tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60149593958170118092024-03-19T12:01:31.584-07:00trust me...<em><b>you know you want to!</b></em>
Interested in trust, reputation, LBS, Startups, emerging empires etc etc. For work blog see <a href="http://streethawk.com/blog">StreetHawk Blog</a>David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-92195431807466201582015-07-23T21:01:00.001-07:002015-07-23T21:01:08.309-07:00Where I post now...<br />
At the moment I am posting on the <a href="http://streethawk.com/blog">StreetHawk blog</a> and trying <a href="https://medium.com/@djinoz">Medium</a>.David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-64155350762028869902014-11-03T02:24:00.001-08:002014-11-03T02:26:46.501-08:00Heresy 101: MVP considered harmful. This quote caught my attention "1. The application of the concept of MVP is increasingly broken. The data here supports this idea without going so far as to make this kind of controversial statement. In my own writing I characterize the practice of MVP as the practice of turning users into ‘crash test dummies’ for ‘lean startups’. It’s a fundamental startup culture problem in 2014. Too much emphasis on ‘minimum’, too little on ‘viable’—people ‘churn’ out and you’re not likely to ‘growth hack’ them back in that easily."David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-57509055103603698922013-09-02T19:21:00.001-07:002013-09-02T19:21:46.250-07:00My anti-telemarketer hackI don't blame people for doing telemarketing as a job - thats fine. But I've not had consistent success with "please remove me from the list".<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.teaandsnippets.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/phonewithcordcut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://www.teaandsnippets.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/phonewithcordcut.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: http://www.teaandsnippets.com/</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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So I've started saying "I don't accept that you are recording the call for training purposes".<br />
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They then thank me and wish me a nice day and hang up.<br />
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<b><u>Conclusion:</u></b> Random people ring to wish me a nice day!David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-18329607142517125942013-08-26T05:33:00.001-07:002013-08-26T05:33:14.539-07:00Warn before quittingSounds like a great tip for startups right? Especially when I see Gen-Y's failing out of a business after giving it a few weeks concerted concentration :)<br />
<br />
Well...this post is for programmers.<br />
<br />
If you are bashing away at keyboards on OS/X, then you will be intimately familiar with:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">⌘ W</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">⌘ Q</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
But the bummer is they are adjacent on the (non Dvorak) keyboard. For old-timers like me the neural pathways get crossed when keystroking at high velocities (I only have 22 Chrome tabs, 4 Safari tabs, 14 Terminal tabs open at the moment) and you get to kill your Chrome before the brain knows.<br />
<br />
So here is the solution:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5z1P2lFasXipkiHD83MFI7AydRSFOzxUQ9ud_uTcxzSsFBGi6PoIIhYy1MUtjwsjyHuNNQXp-8nV9EWQR8f2ktRgjkRq4lKkl-jd1s0QibA8Fx-Z1G-6jaAnTdWYS2urmNlVwZyMcFMTR/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-08-26+at+10.21.20+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5z1P2lFasXipkiHD83MFI7AydRSFOzxUQ9ud_uTcxzSsFBGi6PoIIhYy1MUtjwsjyHuNNQXp-8nV9EWQR8f2ktRgjkRq4lKkl-jd1s0QibA8Fx-Z1G-6jaAnTdWYS2urmNlVwZyMcFMTR/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-08-26+at+10.21.20+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Warn before Quitting</i> is your friend.<br />
<br />David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-14441184018891839032013-08-18T03:53:00.003-07:002013-08-18T16:25:40.543-07:00Startup Board Meetings in the US<div class="im" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">
On the StartMate list, it was asked:</div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">> <span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">Can any Alumni or Mentors advise us on what should we expect from US investors? </span></span></b></div>
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Here is my response...its pretty much coloured (or is it colored???) by my personal experience and I know at least one other CEO that experienced extremely adversarial board relationships. Overall I'd say that US investors really are glass-half-full (maybe even 3/4 full!) and so are very positive and supportive - they know that supporting the CEO is their best contribution if they don't think the CEO needs to be sacked.</div>
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<b><u>CAVEAT:</u></b> If I make disparaging comments about Aussies its only Aussie angels, not VCs :)</div>
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Board process is largely about the Board meetings. So I'll focus on that. There are activities around events like funding, M&A but thats all academic right now.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2013/07/25/1226685/014072-130727-t-chuck-kelley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2013/07/25/1226685/014072-130727-t-chuck-kelley.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chairman of the board</td></tr>
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<b>A large part of Board meetings is theater.</b> Your board <b><u>want</u></b> to walk away confident that you are the guy/gal for the job and so you need to control the show (few points below on this). We know that Aussie self-deprecation does not play well in the US. So I'd suggest always "having your game face on".</div>
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Heres a dump of some generalisations:</div>
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Depending on who your US board members are, you can expect a lot more connection to networks and intros. Make sure you <i>milk</i> that. Australian mentors/investors are generally less connected, so make sure you ask US Directors to help you. The really good thing about US folk is they are much more active in this if they are committed to you (director/advisor).</div>
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In particular expect intros to other (of their portfolio) CEOs, CTOs etc - this will ostensibly be to share knowledge or get a sales lead <u>but its also for them to triangulate</u> (from someone they trust and who has at least as much tech skill as you) just how solid your product/team is.</div>
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US Investors are more likely going to want you to spend money rather than break-even. Because of 2 drivers:</div>
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a) they go for growth as that will drive up valuation. Profitability is way down the priority list.</div>
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b) they get to invest multiple times and can afford to retain pro-rata.</div>
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Generally Aussies don't really have a handle on the 'norms' of expenditures in startups at various stages. e.g % on R&D, % on Marketing, % on Sales team for Enterprise company etc. US guys tend to be able to look at your plan and quickly sum up the anomalies - assume more probing questions. This is because they have larger portfolios and have seen more norms. In a crude sense Aussies don't even know where to look.</div>
