Category: GETTING STARTED

Stopping Reverse Momentum

Peter Cauton

homer running

Starting the middle of last year, I began running in the morning.

5K, every other day. I was pumped.

Then I sort of injured my calf and I couldn’t run for a while.

I vowed to bounce back fast – as soon as my calf was fully healed.

Then my calf healed.

But for some reason, I couldn’t find the energy to start again.

The longer I waited, the harder it was to start.

I could describe it best as reverse momentum.

This is my best explanation for the writing hiatus I experienced. This is my first post in almost 2 months. 

People started to ask me – are you still writing? Do you still love it? Do you still believe in it?

The answer for me is a quick, resounding “yes.”

Its just that I had allowed myself to fall into a rut. The worst thing was, because of the ever-increasing gap between posts, I pressured myself into thinking…

“I haven’t written in 2 weeks?! Egad, I HAVE to come up with something better than normal!”

and then…

“I haven’t written in 3 weeks? Egad, I have to come up with something super!”

leading to…

“A MONTH? Now I have to write something which will change the very way people look at entrepreneurship!”

A look at my drafts page would show a number of half-baked, barely-started, “epic post” ideas.

I now realize the utter futility of this approach.

A few minutes ago I just said, “WTH, lemme just write.”

And here it is. And something tells me I’ll be writing my next post without letting two months lapse.

There’s something quite entrepreneurial about this approach as well, eh?

Waiting for the absolute best time to take an absolutely grandiose leap will rarely work.

Instead, just do it.

JGL’s One Great Leap!

Peter Cauton

vision

There’s a lot going on now with two of my startups, STORM and STRATA.

People movement, scaling, fire-fighting, creating processes, client meetings, projects, you name it, we’re doing it right now. For STORM specifically, we usually do systems implementation around this time in preparation for the coming year. Plus we’re also renewing with all our current clients. These next few weeks leading up to the first quarter of 2014 will be quite taxing for our team.

I wish there were two of me sometimes.

November marks the 2nd year anniversary of JGL’s first post. While the blog has been growing and our events have been successful. There’s so much that I’ve wanted to do in JGL which we didn’t get to do.

Two of the things we were ABLE to do was launch two projects, two concepts. In lean startup parlance, these were two “experiments.”

Event Poster (Facebook)

The first one was Startups Unplugged. The questions it wanted to answer: can a musical-chairs type of entrepreneurial event attract people?

It did. It attracted 20 of some of the best entrepreneurs in the country.

It also attracted hundreds of people. We filled up a big venue. The event was free. It was paid by sponsors. It made a little bit of money.

PitchCraft_v4-01

The second experiment was Pitchcraft (joint project withy Hybridigm). The questions it wanted to answer: will people pay for to learn entrepreneurial concepts in a classroom-type environment? Can the JGL platform attract enough people for it to be sustainable?

Yep, people paid. That event made almost 6 figures net.

I was supremely excited. The vision for me was getting clearer – JGL was to be primarily an entrepreneurial education and advocacy play. We drew up a lot of plans. A startup “school” with both classroom and online features. Perhaps a startup or two could be incubated in the process.

There was one problem.

Me.

Since this was my passion and my “baby,” I was really hesitant in ceding any control or equity (I’ve been burned a lot of times in the past). So everything was on me – veritably doing yet ANOTHER startup, this time by myself, going against a lot of the very things I’ve written in this blog.

Since my time was taken up by my other responsibilities in my other startups, none of the other JGL plans transpired.

This was frustrating.

So the past few days I’ve been pondering and praying.

Do I keep things as is, or do I try to change things? 

Conclusion: I want to go after that vision. And I want to do it more aggressively than before. This will mean changes.

I would need two very crucial (and familiar) things: funding and an entrepreneur.

JGL IS RAISING MONEY

I’m going to be raising capital. I’m thinking of raising it from 4 individuals, ideally representing 4 very different areas of entrepreneurship. (maybe one from tech, one from social enterprises, etc….). They will also serve as JGL’s advisory board. The capital will go mainly to hiring 1-2 people who will be on the ground and as capital to set up the first few courses. There’s also an online content strategy I want to pursue.

