Peter Cauton

6 Tips to Ensure Your Idea is BIG Enough

August 2, 2013August 2, 2013Peter Cauton

Don’t fall into the trap of the small idea. Here are 6 tips on how to avoid doing so.

1) Pick a painkiller

I touched on this a bit in a recent post. A painkiller is something someone very urgently needs. He would be willing to pay for it NOW if you could make the pain go away.

On the other hand, a vitamin is a nice-to-have.

Ask potential customers if your idea is a painkiller or a vitamin.

CHOOSE to go after painkillers. (no matter how sexy an idea the vitamin is, you’re bound to have better success with the painkiller)

2) Don’t stop with founder credentials

“Hey I like travel! I really could use an app which could tell me where all the best restos and resorts are when I visit a province. And I know you can do killer Android apps. Why don’t we make a Android-based, travel-app?”

For all the talk on lean startup, there are still a lot of entrepreneurs who KNOW about the lean startup model, but still, for some reason, refuse to incorporate even some of its more rudimentary principles. (namely, doing the necessary work to validate before building)

Don’t make your founder credentials the core of your startup (“I love traveling and know about it, he’s an Android apps man, we can make this work, baby!”).

Rather, let SOLVING THE PROBLEM be your core.

What is the problem? Why is it a problem? Who are the people who have this problem? What are the nuances?

Startups are all about solutions. Solutions are all about problems. Dive deep into the problem set before deciding on anything.

3) Look to monopolies or things that just have never improved

Banking. Farming. Education(!). Medicine. Government.

Solve systemic problems in these areas and I guarantee startup success.

I think sometimes – a lot of times – people take these problems for granted, thinking, “this will never be solved” or “It always be like this.”

So not a lot of people even try.

Big problems? Not a lot of people trying to solve it?

That’s opportunity.

For instance, in HR, compensation and benefits is often regarded as a “boring” category. When we were doing our customer research with STORM as we were starting, we saw why. Everyone had the same “core” benefits – leaves, life insurance, and health insurance. As in EVERYONE had the same thing. And because of a rule called “diminution of benefits” companies couldn’t really change things. People were stuck. Benefits weren’t being used as a competitive advantage for a lot of firms.

We saw this as an opportunity to solve a problem not a lot of people were looking at.

Look around. There are a lot of problems people are taking for granted. Choose one you are interested in and GO DEEP.

(note: this won’t be easy, and in the case of going after monopolies, they do fight back)

4) Accept that you have to get your hands dirty to identify big ideas

I think one of the reasons why some people just go ahead and ignore lean startup methodologies is that it’s just plain hard.

Customer validation, for example, is harder than it sounds. You have to zero in on a customer segment. Then you have to identify who they are exactly, get their contact details. You have to book interviews with a lot them. They can blow you off. They can completely ignore you. This takes a lot of time and a lot of effort.

From this standpoint, it’s so much easier to fall into the trap of just going with your original idea and building it immediately.

Do the work. It’s worth it.

5) Don’t be afraid to think BIGGER

Quick, what’s your startup idea?

IMMEDIATELY ask – how can it be bigger?

Sometimes we can let our original designs limit the potential of an idea.

How can our idea be BIGGER? How can this be sold to a larger market? How can this go global?

Don’t be afraid to dream.

Think of the Social Network. It took Sean Parker to show Zuckerberg his idea could be so much more than a college network.

On that note, don’t be afraid to LOOK for your Sean Parker as well. Ask around – how can this idea be bigger, better? Don’t rely on one person’s (yours) opinion.

6) Build for the Future

We live in a world of incredible change, where revolutions now happen on an annual basis.

All the devices you are holding now – your laptop, your tablet, your phone – will be obsolete in 2-3 years. By that time, you might be wearing an iWatch or a rocking Google Glasses.

How will your company hold up in this sort of climate in 2-3 years? Will it grow and evolve with how technology and society are growing and evolving? Will it be considered a dinosaur?

If you are building for the present market, your potential is already capped. Plus you are in danger of being disrupted.

Instead, build for the future. Learn to LOOK for trends, read them correctly (tricky), and build accordingly.

And I think you have to be two steps ahead already.

For example, if you’re building something based on “smartphone prices dropping” or “Filipinos buying increasingly online” then you might be a tad late – there are a number of firms already capitalizing on this. (Witness the number of local online stores sprouting the last few years – while some of them ALREADY are profitable now, that profitability will pale in comparison to what they will earn in a few years riding the trend.)

