Saturday, May 21, 2011
Entrepreneurship Defined (one of many out there)
Being in the right place, at the right time, with the right idea, powered by knowledge, deep practice, persistence, and a passion to succeed.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Four Simple Ways to Find Customers
As promised, more into sales and the importance of the skill for any entrepreneur.
Found a great piece written by Brad Sugars for any entrepreneur in the startup or early stage of business.
The article provides four clear ways of attract new customers:
1. Advertising - Besides using traditional advertising, LinkedIn is a good source for generating business leads, while facebook is a good way to attract new customers
2. Networking and referrals - A good way to find your "ideal" customer and use them to promote you.
3. Teaming up - Use cross promotions with similar businesses.
4. Strategic Alliances - Build long terms business alliances.
Found a great piece written by Brad Sugars for any entrepreneur in the startup or early stage of business.
The article provides four clear ways of attract new customers:
1. Advertising - Besides using traditional advertising, LinkedIn is a good source for generating business leads, while facebook is a good way to attract new customers
2. Networking and referrals - A good way to find your "ideal" customer and use them to promote you.
3. Teaming up - Use cross promotions with similar businesses.
4. Strategic Alliances - Build long terms business alliances.
Choose your partner(s) / co-founders wisely
First off I prefer to work with partners, never did like the work solo approach, more on that later...
One of the most amazing lessons I learned with our first startup is the importance of choosing the right partner(s). Here is a bit about our experience.
We were all in the same university, with similar backgrounds, this made it easier for us to understand each other and be on the same wavelength. On the other hand we came from completely different academic/skill set backgrounds, Mass Communication (IMC), Economics, and Computer Science - Sales & Marketing, Operations & Finance, Developer &Programmer. This is were we got our strength. We complemented each other, we trusted each others judgment in our separate domains although we didn't have much experience, but we each new more about our domains than the other two. Which brings me to another great advantage we had although we didn't mean it, but it proved critical when we were confronted with taking major strategic decisions in our business. We were three, so when we couldn't all agree, the two that did got their way.
A general tip if you are the CEO and the ultimate decision maker, is to always engage with your team, and listen to their opinion before taking any major strategic decisions. Your team needs to own your product just like they do, it has to be their baby too not just yours.
1. Choose partners who share your same set of principles and ethics
2. Choose partners you can trust…BLINDLY
3. Choose partners from different academic/work backgrounds than yourself
4. Choose partners that complement your skill set not match it
5. Choose partners that share the same passion as you do for your startup
6. When it comes to partners, odd numbers work best
What has been your experience in working solo or with partners?
One of the most amazing lessons I learned with our first startup is the importance of choosing the right partner(s). Here is a bit about our experience.
We were all in the same university, with similar backgrounds, this made it easier for us to understand each other and be on the same wavelength. On the other hand we came from completely different academic/skill set backgrounds, Mass Communication (IMC), Economics, and Computer Science - Sales & Marketing, Operations & Finance, Developer &Programmer. This is were we got our strength. We complemented each other, we trusted each others judgment in our separate domains although we didn't have much experience, but we each new more about our domains than the other two. Which brings me to another great advantage we had although we didn't mean it, but it proved critical when we were confronted with taking major strategic decisions in our business. We were three, so when we couldn't all agree, the two that did got their way.
A general tip if you are the CEO and the ultimate decision maker, is to always engage with your team, and listen to their opinion before taking any major strategic decisions. Your team needs to own your product just like they do, it has to be their baby too not just yours.
1. Choose partners who share your same set of principles and ethics
2. Choose partners you can trust…BLINDLY
3. Choose partners from different academic/work backgrounds than yourself
4. Choose partners that complement your skill set not match it
5. Choose partners that share the same passion as you do for your startup
6. When it comes to partners, odd numbers work best
What has been your experience in working solo or with partners?
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Should I leave my Job?
I got struck by entreprenurial lighting last week at Startup Weekend Cairo and decided to do something about it...
There are so many things I want to talk about and share, but I will start with the one question I got asked a lot at the event.
"I have this idea that I want to pursue, and it has so much potential but I don't have money. Should I leave my job and do it?"
Well, for starters there is no easy answer or a 100% right answer. Is there a risk that if you leave your job and work on your startup that you will fail YES. Are you more financially secure if you stay in your current job YES.
Best advice I can give is based on my personal experience and what I have seen other entrepreneurs do and go through. At the end of the day what you decide to do is up to you.
Ok so here it goes:
Having done a couple of startups and helped on some others I believe that if you want it, are passionate about, and have a proof of concept you should go out and do it, and that if you can secure your first customer before jumping ship to start your venture, you have a much better chance of succeeding. Finally, failing is a good thing not a bad thing. It is the fastest way to learn and the experience of falling and picking yourself up again, is the only reason you will find that most entrepreneurs have started many business. Its like there is some kind of barrier that once broken sets you free and makes you fearless in front of failure.
I read somewhere that VCs prefer entrepreneurs that have at least one failure under their belt, and that statistically you have a much higher chance of succeeding in your second venture than you are your first. Simply you learn from your mistakes and make better decisions, and become a better manager the second time around
There are so many things I want to talk about and share, but I will start with the one question I got asked a lot at the event.
"I have this idea that I want to pursue, and it has so much potential but I don't have money. Should I leave my job and do it?"
Well, for starters there is no easy answer or a 100% right answer. Is there a risk that if you leave your job and work on your startup that you will fail YES. Are you more financially secure if you stay in your current job YES.
Best advice I can give is based on my personal experience and what I have seen other entrepreneurs do and go through. At the end of the day what you decide to do is up to you.
Ok so here it goes:
Having done a couple of startups and helped on some others I believe that if you want it, are passionate about, and have a proof of concept you should go out and do it, and that if you can secure your first customer before jumping ship to start your venture, you have a much better chance of succeeding. Finally, failing is a good thing not a bad thing. It is the fastest way to learn and the experience of falling and picking yourself up again, is the only reason you will find that most entrepreneurs have started many business. Its like there is some kind of barrier that once broken sets you free and makes you fearless in front of failure.
I read somewhere that VCs prefer entrepreneurs that have at least one failure under their belt, and that statistically you have a much higher chance of succeeding in your second venture than you are your first. Simply you learn from your mistakes and make better decisions, and become a better manager the second time around
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