What’s in it for the investor? 

1) First and foremost, you get to help Philippine entrepreneurs. Call me corny, but this for me should be the primary motive of the investor. I won’t partner with anyone who doesn’t share the same passion for the Filipino startup ecosystem and the country as a whole.

2) Second, yes, this will monetize. (see “experiments” above)

3) Third, networking. First crack at getting to know up-and-coming entrepreneurs and startups. I think this is a huge thing. There’s now a growing number of entrepreneurs who have acquired funding from JGL events.

Note: I want this process hopefully done by this year, so JGL can “relaunch” at the start of 2014. I will be approaching investors from my circle as well, but I would like to talk to as many people as possible (as this is VERY important to me, and I want no stone left unturned).

Entrepreneur

Resident Entrepreneur Needed

So, because of the update above, obviously I would needing someone to help me run JGL. I was thinking of what the official job title should be – GM? Operations Head? Business Manager? CEO?

I thrashed all that and ended up what I thought was the most functional one-word description.

Entrepreneur.

The key elements of what I think an entrepreneur should be are: used to uncertain environments, used to risk, creative problem solver, maabilidad (there is no english translation), and a great sense of urgency.

Because of the nature of JGL, I would ideally love it if you would be: a good writer, used to online content management, can handle events, has charisma.

One thing I’m REALLY going to take a look at: integrity.

Man, I’ve been burned so many times by not screening for this enough. (if you KNOW  you don’t have any integrity, please don’t bother reaching out to me)

So there you go. I thought long and hard about making this public. Obviously I’m going to approach people in my circle (and I have already) for both these needs. But I wanted to make this public here as well so I can cast a wider net. (Stealth sucks.)

Interested in helping out? Send me an email at peter@juangreatleap.com

Let’s do this!

The Rise of the Free Agent Era and 5 Strategies to Survive It, Part 2

The Rise of the Free Agent Era and 5 Strategies to Survive It, Part 2

Peter Cauton

(This is part 2 of a 2-part series. Part one can be found here.)

3) Build Free Agent Skills

So what sort of skills are highly useful in this free-agent era?

Skills which maximize your ability to be independent – skills which can allow you to be highly mobile and flexible.

Here are three really strategic ones you can work on:

iknowkungfu

a) Learn How To Learn Real Fast

Two common realities of the free agent era: there’s always something new to learn, and you have to learn it fast. If you learn things fast, then you can work in vuitually any condition and won’t be a victim of obsolescense.

Adapt and live.

So don’t get married to a skill set (especially technical ones, which get obsolete fast). Learn how to acquire skills fast, especially the tricky personal ones, like negotiation, leading, and reading people. Read up on current trends in your industry of choice. Read books (I can’t recommend an Audible membership enough). Talk to experts and be conscious of your learning process.

b) Selling

selling

Here’s something which I think won’t change anytime soon:  people will buy stuff.

This is how every person, every company, survives.

If you know how to sell – yourself, your ideas, your products, your vision – then that is a HUGE advantage in the free agent world.

If you’re going to have to move UPWARD from company to company, if you’re going to be a great entrepreneur, if you’re going to be an awesome freelancer (really still an entrepreneur), then you’re going to have to get people to BUY what you have to offer.

There is an art and science on how to do this. (and a great amount of literature) Start learning now.

c) Networking

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Know-who trumps know-how.

I think this is a very obvious characteristic of all the highly successful people I know thriving in the free-agent era – they’ve built great personal networks.

A great network can act like a great parachute in the free agent world.

You got downsized? Good thing you know that HR Director who happened to have job openings.

Your new company is low on funds? Good thing you know a few investors who can give you a bit of help.

But a great network does so much more than be an insurance. I think its a crucial element for those who really want to thrive in the free agent era.