So look for NEWER trends you can capitalize on.

(Will this post especially resonate with someone you know? Please go and share!)

July 2013 Open Coffee Postscript

July 30, 2013July 30, 2013Peter Cauton

JGL's July Open Coffee — JGL’s July Open Coffee

There was a moment during the actual pitching proper last Saturday’s Open Coffee event that I looked at Matt and AR of JGL and said, “I love this…I love it!”

It was one of the many times when someone in the audience had the the RIGHT contact or the RIGHT information and then just generously offers it to the pitcher who needs it.

This encapsulates the whole point of Juan Great Leap: collaboration and learning. The JGL Open Coffee format pushes this to another level: there is no “sage on the stage” or a central source of information. It’s just entrepreneurs and entrepreneur-minded people helping one another out.

As usual, last Saturday was very, very different from every other Open Coffee event we’ve had. The pitches were very varied.

Mano Abello got the “first pitch” honors and started the ball rolling.

Animator/entrepreneur Dennis Sebastian shows off his awesome animation short and asks for collaboration on marketing original Filipino content:

In a very peculiar sequence of events, we then get three people pitch different travel-related ideas back-to-back-to-back.

gerard cruz — 17-year old Gerard Cruz making his travel app pitch

matt lapid — JGL’s very own Matt Lapid pitching his tourist video idea

Then, we get our very first 4-people pitch when the folks at Minda-Now! make their pitch and collect feedback for their awesome idea/advocacy.

Next we had dessert entrepreneur Christian elicit a lot of feedback from fellow-restauranteurs in the audience.

In another back-to-back, Florence and Barney close the pitching proper by pitching their social enterprises

Florence of Route 63, a travel-related social enterprise

Barney pitches his learning-based social enterprise, TEAM

Finally, we had Zar Castro of talk about the awesome 47 East site.

Here’s one interesting observation from last Saturday: It’s becoming a family affair!

Take a look at this pic.

That’s THREE father and son pairs in Open Coffee. I think this is very interesting and stems from two factors. One, I think there’s a felt need for entrepreneurial parents to expose their children to entrepreneurship and startups. A big number of entrepreneurs I know feel that our traditional learning institutions don’t exactly give the right “real world” exposure to entrepreneurship and startups. So parents feel that they need to strongly “supplement” their children’s learning.

The other factor is that there are more and more young people getting interested in startups. The three teenagers here weren’t dragged in kicking and screaming. They WANTED to go. (In fact, one of them pitched) In fact, maybe a fifth of the people who went to this one were students. That’s awesome.

I’m ALREADY excited for the next one.

Fathers and Sons

July 26, 2013July 26, 2013Peter Cauton

Exactly 6 years ago, I was in Cardinal Santos hospital feeling an overwhelming mixture of happiness, fear, and excitement.

You see, for the first time, I was holding my son in my arms.

And there was something else I was feeling.

As I beheld my son, I felt an unmistakable tug of the heart.

It was the first time we met face-to-face, but never did I feel such an intense feeling of love for another person.

He was mine.

Then I had a quick realization.

I quickly looked for my dad.

Finding him, I gave him a hug and said, “happy birthday!”

It was also his birthday after all.

I then extended the hug a bit.

You see, it was also the first time in my life I realized and felt exactly how he loves me – as only a father can love his eldest, firstborn son.

It’s an amazing, surreal gift that has God designed for me – having both my son and my dad share the same birthdate. Every time July 26 happens, I get swathed with existential nostalgia.

Happy birthday Papa! Thank you for your expressive love, vulnerability, and your playfulness. I realize the way I love my children now stems closely to how you loved me growing up. Thank you for showing me how to treat others like myself. (won’t ever forget the time when I was a kid when you went down and helped that man)

Happy birthday to my son! My ultimate wish for you is that you get to know God and love Him. Well, perhaps I can also wish that you get out of your angry birds phase. It has been three years.

To my Father in Heaven, thank you for loving me so uniquely and intensely through these two people. Through them, I get a glimpse of just how much You love me. I love You more than anything.

Avoid the Joneses, They Will Anchor You to Mediocrity

July 25, 2013July 25, 2013Peter Cauton

Aside from my work in STORM and Juan Great Leap, I “incubate” firms.

It’s really just a passion of mine to look for the right ideas, find the right people to pursue them, and then try to build something from nothing. Sometimes it succeeds, sometimes it doesn’t.

