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Friday, August 16, 2013

15 mistakes young entrepreneurs make, but don't have to

By Alex Taussig, contributor
(I originally published this at my blog infinitetoventure.com in 3 separate posts. Go check it out!)
If you're an entrepreneur, you're probably going to screw up at some point. That's ok. Entrepreneurship is a constant process of quickly testing hypotheses, failing, refining and testing again. If you're not failing, you're not learning, right?
Well, not all fails are created equal. Some are wholly unnecessary, and I'd like to list my top 15 here. Note that many of these are based on advice from actual entrepreneurs who would rather you learn from their mistakes than repeat them.
So, without further ado, here are 15 mistakes you don't have to make as a young, first-time entrepreneur. Enjoy!
#15: You're trapped in the "college bubble."
When you're in college, it's tempting to see the world through the perspective of a college student. So, when you brainstorm business ideas with your buddies, you may come up with concepts that only work on your particular college campus, or are only appealing to college students as customers.
Now, you might say, "Uh, Facebook?" Yes, there's Facebook, but Facebook's ultimate vision goes beyond colleges. Zuckerberg wants to connect all of humanity on a social graph. College was his stepping stone to that vision. If you need to get started in college, that's great; but make sure your product can appeal to non-college users if you want to build a big company.
#14: You have no prototype. Or you do, but your users are irrelevant.
It's been said ad nauseum lately, but it's never been cheaper or easier to invent a web product. So, do it! Once you have the concept sketched out, build the basic guts of your product and start getting users.
But, don't just get any users. Remember, your goal is to test a hypothesis. If your sample size consists of your immediate family and friends, you probably haven't tested the right things. Instead, find a way to get users early on that looks similar to the way you'll get users at scale.
#13: You didn't research the competition.
If you think "you have no competition," you're wrong. Competition is everywhere. Competition is anything fighting for your customer's attention and, eventually, their dollars. So, first off, make an honest assessment of what's out there.
Secondly, make sure you understand what these companies do and how you're different. If you find that you have several hundred competitors, it's ok to try something else. Do you really want to spend the next 5 years of your life building the 301st of anything?
#12: You haven't talked to customers.
At an early stage, the best entrepreneurs I've met know their customers by name. Even web entrepreneurs, who don't typically meet their customers face-to-face. Early on, you should be talking to customers any time you're not building and testing product. After all, if you're not infusing your product with customer input from Day 1, you're probably not building something they'd want to use.
The sole caveat here is if you're inventing something truly novel. Steve Jobs didn't ask us if we wanted the iPod. We were pretty happy with the portable CD player (or at least I was). But, he had some pretty rational beliefs as to why it should exist, beliefs which were based on customer input on other products. (If you haven't seen the video of his introduction of the iPod in 2001, do yourself a favor and watch it.)
#11: Your customer acquisition strategy is not repeatable.
There are many ways to get customers, but not all of them are scalable. I've seen lots of college businesses acquire customers by literally walking into shops and asking to speak to the owner. That works for a while, but I'd argue that it doesn't prove the sustainability of your business model.
You want to move towards a proof point where every dollar you spend to acquire a customer nets several times that in contribution to the bottom line. Unless you're selling a $100k widget door-to-door, it's hard to make the numbers work just with feet on the street.
#10: You pay for things that could be free.
You need certain business services to get your company off the ground. These services fall into lots of categories, ranging from financial to legal to CRM.
As a rule, spend 30 minutes researching the free alternatives to all the great paid products people will throw at you. The HBS Startup Tribe has listed some here. For legal docs specifically, Goodwin Procter has created a Founders Workbench and the National Venture Capital Association has its own stuff as well.
In general, good venture lawyers will give you free advice if you're nice to them. They know you can't afford them now but want to build a relationship over time.
#9: You didn't practice your pitch.
Practice makes perfect. Don't delude yourself that you can wing it. VCs ask tough questions and will quickly find the holes in your story.
A few tactical tips. First, pitch a close friend. Then ask him to introduce you to another friend you don't know at all. Pitch him. A little bit of distance will make it feel real, but you can still feel comfortable revealing the intimate details of your business since you're only separated by a single degree.
Also, be honest with yourself about the weaknesses in your plan and be prepared to address them. Anticipate the arguments you'll get, and be sure you have the data on hand to back up your counterargument.
#8: You don't tell a good story.
Why do storytelling and pithy communication matter? It's not just for raising money. Stories help you recruit the best talent, and stories help align organizations around specific goals.
