Startup Tip: Four Questions To Ask When Making Decisions Based On Metrics And...
People are generally obsessed with metrics and statistics. Some on Twitter constantly talk about their number of followers or the number of lists on which they appear. Those on Facebook talk about how...
View ArticleNot Everything That Can Be Counted Counts
It’s tempting for startups to count everything that can be counted. After all, prospective investors and the media are often influenced by numbers of followers, visitors, users, paying customers, etc....
View ArticleBuzzwords and the Credibility Problem
It’s tempting to promote a product, service or company by using popular buzzwords. The formula is simple: pick some buzzwords, string them together in a few sentences, and voila! Buzzwords can be...
View ArticleStartup Tip: The Dirty Secret About Features
I have little doubt that every investor has heard an entrepreneur touting how their new product or service will “crush” the competition with great features that the competition hasn’t yet seen. Many...
View ArticleTo Innovate, You Have To Stay Dissatisfied
Success makes some people complacent. Other people expect to continue to succeed by doing the things that made them successful. This is not always possible, however. To innovate, you have to stay...
View ArticleNot Every Failure Is A Learning Experience
Many entrepreneurs and investors – especially in Silicon Valley – believe that failure is acceptable. Mark Suster writes: I prefer second time (or more) entrepreneurs. Sure, I would love to work with...
View ArticleStartup Tip: Dealing With Customer Resistance To Change
Whether you are a small or a Fortune 50 company, customers typically resist attempts to change products or services they perceive work well. People prefer to deal with the things they already know...
View ArticleWhat is Your Core Business?
Too often, startups risk getting misdirected by the media and customers to add features and functionality to a product or service that turn out to be collateral to the core business. I believe this is...
View ArticleThe Need To Refocus From Time To Time
It’s common for us to be consumed by our daily tasks and routines, at the expense of focus, learning, and assessment of strategy. Two announcements yesterday highlighted for me the importance of...
View ArticleTo Succeed, Don’t Obsess About Reasons You Might Fail
A few months ago, I talked about why startups must focus first on the problem, not the solution. A few days ago, I talked about the need to refocus from time to time. There’s another side to focus...
View ArticleHow To Respond If A Customer Thinks You Run The Bunny Ranch
The customer service team at my company, crowdSPRING, has answered over 40,000 requests from customers. Few have been as entertaining as a recent note which opened with: “hello whores” and then...
View ArticleGoals, Strategies and Tactics
It’s not uncommon for young entrepreneurs to focus on tactics at the expense of also setting appropriate goals and developing core strategies. It’s easy to fall into this trap when you see someone else...
View ArticleStartup Tip: Marketing One-To-One
When most people talk about marketing, they talk about broad, strategic tactics focused on large groups of customers or potential customers. Adwords, banner ads, print ads, email marketing – these are...
View ArticleDo you celebrate incremental success?
Entrepreneurs interpret goals and measure success in very different ways. While most people appreciate huge wins, many have difficulty appreciating smaller accomplishments. After all, most of us are...
View ArticleHow Often Do You Ask Why?
Why do birds fly? Why is the sky blue? Why do you drive a car? Why do I have to wear shoes? Why do I have to go to bed? Toddlers are relentless in asking “why?” questions. The questions are driven by...
View ArticleSocial Media and Ant Colonies
Dozens of articles are written daily about ways that businesses and individuals can leverage Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, MySpace, and other social networks. Many of these articles assume that...
View ArticleWe’re Living In The Dark Ages Of Social Media
If you believe the media and social media “experts”, we’re living in the Renaissance of social media. Novel and creative campaigns like the recent YouTube campaign from Old Spice purportedly...
View ArticleDo You Count Every Hour In The Day Or Make Every Hour Count?
Over the past five years, I’ve talked to thousands of entrepreneurs pursuing their dreams to build a successful startup. The most successful entrepreneurs had a number of things in common – including a...
View ArticleHow To Pick The Perfect Name For Your Startup
I’m often asked by young entrepreneurs whether it’s important to find a strong name for a new startup. The name is important, but the process to come up with a unique name can easily distract you. For...
View ArticleFacebook Is Using Minors To Advertise Alcohol
Social marketing holds lots of potential but also many perils, especially when it involves minors. This is especially true for alcohol advertising. It is both illegal and improper for a 13 year old to...
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