I’m Back From My Blogging Hiatus
So it has been a long time since I last checked in. My sincere apologizes for that. So where have I been? In addition to going through some personal changes, I have committed to working on a great startup project called Jobzey. Things have been a little crazy with that. Now that I am back to blogging, I intend to bring tremendous value to readers, focusing on all things startup related. I look forward to getting back into a regular routine.
As always, I intend to cover topics like business strategy, customer development, marketing, bootstrapping, business software, and everything in between. If you have any specific topics that you would like to have me blog about, I would love to get some ideas. You can reach me at mark [at] jobzey [dot] com or through my personal email address through the Contact page form.
What is the dirtiest word in business? Chances are that the word ‘outsourcing’ comes to mind. Many Americans despise it, many business owners shy away from it and many entrepreneurs depend on it. Regardless of what side of the issue you are on, it is important to know that it exists and will continue to exist. Why? Because there are a lot of things to love about outsourcing.
As a business owner and tech entrepreneur who exists in a hyper-competitive market, I have used outsourcing to accomplish a variety of tasks. Whether it is data entry, design, research or basic programming, there is a market of willing outsourced employees available to you. Leveraging the talents of others who may live beyond our borders provides a number of great advantages. However, on the other hand, there are many drawbacks that accompany outsourcing.
Funding Does Not Equal Success
If you were paying attention to tech news this week, you may have come across an interesting article in Business Insider written by Alyson Shontell. It was a brief discussion that stemmed from the final episode of Bloomberg’s ‘TechStars’ show, in which audience members (and participating entrepreneurs) appeared to show applauding support for companies that raised venture capital funding while not being as excited or supportive for companies that attained success through organic growth and funding through customer revenues. One notable tech investor and entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk, pointed this out and expressed a contrasting view.
As I watched this segment, I too came to the conclusion that the tech community has this thing all wrong. We, myself included, tend to celebrate companies who receive millions of dollars in funding as if the funding is the accomplishment of a business. When companies fail to raise money or choose not but still creates a successful business, we aren’t always as excited. This is flawed logic.
Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish
I must admit that it has been too long since I wrote my last blog post. As I have no worthy excuse, I have been busy working on some new things. This post is being written as a result of an event that I wish had not come so soon. On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs passed away. For all of us who have ever owned an Apple product or admired one, we all understand the level of innovation that the world has lost. More so, for hopeful entrepreneurs, visionaries and CEOs, we have lost one of the greatest examples of our time.
As much as I am remembering the great contributions that Mr. Jobs provided us, I am also remembering how he demonstrated the importance of determination, hard work, big vision, appreciation of design, understanding user experience and intent, as well as creating a great product. I created this blog to share my experiences as an entrepreneur and teach all the lessons that I am learning along the way. One lesson that I have learned time and time again is to learn from smart people. Not just from people with high IQs or good grades in school, but smart people. People who understand other people. People who strive to create products that change the world. People like Steve Jobs.
One of the greatest speeches I have ever watched included Mr. Jobs at the 2005 Stanford Commencement Address. As one of millions of viewers of this video, I too have sincerely appreciated his wisdom and advice. As entrepreneurs, we all will go through the ups and downs. We will all have our struggles in our journey of building a great company. Steve Jobs did all of these things. I have included his video from the commencement speech so that you can appreciate his wisdom. Four words that he used will always stand out to me. I think it truly exemplifies what entrepreneurs must ALWAYS do in order to succeed.
Admit it: you think you are pretty smart. You love technology and you build tech and web products that do really cool things. Whether you are an entrepreneur, sales guy or hacker in the tech space, you know the technology of your product and its features. The problem is that you probably often forget that your customers or users don’t understand technology nearly as much as you. To be honest, most times, they don’t care how it works. All they care about is that it works. However, this technological disconnect between you and your customers is important to understand.
In marketing, web design, sales pitches and every interaction point between your customer and the product, your customer needs to understand all the value that your product offers. Communicating the important aspects of value is important, but can be extremely difficult when dealing with very technical products. Focus on what matters and what will be easiest to persuade a potential customer convert into a paying customer. Using language that they don’t understand will not achieve this goal.
Your closest competitor just received great exposure in a major publication and then landed $5 million in venture funding. You are probably thinking that it is time to chase the editor of a great news source then start pitching your company to venture capitalists as well. Before you go and try playing catch up with who you think is your direct competitor, pause for a moment to consider your thought process.
David Cancel wrote a truly insightful post on this very topic, where he outlines that your biggest competitor is customer apathy. It is not the company who sells the same product to your target market, it is customer apathy. Why? For many market segments, especially in this post-recession period, your customer will be making the decision of whether or not to use your product or service or nothing at all. You will be fighting harder than ever to earn their dollar. Positioning yourself against the competition is not the key.
Michael Jordan and Mark Zuckerberg have a lot more in common than the fact that they both are extremely rich. Both men have found out how to utilize their talents to create consistently winning teams. The best entrepreneurs and businessmen have become experts in the art of marketing, deal-making and product development. However, athletes have also become notable for understanding particular skill-sets and actions that better position them for success. Here are five lessons that entrepreneurs can learn from athletes.
1. Compliment your competitors, while complimenting your own company even more
What Will Web 3.0 Look Like?
Building products and services for today’s environment may allow you to build a successful company, but building products for tomorrow’s world will allow you to guide our society into a new age. As a technological society, we have evolved from the early days of content-based websites, to e-commerce businesses, to social networks. The companies who will lead the future will be those who understand what the next evolution of the web will be, how to provide the most value to users or customers, and how to monetize this process.
I came across a great video from TechCrunch with Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, and Tim O’Reilly, of O’Reilly Media, in which they discussed what the web’s biggest superstars may look like in the future. Based on their experience and contribution to today’s internet, I find their opinions and outlooks very insightful. This video is a must-watch for anyone who is considering being a leader in the internet space.
Because of the great success of so many internet giants like Facebook and Twitter, the door has been opened for web developers and entrepreneurs to leverage the large masses of users and data to build great products and services. Once a great internet company provides access to their platform through their open API, you can be off to the races creating the next Farmville or TweetDeck.
However, building your product or service on the platform of a bigger company has its costs and its benefits. Here is a list of risks and rewards that any entrepreneur should be aware of prior to getting the wheels rolling on a platform-dependent startup:
If you are a startup in the technology field, you are definitely in a competitive environment. Whether you are a news blog, daily deals site, social network or mobile application, you are probably facing some tough competitors. You need to find some real qualitative differentiating factors between you and them. Game mechanics may be the solution to all of your problems.
First off, you may be immediately asking yourself, what is game mechanics? Basically, game mechanics can be briefly described as a construct of rules and ideas that allow for structured and enjoyable game play. Yes, I am sure more questions are arising. The best way to exemplify it is to look at a popular startup that is using game mechanics extremely well. A prime example is Foursquare.
Funding Does Not Equal Success
Note to Tech Entrepreneurs: Dumb It Down A Little
Loading ...