How do you know when your story sucks? The first sign is that people don't know what you're talking about. You may assume that they "just don't get it," but the alternative explanation is that you're not explaining it well.
#7: You know nothing about the investors across the table.
It's not an ego thing, but I always raise a yellow flag when an entrepreneur knows nothing about me. Heck, if we're talking on the phone, at the very least I have your LinkedIn, your company website, and our email thread simultaneously on my computer screen.
You should do as much due diligence on your investor as he does on you. If not, you run the risk of signaling that you don't do your homework. So, take the 5 minutes to read through our bios, LinkedIn, portfolio company websites, blogs, twitter feeds, etc.
#6: You make stuff up instead of saying "I don't know."
I know it seems like investors expect you to have perfect information, but we don't. You can't. Don't feel pressured to answer every question definitively. Sometimes, the best answer you can give is, "Gee, I don't know. But, here's the information I'd need to know to answer that question, and here's how I would go about getting it…"
I've said it before, but startups are experiments. If you knew the answer to an experiment a priori, you wouldn't be doing the experiment in the first place. Be intellectually honest about what you know and don't know, and investors will want to trust you.
#5: You seek confirming, not disconfirming evidence.
A basic axiom of the scientific method is that you can never prove a hypothesis to be true, only false. The same goes for theories about your business.
The best entrepreneurs I know are obsessed with proving that their world view is incorrect. As David Cancel notes here, you should always have one dashboard that management can go to and figure out "where you suck the most."
It's a big mistake to drink too much of your own Kool-Aid. I've never met a great entrepreneur without conviction and vision, but I've also never met one who wasn't interested in seeing data that proves him wrong.
#4: You pick advisors who are easily accessible, not particularly relevant.
The most impressive, accomplished person a college student knows is probably one of his professors. So, it's no surprise that these are the first people a student turns to when he wants advice for his startup.
Just because it's easy to get a professor involved in your startup, however, doesn't mean you should do it. The vast majority of professors, especially those with tenure, live in a world antithetical to a startup's. There are obvious exceptions, but the vast majority of academics will take purely intellectual interest in what you're doing, when what you need is tactical assistance.
So, focus instead on finding the best tacticians. These are people who can help you recruit, build, and sell. And, they're probably not on campus.
#3: You hire for short-term needs, not long-term fit.
When you have a short-term need ("I need a Ruby developer" or "I need a guy who knows accounting"), it's tempting to reach out into your social network and pull in someone who can fulfill it. One piece of advice: it's way easier to hire than to fire someone, especially when that person is a close friend.
In an early stage company, every full-time hire should be given the same scrutiny as the one before it. And that all leads back to employee #1, i.e. you! Relaxing that criterion creates a downward spiral of mediocrity in your organization which can be incredibly difficult to unwind.
Guy Kawasaki calls this phenomenon the "bozo explosion."
#2: You treat fundraising like an end, not a means.
I estimate that 80% of venture capital blog posts are about raising money. I think this does a great disservice to the craft of entrepreneurship. Yes, as Fred Wilson has pointed out, one job of the CEO is to make sure there's always cash in the bank. And yes, someone who is twice your age handing you millions of dollars will certainly make your mother proud of you.
But, fundraising is just a small part of what an entrepreneur needs to do to build a great company. If you do everything else right, fundraising will be relatively easy. Don't treat the VC dollars like they're the goal, when they're just a means to an end.
#1: (drumroll, please!) You do more than one business plan competition.
Some business plan competitions are good for you. You can get feedback from the startup community, network to find teammates, see how others are doing things, and gain publicity for your venture. Who knows? Maybe you'll win some cash!
Please don't do more than one of these. There are severely diminishing returns to the marginal business plan competition. Why? Because (a) your business plan is probably as good as it's going to get already, (b) your business plan is largely irrelevant anyway, and (c) you're not building your business, just the plan. Put differently, would you rather spend another 3 months getting feedback from a whole new set of people for the potential to win $10,000, or spend 3 months building a product for the potential of earning $10,000 in revenue from actual customers?
Business plan competitions are fun. Lots of people will tell you how awesome you are. Someone will blog about you. You get to put a nice logo on your webpage if you win.
Yet, none of this matters nearly as much as getting your product out the door. Use your time wisely.
Alex Taussig is a Principal with Highland Capital Partners and invests in startups tackling problems in some of the world's oldest and largest industries — including energy, education, and machine automation. You can find this blog post, as well as additional content on his bloginfinitetoventure.com. You can also follow Alex on Twitter @ataussig.

