Archive for the ‘Entrepreneurial thoughts’ Category
You can change what you want to change
just it. Very specific. A focused action. to the point. Don’t try to change everything, your efforts will be diluted. Start with what matters most and surrounds you. The future will bring you to the next step. A great step froward.
Why now?
Jason Calacanis just published the main question Sequoia VCs ask founders of start-ups. Why now? Every product or service has a best-suited point in time where the chances of achieving success increase significantly. Is that the moment for you?
This question already assumes that you are doing what you love, and that you excel at it, much better than the others. It’s also assuming that you have a serious business model behind your idea, and that the market is huge enough for a VC to be interested.I’m sure they want you to have some clients/users as well. You could have all this, but your moment could be in some years or months. Many companies have created great things too early!
In this, I feel that the second mover advantage is important. Being the first might not guarantee success. Good luck!
Value proposition canvas
The business model canvas is a simple yet powerful tool to analyze companies, and come up with new value propositions to make companies translation from good to great. However, translating it into a product or service is not an easy task. In this sense, the value proposition canvas can help you optimize your resources to achieve successful products and services. Take a look at it.
Lead by questions
Sometimes we think that the boss is the one that has the right view of something, and we tend to shut up when she is talking, even if we disagree. But in the current economy, that can be a sign that your company is going to die soon.
The boss doesn’t have the complete information, so her decisions will be biased, and other colleagues might be the experts in the topic. Besides, discussing to reach together a better solution that the one that anyone could come up with alone is the adequate process to lead your company to success. Nothing personal. Just the best for the company.
The great leader has to lead by questions, not by answers. Instead of providing the truth, she shall lead her colleagues to the truth by questioning their assumptions and posing the right questions. My favourite one is Why, many times. But don’t ask questions with an implicit or explicit answer. Then, the method won’t be valid.
Renting
Renting is a spread business model these days, e.g. Software as a Service. The best thing about it is that you can cancel whenever you want. No upfront fees either. If you need it and provides value, you’ll pay without hesitation. Otherwise, you cancel the service. Less is more. For you as a start-up, if you have such a model, treat your customers as it were the last day. If they decide to leave, it will be too late to change their minds. They are not a number. They are one of your most important assets.
Your greatest asset
is not people. It’s the right people. People that might not be optimally suited for your company will make you waste time, money, and energy. Great people will create a great company. Average people make average companies. It might be hard to say, but this is something Marissa Mayer is doing at Yahoo! So if you are a small start-up, this is even more important. Convince the right people to come with you, and then let you be led by them. Their goals will excel.
Sales
A sustainable competitive advantage. We are being told about this. Find it and develop it! Differentiate yourself. But in current markets, when things change so fast, how long can you sustain it without being attacked by competitors? I’m sure that the answer to address this effectively is sell and innovate more. Continuously. Either you have it in your DNA or not. So move now.
