When angels and venture capitalists started flooding the market with cash 20 years ago, people forgot that bootstrapping was the way most companies used to get started. Because it deserves to make a comeback as the best way to think about starting a company, I've shared here, my 4 rules for bootstrapping.
Recent stats say that 46% of sales people at established software companies fail to meet their quotas. In my experience, the problem isn't with the salespeople but with their quotas. Setting quotas and budgets is much easier if you can forecast revenue accurately. In fact if you get really good at it, think how much money you can make. So here are four methods to help you forecast revenue more accurately.
I often meet companies whose revenue is stalled and they wonder why. What many of them don't realize is that they're not spending enough money on Sales and Marketing. This slide deck looks at 5 important metrics for a software company. If you want a detailed set of metics, contact me as I've got a full set of industry metics in Excel.
How do you ensure growth is good growth? How do you build a durable business that can withstand the challenges that come up? Tolithia Kornweibel, CRO (previously CMO) of Gusto, discusses a CMO-CRO working model that works for long-term, durable growth.
Bozeman Internet Marketing - Seo Tips From Brian Metzgerproducts101
http://www.market2bozeman.com Discover what is working for internet marketing gurus and how Bozeman Businesses can use it in their internet marketing efforts. Going beyond website design, Brian explores three key strategies that make for a solid marketing plan.
Lean Startup for Finance: Using Innovation Accounting for Valuation and Risk ...Lean Startup Co.
David Binetti, Dinadesa , @dbinetti
Whether you’re in Finance — or just report *to* Finance — you’ll want to catch David Binetti’s talk on Innovation Accounting. David will show how to calculate the ROI and Risk of innovation projects while avoiding common traps that can doom entrepreneurs before they begin.
Recent stats say that 46% of sales people at established software companies fail to meet their quotas. In my experience, the problem isn't with the salespeople but with their quotas. Setting quotas and budgets is much easier if you can forecast revenue accurately. In fact if you get really good at it, think how much money you can make. So here are four methods to help you forecast revenue more accurately.
I often meet companies whose revenue is stalled and they wonder why. What many of them don't realize is that they're not spending enough money on Sales and Marketing. This slide deck looks at 5 important metrics for a software company. If you want a detailed set of metics, contact me as I've got a full set of industry metics in Excel.
How do you ensure growth is good growth? How do you build a durable business that can withstand the challenges that come up? Tolithia Kornweibel, CRO (previously CMO) of Gusto, discusses a CMO-CRO working model that works for long-term, durable growth.
Bozeman Internet Marketing - Seo Tips From Brian Metzgerproducts101
http://www.market2bozeman.com Discover what is working for internet marketing gurus and how Bozeman Businesses can use it in their internet marketing efforts. Going beyond website design, Brian explores three key strategies that make for a solid marketing plan.
Lean Startup for Finance: Using Innovation Accounting for Valuation and Risk ...Lean Startup Co.
David Binetti, Dinadesa , @dbinetti
Whether you’re in Finance — or just report *to* Finance — you’ll want to catch David Binetti’s talk on Innovation Accounting. David will show how to calculate the ROI and Risk of innovation projects while avoiding common traps that can doom entrepreneurs before they begin.
Seth Godin in 'This Is Marketing' brings together all his jotted down thoughts of last two decades on marketing from 'Permission Marketing', 'Purple Cow', 'Tribe', 'Knock Knock', 'Marketers are Liars' and MarketingSeminar and so many more. 'This Is Marketing' will serve as a compass for all marketers young and old on how to do marketing in a way that fulfills them. Created this deck as a reference notes for myself with key principles distilled from the book
This presentation will help you rethink what a business is and how you can tailor your plan to work with you as you grow your business. In this presentation you will:
- Have a business plan framework to build upon.
- Learn how to identify and articulate who your competitors are in your market.
- Know the traps, pitfalls and bad business logic to avoid
- Work on weaving business strategy and strategic. planning concepts into your business plan so it grows with you.
Your business plan should act as a framework and provide metrics for you to measure your business against. No, your "hockey stick" pro-forma financial statements are not anywhere close to reality. We will work on that. By the end of this presentation you will have some insight on how to build a tool for your business.
Streamline your sales funnel - Syed Asad Hussain CallPage
Sales representatives quite often don’t focus on top of the pipeline, which leads to a “leaky bucket”. It results in good leads falling through the cracks.
- Learn how to improve your sales velocity.
- Learn how to build a strong lead qualification process.
- Understand the buyer's journey.