So, if you can imagine, a big part of this hobby of mine is constant “founder-hunting.”

There are a great many challenges to “founder-hunting.” (I’ve covered quite a bit of this in this blog.)

Illustrated here is another fairly typical one:

Peter: “So…everything sounds good! This is the % equity you’ll be entitled to as Founding CEO. As for salary, obviously the startup can’t afford your current salary, but we can still squeeze out what I think is a substantial amount, ______.”

Founder: “Uhm…can the salary still be increased?”

Peter: “Dude, we went through the figures. You know this is the safest amount we can muster. Wait, what are you going to pay for? You didn’t get married and suddenly have kids last night, right?”

Founder: “Well, no, but I am paying for a car for the next two years.”

Peter: “Uh…don’t you live like 3 kilometers from your current office?”

Founder: “Yeah, but…doesn’t everyone get a car plan? It was a good deal.”

Peter: And you got a brand new one? (sighs defeatedly)

Founder: “Uh. Yes. I, uhm…also got a studio unit…”

Ah….The car-condo yuppie dream.

Most people I know who take advantage of these “good deals” CANNOT afford them – hence they do a loan. In effect, they give up a large amount of their monthly salary over the next 3-4 years not only to pay for the car, but also to pay for the huge interest expense (bank margin) generated in spreading the loan over 3-4 years.

(You know what, you could have used that money to bankroll a startup that could pay for 5 cars for you in the same amount of years)

People justify this expenditure with the very confident “I will increase my salary by this so and so amount every year, so this amount won’t look so big in a few years.”

Bad, bad move. (salary increases aren’t by any means guaranteed, emergency expenditures ALWAYS happen)

Even if you get buyer’s remorse, say, A DAY AFTER YOU RECEIVE THE CAR, you’re already done for. You will never ever make the same amount of money you just spent because a car’s value plummets disproportionately as a used vehicle.

Then the critical question comes in: okay, why a NEW car? Why a higher model? Why didn’t you stop with the car? Why get a home loan for a condo as well?

Eventually, if you keep asking why, the reasoning for a lot of people (whether they admit it or not) becomes apparent: it’s to keep up with the Joneses.

New car makes you more popular. The new car is “appropriate for your level.” (that’s what I thought)

Stop.

The Joneses will anchor you. There is no need to keep up with them.

Retain your fiscal flexibility. Fiscal maturity and flexibility are so important to a young entrepreneur. Most startups cannot survive with immediate high salaries (some cannot with ANY salary), necessitated by unnecessary financial anchors. Don’t ever destroy your long term dreams by chasing shiny, short-term objects.

Ignore the Joneses.

Why TURBO is (surprisingly) the most entrepreneurial movie you’ll see in years

July 24, 2013Peter Cauton

The most entrepreneurial animated film you’ll ever see!

I watched TURBO last night with my family. The wifey liked it. The kids LOVED it.

Unbeknownst to them, I was loving it a little more than I probably should. Why?

Turbo is easily the greatest entrepreneurial animated movie I have ever seen!!!

(now that’s a sentence I’d never, ever thought about writing in this blog)

At the risk of spoiling the movie by detailing how exactly it achieved this, let me just enumerate several entrepreneurial themes that I managed to observe in the movie.

There were SO many.

To wit (when you do watch the movie, do see if you can tick some of these off – most are pretty obvious):

A “crazy” one dreaming of a big thing

The desire to leave the corporate assembly line

Unsupportive family/friends

Failing many times before succeeding

Raising money

Pitching to investors

How traction makes raising money easier

Virality and how mobile enables it

The value of PR

The value of key partners and alliances

Being the underdog

Racing with the big boys

Leveraging on agility when racing with the big boys

Not giving up

How “good enough” isn’t good enough

The rewards of entrepreneurship

The movie was fun and enjoyable enough by itself. Viewed through entrepreneurial lens, it becomes something much more.

See it soon and tell me what you think!

Last Call for July Open Coffee – 27 slots left!

July 23, 2013Peter Cauton

Posting the last call for this Saturday’s Open Coffee event at the 47 East compound!

Do register here now and grab the remaining slots before we close registration.

What I’ve observed is, the larger the crowd, the more valuable the process becomes. When someone pitches a large crowd, there is almost always someone who has a very intimate level of information that’s extremely useful for the one pitching. The larger the crowd, the more chances someone finds another person who’s the perfect collaboration partner (I’ve seen this happen multiple times)

So…let’s make this one the BIGGEST ever!