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<b>KNOW YOUR NUMBERS:</b> If you are a technologist CEO, then give that up. These guys are thinking about value, so per the above point - get inside your numbers. Particularly variations.</div>
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Assume your budget is the "statement/plan of record" and you may be held accountable to any divergence. If you are heading off plan, then <u>table it</u>. Thats much better than hiding it and trying to recover - its not your job to keep the board happy, its to keep them informed and to demonstrate you understand the issues and can act.</div>
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One nice piece of credibility is to keep long shot sales off your sales forecast. e.g If you are working a deal with BofA or Amazon, then put it in the pipeline not the forecast. (unless you get to contract negotiations).</div>
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Keep your board meetings to two hours max - not much can be achieved by digging into issues and seeking consensus in the meeting - you are running the show, so take feedback, don't be combative but reserve your judgement for a few days then feedback to the whole board.</div>
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<b>Don't assume they know your business. Nobody does - like you</b>.</div>
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Make the board meeting at the end of the day so you can beer or dinner afterwards. Investors will have kids etc so will want to get home which helps to have a hard-stop. Very different to the startup folks who will just keep going.</div>
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<b>Have your execs report in the board meeting</b> (for accountability and to build relationships), then excuse them at the end when you do board approvals (plan approval, key hires, options grants, funding, anything with vetos etc). It also helps get an issue answered quickly and coherently ("how come we've got technical problems at Acme Inc?")</div>
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To the above point: make sure your execs know they get 5mins and when to get off stage. <u>Keep the meeting moving.</u></div>
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<b>Have a dashboard of your fundamentals</b> so it does not look like you are burying anything. Counter to current fashion, vanity metrics are good. Remember the board meeting is theater so you need to use all tools at your disposal to help the board believe you are great.</div>
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Assume if you aren't (or a chunk of your team) in the US, <b>you will be fighting a battle for credibility</b>. Its just a by-product of not being visible when they want you to be visible. Don't expect anyone to call Australia - ever.</div>
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In Australia I've seen dodgies like being forced to use someone's accountant as your interim CFO or their favourite Lawyer or funny things to do with expense claims - I've not really seen that from US Investors (but I've only seen VCs not angels).</div>
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<b><u>The most important thing is to super-manage your board</u></b>:</div>
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">get a board report out a week before the board meeting. You can delay all the other details but give them a top-view in advance.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">Point out any variations from plan and state the reason why (e.g "we decided to do XYZ tradeshow and it cost us an extra $50K but it looks like its already paid for itself with leads into ABC, DEF etc")</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">if there is anything contentious, then call the heavy-hitters days before the meeting so you know where they stand. (e.g could be a funding or M&A discussion)</span></li>
</ol>
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<b>Assume everyone has an agenda:</b> Get to know your investors: fund size, stage, how the portfolio is going.</div>
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<b>Disengagement</b>: I've not experienced this but I know others who've experienced disinterest from their investors. They either have a large portfolio or a large amount of distress in the portfolio - so if you are ticking over, don't be offended if you don't get much love, its just they are triaging the wounded.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>> In addition to this does anyone have template/sample Board Agenda and Minutes of meeting documents? </b></span></div>
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I will sanitize one over the next week but initially I made the mistake of actually documenting what was discussed. This is not US style - minutes are pretty sparse and procedural. Its got something to do with lawyers :)</div>
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Heres a real example:</div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Business Update</span></i><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 2; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Mr. X provided the Board with an update of general business matters and expectations for Q4, 2012. Mr. X also provided an analysis of key priorities. Discussion ensued. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sales Review </span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Mr. Y provided an update on the sales pipeline for Q4, and commented on strategic accounts. Discussion ensued.</i></span></div>
David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-28520831933257535292013-02-01T20:42:00.003-08:002013-02-01T20:42:14.011-08:00Ninja Blocks TemperatureThis is the temperature of the RF Monitor in my house talking to the magnificent <a href=http://ninjablocks.com>Ninja Block!</a>
<script src="http://temperature-widget.herokuapp.com/ninja_widget.js?widget_token=gagodejztiluoyzurlrkogfxccbmwvrbtflccmzmmuqklstnin"></script>David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-33722426367687604452013-01-22T16:45:00.000-08:002013-01-22T16:57:12.757-08:00Startup Advice - its all wrong (thoughts for StartMate 2013 teams)Most days there is an endless stream of startup advice and to a lesser extent war stories.<br />
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So much so, I am waiting for a startup to appear that just curates startup advice**</div>
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Anyway, this post adds to the noise by providing advice to ignore all advice. So you can ignore me now :)</div>
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<a href="http://theepicentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Sage-Leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="http://theepicentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Sage-Leaves.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Mentors hope to add value during the StartMate process by doing stuff like:</div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>providing access to their network</li>
<li>asking probing questions</li>
<li>providing guidance that challenges a startups assumptions.</li>
<li>suggesting a possible next step</li>
</ul>
For StartMate teams, each week you will pitch to different mentors and get feedback. The next week you will pitch and <u>get diametrically opposite feedback</u>.<br />
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This is natural.</div>
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For any one startup there will be many paths to navigate and many options. The mentors are going to give you a perspective from their experience. <b>But its all wrong.</b></div>
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<br />