Streamline your inbound sales efforts to maximize growth and scalability in your sales team. With the help of sales velocity you can increase your sales by over 140%.
Most organizations have no idea of how to implement Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). They either measure everything that moves, or they operate in the blind and measure nothing except perhaps revenues or profitability.
How to write a business plan that worksBusiness Plan
Strategically analyze your business. Find out what your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are. Increase your strengths, minimize your weaknesses, exploit your opportunities and avoid the threats. Check out: http://www.business-plan.co.za
From SendGrid to DigitalOcean: Hacks for Founders of High-Growth Startups wit...saastr
All high-growth startups reach a point in scaling their business when their processes and operations start to inhibit their growth. From SendGrid to DigitalOcean, Yancey Spruill is the person these startups brought in when they were ready to graduate to the big leagues. In his presentation, Yancey will discuss the most common mistakes startup founders make and how to overcome hurdles at different stages of growth.
How to start a small business? If you ask this question to a group of people and they are likely to think they know the answer. But the truth is that most new businesses fail within their first year of operation.
Avoid this common reasons why most start-up fails by simply visiting us at http://moneyreign.com/ now!
Seth Godin in 'This Is Marketing' brings together all his jotted down thoughts of last two decades on marketing from 'Permission Marketing', 'Purple Cow', 'Tribe', 'Knock Knock', 'Marketers are Liars' and MarketingSeminar and so many more. 'This Is Marketing' will serve as a compass for all marketers young and old on how to do marketing in a way that fulfills them. Created this deck as a reference notes for myself with key principles distilled from the book
This presentation will help you rethink what a business is and how you can tailor your plan to work with you as you grow your business. In this presentation you will:
- Have a business plan framework to build upon.
- Learn how to identify and articulate who your competitors are in your market.
- Know the traps, pitfalls and bad business logic to avoid
- Work on weaving business strategy and strategic. planning concepts into your business plan so it grows with you.
Your business plan should act as a framework and provide metrics for you to measure your business against. No, your "hockey stick" pro-forma financial statements are not anywhere close to reality. We will work on that. By the end of this presentation you will have some insight on how to build a tool for your business.
Streamline your sales funnel - Syed Asad Hussain CallPage
Sales representatives quite often don’t focus on top of the pipeline, which leads to a “leaky bucket”. It results in good leads falling through the cracks.
- Learn how to improve your sales velocity.
- Learn how to build a strong lead qualification process.
- Understand the buyer's journey.
Streamline your inbound sales efforts to maximize growth and scalability in your sales team. With the help of sales velocity you can increase your sales by over 140%.
Most organizations have no idea of how to implement Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). They either measure everything that moves, or they operate in the blind and measure nothing except perhaps revenues or profitability.
How to write a business plan that worksBusiness Plan
Strategically analyze your business. Find out what your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are. Increase your strengths, minimize your weaknesses, exploit your opportunities and avoid the threats. Check out: http://www.business-plan.co.za
From SendGrid to DigitalOcean: Hacks for Founders of High-Growth Startups wit...saastr
All high-growth startups reach a point in scaling their business when their processes and operations start to inhibit their growth. From SendGrid to DigitalOcean, Yancey Spruill is the person these startups brought in when they were ready to graduate to the big leagues. In his presentation, Yancey will discuss the most common mistakes startup founders make and how to overcome hurdles at different stages of growth.
How to start a small business? If you ask this question to a group of people and they are likely to think they know the answer. But the truth is that most new businesses fail within their first year of operation.
Avoid this common reasons why most start-up fails by simply visiting us at http://moneyreign.com/ now!
http://productprosystems.com - The Product Creation Manifesto is a guide to information marketing and creating information products. Written by Greg Rollett, the ProductPro, this guide will show you the "why" behind recording your own info products as well as practical tips that walk you through the creation of your very own information marketing products.
How to become an entrepreneur - facing the top 25 challenges Prayukth K V
Answers to everything from "Deciding When to Ditch the Steady Job" to facing challenging client requirements...a must read for all budding entrepreneurs
https://www.mappfia.com/
A minimum viable product (MVP) is something that has just about
enough features that satisfy your early customers and prove that
there's a demand for your product, giving you confirmation it's
actually worth building.
Journey to product / market fit explained. What do the start-up's first stages look like and what you should keep in mind when identifying a problem worth solving, creating a product and getting your first customers
How To Fail: 25 Secrets Learned through FailureTaylor Davidson
25 Secrets Learned through Failure, by Taylor Davidson at Unstructured Ventures.
Visit the post on unstructuredventures.com/uv (short link to post: http://tinyurl.com/howtofail ) to add to the discussion, share your lessons learned from failure, and view more.