If you haven’t been to our previous open coffee events, do let this Saturday be your first!

See you all on Saturday!

Dare To Pitch Postscript

July 22, 2013July 22, 2013Peter Cauton

Last Saturday, Juan Great Leap and Hybridigm held Dare To Pitch at the STORM headquarters in Ortigas Center. It was a pitching forum where we invited startups to pitch to VC’s.

No winners, no prizes.

We just wanted deserving entrepreneurs to have a venue where they could pitch to institutional investors. At best, they could get funded, at worst, they WILL get valuable experience, feedback, and contacts.

The event was actually a non-public post-event, where ready attendees of the pitching seminar Pitchcraft could volunteer to do an ACTUAL pitch. There were a few audience slots which we opened up to the JGL subscriber base (there are benefits of becoming a subscriber!), which were gobbled up quickly.

We then invited veteran VC’s Dan Pagulayan, Managing Director of Angeon Advisors, and Nix Nolledo, renowned local tech investor, to hear the pitches and give feedback.

Strict 5 minutes per pitch.

Pitching startups include: NDFY, Doxcheck, Geek Speak, Rumarocket, Realty Check, Wegen, Matchdrobe, Hack Blitz, Gerry Cruz of Angage, and entrepreneur Alex Calero.

Alex Calero does a demo of his gaming concept

I thought there were generally awesome ideas behind each pitch – most pitches endeavored to solve real problems. VC Dan Pagulayan told me he’d want to further talk to 8 out of the 10 pitches presented, and that he’s really excited with the number of quality pitches presented.

Just some further observations on the event:

1) Value in witnessing pitches

As a very opinionated person, it was tough for me to JUST listen to the proceedings, but I gotta say, I learned a whole lot. Each pitch was basically an attempt to solve a specific problem in a specific area in our world: from OPM, recruitment, turbine engines, to geek couture, it was a thrill for me not only to learn about these different pockets from the pitchers, but also listening in on what the VC panel had to say. Horizon-stretching.

2) We need to practice with the time limit

7 out of the 10 people who pitched had to be cut off at the 5 minute mark. This for me indicates some lack of practice time. Pitchers have to maximize their airtime. In particular, what usually was part of what is cut is the ACTUAL money pitch: how much the startup needs, where it will go, and what’s in it for the investor. (I think these have to be conveyed quickly at the start)

3) Underlining go-to market strategy

Only a couple of pitches actually explained EXACTLY how the money they were trying to raise would be used in penetrating the market. I’ve seen this in particular with very technical founders who dive into the product, and sometimes miss pointing out how the startup would begin making money, and it intends to scale. For any investor, this is probably THE most crucial part – how exactly is this person going to make my money back?

4) Younger people are getting in on it

Current Ateneo student Red Bermejo pitching

I’ve seen this trend in our JGL open coffee sessions (do sign up now!), where more and more students pitch and participate. 3 of the 10 pitches were given by current students. I think this is an awesome, awesome development, and I hope it continues to trend up.

On Sexy Vs. Urgent, Not Playing the Field Enough, and Why You Mustn’t Roll Like Rick

July 17, 2013July 17, 2013Peter Cauton

We’ve heard it from so many pundits and experts already (including me): there is SO MUCH opportunity now, the time to do a startup is now, blah blah blah.

I do agree with this, obviously. Wholeheartedly. Just compared to this same time last year, I’ve seen so many entrants, foreign and local, angel and VC, wanting to splurge their investment money on new ideas.

This is why I squirm around a lot. I see a lot of opportunity lost – good people pitching blah ideas. (Incredibly, I’m starting to see blah ideas get some funding, but that’s another topic)

I know that perhaps this is part of the learning process, but c’mon ANOTHER e-commerce site with no defensible niche? A whole startup banking on the success of ONE app on the appstore? (a dangerous proposition) Another ad-based web/mobile site? (a successful investor recently told me most shrewd investors now shy away from anything ad-based) Another nice-to-have?

I think we need to improve what we choose to focus on.

Startups should be all about solving problems, right? I think there is a great need for us to DIVE DEEPER within these problems.

Sexy vs. Urgent

Is your idea solving an URGENT problem? This is one thing I think a lot of ideas suffer from. They endeavor to solve problems which aren’t urgent. If they aren’t urgent, then people won’t open their wallets NOW to find a solution.