All advice is:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>based on the past</li>
<li>based on circumstances that suited their unique place in time.</li>
<li>has a shade of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias">confirmation bias</a> mixed in (e.g there were probably some important pre-cursors to some anecdote that have been forgotten). </li>
</ul>
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Things change fast now and so some gangsta technique that worked before might be fine or it could be passe, this is particularly true of gaming social networks. I think the idea when receiving advice is to "listen but don't obey".<br />
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Over the years I've obeyed advice from board and advisors with mixed results:<br />
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<ul>
<li>"you need to build a shopping cart so people can buy your $25k product over the web" (bad)</li>
<li>"who cares you are out of cash - you need to fly to Singapore for this one hour meeting" (good)</li>
<li>"hire this guy" (meh)</li>
</ul>
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You're running your own show and you will make lots of mistakes, the best CEO's I've worked with absorb a phenomenal amount of input and opinion, process it and make it their own. This sometimes mean they take advice and sometime mean they ignore it. Its not personal.<br />
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"listen but don't obey"<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">** maybe thats HN's voting system.</span>David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-59491687004242908602013-01-03T05:38:00.001-08:002013-01-03T15:11:38.870-08:00ask for money (thoughts for StartMate 2013 teams) <b>TL;DR </b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>This post is not about asking investors to drink your <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_the_Kool-Aid">Kool-Aid</a>.</li>
<li>This post asserts that asking prospects (during customer development) to <b>pay ($$$)</b> you for the product is a critical and valuable step.</li>
<li>Doing this in person is a perfect complement to just running a web A/B test.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
In my first startup** I was too naive to think products could exist without paying customers. So I went out and asked a few enterprise prospects: "If I built this enterprise email filter - would you pay for it?"<br />
<br />
They said "yes" - so I built it. Things turned out well.<br />
<br />
At ThreatMetrix (we started out as "SpamMatters") we made the mistake of only asking <b><i>one</i></b> prospect and so we only made <b><i>one</i></b> sale for our first product. It was a big-ass sale that funded the next product but effectively it was a consulting project. This <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/djinoz/productmarket-fit-twists-and-turns">talk</a> covers the early pivots in the ThreatMetrix adventure. Things turned out well.<br />
<br />
At StreetHawk we only talked to consumers who wanted to use the product but we didn't spend enough time (initially) with retailers - who would pay us for our fashion aggregation app. The net result was a product that consumers were using but no way to fund an <a href="http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2008/09/three-drivers-of-growth-for-your.html">engine of growth</a>. So we asked what product they would pay for and they told us they wanted the same technology packaged differently - dah! (So thats what StreetHawk does now. Things <b><i>_should_</i></b> turn out well).<br />
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So, I've learned painfully that one of the best customer validation questions is when....<br />
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<a href="http://www.octavian.biz/files/imce/eyes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="http://www.octavian.biz/files/imce/eyes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
...you look deep into their eyes and ask for money:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>"Would you pay for this?"</li>
<li>"How much would you pay for this?" </li>
<li>"Will you pay me now and if I don't deliver in 3months I will give you back the money?"</li>
</ul>
<br />
are the type of questions that can save you months of time (and cash).<br />
<br />
People are happy to blow smoke up your nether regions whilst their pecker isn't on the block. But once you ask them to pony up some cash the conversation shifts into honesty. This is a skill that most sales people understand but technologists avoid.<br />
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Why?<br />
<h4>
Sales People</h4>
Sales people understand that closing a deal is about surfacing and overcoming objections - so the good ones aren't afraid to get "buyers objections" because it really shows the potential customer is internally convincing themselves to not buy the product. The good salesperson can then counter the objections and help the prospect get those issues addressed and emotionally ready to buy.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Technologists</h4>
I'm not lecturing on this - I've done this more times than I care. We (technologists) avoid this scenario, because its damn confronting. The embarrassing moment when they tell you your baby is ugly and not worth a lousy $29.95 per month. Its even more embarrassing because technologist's are not trained to handle rejection.<br />
<br />
<h4>
But you arn't selling</h4>
The good news is that you don't have to sell - you are just "asking for money" to reframe the discussion more honestly. In fact <b><i>selling during customer validation is wrong</i></b> - it means you aren't listening. Your goal is to capture the objections and find what key features/benefits matter****. The debate still rages when you should believe validation answers (Ries) vs when you should 'go with your gut' (Jobs) but if you are hearing "yes I will pay" from multiple people then you are heading in the right direction!<br />
<br />
<h4>
Sounds too "old school"?</h4>
Many businesses will argue that a better statistical validation is achieved with a landing page and call-to-action measurement. I think you still need to stare deeply into a few eyes to get the real response (and feel the discomfort) - otherwise you are just piling assumptions on top of assumptions. This is particularly relevent for enterprise or B2B startups - and a logical extension of Blank's 'get out of the building'.<br />
<br />
So HTFU and just ask for money***. It will save you time. Do it soon. Do it yesterday.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">** - that became part of surfcontrol - now websense</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*** - yes, I was tempted....but decided to leave this is a jerry maguire free zone</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">**** - I assume everyone belongs to the <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/lean-startup-circle">religion</a> anyway so I won't rave on that.</span>David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-7861241766630899672013-01-02T15:10:00.002-08:002013-01-03T13:22:30.718-08:00pitching (thoughts for StartMate 2013 teams)<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">TL;DR</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">pitching is a Darwinian skill. You need to be great to take the next step in company evolution. Otherwise greater chance of extinction.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">be prepared to lose 4+ hours/week to pitching</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">don't assume that one team member (not you) will pitch</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">pitching is a muscle you build</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">you are pitching a company - not a product</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">your business is not your product</span></li>