Looking at it from an entrepreneur’s lens, the free agent era is an era of humungous opportunity. The very elements which are disrupting big businesses are the very same elements creating great opportunity. There are SO many industries undergoing disruption.

The MORE people you know, the MORE information you garner about these opportunities, the more likely you can spot those which suit you.

Then you just pounce.

4) Build a Brand 

brand

Let’s say you have two people of exactly the same competency level vying for a marketing manager position.

One person has a marketing blog where he shares his thoughts on best practices regarding his job. He has an updated and comprehensive Linkedin account, and he is a member of several marketing-related groups.

If you google his name, the whole first page is filled with marketing stuff he’s written about and intelligent dialogues with peers.

The other person, meanwhile, isn’t so active. When you google his name, only a few entries come up.

Who do you think gets the job?

Think about it folks, every time you apply for something – a job, a co-founder role, a partnership, a contract – you WILL get googled and investigated.

Use this to your advantage. Build a brand around your strengths and interests.

I can’t tell you how much running this blog has helped me get into contact with several key people, or even get new clients to say they read my blog on sales meetings when I represent STORM.

In the free agent era, there are hundreds of people vying for the same things. Stand out by building your brand.

5) Get away from the herd

herd

I think this is the most important piece of advice in this post.

In case you haven’t noticed, the herd gets ultimately marginalized (a bit ironic if you think about it).

What do most graduates do?

They look for a job in corporate, most without even thinking what they truly want.

They look for the highest bidder.

They will spend 3-4 years and then move on to another firm, moving again in another 3-4 years. )This cycle is markedly faster in the BPO industry.)

Perhaps most are even unaware they are in this groupthink cycle.

Stop.

You want to standout?

Think and act differently.

Zig when the herd zags.

The free agent era rewards uniqueness and being special. Embrace what makes you special (yes, we each have unique God-given gifts which make us special) and get away from the herd. Don’t be afraid of the slight separation anxiety you might feel separating from the pack.

The free agent era obviously loves free agents. (and isn’t so nice to herds) So the best advice I can give in the free agent era?

Go and be one.

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

The Rise of the Free Agent Era and 5 Strategies to Survive It, Part 1

Peter Cauton

 

 

(This is the first of a 2-part post)
freeagent

When I was in college in the mid 90’s, I was still hearing the phrase, “employed for life” a bit.

This was when an employer could virtually guarantee an employee’s financial well-being from fresh-graduate to even beyond retirement.

Twenty to thirty-year careers were commonplace and a societal norm.

If you managed to be employed by say, San Miguel Beer in the 80’s, you were literally set.

All you had to do was to work hard, and the company would take care of you – for life!

When I graduated in the late 90’s, I think this sort of reality was already facing upheaval and was rapidly fading.

In 1998 (just as when I entered the job market – what great timing I had), the global financial crisis (and the first internet bubble) happened.

The desperation of firms to save costs, coupled with the latent internet technology base, resulted in the widespread adoption of outsourcing and offshoring – further pushing us into a brave, new global economy.

This new economy was (and is) marked by blazing technological advances – fueling revolutions which now occur at an alarming pace.

Bottom-line? We live in an era of unmitigated dynamism. Nothing can be forecasted with accuracy anymore.

When I graduated, companies were talking about 5-year, even 10-year plans. Nowadays, its almost folly to plan that far – because the newest revolution could just make your plan obsolete overnight (literally).

How does this sort of dynamism affect careers?

No employer wants to make a long-term commitment anymore.

“Employed for life” is extinct. (it now exists in typically very marginalized positions)

Like it or not, everyone is now a free agent.

Trust me, even if your employer says “we value and take care of you,” some global decision in Bucharest can lead to the dissolution of your department. Your company can merge with another and you can be declared redundant. Your company can decide to outsource your job to a crowdsourcing site the new marketing manager recommended to the COO.

You can work like a dog for years, do an awesome job, and STILL be out of a job.

You know I’m right about this – you probably KNOW people who have had this happen to them. (I can rattle 2 dozen names off very very easily)

So what do you do? Here are five strategies to live by.

