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Know thy Competition

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Know thy Competition

You have to be aware of your competition in order to establish customer value and differentiate yourself. That premise applies even to books like The Titanic Effect: Successfully Navigating the Uncertainties that Sink Most Startups. So, it’s time for us to take a look at our competition.

Most retailers are a bit of a “walled garden” in that they have lots of data they don’t share with the vendors whose wares they sell. This includes books. What we do know is which are the best-selling books in the categories of “startups,” “new business enterprises,” and “starting a business.” Of course, which specific books are in the top 3 to 10 do change over time. But for the last year, two books have held steady in the top 10, typically at #1 and #2. They are Peter Thiel’s Zero to One and Eric Ries’  The Lean Startup. So, let’s look at what makes our book different from these.

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The Many Shades of “Proof of Concept,” your PoC

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The Many Shades of “Proof of Concept,” your PoC

In a prior blog, we discussed the difference between PoPs (Points of Parity) and PoDs (Points of Differentiation). Now it is time to talk about PoC—Proof of Concept. While this seems relatively straight forward, there are actually many nuances to and perspectives on what constitutes “Proof of Concept.” Understanding how to frame and set expectations about PoC is an important discussion for the budding startup.

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Metrics, Metrics: Which Marketing Metrics Should Your Startup Keep Track Of?

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Metrics, Metrics: Which Marketing Metrics Should Your Startup Keep Track Of?

We’ve all heard the phrase, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” But after reviewing several dozen startup updates and seeing blogpost after blogpost with lists of metrics, it feels like a founder could spend a significant amount of time just compiling and tracking metrics. Every investor has their favorite metric. So, many startups end up monitoring nearly everything. Or, the opposite – monitoring nothing. 

The “I’s” Have It?

One of the “oceans” of hidden debt that we discuss in The Titanic Effect is the Human Ocean. The Human Ocean includes the founders, advisors/investors who support the startup, and employees hired as it launches and grows. Each of these “seas” (or categories) can provide help to a startup. But, they can also be a source of danger or debtbergs that drag down or sink the most promising new venture….

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The Most Important Marketing Iceberg by Startup Stage

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The Most Important Marketing Iceberg by Startup Stage

We’ve started doing workshops using key ideas from our book, The Titanic Effect: Successfully Navigating the Uncertainties that Sink Most Startups. The goal of these workshops is to help startups identify which icebergs can be the biggest challenge by startup stage. Because, the primary tasks a startup undertakes changes by stage. So too, do the challenges they face.

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What to Look For in Startup Advisors

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What to Look For in Startup Advisors

It’s clear that startups cannot “go it alone.” First, a founder needs to be coachable - learn more about coachability at our previous blogpost on Foundersplaining. They need supporters to help them get connected to employees, customers and investors. If you want to understand more about how and why supporters (we call them venture advocates) help startups, check out our academic article – Venture Advocate Behaviors and the Emerging Enterprise.

Experimentation is Great, As Long as You Monitor the Results

Experimentation is Great, As Long as You Monitor the Results

Common advice to entrepreneurs is to experiment and “fail fast.” The idea is that you move forward with something that might or might not be right. Take a stab. See if it’s working. If it is, keep doing it. If it’s not, stop.

With our early marketing efforts for the book, we wanted to have some experiments to see how some of these “low-cost” marketing tools work. Of course while these experiments were in place, we were watching and tinkering. But now, it’s time to step back and see what happened. 

5 Tips for Living with the Uncertainty of a Startup

Investors will pressure you to mitigate as much risk in every aspect of your business.  You control for as many variables as possible, but how do you live with so many unknowns?  

Normalizing uncertainty will not only help you succeed with your startup, it will help you become more of yourself and allow you to be fully present with your family, friends, and colleagues.  The following practices will help you develop confidence, deepen relationships with influencers, and get you through those tough times when you don’t have a crystal ball to predict the outcomes in your future.

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It Takes a Village…or at Least a First Podcast!

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Well actually, it takes a venture ecosystem to help startups flourish. Our academic research  explores venture ecosystems and how founders can create positive momentum, even when they don’t have a lot of financial resources. The reality is that founders must rely on the help of many others in the venture community to get feedback