</ul>
<hr />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the best things about being a StartMate advisor is <u>the alumni mailing
list</u>. As opposed to skynet, it started self-aware (mostly) and continues to evolve its intelligence (at a less than exponential rate). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Everyone on the lists gets smarter from the collective insights.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Last month - with the 2013 group selected, the alumni kicked-in with practical advice about matters of housing/accomodation and what the StartMate experience will be like. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">For example: great posts here from Chris and Jindou:</span><br />
<a href="http://chrisrickard.github.com/ascii/startup-accelerator-braindump" target="_blank">http://chrisrickard.github.<wbr></wbr>com/ascii/startup-accelerator-<wbr></wbr>braindump</a><br />
<a href="http://www.jindoulee.com/i-got-in-the-final-20-for-startmate-help">http://www.jindoulee.com/i-got-in-the-final-20-for-startmate-help</a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">(this tip is gold: "getting all the features done before Startmate commences!")</span>
<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the alumni email list also started to crank away with tips and advice. A standout example: Stuart Argue from 2011's <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/startup-built-in-aussie-garage-bought-by-walmart-20111111-1naac.html">Grabble</a>*** produced a great list of 24 points (which I won't leak), but here is one that I wanted to cover in this post:<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">"16. Keep refining your pitch deck when in pitch mode"</span><br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>This is the main point of this post.</u> You pitched pretty well to get into StartMate....but its not good enough. When you hit the US, you will be getting one shot to amaze potential investors - <u>you want to make those few minutes count.</u></span><br />
<a href="http://www.mrcostumes.com/images/pz/20203/A1504-devil-pitchfork-riding-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.mrcostumes.com/images/pz/20203/A1504-devil-pitchfork-riding-crop.jpg" width="175" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I can't guess how Niki will run the 2013 schedule, but its likely <span style="color: red;">ALL</span> Tuesday afternoons will be allocated for team pitching. Its an unspoken rule that <span style="color: red;">ALL</span> teams (and <span style="color: red;">ALL</span> team members) show up and support each other. Different mentors will come in each week and give feedback on pitches - generally diametrically opposite to the previous weeks advice :)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In StartMate 2011, we were too relaxed - we just had a quick update and elevator pitch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In StartMate 2012, teams pitched every week their full pitch deck (5+minutes). Then got feedback.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The result is that teams of 2012 were far superior in understanding the business aspects of their company and preempting objections from potential investors. Just like hitting the gym; through repetition and feedback you build a <b><i>muscle</i></b> that technologists don't usually have. (StartMate is biased to selecting technologists).</span><br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>An example of 2012</b></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">ScriptRock had a very specific valuable enterprise product but the team had no clue how to communicate the value to people outside their sector (most technologists start by describing features not benefits - then words like "awesome" and other purple farts*****). This was a major fail because NO INVESTORS will understand your business - nor can you educate them (bottom-up) in 3-8minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So </span>ScriptRock<span style="font-family: inherit;"> iterated a lot and got massively better. The "a-ha" moment was when Alan (coder) took the lead in pitching from Mike (hustler) - it had velocity, clarity, crispness and attitude.****</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The important thing here is not WHAT evolved but that they listened, iterated and evolved. They </span>weren't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> afraid to try new things and they developed pitching muscle.</span><br />
<br />
<b>EDIT 1:</b>
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
Alan from Scriptrock let me know that point #8 in his own <a href="http://startupchumps.com/post/33881894992/pitch-advice">post</a> is pretty relevent. Thanks Alan!</div>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>"Competition drives excellence"</b></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Entrepreneurs are competitive, so when teams see others getting better and better (in a collegiate environment), friendly competition emerges. So the net result was some pretty funny creative theft of pitching ideas (more flames!) and all teams increased their skills.</span><br />
<h4>
<b>Pitching ain't stealing time from coding</b></h4>
Its likely that some of you will resent losing 4+ hours weekly to pitching when there is so much pressure to work on your product. This is natural: the geeks and product guys think that the product will sell itself. The twisted logic in a coder's mind is like: <i>"If I just sort out this UI issue, then we will have solved world hunger". </i><b>But:</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>Your business is not your product.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>Your business is: product + recruit customers + make them pay.</i></span><br />
Think about this - the best way to get across your business is by getting brutal feedback fast and often - so pitch weekly but also pitch people on the train and bus. Get used to describing the business in 20 words, 1minute etc. I'll do a separate post on selling pitches vs validation and "listen but don't obey".<br />
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Where to start</h4>
There's a bajillion pitches to view on the web and different approaches (e.g "tell a story", "problem/solution", "product/traction/team" etc) but just for simple discipline of knowing the answers to questions investors will ask, then <a href="http://pollenizer.com/">Pollenizer's</a> <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/liubinskas/pollenizer-universal-pitch-deck">Universal Pitch Deck</a> is a great start point.<br />
<br />
<div>
<br />
<h4>
<b>Collegiate Environment</b></h4>
<u>a quick side-note:</u> By far the standout difference of 2012 (in comparison to 2011) was the collegiate environment created at <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&q=atp+innovations&fb=1&hq=atp+innovations&cid=0,0,7213892859879196396&ei=t17IUJWqL66RiQeAv4DwDQ&ved=0CDIQrwswAA">ATP</a> via the generosity of <a href="http://atp-innovations.com.au/team">Hamish and Andrew</a> (they are much cuter than their profile photos). ATP supported 2011 as well but for some** reason(s) the teams did not commit to the location and largely worked independently. Working together just seems to accelerate quality of all the teams - the value of easily sharing technical and business savvy is often underestimated.</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">** some lessons we learned are now part of the StartMate filtering process.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">*** Anthony used this headwear for negotiations will WalMart.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">**** I don't know how they pitched in the US. Recently I saw Mike pitch and he was even better :)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">***** “purple farts”—adjectives that sound impressive but carry no substance. <a href="http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/04/the_art_of_the_.html#ixzz2GrE1gxBe">Guy Kawasaki</a></span><br />
