><li>2. Increase Sales of an existing product - <a href="http://www.Pepsi.com">http://www.Pepsi.com</a></li> <li>3. Reduce costs for an existing process - <a href="http://www.UPS.com">http://www.UPS.com</a></li><li>4. Ads - <a href="http://wordsearch.armoredpenguin.com">http://wordsearch.armoredpenguin.com</a></li> <li> 4a - Pay Per Impression</li><li> 4b - Pay per click</li><li> 4c - Pay per Action</li><li>5. Sell a product directly - <a href="http://Amazon.com">http://Amazon.com</a> <a href="http://Frogstore.com">http://Frogstore.com</a></li> <li>6. Sell a product Indirectly - Amazon bookstore <a href="http://Puzzazz.com">http://Puzzazz.com</a></li><li>7. Subscription - <a href="http://Netflix.com">http://Netflix.com</a></li><li>8. Enable an Exchange - <a href="http://Ebay.com">http://Ebay.com</a></li> <li>9. Float - <a href="http://paypal.com">http://paypal.com</a> (old model)</li><li>10. Sell Aggregate User Data - <a href="http://Janrain.com">http://Janrain.com</a></li><li>11. Product Placement - <a href="http://Vidoop.com">http://Vidoop.com</a></li> <li>12. Pay for Job Post - <a href="http://Craigslist.com">http://Craigslist.com</a> (Selective sales)</li><li>13. Pay for Support - Open source - <a href="http://project.net">http://project.net</a></li><li>14. Sell Online Real-estate or virtual Items - <a href="http://SecondLife.com">http://SecondLife.com</a></li><li>15. Donations - Ala NPR / Public Radio - <a href="http://WikiPedia.org">http://WikiPedia.org</a></li> </ul>When looking at various sites that are generating revenue, I think that each has a specific primary model for revenue, and several have secondary models. Some event get to three different pathways that generate revenue: <br> <br>Company examples to understand the business model:<br><ul><li> 1) <a href="http://mozilla.org">Mozilla.org</a> -> donations + advertising (google search) </li><li> 2) <a href="http://mysql.org">Mysql.org</a> -> Sell Support </li><li>3) <a href="http://pepsi.com">Pepsi.com</a> -> Increase existing Sales</li> <li>4) <a href="http://ebay.com">Ebay.com</a> -> Enable exchange </li><li>5) <a href="http://paypal.com">PayPal.com</a> -> Float + Sell credit cards</li><li>6) <a href="http://garagegames.com">GarageGames.com</a> -> Sell Directly: software</li><li>7) <a href="http://amazon.com">Amazon.com</a> -> Sell Directly: Fullfillment </li> <li>8) <a href="http://pandora.com">Pandora.com</a> -> Ads + Selling indirectly </li><li>9) <a href="http://blip.fm">Blip.fm</a> -> ?</li><li>10) <a href="http://npost.com">Npost.com</a> -> Ads + Selling job postings </li><li>11) <a href="http://techflash.com">TechFlash.com</a> -> Advertising </li> <li>12) <a href="http://sampa.com">Sampa.com</a> -> Sell product </li><li>13) <a href="http://milliondollarhomepage.com">Milliondollarhomepage.com</a> -> Sell directly (pixels) or Advertising</li><li>14) <a href="http://zillow.com">Zillow.com</a> -> Advertising + Referals </li><li>15) <a href="http://redfin.com">Redfin.com</a> -> Selling houses</li> <li>16) <a href="http://facebook.com">facebook.com</a> -> Ads </li><li>17)<a href="http://linkedin.com"> Linkedin.com</a> -> Subscription</li><li>18) <a href="http://ups.com">UPS.com</a> -> Reduce Costs</li><li>19) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org">Wikipedia.org</a> -> Donations </li> <li>20) <a href="http://aboutus.org">AboutUs.com</a> -> Ads</li><li>21) <a href="http://footwise.com">Footwise.com</a> -> Selling directly</li><li>22) <a href="http://frogstore.com">Frogstore.com</a> -> Selling directly</li><li>23) <a href="http://toonlet.com">Toonlet.com</a> -> Ads (google search box) </li> <li>24) <a href="http://tinyurl.com">Tinyurl.com</a> -> Ads</li><li>25) <a href="http://nowchannel.com">Nowchannel.com</a> -> Selling indirectly </li></ul><br>What websites do you go to and how are they generating revenue? What makes them sustainable in the long run? <br> .<br>John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-88470500783633834422009-03-02T11:30:00.001-08:002009-03-02T11:30:19.679-08:00[SeattleTech] Heading to PortlandToday, I saw a note on the Seattle Tech Startups email list about someone heading down to Portland, looking to make contacts. Here is what I sent him, it is an initial set of ideas off the top of my head, but Buzz suggested that I get it posted on a website. I am sure there are many more things worth putting on this list. Perhaps you have a suggestion?<br> <br>I sent :<br>(remember this is from a Seattle to Portland point of view) <br><div class="gmail_quote"><br>There are a lot of interesting things happening in Portland.