#Slearnd - 11 principles startup businesses should know

emergination@JUSTINKDAVIES

#SLEARND

11 PRINCIPLES STARTUPS SHOULD KNOW

FROM THE SMELL OF GOOD BUSINESS BLOG @ WWW.JUSTINDAVIES.COM.AU

DEDICATED TO BILL DARING

EMERGINATION.COM.AU

LINKEDIN.COM/IN/JUSTINKDAVIES

SLIDESHARE.COM/JUSTINKDAVIES

@JUSTINKDAVIESWednesday, 25 September 13

http://www.justindavies.com.au

http://www.justindavies.com.au

Wednesday, 25 September 13


ANCIENT HISTORYCAN YOU REMEMBER

PRE CHROME

PRE FACEBOOK

PRE GOOGLE

PRE FIREFOX

WHERE EVERY WORD TOOK ON NEW MEANING BY ADDING “E” TO THE FRONT OF IT

WHEN INTERNET EXPLORER WAS THE BEST BROWSER ON THE PLANET?

WHEN EMAIL OUTSIDE OF THE ENTERPRISE WAS THE NEW FAD?



MY BACKGROUND

DEGREE IN MARKETING, ENTERPRISE WORKSHOP, GAICD

ADVERTISING INDUSTRY FOR 12 YEARS (BANKWEST, ANZ, TOWN AND COUNTRY, RACWA, BUNNINGS TREEFARMS, JAMES HARDIE, PLUS GOVT)

STARTED E-BUSINESS CONSULTANCY KMPINTERNET.COM 4 WEEKS PRIOR TO TECH WRECK - MAJOR TURNING POINT, AND SETUP E2B (STARTUPS EVENT) 4 WEEKS AFTER OPENING THE DOORS

THE BUSINESS LASTED A PRETTY INTENSE 18 MONTHS - AND IS THE SUBJECT OF THIS STORY



MORE RECENTLYRAN A SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT BUSINESS FOR 7 YEARS (THE ONLY GUY WHO COULDN’T CODE…)

EMERGINATION FOUNDED IN 2008

STARTUPS INCLUDING GOPC, MARKIT, VIRTUAL OBSERVER AND NOW PREZENTT

PLUS IGNITION, SYDSTART, STARTUP WEEKEND, OZAPPS, CEBIT

FOCUS ON BRINGING BUSINESSES INTO THE DIGITAL AGE, AND ASSISTING TECH BUSINESSES GROW

WHY? WE NEED ROBUST BUSINESSES TO SUSTAIN OUR STANDARD OF LIVING - AND TECHNOLOGY PROVIDES THE COMPETITIVE EDGE



SHORTLY YOU WILL BECOME UNEMPLOYABLE



SHORTLY YOU WILL BECOME UNEMPLOYABLE

YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO WORK FOR ANYONE ELSE AGAIN.


Bill Daring & Justin Davies - Feb 2000Wednesday, 25 September 13


THE SMELL OF GOOD BUSINESS PRINCIPLES

SPINNING A PLATE

WE’LL TELL YOU AT 4PM

THE WORLD IS A WANKER

AND THE IMPLICATION OF THAT IS?

TALK TO ME IN NUMBERS

CONFRONTING YOUR DEMONS

HAPPINESS IS A TICKED LIST

MANAGEMENT BY THE F WORD

BRINGING THEM BACK IN FROM THE LEDGE

GETTING ADVICE

YOUR TIME IS YOUR LIFE



SPINNING A PLATEENTREPRENEURS DO WELL TO CONSIDER BUSINESS STARTUPS LIKE SPINNING PLATES - YOU CAN KEEP A CERTAIN AMOUNT GOING AT THE SAME TIME, AND YOU CAN’T LEAVE THEM TO FOR TOO LONG

