A Sack of Seattle

We suck less (as a business book title and other book titles I could write)

I have no intention of writing a book. This blog is as close as I get to being a writer. However, I do feel qualified to write a book. If I were to write a book, it might have one of the following titles or themes:

• The guerrilla entrepreneur's guide to starting profitable businesses online
• Choose your organization dysfunction
• The tie-die millionaire
• The art of angel investing and poker
• Great lines to open a company meeting : I had a great weekend and yes, I got laid (by my wife)
• 1,000 ways companies die
• A sack of start up advice
• Why self-awareness is critical to success
• How the dishwasher saved my marriage
• The frugal entrepreneur or the scrappy entrepreneur

The entrepreneurs dilemma: on the right path or delusional?

All entrepreneurs face the moment(s) when they must assess the feedback from customers, the market, investors, employees and people in general as to whether their idea is worthy of becoming a profitable self-sustaining business or weather it's just a futile fools errand.  This question comes up more frequently in the early stages of a business as entrepreneurs go through the difficult time of getting a company off the ground. My only comment to entrepreneurs in this dilemma is the advice that the martial arts instructor gave to us regarding our young son's desire to earn a black belt:
"Every kid is capable of earning a black belt. It's usually the parents who get tired and stop encouraging the goal of obtaining a black belt."   It sounded better when he said it-- my point is that at these dilemma points, perseverance is more frequently than not the answer. 

win-win vs win-lose?

There's a lot of business books and traditional business mythology around creating win-win situations. Frankly, I believe in that approach myself and generally take the long view on my work relationships. However, the world is filled with assholes -- and business in particular, seems to give people the license to be even an asshole. One observation that I'd make is that when you take a person who is playing win-win and put them in negotiation with someone committed to a win-lose philosophy --the win-lose operandi wins in the short run much more often than the win-win.
ok -- sorry --that's a mouthful and confusing.
There are times -- when win-win meets win-lose -- and the management team needs to man up (or woman up) and tell the other side that you won't be pushed any further. It's important to draw clear lines of battle in language that the person playing win-lose understands around whatever issue you're facing. The argument doesn't have to result in fisticuffs or a loud argument -- in fact much better if you remain calm and CLEAR -- it's just a matter of drawing a line and not budging any further.

If you're going to break the model, don't just break it a little

Chris and I have been talking about some of our portfolio companies. We came up with this insight (i.e. the title of the post) today in one of our meetings -- and I thought I'd share it with you.  A number of the companies are innovating on standard business models. Inevitably as they innovate, they also retain part of an existing business to be more evolutionary for customers, investors, and employees.  Our thought today is that we should be encouraging our companies to consider when breaking with a traditional way of doing business -- not to break away in a small manner but to make a full push to innovate. Think about all the cell phone innovations that existed before the i-phone was introduced. You probably can't even recall them -- I can't -- but trust me there were lots of innovations. But it wasn't until Apple broke enough of the model to truly stand out. Another way of saying this : if you're going to make a mess, don't make a small one.

Updating your skill set

I asked one of our developers if he was going to attend the Amazon web services conference.  I thought the agenda looked interesting.  He told me that if he worked at a big company --he'd be pitching his manager on "updating his skill set" and being "current on market developments" so he could spend the day working out of the office (not really working). But he works at Lookstat and he's got code to ship and a business to build. I loved his answer -- Casey combines strong technical acumen with a fierce determination to make his business profitable today....and today is everyday. 

Debunking start up myths with real customer research

I have a friend, Jay Haynes, who has been talking to me about the value of customer research in the process of new venture creation.  He talks about how valuable detailed research is into minimizing the risks of building something new that's tragically flawed. His blog is here.   I think he's more right than wrong. Check out his page on debunking start-up myths with real research.

My advice: talk to 20 customers over the next 2 weeks

I had a conversation with a new start up yesterday that is innovating in the recruiting industry.  I asked them how many of the customers that will pay them money they had spoken to in developing their product. I can't remember whether the answer was one or none but I know it was not enough.  They then told me that the main motivator for buying decisions was cost reduction. There was no way they could know this -- it may have been right, but they couldn't know it because they hadn't spoken to enough customers. My advice was simple -- spend the next 2 weeks and talk to 20 customers. Leave your pre-conceived notions at home and focus on understanding their perspective on their job and suppliers. Listen. Take notes. At the end of the process -- thinkin again about the product and business you are building.

Facebook is your front yard

I heard this comment today at breakfast and thought it was an appropriate metaphor.  Facebook is a place where your friends feel welcome, where neighbors and strangers can take a peak but don't trespass, and your more adult toys and bad hapits are out of view.  Just like your front yard.