<br><br>One of the things that Portland has which Seattle does not seem to have is funded incubators. I suggest that you take a moment to talk to Steve Morris at the Oregon Technology Business Center <a href="http://www.otbc.org" target="_blank">http://www.otbc.org</a><br> And to talk to Carol Mason at the PSU accelerator <a href="http://www.psba.pdx.edu/" target="_blank">http://www.psba.pdx.edu/<br></a><br>The Equivilent of the NWEN is the OEN. Linda Weston at <a href="http://www.oen.org" target="_blank">http://www.oen.org</a> is a good person to touch base with.<br> <br>One of the projects that I find very interesting is the Calagator project. It is an open source effort to build an calendar agregator <a href="http://www.calagator.org" target="_blank">http://www.calagator.org</a><br> <br>the Calagator folks can help you find many of the technical Gathering places. Things like the Perl Users group, or the MYSQL users group or the Android programer gathering or .... The list is huge.<br> <br>In addition, something that I see in Portland that I don't see in Seattle is the Legion of Tech folks <a href="http://www.legionoftech.org" target="_blank">http://www.legionoftech.org</a><br>They run the Portland BarCamp and the Portland Ignite.<br> Getting time to visit with Todd Kenefsky or with Dawn Foster would be useful.<br><br>Todd ran a Startupalooza last year <a href="http://www.startupalooza.org" target="_blank">http://www.startupalooza.org</a><br>It was very good. I hope they do it again this year. The website has not been updated for this year.<br> <br>You might want to track down some of the folks who are part of Starve Ups - <a href="http://www.starveups.org" target="_blank">http://www.starveups.org</a><br><br>They are a collection of folks who are working to help entrepreneurs, in a more focused way. <br> <br>In addtion the folks at the POSSE - <a href="http://www.possepdx.org/" target="_blank">http://www.possepdx.org/</a><br>They are a bunch of Open Source Entrepreneurs.<br><br>Brian Jameson at Open Sourcery might be an interesting person to visit with.<br> <a href="http://www.opensourcery.com" target="_blank">http://www.opensourcery.com</a><br><br>The local Software Association of Oregon is a good gathering place for people doing different kinds of businesses. You might talk to Harvey Matthews or Bryce Yonkers at <a href="http://www.sao.org" target="_blank">http://www.sao.org</a><br> <br>I hope this gives you a starting place for what you are looking for.<br>If you follow Dawn Foster on <a href="http://www.shizzow.com" target="_blank">http://www.shizzow.com ,</a> You will find that Beer and Blog - <a href="http://www.beerandblog.org" target="_blank">http://www.beerandblog.org</a> tends to happen at the <a href="http://www.pdxgreendragon.com/" target="_blank">Green Dragon </a>and you will see that the Linux Users Group tends to meet at the <a href="http://www.luckylab.com/" target="_blank">Lucky Lab</a><br> <br>If there is any specific introduction that I can help with, please drop me a note.<br><br><br><br><br></div><br> John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-38624148893301357102009-02-05T08:02:00.000-08:002009-02-05T08:03:00.669-08:00IPFUT - What it takes for an entrepreneur<br>A brand spanking new entrepeneur comes to the Business Facilitation meeting, looking for feedback and for investment from the potential investors in the room. As the investors look on the process, what things are they looking for? Certainly they are looking for information about the business and the potential plan. They are also looking for ways to evaluate the presenter. In early angel investing, the investment is as much (or more) in the founders as it is in the idea. <br> <br>What traits of the founders are the investors looking for evidence of? As I have thought about this, I have come up with the following , in order. If these are not evident, the chances of angel investors engaging are greatly reduced:<br> <br>I - Integrity<br>P - Passion<br>F - Focus<br>U - Urgency<br>T - Team <br><br>Without each of these, getting to the next part of the conversation will be hard. When presentations do not clearly represent a crisp picture of the business and a crips picture of the entrepreneur, it makes the next step difficult. <br> <br><br>I have found that my mentoring conversations with entrepreneurs end up devolving into some kind of conversation about one of these topics. <br><br>These are the things that are important before the idea is going to get moving.<br> <br>Are there other things that are common places that need attention for entrepreneurs? <br><br><br> John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-82284779800888638782008-12-14T14:50:00.001-08:002008-12-14T14:50:35.491-08:00Business Stage: KittyHawke<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CySiTFZIphk/SUWNu7kT7fI/AAAAAAAAAFI/G88Oghi3ADk/s1600-h/oomaat-business-stage-kittyhawke-735493.