21 Ways to get Featured in the Media BY JUSTIN

Your business: front and center in the newspaper, feature, on prime-time TV or out there where everyone can see you. It’s what dreams are made of.
Media coverage can make or break a business, but landing any bit of coverage is the hard part. From this list of 21 free or low-cost ideas to get featured, concentrate on two or three that fit your business and your personality and go after them with everything you have.

1. Do Something Remarkable

It goes without saying that remarkable businesses are the ones that get featured every day. They’re on the edge doing amazing things that people want to talk about. Don’t follow the rules if you want to be remarkable. Do your own thing, but be prepared to deal with the consequences.

2. Build Relationships with the Media

You wouldn’t like it if someone you didn’t know asked you to give something to them. Build a relationship by following media people on twitter and facebook. Comment on their stories, get to know them, and invite them to coffee.

3. Ask

Is it really that easy? I’m afraid it is. If you know a reporter and have a good idea, ask them to run it.

4. Highlight a Story About Someone Else

My business landed on the front page of our newspaper a few years ago because I highlighted a story about a family I was working with. Self-promotion never makes a good story.

5. Send a Press Release

Press releases are old school but they’re still great ways to announce events and changes within your company. A press release was submitted for an event I lead and it landed me on the front page of our local newspaper.

6. Take a Reporter to Lunch

Every day journalists need to take in information. Take a few to lunch every month and ask them what type of stories they’re looking for. Don’t forget to buy their lunch.

7. Buy Your Way In

For two years I hosted a radio show on a local station. How’d I get in? I bought a full hour and sold commercial breaks. I created my own stories, ran whatever I wanted, and made money from the advertising.

8. Work With a Charity

Two years ago I hosted a few online events and donated 100% of the proceeds to a charity. The media picked up on it because it was a great cause.

9. Host an Event

Events are noteworthy and media loves to talk about them. Create a remarkable event by bringing influential people together and not charging for it.

10. Work with a Celebrity

Celebrities have been known to endorse products when they get them free, which carries a lot of weight. You don’t need Britney Spears but do find someone your target market identifies with.

11. Tell a Story

If you don’t have a story, people won’t care. Make it emotional and reporters will come running.

12. Start Small with Local Outlets

If you’re just starting out, CNN shouldn’t be your target. Start with media outlets in your town, even if it’s small, and leverage the promotion you get for bigger things.

13. Help a Reporter

Join HARO for free and you’ll be notified a few times a day when reporters need help with a story.

14. Create a Press Kit

Along with your About page, media people are looking for press kits on your website.

15. Hire a Publicist

Publicists know media and good publicists have contacts around the world. Don’t hire a mediocre publicists; find one with connections.

16. Sponsor an Event

Event promoters are great about getting press. When you sponsor an event you get to go along for the ride.