The "Genesis: Idea Stage" ebook explains the phase where the journey starts for every startup: the idea stage. This eBook is the first part of the "Startup Master Class" series covering the idea, problem/solution fit, product/market fit and scaling stages.
Small Business Survival Guide: 28 tips to unlock you own success story [eBook]Line//Shape//Space
For all the advice you need to make your small business survive and thrive check out this small business tips ebook, bought to you by Line Shape Space.
Check out: http://lineshapespace.com/
DNS Business Development Workshop
Course Overview
This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of the Domain Name System (DNS) industry and business drivers to enable entrepreneurs to understand potential business opportunities in this industry.
The course will focus on practical issues where appropriate, with case studies and listings of available resources and vendors in the industry. Ample time will be included for networking opportunities and identifying available resources for on-going assistance after the conclusion of the course.
The course will occur over a 5 day period, with an early end on the last day to accommodate travel schedules
This is the first in a five part series on Strategy Execution. The series is comprised of:
1. Strategy Execution
2. Using Metrics to Define Success
3. Job Design and Delegation
4. Performance Management and Communication
5. Coaching and Motivation
This is the second in a five part series on Strategy Execution. The series is comprised of:
1. Strategy Execution
2. Using Metrics to Define Success
3. Job Design and Delegation
4. Performance Management and Communication
5. Coaching and Motivation
This is the third in a five part series on Strategy Execution. The series is comprised of:
1. Strategy Execution
2. Using Metrics to Define Success
3. Job Design and Delegation
4. Performance Management and Communication
5. Coaching and Motivation
Performance Management and CommunicationCharles Plant
This is the fourth in a five part series on Strategy Execution. The series is comprised of:
1. Strategy Execution
2. Using Metrics to Define Success
3. Job Design and Delegation
4. Performance Management and Communication
5. Coaching and Motivation
This is the fifth in a five part series on Strategy Execution. The series is comprised of:
1. Strategy Execution
2. Using Metrics to Define Success
3. Job Design and Delegation
4. Performance Management and Communication
5. Coaching and Motivation
Even if there are strong triggers that are acting on people to get them to innovate and low barriers from hindering them, you must be substantially better than your competitors to get buyers to choose you.
This slide deck explains the various dimensions you can use for competitive differentiation.
Even if there are strong triggers that are acting on people to get them to innovate, there can be barriers that get in the way.
This slide deck explains the barriers to innovation.
All innovation is initiated because of an external force that causes people to want to change what they are doing for one of four reasons.
These reasons are known as innovation triggers. This slide deck explains those triggers.
7 Reasons You May Not Want Venture CapitalCharles Plant
While getting Venture Capital may seem like a good idea, you should be aware of the stats and they aren't pretty. Only about 12% of VC investments earn VCs the desired rate of return so chances are 88% that if you get VC funding you won't end up being happy. But don't believe me, check out the stats.
What is the TDS Return Filing Due Date for FY 2024-25.pdfseoforlegalpillers
It is crucial for the taxpayers to understand about the TDS Return Filing Due Date, so that they can fulfill your TDS obligations efficiently. Taxpayers can avoid penalties by sticking to the deadlines and by accurate filing of TDS. Timely filing of TDS will make sure about the availability of tax credits. You can also seek the professional guidance of experts like Legal Pillers for timely filing of the TDS Return.
Tata Group Dials Taiwan for Its Chipmaking Ambition in Gujarat’s DholeraAvirahi City Dholera
The Tata Group, a titan of Indian industry, is making waves with its advanced talks with Taiwanese chipmakers Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) and UMC Group. The goal? Establishing a cutting-edge semiconductor fabrication unit (fab) in Dholera, Gujarat. This isn’t just any project; it’s a potential game changer for India’s chipmaking aspirations and a boon for investors seeking promising residential projects in dholera sir.
Visit : https://www.avirahi.com/blog/tata-group-dials-taiwan-for-its-chipmaking-ambition-in-gujarats-dholera/
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Cracking the Workplace Discipline Code Main.pptxWorkforce Group
Cultivating and maintaining discipline within teams is a critical differentiator for successful organisations.
Forward-thinking leaders and business managers understand the impact that discipline has on organisational success. A disciplined workforce operates with clarity, focus, and a shared understanding of expectations, ultimately driving better results, optimising productivity, and facilitating seamless collaboration.