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CySiTFZIphk/SUWNu7kT7fI/AAAAAAAAAFI/G88Oghi3ADk/s320/oomaat-business-stage-kittyhawke-735493.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279781975565266418" /></a></p>After the Popcorn Business Stage, startups start to get a bit of wind under their wings. They are still not focused, taking whatever opportunities for revenue that they can find. But they are starting to get clusters of customers. Enough customers to have a notion of revenue flow. This is one of the most exciting times in a very early startup. You have a group starting to pay attention to you.<br> <br>It is also a very dangerous time for a startup. It is easy to be pulled one way or another into projects that generate revenue, but which do not have a long term market for the company. This is the point for clarity. Who exactly are the people who are the best market for your company? Often the early adopters who help you get you to the KittyHawke stage of a little flow are not the ones who will ultimately support the company. <br> <br>Clarity about the company's market and the direction are often very hard to get at this point in the business. So this is a time of experimentation to try to find pathways to the next flight. If you are successful, you will end up taking several short flights that lead you into the next Business stage. <br> <br> John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-58492319121254035422008-12-14T14:18:00.001-08:002008-12-14T14:18:21.811-08:00The Theory of OOMAAT - One Order of Magnitude at a time<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CySiTFZIphk/SUWGLcJ5njI/AAAAAAAAAFA/CLeakxx_YR0/s1600-h/oomaat-701813.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CySiTFZIphk/SUWGLcJ5njI/AAAAAAAAAFA/CLeakxx_YR0/s320/oomaat-701813.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279773669256175154" /></a></p><br><font size="2"> Every day, entrepreneurs dream that they can create the next<br> big company. They have a dream of putting the right project<br> together which will grow to be the next Google, Facebook or<br> Myspace. And every day, many potential entrepreneurs work<br> hard on their project, but make less progress than they need<br> to succeed.<br><br> Let's go run a marathon tomorrow! For most of us, running a<br> marathon would take preparation and planning. Not doing<br> that preparation only leads to pain and trouble. Potentially<br> serious trouble.<br><br> In the same way, starting a new company can be like running a<br> marathon. A successful company is a complicated coordination<br> of many different components. The creation of a winning team<br> is something that takes some skill and experience. Most<br> investors want to fund teams with a full compliment of<br> experience. Most business don't get big without external<br> funding. So for you to engage external funding, you need to<br> have experience. How do you get experience getting funded, if<br> you have not been funded before? <br> <br><br> As many technologists, marketing and finance people are being<br> given an opportunity to leave big companies and find something<br> else to do, some are thinking that they will do a startup. <br> Because they come from a big company context, they jump right<br> back into that context not realizing that at a small company,<br> you don't have teams of other people to rely on. You get to do<br> everything. <br><br> Rather than jumping into the next $1B opportunity of our<br> dreams with one big bite, let's explore the question of how we<br> can take small pieces of the process and build the skills<br> incrementally.<br><br> I am calling this idea OOMAAT: One Order of<br> Magnitude At A Time. Instead of trying to create a huge<br> company when you have $100 in your pocket, look at an effort<br> that will allow you to grow that $100 to $1000 in, say, 30 <br> days. What would you need to do in order to accomplish this?<br><br> By thinking out how to start smaller companies that are<br> bite-sized efforts, you gain several advantages. First, you<br> reduce the risk of failure. By starting many small companies<br> with smaller amounts of effort, you waste less time and<br> resources on your failed companies and the experience you gain<br> will be very helpful to you on the next business. If you<br> structure your efforts in the same area, the clients that you<br> gather for one business will be interested in the next<br> business. Thirdly, the efforts to start the smaller businesses<br> will give you more ability to connect with others who are<br> starting businesses and help you see the potential partners<br> you will need for your next business. <br><br> So... How much money