PERTH AGENCY - PRINCIPAL WENT TO MARGARET RIVER, BUSINESS WENT DOWN THE TOILET

ANOTHER: BUSINESS GREW FROM 5 TO 50 AND THEN HEMORRHAGED BACK TO 30

YOU MUST HAVE A FIRST AMONGST EQUALS

DON’T GIVE EQUITY AWAY UNLESS YOU REALLY REALLY HAVE TO

LOTS OF SMART PEOPLE WILL SAY NO. THEY MAY BE WRONG



E2B

entrepreneurs2businessthe plug-in to the new e-conomy



“WE’LL TELL YOU AT 4PM”CROWD SOURCING IN THE YEAR 2000

POSTING QUESTIONS ON 100 NEWSGROUPS AND USING SOFTWARE TO ANALYSE THE ANSWERS

CREATE A SELF DIRECTED, SELF EDUCATED MINDSET - ALIGNED TO A COMMON GOAL => PEOPLE AND BUSINESS ALIGNMENT = MASSIVE PERFORMANCE



PEOPLE RULES

NO ASSISTANTS

PAY IS MEASURED AGAINST PERFORMANCE

BONUS ALL STAFF ON GROUP PERFORMANCE

HAVE REGULAR TEAM MEETINGS

PROMOTE SELF HELP AND SURVIVAL TACTICS

DON’T HIDE THE BAD NEWS (OR THE GOOD NEWS) FROM STAFF

DO NOT TOLERATE SYSTEM ABUSE OR BULLSHIT FROM STAFF - GET MARRIED SLOWLY AND DIVORCED QUICKLY (ALSO SEE F WORD MANAGEMENT)

USE CONTRACT STAFF WHEREVER POSSIBLE (NO RISK, NO POLITICS, PAY ON PERFORMANCE, NO TAXES, NO HASSLE)



THE WORLD’S A WANKERTHE FURTHER UP YOU GO, THE LESS BULLSHIT YOU’LL FIND

MID LEVEL (EGO: WE DON’T NEED YOU) VS PARTNER (CLIENT FOCUSSED: WE NEED YOU TO HELP US HIT THE GOAL)

JAN’RY, FEB’RY - IT’S GONNA BE GOOOOOD

EVERYONE SAYS THEY CAN DO IT RIGHT UP UNTIL THEY CAN’T DO IT

CULTURAL CRINGE: AUSTRALIA BEHAVES NOT AS ONE COUNTRY BUT A COLLECTION OF CITIES THAT HATE EACH OTHER

YOU MUST PUNCH WAY ABOVE YOUR WEIGHT

YOU COMPETITORS ARE NOT THAT BRIGHT, AND ARE TYPICALLY BURIED IN THEIR OWN CORPORATE BULLSHIT - IT BECOMES SURPRISINGLY EASY FOR THOSE WANTING TO BE GREAT TO COMPETE

BE CONFIDENT - “I WAS WRONG ONCE…”


emerginationJUDGING IS EASY, DOING IS HARD


emergination

TOUGH CROWD!!!


emergination

CEBIT TECHRAMP 7 PITCHES, 7 MINUTES



AND THE IMPLICATION OF THAT IS?

MAJOR #FLEARN

11 PRESENTATIONS IN ONE DAY WILL NOT LEAD TO A SINGLE SALEIF YOU DON’T LISTEN FOR CLIENT PROBLEMS

AVOID MY MISTAKE:

BUY, READ AND STUDY “SPIN SELLING FIELDBOOK” AND “MAJOR ACCOUNT SALES” BY RACKHAM

LEARN TO MANUFACTURE MONEY

THE LEADER SHOULD SPEND AROUND 70% OF THEIR TIME SELLING / PITCHING

BUILD A GREAT NETWORK



TALK TO ME IN NUMBERS

YOU MUST BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN PLANS SIMPLY “I NEED A NUMBER TO PUT IN THIS BOX, WHAT IS IT?”

THE BUSINESS CASES I LIKE USE PLAIN TEXT DESCRIPTIONS WITH NUMBERS AS ASSUMPTIONS, WHICH THEN BUILD CASHFLOWS

EG: THERE ARE 1000 BUSINESSES IN WA. 2.5% WILL BUY IN YEAR 1, 5% IN YEAR 2

IF $BUSINESS_EXISTS =1, THEN MEASURE $CASHFLOW, REPEAT

STARTUPS= CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR = ACQUISITION, RETENTION, SIGNUP METRICS



CONFRONT YOUR DEMONS

WHAT IF I RUN OUT OF CASH? WHAT IF THE MARKET WONT BUY? WHAT IF THERE IS A MARKET CRASH?