Although discipline is not a one-size-fits-all approach, it can help create a work environment that encourages personal growth and accountability rather than solely relying on punitive measures.
In this deck, you will learn the significance of workplace discipline for organisational success. You’ll also learn
• Four (4) workplace discipline methods you should consider
• The best and most practical approach to implementing workplace discipline.
• Three (3) key tips to maintain a disciplined workplace.
Business Valuation Principles for EntrepreneursBen Wann
This insightful presentation is designed to equip entrepreneurs with the essential knowledge and tools needed to accurately value their businesses. Understanding business valuation is crucial for making informed decisions, whether you're seeking investment, planning to sell, or simply want to gauge your company's worth.
Attending a job Interview for B1 and B2 Englsih learnersErika906060
It is a sample of an interview for a business english class for pre-intermediate and intermediate english students with emphasis on the speking ability.
What are the main advantages of using HR recruiter services.pdfHumanResourceDimensi1
HR recruiter services offer top talents to companies according to their specific needs. They handle all recruitment tasks from job posting to onboarding and help companies concentrate on their business growth. With their expertise and years of experience, they streamline the hiring process and save time and resources for the company.
RMD24 | Retail media: hoe zet je dit in als je geen AH of Unilever bent? Heid...BBPMedia1
Grote partijen zijn al een tijdje onderweg met retail media. Ondertussen worden in dit domein ook de kansen zichtbaar voor andere spelers in de markt. Maar met die kansen ontstaan ook vragen: Zelf retail media worden of erop adverteren? In welke fase van de funnel past het en hoe integreer je het in een mediaplan? Wat is nu precies het verschil met marketplaces en Programmatic ads? In dit half uur beslechten we de dilemma's en krijg je antwoorden op wanneer het voor jou tijd is om de volgende stap te zetten.
[Note: This is a partial preview. To download this presentation, visit:
https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations]
Sustainability has become an increasingly critical topic as the world recognizes the need to protect our planet and its resources for future generations. Sustainability means meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It involves long-term planning and consideration of the consequences of our actions. The goal is to create strategies that ensure the long-term viability of People, Planet, and Profit.
Leading companies such as Nike, Toyota, and Siemens are prioritizing sustainable innovation in their business models, setting an example for others to follow. In this Sustainability training presentation, you will learn key concepts, principles, and practices of sustainability applicable across industries. This training aims to create awareness and educate employees, senior executives, consultants, and other key stakeholders, including investors, policymakers, and supply chain partners, on the importance and implementation of sustainability.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Develop a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles and concepts that form the foundation of sustainability within corporate environments.
2. Explore the sustainability implementation model, focusing on effective measures and reporting strategies to track and communicate sustainability efforts.
3. Identify and define best practices and critical success factors essential for achieving sustainability goals within organizations.
CONTENTS
1. Introduction and Key Concepts of Sustainability
2. Principles and Practices of Sustainability
3. Measures and Reporting in Sustainability
4. Sustainability Implementation & Best Practices
To download the complete presentation, visit: https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations
Affordable Stationery Printing Services in Jaipur | Navpack n PrintNavpack & Print
Looking for professional printing services in Jaipur? Navpack n Print offers high-quality and affordable stationery printing for all your business needs. Stand out with custom stationery designs and fast turnaround times. Contact us today for a quote!
Kseniya Leshchenko: Shared development support service model as the way to ma...Lviv Startup Club
Kseniya Leshchenko: Shared development support service model as the way to make small projects with small budgets profitable for the company (UA)
Kyiv PMDay 2024 Summer
Website – www.pmday.org
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/startuplviv
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Implicitly or explicitly all competing businesses employ a strategy to select a mix
of marketing resources. Formulating such competitive strategies fundamentally
involves recognizing relationships between elements of the marketing mix (e.g.,
price and product quality), as well as assessing competitive and market conditions
(i.e., industry structure in the language of economics).
LA HUG - Video Testimonials with Chynna Morgan - June 2024Lital Barkan
Have you ever heard that user-generated content or video testimonials can take your brand to the next level? We will explore how you can effectively use video testimonials to leverage and boost your sales, content strategy, and increase your CRM data.🤯
We will dig deeper into:
1. How to capture video testimonials that convert from your audience 🎥
2. How to leverage your testimonials to boost your sales 💲
3. How you can capture more CRM data to understand your audience better through video testimonials. 📊
"𝑩𝑬𝑮𝑼𝑵 𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑯 𝑻𝑱 𝑰𝑺 𝑯𝑨𝑳𝑭 𝑫𝑶𝑵𝑬"
𝐓𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐬 (𝐓𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬) is a professional event agency that includes experts in the event-organizing market in Vietnam, Korea, and ASEAN countries. We provide unlimited types of events from Music concerts, Fan meetings, and Culture festivals to Corporate events, Internal company events, Golf tournaments, MICE events, and Exhibitions.