1) Here’s what NOT to do – Float Aimlessly

lost at sea

If you ever take anything from this post, let it be this. The LAST thing you want is to just act like flotsam, riding it out where the waves take you. There is an infinitesimal chance you end up where you want to be if you don’t plan for it.

I spent the first 7-8 years of my career like flotsam.

I wanted to do marketing, but there were no marketing positions around (you know, during the 1998 global financial crisis). An HR job was presented to me. I took it and justified it in my mind while saying, “I like people, so I must like HR.”

My family got into financial trouble, forcing me to move companies and go to greener pastures. Then, to another greener pasture. Then after around 8 years, quarter life crisis rammed me at full throttle.

How can it be?! I’m not happy in HR!

This was when I started planning a startup where I could one day end up in.

DON’T wait around 8 years floating endlessly. Take your career planning seriously.

Start drafting a plan.

2) Aim for Ownership

owner

In corporate, we aim for positions. Throw this paradigm out the door. Aim and WORK for ownership.

I can’t tell you how rewarding it is to own equity in a firm that’s blessed with success: your equity earns passively, appreciates in value, and is a powerful source of motivation (you work harder for something you own). You can also be very flexible with it – you can hold on to it or sell it. You can never be fired. You get board votes.

How can a free agent make a firm loyal to him in this day and age?

Well, he can own part of it.

Be a company owner and develop a startup.

Want to stick it out in corporate? Insist on shares and equity rather than cash compensation.

(Watch out for the last three tips on the next post!)

Avoid These 5 Absolutely Crippling Startup Choices, Part 2

Peter Cauton

(This is part 2 of 2-part series. You can read part 1 here)

3) Reluctance to Get Down and Dirty

dirty

Take a gander at some of the Lean startup methodology books. There is a reason why this line of thinking has become quite severely influential for startups around the world.

The principles are quite sound: information and validation over guesswork and assumption.

Getting to that information? You have to talk to a lot of customers. You have to SYSTEMATICALLY do it in an unbiased manner. You have to do it over and over. You have to iterate your product over and over.

This is serious, rigorous work. You want success, as with anything worthwhile, you have to pay the piper.

But I think this pitfall goes beyond merely fulfilling lean requirements.

You have to want it.

You have to want it hard enough that you are willing to do the things you don’t want to do.

Programmers? You will have to do more than code and build. You have to talk to customers. Yes, you’re going to have to help LOOK for them. You have to RUN the firm, keep it afloat.

“Marketing” guys? You’re going to have to have to go through detailed product development. You’re going to have to set up internal processes.

Raise funds. Recruit. Corporate governance. Financials. Managing other founders. Managing investors. Customer service. Selling. Researching.

To any individual, one (or more likely, a bunch) of these tasks is just sheer torture to do.

Each of them can be extra-crucial at different times of a startup’s life. You’re going to have to suck it in and do them.

As a founder, you don’t have a boss, so you have the freedom to do what you want when you want. The temptation then is to just choose to work on the stuff you like.

I know a whole lot of startups that have quietly faded away because of this. Not for lack of talent. But a lack of want.

4) Choosing Optimism Over Realism

half full

I’ve heard or I myself have uttered the following phrases in the last eight years of startup work:

“He’ll come around.” (referring to a partner or employee not pulling his weight)

“Our funds will last.”

“We’ll land that client.”

As a startup founder, you NEED to be an optimist. I mean, that’s exactly what an entrepreneur is, right? Someone with a vision of the future. You can bet its a rosy picture that’s painted in the entrepreneur’s mind.

Ah, but here is the irony of it.

You also need to be a realist at the same time. (perhaps the better term is pessimist)

You have to assume the worst, and prepare for it.

I think as a people, we can be prone to being fatalistic (bahala na), sometimes just HOPING for the ideal scenario to magically appear, choosing to actively ignore the danger signs.