Look, I’m not saying doing another e-commerce site is a bad idea, but you know, if you are open, there just might be some other idea which just might be more interesting to focus on.

Not Playing the Field

Sometimes I think a lot of people just pick the first idea they get excited about. Perhaps we can ally with another person who’s also excited about the idea. Then we go all in already! One Great Leap! Game! Game!

Stop. Take a breather. Just try to see if there are other alternatives to focus on.

I think the big gap here is research. Let me simplify the term if it sounds too intimidating. I think the big gap here is talking to people.

Last week I talked to a friend who owns a startup-FMCG which manufactures and distributes powdered goods mainly to sari-sari stores across the country. In the sari-sari store, his brands compete with the big boys, like Nestle and Kopiko, etc….

Ever-curious, I asked him, “So dude, what’s your biggest prob… no wait, what’s the biggest problem of your industry?”

He quickly shares: “Collection. Since sari-sari stores do not have credit cards and pay our collectors in cash, we experience a lot of stuff like collector theft, owners disappearing, and so on.”

“How much are we talking about”

“As much as 3%-5% of total sales.”

“What?!”

(To have an idea how big “total sales” of ONE national brand is, ask your friends in FMCG’s. Go on, text them now)

“And EVERYONE experiences this?”

“Yep. Everyone. Big player, small player. Everyone.”

So immediately after my chat, I make a call to another friend who owns a national distribution company.

“Is this true bro, up to five freaking percent?”

“Yep.”

FMCG’s apparently lose BILLIONS because of this problem.

It’s a big problem. It’s an urgent problem. It’s a problem that’s probably seen in other countries like ours.

How do you solve collection at the sari-sari store level?

Isn’t a problem like this so much more real/interesting/rewarding to lean on and solve than say, “what app hasn’t been done yet and would go extremely viral?”

If you come up with a solution to this collection problem, won’t investors line up at your doorstep?

(you got an idea on how to solve this? hit me up 🙂

Well, guess what? If you look hard enough, talk to enough people, you will find that there are literally, HUNDREDS of opportunities like this. (coffee talks rule)

This fact makes a lot of serial entrepreneurs/investors giddy. They know how true this is and realize how we are all like kids in a candy store – but only if we open our eyes.

Talk to experts. Know what the MOST PAINFUL PAIN-POINTS are. Ensure the market will pay loads for a solution. And then, ONLY THEN, should you unleash your entrepreneurial problem-solving awesomeness on it.

Falling in Love With Your Initial Idea

A very promising young entrepreneur pitched an idea in Open Coffee awhile back. It was an e-commerce platform. As usual, people gave some suggestions. Then one person said, hey you know, maybe you could pivot it this way…

Then, the crowd just buzzed. Hands went up. “Hey, THAT could work!” Several people excitedly agreed.

Armed with this validating experience, what happened? Nothing. Last time I checked, the idea promising young entrepreneur was working on was exactly the same. No further research, no checking things out.

Two years

I know other people who’ve been pitching the same idea to investors for two years now. Hey, you know, there just might be a reason why no one’s picking it up.

Perhaps this is one weakness of our Filipino culture. Westerners will just tell you “it sucks.” We, however, are much kinder and supportive here. We will say, “Hey perhaps with a little tweaking this would work.”

“I think you have a great thing on your hands just keep at it.”

“This is super! It’s just not for me, but I’m sure other people will love it!”

Perhaps he’s just not that into you.

DON’T fall too much in love with your product or idea. This is the whole point of Lean Methodology – dropping things when they don’t work.

Look, I know it’s tough. It’s YOUR baby. It’s painful to hear. You’ve spent countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears working on this. Your friends and your mom say it’s cool and everything.

If you are to be successful though, a VITAL factor will be your ability to DROP stuff.

Research. Listen and learn from people who’ve been there. Select wisely. Lean in.

6 Essential Rules on How To Deliver Kickass Customer Service (part 2 of 2)

July 15, 2013July 15, 2013Peter Cauton

(The second of a two-part series on AWESOME CUSTOMER SERVICE, part one can be found here)

Before we proceed to rules 4, 5, and 6, let’s do some definition of terms first.

There are two types of culture in a given organization: there is the EXPRESSED culture, and there is the ACTUAL culture.

The expressed culture is what you see on Mission-Vision-Values statements or in organization “credos.” It is the culture that companies WANT their companies to be defined by.