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-822332033001824182012-12-12T02:22:00.001-08:002012-12-12T03:34:55.107-08:00New aussie mobile platform statsAndroid on the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/android-overtakes-apple-in-australia-20121212-2b8q2.html">rise</a> - no surprise here but in AUS Apple's installed based still dominates. The Android growth will erode this, particularly as feature sets and screen resolution stabilize.<br />
<br />
Talking with Asia, Android is the clear leader.<br />
<br />
Compare and contrast with Mary Meekers Internet Trend <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/kleinerperkins/2012-kpcb-internet-trends-yearend-update">presentation</a>. iPads still crushing it.<br />
<br />David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-54280033657611185492012-12-12T02:09:00.001-08:002012-12-12T16:00:02.984-08:00Is the (SanFran) bubble over?A friend of mine who runs a Sydney-based cash-flow positive early-stage business asked me: "<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Curious to hear your thoughts on this article: </span><a href="http://readwrite.com/2012/12/03/lets-all-shed-tears-for-the-crappy-startups-that-cant-raise-any-more-money" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">http://readwrite.com/<wbr></wbr>2012/12/03/lets-all-shed-<wbr></wbr>tears-for-the-crappy-startups-<wbr></wbr>that-cant-raise-any-more-money</a>"<br />
<br />
Here is my response:<br />
<br />
<div class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
- In terms of trends do you think this article highlights a trend and that seed investment will be less readily available?</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">[DJ] I've certainly had VC contacts tell me that there will be a huge shakeout in angel funded companies that won't get SeriesA. The risk with angel is (and always has been) that there may not be "follow-on" money from the angels. Whereas if you get into bed with a VC they always have "dry powder" for follow-ons (in good and hard times).</span></b></div>
<div class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
- What will this mean in Sydney?</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">[DJ] </span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">On the funding side: </span></b><b><span style="color: blue;">I don't think it will affect Australia so much because there is little angel funding here - given that interest rates have only recently started to fall will high-networths move money into more speculative sectors (like high-tech)</span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">On the engineer side: </span></b><b><span style="color: blue;">Articles like this are a good sales tool for companies like us who want to hire engineers and seek <i>"some"</i> loyalty from staff (for a period of time). We've been thru a period where every wally who can write a crud app over the weekend thinks they have an exit to Facebook in their future.</span></b></div>
<div class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<div>
<b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
- He seems to think entrepreneurial types should go get jobs. I wouldn't hire me. What are your thoughts on hiring entrepreneurs? </div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">[DJ] per the above. There is likely to be a period where a subset of the </span></b><b><span style="color: blue;">wallies</span></b><b><span style="color: blue;"> will be happy to get a job. They weren't entrepreneurs anyway they were technologists with an idea and hubris. So I think they are a different beast to someone like you who has built a portfolio of experience by working with others.</span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">When I have hired - I usually look for signs that someone is going to</span></b><b><span style="color: blue;"> be marking time until they get their own idea sorted (and in fact they want to work on it during lunch and maybe while nobody is watching).</span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Not necessarily a bad thing if you can expect to get 12-24 months out of them and give them leadership opportunities.</span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Re: "go get jobs": I have some young friends in the bay area who have opted for staying with big companies because they think they will (a) be better entrepreneurs by spending some time with real seasoned entrepreneurs. (b) can have a greater impact on society by being a cog in a well-funded machine.</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>I quite respect this position and one of those friends is working for a genetics company that could literally change the world (e.g put a SaaS API over your DNA - that is huge). The author also</b></span><b style="color: blue;"> touches on "doing something useful" - I love journalistic idealism - that would be refreshing :)</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>I LOLed and share his disdain for StartupBus (sorry Elias) and StartupWeekends - they are fine as a party trick but ppl get hypnotized that some crud prototype is a biz. (Zaarly is one of the high profile successes that has continued to pivot its business model and does not reflect the weekend startup that attracted all the hype).</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: blue;"><b>Startups are sometimes characterised as a "marathon" not a "sprint". The reality its more like 20 heptathlons laid end-to-end. You need to have endurance, skills, endurance, people skills, endurance, conflict resolution skills, endurance....and the self-awareness to get out of the way when the business outgrows your skillset.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b>=======</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b>Its also interesting to note other dynamics at play outlined by <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/12/10/mary-meeker-is-right-the-next-5-years-will-see-a-re-imagination-of-everything-including-the-venture-capital-industry/">Mary Meeker.</a></b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b></div>
David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-10169357226218934402011-02-07T13:19:00.001-08:002011-02-07T13:19:29.342-08:00Mobile interwebs to grow 26x over next few years.<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/01/worldwide-mobile-data-traffic-exploding-nearly-tripled-in-2010-cisco-says.html<br/>