HAPPINESS IS A TICKED LIST

MONEY DOES NOT NEED TO BE THE MOTIVATOR

TAKE TIME TO UNDERSTAND YOUR PEOPLE AND WHAT THEY EXCEL AT - AND WHAT IS HARD WORK

NOTHING INFURIATES PEOPLE MORE THAN APPLYING EFFORT TO DISCOVER IT WASTED OR NOT VALUED

PAINT A VISION OF THE FUTURE, AND WHAT THEY WILL BECOME - A STRETCH THAT THEY PERHAPS CAN’T SEE, BUT YOU CAN



MANAGEMENT BY THE F WORD

THERE IS A BALANCE TO BE HAD - BUT NOTHING SHAKES PEOPLE OUT OF BEING ORDINARY LIKE BEING HELD TO A STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE BEYOND WHAT

THEY BELIEVE THEY ARE CAPABLE OF



BRINGING THEM BACK IN FROM THE EDGE

CONSULTANTS NEED TO BE KEPT ABOUT 105-110% UTILISED TO MAINTAIN HAPPINESS

WHEN IT GETS MUCH BEYOND THIS, YOU COULD FIND YOUR TEAM OR CERTAIN TEAM MEMBERS LINING UP TO THROW THEMSELVES OUT OF THE WINDOW

STARTUPS CAN BE MORE MANIC - WHICH MEANS THE INTENSITY OF MOOD IS MORE SIGNIFICANT

THE CAUSE: EXPECTATIONS THEY HAVE SET FOR THEMSELVES AND HURDLES THEY HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO JUMP OVER

THIS IS WHERE REMINDING THEM HOW FAR THEY HAVE GROWN IS IMPORTANT



GETTING ADVICE

YOU WILL ALWAYS GET CONFLICTING ADVICE

MANY WHO HAVE NEVER DONE A STARTUP ARE ATTRACTED TO THE SEXINESS OF IT - BUT DON’T PUT THEIR OWN MONEY ON THE LINE

REMEMBER HOW PEOPLE ARE REMUNERATED

HOURLY = NO INCENTIVE TO FINISH EARLY

FIXED PRICE = POSSIBLE HIGHER PROFIT FOR RISK

TRUST YOUR GUT, WHAT DOES IT SMELL LIKE TO YOU?

GETTING ADVICE


emergination

DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLETHAT YOU LIKE, TRUST AND RESPECT

WARREN BUFFET



YOUR TIME IS YOUR LIFEPERCEIVE WHAT TO SAY NO TO. SET BOUNDARIES

EXPRESSED DIFFERENTLY F..KING FRIGHTENING FOCUS

READ POWER OF LESS, 4 HOUR WORK WEEK, POWER OF FOCUS, THE TIME TRAP

PEOPLE WILL ASK FOR YOUR TIME FOR FREE - YOU MAY GIVE A DIFFERENT RESPONSE IF THEY ASKED YOU FOR $200

PAYING IT FORWARD IS ALSO A GOOD THING - WHAT IS THE RIGHT BALANCE?

IT IS YOUR MATES AND FRIENDSHIPS THAT REALLY COUNT, SO KEEP THINGS, PARTICULARLY EGOS, IN PERSPECTIVE



GET UNIVERSAL AND CONTEMPORARY SKILLS

SOME THINGS ARE TIMELESS

STRATEGY, TEAM BUILDING, LEADERSHIP, NETWORKS

WHEN YOU GET LOST ALONG THE WAY, READ DRUCKER, TSUN TSUI, AND BIOGRAPHIES - AND LEAN ON A MENTOR / ADVISORY BOARD

SOME THINGS ARE MORE TEMPORARY

TECHNICAL PLATFORMS, FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH IN TECH (CLOUD, MOBILE, BIG DATA)


emergination

STORIES ARE REMEMBERED



ONCE YOU’VE CRACKED IT YOU CAN DO ANYTHING….

SO GET ON WITH IT!

GOOD LUCK!


#Slearnd - 11 principles startup businesses should know

Business

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