can you put on the table today that you<br> can afford to loose in order to start a business? Cut it in a<br> third as a way to keep your powder dry. Now, Given that amount of<br> money, what could you do in a fixed amount of time to increase<br> it:<br><br> Amount Time Target<br> $100 1 month $1K<br> $1K 3 months $10K<br> $10K 6 months $100K<br> $50K 1 year $500K<br> $100K 1.5 years $1M<br> $500K 3 years $5M<br> $1M 2 years $10M<br> $5M 5 years $50M<br> <br> In this Blog, I will explore a collection of ideas<br> to create OOMAAT-style startups. We will look at:<br> characteristics of investors,<br> skills that make a difference to the success of entrepreneurs, and<br> experiments in trying to build businesses in the OOMAAT Model.<br><br> Come join the experiments and let me know how things fare for you. </font><br><br> <br><br> John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-85116507080187460402008-12-07T22:05:00.001-08:002008-12-07T22:05:30.068-08:00Business Stage: Popcorn<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CySiTFZIphk/STy5KsfX3JI/AAAAAAAAAE0/zvT4V3XhkdE/s1600-h/adoption-curve-popcorn-730069.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CySiTFZIphk/STy5KsfX3JI/AAAAAAAAAE0/zvT4V3XhkdE/s320/adoption-curve-popcorn-730069.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277296456763956370" /></a></p><br>In the business life cycle, there is a beginning stage of the company, where there is no flow. There is revenue.... From time to time. but there is no flow. I want to call this stage of the company the "Popcorn" stage. It is like you are waiting for popcorn to pop. You are not sure how hot the fire is. But you have seen one kernel pop. But here you are waiting for the next one to pop. <br> <br>This is a stage of searching, trying to find a way to catch some momentum. Often this is the stage where people will try anything that produces revenue. And that can be a way to kill a company. On one hand, you want to search around to find things that people are willing to pay for. On the other hand, you want to have a business focus that does not get distracted by contracts and projects which pull away from the core of the business. Some where between those two is the answer.<br> <br><br clear="all"><br> .<br> John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891796973824723715.post-19541356780541704782008-12-07T21:44:00.001-08:002008-12-14T17:59:08.507-08:00Business Life Cycle as an adoption Curve<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CySiTFZIphk/SUW5xZUEkmI/AAAAAAAAAFY/Bzv-GdDBcUc/s1600-h/oomaat.adoption-curve.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 475px; height: 260px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CySiTFZIphk/SUW5xZUEkmI/AAAAAAAAAFY/Bzv-GdDBcUc/s320/oomaat.adoption-curve.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279830396421575266" border="0" /></a>
When I have conversations about a business decision, I try to put
the questions in context. The right answer for a business that is
in the middle of rapid growth has dramatically different numbers and
expectations than a company that is in full maintenance mode.
There is a GREAT book called Diffusion of Innovation
by Everett Rogers. It is the basis of the
work that supports the idea of "Crossing the Chasm".
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations</a>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Chasm">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Chasm</a>
Let's assume we have a product which we can sell to a fixed
number of people. Let's also assume that we will only sell
them one in their lifetime. Over time, we should be able to
plot the revenue for the company. With this One-Trick-pony of
a company, we would expect that as people adopt the product,
we will get revenue. As the product is purchased, the
Diffusion of Innovation suggests that there will be a Normal
Curve for how the product is adopted.
However, since we are selling only one to everyone, there is a
point where the population is exhasted and you no longer have
any revenue. This outlines the Business LifeCycle for a
single product company with no replacement. When people talk
about the S-Curve in adoption, they forget that there is the
opposite curve as that technology is abandoned.
The business process, expectations and activies need to be
appropriate to the stage of the company. Over the next several
blog post, I will explore many of the details of this
curve. We are going to explore some of the expectations and
divots that make this curve different than the Normal Curve
and when this should cause you to take one action or another.John Sechresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04492254169695458272noreply@blogger.com0