17. Personalize Your Pitch

No one like a “Dear Sir:”. After you find out what type of stories a reporter likes make your pitch personal to them.

18. Comment on Blogs

I’ve seen journalists mention people who have commented on blog posts in stories. A friend of mine even ended up on CNN by simply commenting on a post they made.

19. Be Helpful

Some journalists like to ask questions online. Follow them and respond when you can. I’ve been highlighted in Success Magazine this way.

20. Become an Expert

You’re an expert if you know more than someone else. If you’re in business you should be an expert, so proclaim it from the rooftops. Chris Brogan is an expert at social media and he’s told everyone. As a result he writes monthly for Entrepreneur magazine.

21. Pitch to the Right Outlet

You won’t even hear a response if you pitch that wrong story to an outlet. Learn the type of stories they like to run and only pitch those.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

50 Inspiring, Uplifting, and Positivity-Focused Sites to Make You Happy Searching for more happy news and inspiration? Take a look at these 50 websites. By Kathryn Hawkins.




daily goodWe previously featured 25 great blogs, websites, and online resources that inspire and awe us. If you’re hungry for more (and hey, who isn’t?), here’s another round of happiness for you. These sites share stories of heroes, innovations, transformations. They feature captivating thinkers and changemakers, and insightful tips for making your life easier and more meaningful. (Of course, we had to include some cute puppies, too.)
Start out with Part One, or read on for the rest of our 50 inspiring websites.
BrainyQuote
Looking for the perfect line for a festive occasion, or seeking a clever quote to share with friends? BrainyQuote is home to thousands, organized by author, category, and more. Don’t miss the wonderful bon mots from the brilliant Mark Twain.
Cowbird
Cowbird is dedicated to representing the human experience, with collaborative tools for sharing personal stories, photos, and videos, which are tagged by theme and place. Start your own multimedia diary here, or take a step into others’ journeys on the site.
CoolHunting
This fun, irreverent site always has something new and interesting to share. From nutrition wheel plates to Viktor Koen’s “Metamorphabets” (super-cool alphabet letter sculptures), there’s always something to delight and inspire.
cuteoverload.com
As promised, here are the cute puppies (and kitties, ducks, turtles—just about every animal species is represented here somewhere). The adorable images and videos found here provide the perfect antidote for when you’re feeling down. (And, we’ve discovered it’s a great way to distract a cranky toddler.)

DailyGood

This free daily newsletter shares a short excerpt from an inspiring true good news story each day, with links to the full articles around the web. Don’t miss their recent publication of Mercy Corps’ tribute to five brave women who are fighting poverty around the globe.
GOOD
GOOD shines a spotlight on innovative projects, companies, and people that are changing the world. See: a teddy bear that helps diabetic kids manage their insulin injections.
GoodlifeZEN
New Zealander Mary Jaksch’s blog has the tagline, “practical inspiration for a happier life,” and she provides it in the form of tips on making true friends, lessons on learning how to meditate, the art of “ninja productivity,” and many more insightful blog posts.

The Good Men Project

Men receive so many mixed messages about how they should behave. The Good Men Project is a thought-provoking multimedia project about what it means to be a “good man” in modern society. Check out Kim Quinn’s essay on “Competent Dads and Other Mythical Creatures.”
GreaterGood 
Subtitled, “the science of a meaningful life,” this UC-Berkeley project focuses on academic research related to happiness and compassion. Take a look at Stanford professor Robert M. Sapolsky’s take on why stress is a chronic problem, and how we can reduce its impact on our lives.
Greatist
Greatist is focused around the notion of helping its readers lead a fitter, healthier—and, as a result, happier—lifestyle. The site features simple recipes, workout tips, and simple lifestyle adaptations to help you improve your mood, energy, and happiness. Don’t miss: 89 Simple Swaps That Could Change Your Life.
An Inch of Gray
Anna See started her blog as a way to document the simple wonders of life at home with her husband, dog, and two children—but after losing her 12-year-old son Jack in a tragic accident last year, she’s used it as a place to quietly commemorate her son’s short life and work through her grief. Read about the family’s beautiful balloon tribute to Jack, on what would have been his 13th birthday.

