Archive for May, 2008
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 27 May 2008, 10:04 PM - 2 Comments
Think of a typical startup and you will see three kinds of people involved:
1. Bedrock: These are people that will make and fulfill the promises of the startup. These are the people at the core of the startup
2. Getters: These are people who will make money when the offers made by the startup are being accepted.
3. Givers: These are people who will give the money to the startup (and in turn to the Givers) by accepting offers that are made by the startup
Take for example CDBaby. One of the core offers made by the startup is to sell music by independent musicians. The people who work at CDBaby (may be employed by CDBaby or may be not) are the Bedrock of the company. Independent musicians are the Getters and the customers who buy this music are the Givers.
When entrepreneurs are validating the startup idea, entrepreneurs may get into a trap of validating only with the Getters and forgetting the Givers. Getters are always excited about good avenues for getting their products out and making money. So they will most probably support you with your idea. Day in and day out if you focus on “Getters” you will continue to get positive validation.
Ultimately as you know all three categories of people are important and for a startup to gel well you need to focus on all categories of people.
Wish you the very best.
Posted under Business Models, Compelling Offers.
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 27 May 2008, 6:41 AM - 2 Comments
Having run a services company for five years, I understand the need for differentiating yourself in the business. Simply speaking you need to differentiate yourself if you want a premium for your services. If what you are offering is available in plenty nobody wants to pay a premium.
Karthik at Purplepatch Services has a two page article on the same topic and it is available for download below. If you are in the services business or just curious about how services businesses can differentiate themselves, please take a moment to read the article. I am sure you will enjoy it
Services Marketing: Creating Differentiation in a Commodity Business (PDF, 2pages)
Have a great week ahead!
Posted under Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 26 May 2008, 8:26 PM - 3 Comments
Timo at Heartwood Studios sends me a link to the health benefits of Blogging.
Here is an excerpt from an article from Scientific American – “Blogging – It’s good for you”
“Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery”
I am sure those of you who are bloggers don’t need another reason to blog but it is worth reading anyway.
Posted under Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Thu 22 May 2008, 10:28 PM - 2 Comments
The article in Business Week (May 15) nicely demonstrates the state of affairs for the Baby Boomers. Here is the link to the article:
Business Week: The Wave of Retirees? Not So Big.
In my opinion, while the article focuses on Baby Boomers, this has far reaching impact on other parts of the economy.
Rather than thinking about this generally, why not think about your own situation.Here are a few questions to ponder upon
1. When do you plan to retire?
2. How much money should you have to make this dream a reality?
3. How much money should you earn this year to reach the goal outlined in #2?
Don’t stop shying away from the question even when you know that the answers may not be pretty.
Have a great Friday.
Posted under Uncategorized.
By Rajesh Setty on Wed 21 May 2008, 5:08 AM - Leave Comment
Always insightful Paul Graham’s essay “Disconnecting Distraction” is right on the money. While the slant is on procrastination, the article discusses one of the side effects of Internet – continuous partial attention syndrome (made that up).
Here is the link to the article. I am sure you will enjoy this and all the other articles by Paul.
Paul Graham – Disconnecting Distraction
Posted under Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 20 May 2008, 10:15 AM - 3 Comments
I love it when companies come up with offers that are “timely”. Chrysler’s “Let’s Refuel America” campaign is one such example.
Here are two options:
Option 1:
Buy a car and you get back up to a maximum of $600 per year for next three years.
Option 2:
How about a guarantee of $2.99 per gallon for the next three years
Sort of fine print:
* Only for 87 Octane fuel
* Upto 12,000 miles per year
If you used Option 1, it won’t make news and it is not “advertising worthy”. But if you use Option 2, you can get people to talk about it.
As a consumer what you are getting is “Option 1″ but explained to you as something compelling via the narrative of “Option 2″
I am not saying the offer is good or bad – it is up to the the consumers to decide. My goal is to open the hood and see what is the “real” offer.
Have a great week ahead!
Posted under Compelling Offers.
By Rajesh Setty on Thu 15 May 2008, 8:15 PM - 2 Comments
Startups are not easy. Statistics prove that. The ones that seem easy on the news are just because they are exceptions and not the rule. First-time entrepreneurs have a bigger challenge because only few people bet on them.
Everyone knows that the team behind a startup is the most important aspect of a startup. The configuration of the founding team is complex.
Why?
Here are a few reasons:
1. Morphing along with the company: They say business model for a startup goes through at least three revisions in the first 18 months. In my opinion that number is way higher. How do you get people to morph with every business model change?
2. Multiple Hats: Team members have to wear multiple hats. Not everyone can do that.
3. Learning while doing: You have to do something but you have to be always learning. Some people are doers and some people are learners. You have to be the best in both and do it simultaneously.
and so on.
The big one in my opinion is how the roles get morphed with the changing marketplace. How do fellow founders handle someone who is in transition – meaning his current strengths don’t match the current requirements but he is quickly morphing himself to adapt to play a different role ?
Where you start and where you go in a startup depends totally on the founder. Will he/she have time to adapt to the changing conditions and will people around him/her (and the marketplace) will give the time required to adapt is the big question.
Posted under Business Models.
By Rajesh Setty on Wed 14 May 2008, 9:17 PM - 4 Comments
Are you open to feedback?
Yes?
Now, are you REALLY open for feedback?
Most people who say they are open to feedback or really not open to feedback. They like feedback that validates what they already know and believe in. If they get feedback that is not in line with what they already believe in they will typically “shoot the messenger” and move on.
Now, are you REALLY open for feedback?
Posted under Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Wed 14 May 2008, 7:54 PM - 2 Comments
This was the quote that our Vistage chair Sterling Lanier put up for us in today’s meeting. Can’t disagree with it. Of course, I think we can always add to the list and extend it.
“Great leaders know that everyone needs four things:
1. something to do
2. someone to love
3. something to hope for
4. something to believe in”
- Lou Holtz, Legendary Coach
Have a great evening there!
Posted under Great Quotes.
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 12 May 2008, 8:42 PM - 5 Comments
Dreams don’t have any taxes. So feel free to dream big. If you don’t do anything though, you can only realize your dreams in your dreams
“It takes a person wide awake to make his dreams come true”
- Roger Babson
Investment Banker, Author and Educator
Wish you the very best with your dreams.
Posted under Great Quotes.
Recent Comments