I know some entrepreneurs who ignored obvious warning signs, doing nothing about huge problem areas THEY KNOW are there, but for some reason, they choose not to directly confront. (a number of these perhaps have to do with another Filipino trait we need to overcome – being non-confrontational)

Are your funds looking like they might not last the next 3 months. Do something about it.

Having problems with a founder? It will not magically disappear. TALK to the person. If

A related tip here? You HAVE to be decisive. In a whole lot of startup scenarios, making ANY decision is so much better than INdecision.

5) No Compelling Vision

road-blur

This often stems from either of two reasons:

a) The idea isn’t compelling enough to be worth of a “vision”

Another milk tea wannabe.

An idea with no clear customer. (when you cannot explain who exactly will DESPERATELY want it)

An idea you’ve been pitching for 3 years that no one seems to want to bite at.

A small idea.

You know how to identify a good idea? It generates excitement. Energy. When you talk about it with people, you see eyes light up, and people throw around their own ideas on how to build on it. Then people begin asking “fishing” questions like, “So what are your plans with this idea? Where are you taking it?” (hoping you’d ask them to help out)

A bad idea tends to generate a lot of questions and pauses. It generates awkward moments when the person you talk to WANTS to get excited about your idea (you did talk to him about his idea), but is a lousy actor. They begin to ask you questions covering areas you ALREADY THOUGHT you explained like:

“Who is the target market again?”

“Why do think this will work again?”

(and usually, there’s a spattering of non-words thrown in, like “uhm” or “ahhh,” like “Uhm…who will be buying this product again? (waits for your answer) Ahhhh”)

On the other hand, a good idea is typically absorbed quickly by the listener. The listener also will tend to expand the subject matter by talking about how it can be applied to situations in HIS circle of influence, for example, “Hey, that’s a cool idea! And you know, aside from administrators, I think even the teachers I work with in school will just LOVE that.”

Don’t get married to an idea. Validate with people in the industry you are targeting. Allow people to build on your idea without getting defensive. (Huwag mong agawin yung idea ko!)

b) The CEO is not compelling enough

There is a HUGE advantage if your CEO is a great pitchman. What a great pitchman does is to sell the vision.

Steve Jobs was just AWESOME at this. In fact, people who work with him say he had a “reality distortion field” around him. You might be convinced of one thing before you talk to Steve, but after speaking to him, he’ll have you believe HIS vision instead.

Selling the vision is EXTREMELY important. You have to be compelling. Compelling enough that you get co-founders to go all-in with you. That you get the BEST employees. Compelling enough that potential clients will trust you enough to do business for you even if your startup hasn’t proven itself. Compelling enough that investors will part with their hard-earned money for you.

These are ESSENTIAL startup activities.

Even if you have a GREAT idea, if your delivery falters, then it almost doesn’t matter.

If you cannot COMMUNICATE a compelling vision, then the answer is simple: get another co-founder to be CEO. Don’t sabotage your startup and force yourself to play a part you know someone else can be better at.

(Do you know someone who will resonate with this post? Perhaps someone whom you know is cooking up a startup? Be a blessing and share!)

Avoid These 5 Absolutely Crippling Startup Choices, part 1

Peter Cauton

oops

Its a shame that most of the talks we find on startups and entrepreneurship center more on the successes. This is perfectly understandable – it is painful to talk about failures.

Yes, we say stuff like “it’s a badge,” and “failing is a necessity,” but you know, if one really poured her heart and soul into a startup and it fails – it can be a real heartache.

It’s a shame because there can be SO much to learn from those who have experienced failure, specifically, how to avoid certain decisions and tendencies.

I just realized I’ve just marked the fifth year anniversary of my startup leap a few weeks ago. It’s mind-boggling to consider that I’ve now been working full-time with startups for five years now (with 3 additional years part-time). In this time, I’ve now been involved directly with close to ten startups now (with varying degrees of success), plus coaching dozens more. I’ve made, seen, and experienced a lot of mistakes.

In particular, here are some pitfalls you drastically need to avoid when building your startup.