𝐓𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐬 provides unlimited package services including such as Event organizing, Event planning, Event production, Manpower, PR marketing, Design 2D/3D, VIP protocols, Interpreter agency, etc.
Sports events - Golf competitions/billiards competitions/company sports events: dynamic and challenging
⭐ 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬:
➢ 2024 BAEKHYUN [Lonsdaleite] IN HO CHI MINH
➢ SUPER JUNIOR-L.S.S. THE SHOW : Th3ee Guys in HO CHI MINH
➢FreenBecky 1st Fan Meeting in Vietnam
➢CHILDREN ART EXHIBITION 2024: BEYOND BARRIERS
➢ WOW K-Music Festival 2023
➢ Winner [CROSS] Tour in HCM
➢ Super Show 9 in HCM with Super Junior
➢ HCMC - Gyeongsangbuk-do Culture and Tourism Festival
➢ Korean Vietnam Partnership - Fair with LG
➢ Korean President visits Samsung Electronics R&D Center
➢ Vietnam Food Expo with Lotte Wellfood
"𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬."
2. What is bootstrapping?
material minds 2
This is the shack that Bill Hewlett
moved into.
Bootstrapping usually means
starting a business without
external capital.
No dilutive capital or issuing
common or preferred shares,
or convertible debt.
Also for companies that are
launching new products as a
good way of thinking out how
they can launch a new
product.
3. Why would you want to
bootstrap?
material minds 3
I have lots of friends who are
entrepreneurs and one day I noticed
something. Most of my friends who had
bootstrapped businesses and owned
them all on their own were doing very
well financially.
On the other hand, most of my friends
who had obtained venture capital
funding were not doing as well
financially.
If you want another perspective on
Venture Capital, check out my
presentation on why you may not want
VC funding.
4. Rule 1
Find a Budget Waiting to
be Spent
material minds 4
People will tell you that you
must find a problem that you
can solve but that isn’t really
enough.
5. You must solve a recognized
problem
material minds 5
If you’re starting a company, everyone
will ask you what problem you’re trying
to solve.
Well you might see a problem but if
others don’t see it that way, you are
not solving a recognized problem.
6. Someone must own the problem
material minds 6
So if people recognize there is a problem, is there someone in the
company who owns the problem?
There are lots of problems that companies have but the way they think
or strategic priorities may mean that there is no one responsible for
solving the problem.
If there isn’t someone responsible for solving the problem then you
have no one to sell to.
7. The problem owner must wake
up everyday trying to solve that
problem
material minds 7
Even with someone responsible for
solving the problem, they may already
have a good enough solution.
It may not be as good as your solution
but they may think it good enough for
now. That’s why Excel is used in so
many applications instead of
databases.
The person responsible must be waking
up every day trying to solve the
problem if you want to get anywhere.
8. They have to have a budget
material minds 8
I have come to believe that the most
important thing to identify in creating a
company is a budget.
If a company doesn’t have a budget
for what you want to sell and will take a
long time getting a budget then you’ll
have a slow start, whether or not you
get VC financing.
A slow start in bootstrapping is a slow
death.
9. There must be lots of them
material minds 9
Finally, it’s no good finding a company
with a budget, you better find lots of
them because you’re bound to have
competition.
10. Rule 2
Do Something Radically
Different
material minds 10
Sure you can start a company where
everyone is doing the same thing.
To be competitive then you’ll need to
be better at execution or better at
selling.
Those types of businesses though don’t
have the same potential as ones that
are doing something radically different.
11. Quality
material minds 11
There are only three dimensions upon
which you can compete.
Those are Quality, Cost and Speed.
The best one upon which to base your
competition is Quality.
Look at Apple. The highest cost
products out there, no faster at delivery
in fact maybe slower to get to market.
But they have the best quality, bar far
and as a result are the most successful
tech company in existence.
12. Cost
material minds 12
You can also compete on cost by
being the lowest cost product or
service. That can work when, in a Blue
Ocean Strategy, you find a segment of
the market who will accept a lower
quality product at a much lower cost.
This worked for IBM as they found a
segment of the market that needed
computing but couldn’t afford mini-
computers
Of course it worked for them until
someone else decided to be even
lower price.