</div>David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-67600627010740853522011-02-06T14:53:00.000-08:002011-02-06T14:57:31.718-08:00Google Latitude Checkin - fail<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTVZ2wQqbI13p7nmT1CRgy2OLk0NJADIiprbmTO7bcO17sW2XotBQ98u32IxnLn_w83dYOHD_dwKdTRr70D653r32j8O5-8pXFxjWbyhiT-RKPSqyIjAGhIHsU3qlu3x8EITm2cVET9hK0/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-02-07+at+9.56.16+AM.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTVZ2wQqbI13p7nmT1CRgy2OLk0NJADIiprbmTO7bcO17sW2XotBQ98u32IxnLn_w83dYOHD_dwKdTRr70D653r32j8O5-8pXFxjWbyhiT-RKPSqyIjAGhIHsU3qlu3x8EITm2cVET9hK0/s320/Screen+shot+2011-02-07+at+9.56.16+AM.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570714434556636018" /></a><br />Google maps/latitude/places checkin misses a big point. The post below nails its problems and the underlying of repurposing maps data as opposed to 4sq's freestyle place creation. Case in point: both in 4sq and Facebook places have loads of people checkin to the local beach - on Google Latitude the beach does not exist nor can I create it. So Google has missed an entire use-case (social connection at non commercial properties).<br />More important to note is the number of checkins at the beach far outnumbers ALL the checkins for local businesses - including a pub!<br />So putting aside if checkins are useful or just a fad - Google would be advised to think of use cases that help the user - not just Google "local" revenue plans.<br />One approach would be to drop checkin metaphor and do friend-proximity alerts like Whereoscope.<br />Heres the post:<br />http://blog.arhg.net/2011/02/will-check-in-latitude-embarrass-google.html?m=1David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-71113497263621649242010-12-01T01:59:00.000-08:002010-12-01T03:10:25.247-08:00Sense shifting - hearablog and FeedspeakA few years back we got excited about "time-shifting" - PVR's like Topfield and Tivo taught us that it was OK to watch the news at 8:17pm instead of the 7pm that had been dictated to us for decades.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6ThzpuMIHhIY1Z8_inkUHKYAKTeQKEdeMiKuKUDAkbQKA22dXqG1AXk0TFhsNhStnYZRqv40WDKIY1HyHmMmxXjfMjoBP5l4XOV4nzl54vLwS7ncCIYRyPD3lUrbIx_c-KV2ld8zkJoZ/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-12-01+at+10.02.26+PM.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6ThzpuMIHhIY1Z8_inkUHKYAKTeQKEdeMiKuKUDAkbQKA22dXqG1AXk0TFhsNhStnYZRqv40WDKIY1HyHmMmxXjfMjoBP5l4XOV4nzl54vLwS7ncCIYRyPD3lUrbIx_c-KV2ld8zkJoZ/s320/Screen+shot+2010-12-01+at+10.02.26+PM.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545667748560432674" /></a><br /><br />Same goes for blogs - we've been slaves to RSS feeds since 2003 without too many cool filtering mechanisms (Yahoo Pipes or Google Alerts anyone?). In the last 2 years RSS is proclaimed dead and Twitter is the new heir but the social filtering (ahem) is a complete fail.<br /><br />So being a good slave, I know I need to carve off whole sections of my life to keep up with RSS feeds and my friend has been gReader on Android by the almost palindromic "Noin Nion". But I'm failing: sites like Techcrunch have ramped up to ludicrous volumes of articles to justify AOLs purchase and so "Mark as Read" is the my new new (and oldest old) friend.<br /><br />HOWEVER - Whilst not a new idea, I've been experimenting the last week with Medium shifting (or Sense shifting). Typically in the car or when walking or working in the yard I use my surplus audio sense to consume podcasts - whats cute about <a href="http://hearablog.com/">Hear A Blog</a> is they have pretty good narrations of Suster, Shirky, Ariely - all the guys you want to read but can't get to because of Team Arrington's textual diarrhea...<br /><br />So Hear a Blog is pretty nice - but its only a few top 20 geek blogs. So for more edgy stuff I'm using Feedspeak Pro on Android - it cost me $1 and uses the TTS (Text to Speech) built into the phone. Its almost but not quite as annoying as the TTS on my old Amiga - but I will stick with this "sense shifting" app for a while and give my eyes a rest. Next step is to aggressively filter Techcrunch - how about "grep -vi lacy" ? <br /><br />Any other suggestions for filtering Techcrunch down to: segment, interesting people and serendipity?<br />I can't believe this is <span style="font-weight:bold;">still<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span> an unsolved problem.David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-47801596905178624932010-11-30T22:46:00.000-08:002010-12-01T01:35:58.889-08:00Thoughts on Books - using an example:Do More Faster: TechStars Lessons to Accelerate Your StartupSingle thesis non-fiction books should just die. Now, Please.<br /><br />Thankfully, "<span style="font-style:italic;">Do More Faster</span>" is <span style="font-weight:bold;">not</span> one of these books and ironically it was a critical book review that inspired me to purchase it.<br /><br />The book is filled with short anecdotes - just a page or two and a corollary comment from the authors Cohen (@davidcohen, http://www.davidgcohen.com) and/or Feld (@bfeld, www.feld.com)<br /><br />The criticism levelled at the book that the anecdotes are too short - I disagree. Much of the ethos that goes into the book is about "lean", about getting to the core of what matters. As fellow aussie Mick @liubinskas says: "Focus on the core - the rest is mostly crap".<br /><br />Whats frustrating about non-fiction business books is the self-indulgence on behalf of the author and the lack of respect for the reader's time that is pervasive. Books like Freakonomics, Blink, Free, Made to Stick are targeted at audiences who have the least time - these readers treat the books as knowledge acquisition missions rather than a leisurely pursuit. But what does the author do? They deliver in 249 pages something that can be concisely delivered in less than 50. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://triathlon.competitor.com/files/2010/08/mentaltoughness.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 223px; height: 320px;" src="http://triathlon.competitor.com/files/2010/08/mentaltoughness.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />You can argue that nuances are lost but I posit that the anecdotes/stories (yes they are the true way humans learn) can be culled if the author respects the reader's time - get over it, these business books are just <span style="font-style:italic;">snapshot punditry</span> of a moment in time. Just like we shouldn't patent Business ideas, these books arn't a permanent and lasting discovery - just a maven's dispatch from the field. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Example:</span> This beautiful RSA Animate <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc">sketch</a> achieves in 10 minutes 48 seconds pretty close to what Pink achieved in 256 pages. I'm not diminishing Pink's tome, just that the longform* should DIE! I'd be happy to pay the same for the <span style="font-weight:bold;">"brodie's notes"</span> version:<br />- in non-fiction, its not the size that counts<br />- in 2010 (now) I am throwing out my last bookcase, so its not the cover-art that counts.<br /><br />With eBook readers, tablets there is absolutely no reason to consume non-fiction in linear text only formats - you don't need to fill a book with 21 anecdotes that repeats the same thesis - we get it, in fact we got it before we bought the book. Instead, I see that tablets will drive richer educational formats unlocking the multimedia experience that has been evolving for 15 years.<br /><br />If you bleat about graphic creation costs then you really need understand the outsourcing marketplaces. Things will also shift to curation of collected works just like Cohen and Feld do here.<br /><br />So...ANYWAY...I quite like "Do More Faster", it suits my attention-deficit personality type. The rapid fire anecdotes are efficient, address a specific learning point and you can consume one chapter in a few minutes - thats a digestible format that doesn't bloat - its much like a sequence of blog posts and does lack some writing craft - but thats not the point**.<br /><br /><br />* I love longform fiction, books that take weeks or months: get under your skin, reside in your daily thoughts remain one of the most unique human experiences - I've not seen a movie or TV series that achieves that.