How We're Building a Values-Driven, Lean Advertising Startup

How to Build a Successful, Values-Driven, “Lean” Company

Rob FanFounder & CTO

Dan Greenberg Founder & CEO

The (quick) Sharethrough Story

Sharethrough Company Growth

Roots in engineering virality for Facebook applications and viral video campaigns.

Then.... Sharethrough started as a Facebook App Company Our first app? Hugs.2 Hours of Development.... ....20,000,000 Monthly Active Users!

Sharethrough is the ﬁrst technology company built exclusively for brand content, not ads We’ve got a ton of We win lots of Our customers love experience awards :) us Generated over Most video campaigns on the AdAge Viral Video 80% customer retention 300MM video views Chart... ever!

Now....Sharethrough guarantees views and maximizes sharing. Sharethrough Guarantees Views and Maximizes Sharing Publisher Sharethrough Dashboard Network Ad ProductsYourBrandVideo , ediac!It’s m agi not m

Sharethrough in the News... The Stanford Class that built Apps, and Fortunes. “Now 25, he works out of a glass-walled corner AdAge Media Maven, Danofﬁce in San Francisco. He is C.E.O. of his company, Greenberg, on Socialnow called Sharethrough, which uses social media Videoto distribute videos across the Web for companies.” "Sharethrough is building a repeatable advertising product for branded video content that doesnt rely on happy accidents." Sharethrough Integrates with Facebook Platform for Social Video Distribution Inside Social Games "This new initiative marks Facebooks validation of social video, focusing on views, not impressions; choice, not interruption; shares, not just CTRs.”

How We Got Here

FAIL FAST

Treat everything as an experiment

Always be transparent.

Building a product is easyBuilding a business is hard

Technology is a problem-solver, not the product

Plan everything in terms of MVP’s

Cash is a vanity metricMore cash does not equal more equity value

Sell your VISION and choose early customers who want to build that vision with you

Make your story shareable (Give customers the language to sell it)

Make everyone your champion

Hire aspirationally

Day-to-day tips

Curate a lean/agile/customer development library

Over-invest in learning opportunities

Document customer archetypes with visible artifacts

Paired programming on all stories

Daily scrums, Rotating pairs daily

Ping pong battleﬁeld

Communicate with visuals instead of words

Stanford d.school whiteboards

Physical, visual, and transparent product communication

PROBLEM DESIGNCONCERNS MEETING BUILD - MEASURE - LEARN STUDIO AGENDA

How We Scale This Philosophy

Document core values from the ground up

OptimismAction Respect ’sPurpose Core Values CreativityTransparency Personal Growth

OPTIMISMmeans...think big, and think aheadin action...• conﬁdence in the existence of a solution• don’t get discouraged• there is always a way• embrace uncertainty• ambition• enthusiasmit’s not...• blind positivity, irrational happiness• denial Our Core Values

ACTIONmeans...fail fast, learn aggressivelyin action...• take forward-moving steps, not lateral movements• fail as a team, not as an individual• learn by doing• decisions over perfection• “be the accelerator, not the brakes”• proactive vs. reactive• Carethrough exampleit’s not...• waiting for full buy-in before you start something• blind action without thought or planning Our Core Values

PURPOSEmeans...demand contextin action...• make sure everyone on your team understands the major goals• communicate learnings and challenges up and down the company• sharing passion• asking questions• ofﬁce hoursit’s not...• blind commitment to the project Our Core Values

TRANSPARENCYmeans...self-awareness & effective communicationin action...• should be tempered with purpose• lunch and learns• intellectual honesty• customer reporting• company wide ﬁle sharingit’s not...• always being wide open with everything• ignoring issues, roadblocks, and sticky situations Our Core Values

PERSONAL GROWTHmeans...write your own storyin action...• aspirational hiring• appreciating the newness of everything• recognizing growth is not always easy• being part of an ongoing story, not a treadmill• the education fund• having mentors and advisorsit’s not... Our Core Values• being afraid to jump off the bridge

RESPECTmeans...make everyone our championin action...• trust in those around you• speak up• understand your impact on the people around you, directly & indirectly• taking criticism well• empathy• Carethroughit’s not...• being nice all the time Our Core Values

CREATIVITYmeans...create new thingsin action...• bias towards creation, not improvement• thinking differently about problems• building MVP’s, not full-blown solutions• STR exists to facilitate more creativity in the advertising worldit’s not...• accepting the process as-is• resisting change Our Core Values• always being different, artistic, zany, funny, etc

Questions/Ideas/Feedback? We’re happy to chat. dan@sharethrough.com rob@sharethrough.com

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How We're Building a Values-Driven, Lean Advertising Startup

by Sharethrough on Jul 22, 2011

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How We’re Building a Values-Driven, Lean Advertising Startup — Presentation Transcript