1) Selecting The WRONG Partners

square peg

I’ve belabored this point in this blog. It remains the single biggest reason for some of my own startup failures, and why I’ve seen some other startups fail. NEVER take this step for granted. Take the necessary time and effort to get to know potential partners before you get married to them by co-sharing equity. In particular, I’ve experienced two particular forms of erring partner selection:

A) Wrong fit

Remember the rule: get someone with COMPLEMENTARY skills and COMMON values. The first one is easy enough to filter: you have to have a keen idea of the level of the required skill in your mind and search relentlessly until you find someone who meets it. It’s the second one which takes time to decipher in a person. It’s also the second one that’s much harder to recover from.

B) Your startup is a second (or worse) priority

I remember having a killer team in TWO tech-related startups I started before. However, everyone had other things as their first priority (their own startups, full-time jobs), leaving the said startups as veritable orphans. Startups need committed people who will dedicate maximum time and effort in ensuring its viability. No matter how brilliant your startup team is, if ALL of them are working on it on a part-time and unfocused manner, your startup HAS NO CHANCE.

I think this is becoming a real problem in the Philippine startup scene as a number of people are diving headlong into doing simultaneous startups (without the great benefit of a successful FIRST one, read here).

Get someone who will focus SOLELY on your startup.

2) Selecting Too MANY Partners

too many

I remember my friend Ryan, who works in construction, tell me that there is an optimum number of people that can work on a given project.

I found this fascinating.

If you put MORE than the ideal number of workers on a construction project, things actually SLOW down because there is less accountability – people figure they can get away with not working that hard because other people can take up the slack.

I think this is true for startups as well.

I think 2-3 is the ideal number. 4 is a bit of a stretch. At 5 people, you can be sure 1-2 people are already slacking. If these 1-2 people are equal equity owners, then immediately, rifts can be created because the working founders will feel shortchanged (and rightly so).

This can be a temptation to beginner founders who can’t say no to the first talented person who butter them up and says their idea is awesome.

Resist. Stick to 2-3.

(Three more pitfalls to avoid, next!) 

Fast-Track Your Startup Dreams By Joining A Successful One

Peter Cauton

successfail

Learning From Failure Might be a Tad Overrated

By now, we’ve all heard a lot about how important it is to fail, how we need to start failing immediately – in a sense so we can find about what NOT to do the fastest way possible.

Of course, we’ve all seen this happen, so I’m not about to debate its veracity.

There might be an alternative though.

Instead of learning from failure, why not learn from success? Instead of concentrating on what NOT to do, why not focus on WHAT to do?

How can you do this as someone who wants to develop his own startup?

One way is to go join a successful one.

My Chikka Days

When I think about it now, my five-year stint in Chikka really fast-tracked my own startup career. I didn’t exactly realize it then, but it did. 
chikkaI remember the first few weeks I was in Chikka, and coming from 2 very “corporate” companies, it was quite the culture shock. No manager rooms. First-name basis with everyone. A disdain for anything “formal.” (I believe their term for it was “Ponstan.” Long story)

I loved it! It was certainly very different from what I was used to – and I found myself gravitating towards it.

The more time I spent in Chikka, the more interesting things I soaked up. I noticed how then-CEO Dennis Mendiola and then-COO Chito Bustamante worked. Dennis worked on products and strategy. He would do off-the-wall stuff like ask waiters for their opinion on a product during formal meetings. He would leave the execution to Chito – and boy, did he execute. I remember one director describe Chito’s execution style as suave. Chito had a way of getting things done.

As a company, I remember hitting deadlines I never thought we’d hit. We just sort of willed things to happen.

I remember the little traditions. Lechon during a founder’s birthday. Top ten lists during events.

I remember dreaming big.

I actually started conceptualizing STORM at the same time that I was interviewing for Chikka. In retrospect, I think this was awfully good timing. It was the best of both worlds – I was starting my startup part-time while learning from a very good one full-time.