<br /><br />** Ironically curation of collected works will become the new form of editing. Anything anyone says has been said before, so I'd be happy to pay the curator and the authors for the efficiency of collating the best practices (de-surfing knowledge acquisition)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Credit:</span> Competitor.com for the image.David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-62857069583185690742010-11-30T15:41:00.001-08:002010-11-30T16:37:25.573-08:00Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company - Amazon<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_3-_VSAIM8Pb-Smm8RZPIuorZ_xhMD8Neqdwd2FtRrlkRbdjT3g6yQIBj8Y4Ecuj25e6-2MfEoVqTNkCOGR6O1qQBqssmui0-U0EnR2zsfA126yF6vyP-B00CdKCAqN6i4pwZ_rEI1C-r/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-12-01+at+11.35.28+AM.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 308px; height: 163px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_3-_VSAIM8Pb-Smm8RZPIuorZ_xhMD8Neqdwd2FtRrlkRbdjT3g6yQIBj8Y4Ecuj25e6-2MfEoVqTNkCOGR6O1qQBqssmui0-U0EnR2zsfA126yF6vyP-B00CdKCAqN6i4pwZ_rEI1C-r/s320/Screen+shot+2010-12-01+at+11.35.28+AM.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545506203147103762" /></a><br /><br />The post's title was the footer from an Amazon Customer Service reply to me. I'm usually afflicted with a jaded view of such statements but this time I actually believe this company can and will achieve their goal.<br /><br />Why?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">First:</span> its a bold statement but also humble. Most of the time you get: "The worlds leading...", "The best..." etc etc. But Amazon are saying they a "building" - they are not there but are working on it. They also say I am "helping" them - allowing me to engage with them and giving me recognition.<br /><br />So all this is very nice and Cluetrain and all that - but only works if the product is good....<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Second:</span> I've been using the Kindle Reader on NexusOne for a while to read snippets of books (e.g <a href="http://www.amazon.com/More-Faster-TechStars-Accelerate-ebook/dp/B0046H9BBM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=A24IB90LPZJ0BS&s=digital-text&qid=1291161562&sr=8-2">"do more faster"</a> by Techstars crew - more on that in a later post) when commuting or grabbing a coffee, it did the job and didn't try to do too much. (fit for purpose). However, Kindle drove my emotional justifications for getting the Samsung Tab the day it came available -> my first installed application was the Kindle.<br /><br />I start Kindle on the Samsung Tab, open "do more faster" and boom, it opens at the page I last read on the Nexus One. Thats a <span style="font-weight:bold;">very nice customer experience</span>. The only problem is now I have to compete for the Tab at home (Angry Birds was second installed app thus sealing the Tab's fate as must-have mission-critical domestic tool).<br /><br />To remedy this injustice: last week whilst in China I purchased a yum-cha Android "iRobot" tablet for $100. I didn't expect much but installed Kindle and boom, it opens at the page I last read on the Tab. I now can pick up reading on the formfactor that suits me.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://gadgetsdna.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Chinese-ipad-Clone-01.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 580px; height: 415px;" src="http://gadgetsdna.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Chinese-ipad-Clone-01.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Moral of the story is that even with a 600MHz 1st/2nd generation Shanzai tablet you can enjoy a great customer experience because Amazon focussed on the few features that really mattered. Second moral is that you can do that without purchasing an Apple*.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Third:</span> No product is ever done - Kindle also syncs comments and highlights. But what I want to do is post or share a highlighted quote to a blog, Buzz, Twitter or an email. More importantly, I think this would help Amazon sell even more books (naturally my post would link to the Amazon page for that book). I used the feedback section of the Kindle and told them so. Unsurprisingly (but often neglected by other companies) they've built in a closed loop mechanism to easily allow me to "help".<br /><br />That is where the Amazon Customer Service reply came from.<br /><br />* BTW I saw Android 1.6 tablets a while back in China before the iPad appeared.David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-70494470397229043472010-11-14T17:37:00.000-08:002010-11-14T17:37:34.811-08:00when droids date<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/JUv9uFulHd" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:1em"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2fPnfUujiUtMZqMuAffvLK1YF1yqFA1GIuZEwgn5OdcjbaS2HXwrbWBqi6okiRQBlXjT_kJOvAoglE5kdzMVRnlgJXuZ8YG8KD81LSbLsRm7f_X8Ed7Z8_tYS0-IJv17iT3r-2TO0vnGp/s512/1288918495473.jpg"></a>David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-3056880587188030232010-11-12T22:58:00.000-08:002010-11-12T23:46:22.990-08:00dialling back the security stuff (Change of blog title)Internet security is still the wild-west - and will be for a long time. Mobile internet security will likely make the O.K. Corral look like an episode of Neighbours:<div><ul><li>all that geo-location stuff</li><li>real-time elements is a new window of opportunity</li><li>The belief that Sandboxing (of phone apps) and app review solves personal security is a delusion - it just shifts the goalposts - moves the problem up the stack.</li></ul>Its good to see some solutions emerging to "out" applications that may (err) leak personal data from phones but at the same time social networks and search giants are squeezing everything but your banking password out of you (unless its <a href="http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-features/52500-female-hacker-steals-nude-pics">your dogs name or your first car</a>). Consumers are the meat in a data theft sandwich.<br /><br />In summary, lets just say <span style="font-weight:bold;">"security is a feature"</span>. As people building solutions for the web and mobile, security patterns and practices need to be builtin - not as a premature optimisation but as a trust element for the communities of users and their data.</div><div><br /></div><div>From a consumer perspective - we still need the <span style="font-style:italic;">"internet drivers licence"<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span> but I'll do that next week :)<br /><br />That said, I want to use this blog for more topics than security - to "dial back" the security tone. There are plenty of great sources - both corporate and independent - not so many for web fraud and community trust/reputation, I will still likely post some here but probably do more via work channels or just social streams.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I've renamed this blog - simple and a little ironic.<br /><hr><br />Just for my own record, this is what the old blog intro text said:<br /><br />"Trust me, I'm a dog" is homage to the apocryphal and naive <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Internet,_nobody_knows_you%27re_a_dog"><b>1993 cartoon</b></a>. Identity, trust, reputation are the cornerstone of basic human relationships, but on the web its broken.<br />Also writing about my experiences as start-up Founder, CEO, CTO in Palo Alto and Sydney.</div>David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-17332187101221984142010-11-12T22:19:00.001-08:002010-11-12T22:19:42.008-08:00Menu option to see the lists I follow<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p>Once you follow an external public list, you can't find it again until a notification comes. The whole purpose of following a list is to refer to the existing entries as well.<br/><br/>Otherwise I'd need to create a list of "public lists I follow". Thats not efficient.