The actual culture is, obviously, what your organization is really like.

To hardcore HR practitioners, the technical terms are actually “presumed” vs. “actual” HR. But I think “expressed” is a bit more descriptive than “presumed.” Expressed culture is the culture organizations SAY they have.

My underlying theory here in these articles is simple: producing documents and expressions are not enough. You need to be able to consciously MANAGE culture to have any effect on the ACTUAL culture.

What does this have to do with customer service?

Everything.

This flows now into rule #4:

4) Take culture by the horns

If you want to deliver kickass customer service, then it has to be ingrained in your ACTUAL culture. For this to happen, you have to consciously create a customer service culture.

You need to talk about it all the time with your employees, and say stuff like, “how do you think this affects our culture?” or “does this employee fit our culture?” or “we can’t do that, it’s against our customer service culture.”

You need to put visual cues on the wall. You need to make “creating a service culture” a key objective for your managers.

If awesome customer service becomes part of the norm, then you will easily see everyone in the organization “policing” themselves.

If everyone literally frowned upon telephones kept ringing, or delivering slow service, or lack of enthusiasm, then guess what – then it won’t happen.

A very powerful tactic is on anchoring a culture on a certain “rallying point.” (think war drums or a coxswain)

This deserves its own rule:

5) Create a Customer Service Mantra

Hanep!

This word is what our employees are given as an objective – the customer should be so inclined to express “hanep!” after transacting with them.

Rather than describing to our employees what awesome customer service is with jargon-filled definitions and scenarios, we just ask them to deliver “hanep!” (the second rule is extremely important in making this one happen)

This makes awesome customer service seem very real and very simple to our guys.

6) Never Fail to Reward and Recognize

Norms are created in an organization largely because of simple operant conditioning – the norm is positively or negatively reinforced.

If rule 2 is strictly followed, the need to do negative reinforcement (punishment) is lessened. We can then concentrate on positive reinforcement. (Much admired billionaire investor Warren Buffet is renowned for never using negative reinforcement and always giving positive reinforcement)

First, you have to REWARD your customer service personnel well. Since you are hiring empathic problem solvers, and not parrots – you have to pay them as such. Incentivize great customer service. Remember rule 1: this is an investment. While perhaps at first you may be paying more than you bargained for, done right should give you a very nice return. Remember, people are starved for good customer service.

Second, always remember that you should never fail to grab an opportunity to recognize good customer service rendered by your employees. It has been WELL DOCUMENTED that recognition – praising others – goes a long, long way in motivating people. Do this publicly.

Bonus Rule: Read Tony Hsieh’s Delivering Happiness

There was a time we were using scripts and carried on with customer service using practices garnered from BPO firms.

When I finished reading this book, I had a “stop the presses!” moment and met with our team. We needed to change everything. (the audio book’s pretty cool despite Tony’s sleepy-hypnotic voice)

(Know anyone who would especially resonate with this post? Be a blessing and hit those share buttons!)

JULY OPEN COFFEE on the 27th!

July 10, 2013July 10, 2013Peter Cauton

Can you feel it in the air?

It’s that time of month again!

Here’s a pic of what happened last time! We could barely fit the screen!

group shot opencoffee — June open Coffee

Do join us for the next JGL Open Coffee on July 27, Saturday. We’ll be doing it again at the beautiful 47 East Co-working facility at 47 Esteban Abada, Loyola Heights, QC.

Remember, the more we are, the more value the resulting networking and learning creates, the more chances cross-industry idea pollenation happens. Do invite more awesome people to go with you!

Do reserve your slots HERE, now! Don’t forget to bring P100 for the coffee and snacks.

Seeya!

(Know someone who would especially benefit from attending Open Coffee? Hit the share buttons and be a blessing!)

April Edition at Bo's Coffee — April Edition at Bo’s Coffee

1) Pick a painkiller

2) Don’t stop with founder credentials

3) Look to monopolies or things that just have never improved

4) Accept that you have to get your hands dirty to identify big ideas

5) Don’t be afraid to think BIGGER

6) Build for the Future

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Sexy vs. Urgent

Not Playing the Field

Falling in Love With Your Initial Idea

Two years

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4) Take culture by the horns

5) Create a Customer Service Mantra

6) Never Fail to Reward and Recognize

Bonus Rule: Read Tony Hsieh’s Delivering Happiness

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