Longform.org

The longform journalism at Longform.org isn’t always happy in nature, but it’s consistently fascinating and thought-provoking. Reading links from the site is my favorite way to spend a lazy Saturday morning with coffee and iPad in hand. Take a look at the Best of 2011 list to discover the most compelling journalism from the past year.
KarmaTube
This video site features inspiring videos about heroes, the arts, compelling scientific discoveries, and more, along with tips for taking action. “Home Is Where We Are Together,” a poignant short documentary about an elderly man who cares for his sick wife, is well worth the two minutes it takes to watch.
Marc and Angel Hack Life
This couple is focused on sharing tips on productivity and happiness, with great advice-focused roundups. Take a look at their list of 50 skills that everyone should have, and get learning.
Kickstarter
One of the biggest platforms for online crowdfunding, Kickstarter allows us to learn about and lend financial support to innovative and inspiring artistic and business-focused projects. Click around the site to learn about and help support compelling, and sometimes quirky, efforts, such as theBonobo Chat app, which will help researchers at the Bonobo Hope Great Ape Trust Sanctuary to better communicate with the bonobo apes who live there.
Milkshake
This daily email features all sorts of actionable tips for making the world a better place to live, as well as interviews with people focused on driving innovation, such as Megan Epler Wood, the founder of the International Ecotourism Society.
Oprah’s Life Lift Blog
Every day, Oprah.com’s Life Lift blog features original short essays by its contributors, and points out the best content on the web to delight and inspire. Check out the blog’s inspiring article aboutAdrian Anantawan, a one-handed violinist.
OpenCulture
One of the best things about the rise of the Internet is the fact that it gives anyone with a connection access to free knowledge in the form of online classes, films, historical papers, and much more. This site rounds up the best places to edify your mind online.
Positively Positive
This site features articles from some of the world’s leading experts on self-improvement topics of all sorts, such as health and wellness, parenting, altruism, and loving your job. Check out holistic health counselor Pamela Salzman’s post on 10 ways to help you cut sugar from your diet.
Simple Mom
Tsh Oxenreider’s Simple Mom blog is an ode to simplifying home life, with tips on budgeting, decluttering, eating well, and other parenting-related advice. Check out Tsh’s great advice onteaching your children to live simply.
StoryCorps
NPR’s StoryCorps features audio recordings of ordinary Americans’ true stories, which are certain to make you laugh, cry, and take a closer look at your own life. For anyone whose life has been touched by Alzheimer’s, this interview of a father with the disease will ring true.
thenicestplaceontheinter.net
You need a hug, don’t you? We could tell. Hop on over to this site for virtual hugs from hundreds of strangers, and then pay it forward by recording your own on your webcam. It’s a great way to get that warm and fuzzy feeling.
thingstobehappyabout.com
Have you read the book 14,000 Things to Be Happy About? This site offers a sampling of the inspiration found there, with lists of positive thoughts, events, quotes, and more. You can create your own “happy list” to share with others on the site.
Unclutterer
A more organized life is a happier life. This blog is packed full of tips and tricks to help you organize your home and work, so that everything else can fall into place. Check out the site’s great tips on managing your email while on a work trip.

WorkAwesome

Most of us spend a big chunk of our lives at work—so shouldn’t we be doing everything we can to ensure that our time there is rewarding and fulfilling? WorkAwesome, owned by Tina Su of the also-excellent personal development site Think Simple Now, focuses on strategies for maximizing your productivity and enjoyment around the office. Don’t miss the helpful post on asking for—and getting—a raise.
Did we miss your favorite? Post it on our Facebook page for inclusion in the next update, and sign up for our daily newsletter for more good news daily.
Filed under: Arts and Culture,

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