</p>in reference to: <a href='http://www.google.com/support/bookmarks/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=178153'>Follow a list : Managing lists and labels - Bookmarks Help</a> (<a href='http://www.google.com/sidewiki/entry/david.jones/id/BB0Wyfmy97NGnx3Ojzm8S5iU7zQ'>view on Google Sidewiki</a>)</div>David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-29906612402736416112010-10-14T20:03:00.001-07:002010-10-14T20:20:56.065-07:00Startup Metrics for ConvictsYesterday Matt Barrie, CEO of <a href="http://Freelancer.com">Freelancer.com</a> and asked me to do a fill-in guest lecture for <a href="http://techventurecreation.wordpress.com/">Technology Venture Creation</a> (ELEC5701) course at Sydney University.<br /><br />So, because the web is already cluttered with a bajillion posts, articles, platitudes and opinions on startups I thought I'd make some comments on the uniquely Australian perspective. Having started and been involved in a few startups bootstrapped from Australia - its worth sharing some tips and traps that might help young aussie entrepreneurs thinking they have a global product/company.<br /><div>Most aussies know that the convict thing is a convenient ice-breaker in offshore conversations, so I've called the presentation <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >"</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(50, 50, 50); line-height: 12px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Startup Metrics for Convicts</span></span></span>" in homage/rip-off of Dave McClure's "pirates" talks. Sorry, its a bit rough - I was short on time.<br /><div style="width:425px" id="__ss_5448137"><strong style="display:block;margin:12px 0 4px"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/djinoz/startup-metricsforconvicts" title="Startup Metrics for Convicts">Startup Metrics for Convicts</a></strong><object id="__sse5448137" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=startup-metrics-for-convicts-101014215447-phpapp01&stripped_title=startup-metricsforconvicts&userName=djinoz" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed name="__sse5448137" src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=startup-metrics-for-convicts-101014215447-phpapp01&stripped_title=startup-metricsforconvicts&userName=djinoz" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="padding:5px 0 12px">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/djinoz">David jones</a>.</div></div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div></div>David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-42588991047318544332010-08-27T14:12:00.001-07:002010-08-27T14:26:51.327-07:00Zuckerberg says nobody uses lists - umm Gmail contacts?truth is facebook has less utility than an a sorted categorized contact list. Google Buzz does it well and you can simply buzz to family, friends or colleagues <br />
<br />
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/iHeEme-pOTc/<br />
David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-13689254227121646152010-08-27T05:08:00.000-07:002010-08-27T05:10:39.153-07:00will "green" or "games" drive internet of things?This <a href="http://m.readwriteweb.com/archives/3_sensor_data_platforms_to_watch.php">post</a> shows the big boys are taking sensors seriously....BUT it still seems like "technology looking for a problem". <br />Normally porn is awarded the kudos of furthering internet technology (sort of like NASA) but I half suspect social gaming will be the heir (commercially speaking) to the throne. (iPhone and Wii sensor driven gaming).<br />Or perhaps it will be the more altruistic, green initiative that will apply sensors for energy reduction and intelligent minimisation of resources. Here are the "thing" sensors (as HP crow):<br /><ul><br /><li>Vibration<br /><li>Tilt<br /><li>Rotation<br /><li>Navigation<br /><li>Sound<br /><li>Air flow<br /><li>Light<br /><li>Temperature<br /><li>Biological<br /><li>Chemical<br /><li>Humidity<br /><li>Pressure<br /><li>Location<br /></ul><br />..still seems applicable to porn....David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-39294911991003090362010-08-25T00:30:00.000-07:002010-08-25T01:14:06.534-07:00Great post on embedding "viscerality" in your UXA perfect companion for <a href="http://www.madetostick.com/">Made to Stick</a> by Chip Heath is this <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/14/memory-inception-great-user-experience/">post</a>. Focussing on "transitions", "wow moments" and "endings" the post communicates the weaving of a story that embeds deeper in the user's emotional level than just clicking stuff. Made to Stick!<br /><br />I don't agree with one of the commenters complaining about eBay - yes its an ugly 1.0 site but:<br /><ul><li>I think the star rating was central to their success. It "took reputation to the consumers" in a form that was (mostly) understandable and dissolved distrust of remote buyers/sellers. People forget how revolutionary that was. <br /><li>Also the concept of "WINning" an auction was a critical piece of reality distortion that surfaced an emotion that people often don't realise themselves. That reinforcing a visceral experience.<br /></ul><br />It also reminds me how ever since mint.com - everyone seems to be building green sites - meh.<br /><br />The emergence of game culture in other ecosystems (foursquare etc) is also another huge wave that will be interesting to follow - will we become fatigued at the endless goals applications/sites start to set for us? Can I monetize my effort, is there a liquid market for "badges"?David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-27248633523096382602010-08-24T21:58:00.000-07:002010-08-24T13:12:49.993-07:00Pop will eat itself<br />
...was the name of a seminal "alternative" Brit music outfit in the '80s.<br />
<br />
A mere 3/4 years ago Dave Recordin gave seminal presentation on openid that still stands today. At some point he casually remarks that people want different identities for themselves and in fact he had several OpenIDs.<br />
<br />
This seemed perfectly naturally to me coming from a security background - having more fake identities than <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075296/">Sybil</a> (or fellow aussie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1001482/">Tara</a>) is just your starting point.<br />
<br />
In OZ various identity systems (the australia card) and various government and banking PKI initiatives have failed because a unique explicit identity is just too creepy. What's worse is a flat social network where there is no granularity. In recent years Chi.MP and Google Buzz have allowed "Groups" but Facebook has remained steadfastly flat - what crazy logic is that? <br />
<br />
Its fashionable to critique FB based on privacy - but thats not the point. The point is that it can't work. Now everyone's friend are blamange of mates, Nannas, ex school friends, colleagues and people that owe you one beer. With "lists" Facebook is showing some vague hint of granularity but maybe too little too late.<br />
Leakage of the disenfranchised will become a network effect - Ryze, Friendster the proof.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network">Law of 150</a> probably only survives on your ability to "chunk down" into subsets. Without seeing the mooted FB privacy controls, "pop" will eat itself.<br />
Dave Recordin was right that everyone deserves to select what identities they have and as many as they can keep a track of!<br />
David Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6014959395817011809.post-89366259753865154052010-08-24T06:29:00.001-07:002010-08-26T00:01:29.191-07:00the fridge delivered social granularity for hormone charged transgressionshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/qBPc8TsfEX4/<br />See earlier post on multiple personalitiesDavid Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429388459971625943noreply@blogger.com0