Note that Apple is still around while the
IBM PC is not.
13. Speed
material minds 13
Speed as a differentiator means time to
market or customer cycle time, the
amount of time from order to delivery.
This can be a long term differentiator as
complex distribution networks are
difficult to establish.
Look at Dell. They get new technology
to the market faster than anyone and
get you a PC exactly the way you want
it.
They survived when Compaq and
many others didn’t.
14. Switching costs are high
material minds 14
And why do you need to do something
radically different?
Well it’s because switching costs are
high, people don’t like to change and
they will only change how they are
doing something if the alternative is
really outstanding.
15. Rule 3
Engage customers
from day one.
material minds 15
I see many entrepreneurs who spend
all sorts of time at the beginning of an
enterprise writing a business plan,
getting their website ready, creating a
product but that’s the wrong way
around.
16. The problem – Wait till the
product is done and try to sell it
material minds 16
I’ve met lots of companies, in fact I’m
dealing with one right now, that built a
product and then went looking for
customers.
It doesn’t work, in fact you become a
product in search of a market.
17. Start selling
on day one
material minds 17
Research shows that successful software companies spend as
much on sales and marketing from day one as they do on
research and development.
That’s not the Canadian way but it works. You need to start
selling or engaging customers on day one.
In fact if you read the Four Hour Work Week, you’ll see that he
tests the market with fake ads well before getting down to
building a product.
18. Business development
material minds 18
Selling before you have a product
finished is the role of business
development.
A salesperson’s job is to find a customer
and sell her a product that exists.
The business developer’s job is to find
out the customer’s needs and figure
out how the product you are thinking
about can be adjusted to meet that
client’s needs.
This is harder to do with consumer
products but in those this role is
performed by market research and
mocked up customer trials with
prototypes.
19. Lean Startup
material minds 19
If fact this is the whole methodology
advocated in the Lean Startup and
Lean methodologies in Software
development.
Do quick product iterations and check
for market reaction before you’ve
gone down an unfortunate path too
long.
20. Rule 4
Get their money early
material minds 20
You’ll notice that most of the
rules are about customers and
their money.
That’s not a coincidence
because success in business is
achieved by getting a customer
to part with her money.
And if you’re bootstrapping, you
better get their money early if
you want to survive.
21. Consulting
material minds 21
The first way you can get money from a
customer is by doing consulting.
This doesn’t work for consumer
businesses but it works very well in B2B.
The consulting should be helping them
come up with solutions to the same
problem you’re going to develop a
product for.
22. Services
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Once you’ve done the consulting, you
can move to the next stage and take a
problem off a customer’s hands by
performing a service for them.
One friend of mine started in consulting
by helping call centers improve their
operations by making
recommendations and training their
staff.
Eventually, one of his customers said,
why don’t you just take over my call
center and do it for me. This started a
business that grew astronomically all
over North America.
23. Customized software
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Now if you’re headed down a product
route, many customers will pay very
well for you to develop a customized
solution for them.
There are countless companies around
that started out doing customized
solutions that then then productized for
a wider market.
That was also the way Blackberry got
going, with custom contracts
24. Prepay
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Of course if you can, get some if not all
of your money up front.
Clients will be more predisposed to this,
the more value you can bring to the
table.
Some of them will even fund research.
NASA has funded some $500 million for
SpaceX to get to production.
25. Kickstarter
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This is a great new source of funding if
you presell a product.
Polar Pen, Amanda Palmer and the
guy who will make a potato salad are
great examples of success. There are
other examples where failure to raise
funds is a good indicator of poor
market demand.
Only 9.5 % of startups that raise money
with Kickstarter go on to raise VC
money.
Women are successful 2/3 of time but
for men it is 1/3.
26. Success
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Here are some great companies
that built real businesses with
real revenue:
• Veeva Systems
• Tableau
• Indeed
• Mojang
• Shutterstock
• Wayfair
• Mailchip
In fact, Mailchimp and Mojang
were completely revenue
funded.
31. Start selling now!
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Start selling from the first day you have
an idea so you’ll see if you have a
chance of getting some of the budget
spent on you.
32. Use customer money to build
your business
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Find a way to get
customer money to
finance your launch.
33. Once you have
• products
• reference accounts
• a working business
model
• the right people
• exponential growth
You can go out and raise
money
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34. Then you may become a
rocketship
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35. material minds
Helping individuals, leaders,
and entrepreneurs improve
strategy execution.
Charles Plant
416 458 4850
cplant (at)
materialminds.com
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