The Advantages of Joining a Startup (specifically if your ultimate goal is to put one up)

1) Learning First-Hand

arn

I can read, say, Disciplined Entrepreneurship and learn all about startup execution. I can memorize the whole thing and still, it could never compare to seeing first-hand how Chito pushed Chikka in executing strategy. Seeing that day-to-day, seeing what it takes – was truly an eye-opening experience. I carried all these lesson with me in developing my own firms.

One caveat here – following this logic, you have to choose a successful one. The whole point is to learn WHAT to do before doing it yourself. This only happens if you join a startup with some degree of success. This can be a bit tricky. Joining a startup which is too early in the game might not give you the “winning” lessons you are seeking. On the other hand, joining a fairly seasoned one might not give you “startup” lessons anymore.

2) Supportive Founders (mostly)

One thing with founders of startups – a good chunk of them will be passionate proponents of entrepreneurship.

So if you ask them, “hey can I do a startup on the side while I work with you fulltime?”

As long as it isn’t a competing product and it doesn’t interfere with your job, I’m guessing a fair number will actually be supportive. This is very different from a number of bigger corporations whom I know frown upon part-time work.

3) Less Risk

less riskThis is a biggie. By definition, a successful startup can probably afford to give you a competitive/semi-competitive salary (in contrast, for a number of startups, salary might not even be a given).

The most common risk in joining a startup is that you sacrifice immediate practical considerations (salary, benefits, position) for future glory. In those first few months/years in running a startup the most important factor is your learning curve(the essence of lean startup thinking). How fast do you learn what the right things are (the right market, the right product, the right strategy).

By joining a startup, you essentially can have your cake and eat it as well: you get to learn loads without necessarily sacrificing practicality.

4) Internal Social Proof

For me, THIS was probably the biggie.

As a startup founder, what I constantly wrangled with was doubt.

Will this even work? Is what I’m doing stupid? Is this worth all the trouble?

Being in Chikka really helped in convincing me that hey, not only is it possible to develop a successful startup (especially back in the mid-2000’s when the startup ecosystem isn’t what it is now), but it is actually quite possible to build one which scales.

That psychological edge can sometimes be all the difference.

Just Touch the Water

Peter Cauton

ripple

It still amazes me how so many of the largest companies in world started out as some crazy idea in someone’s head.

Then, these individuals began talking about it with another person. Perhaps Larry invited Sergey over for a coffee chat, perhaps Steve started an argument with Woz, Hewlett started brainstorming with Packard, Procter meets with Gamble for the first time, and so on.

As the idea is shared, it separates itself from one individual and takes on a life of its own.

Now, two or more people get excited about it.

More talks are scheduled. More energy is generated. Perhaps more people involved.

Then things get actually tried out.

Soon, papers get signed and boom, a company is borne!

This is a very, very familiar process for me…an idea surfaces between 2 or 3 people, excitement is generated, more meetings are arranged, research is done, things get moving, and soon, papers are signed.

Most startups are borne out of momentum. (sustaining it is an entirely different art)

But that first step is something I know is a barrier for some people.

You have to release your idea into the wild.

I know for a lot of people this is a very natural thing, but I also know that for a lot of people, this can be a very unnatural thing, like the shy kid getting ready to be called for orals.

It’s your idea after all, and to share it is to open yourself up to all sorts of imagined criticism and scorn.

If you have an idea though, an idea which you feel very strongly about, (the one which keeps you up at night) you CANNOT just let it remain stagnant in your head. You’re not doing anyone any favors, certainly not yourself.

You have to overcome.

TALK to people about it. What do your friends think? What do experts think? Heck, what do strangers think?

Go to startup events and talk about it. Talk to entrepreneurs in your field about it (entreps are mostly a helpful bunch)

I’d like to suggest JGL’s monthly open coffee 🙂

If you want to make any sort of ripple, you can’t be afraid of touching the water.

Sometimes, Interest Can Trump Passion

Sometimes, Interest Can Trump Passion

Peter Cauton

idea

It’s probably THE MOST overused cliche in the entrepreneur world, right?

Find something you are passionate with!

You will never work a day again!

This is true of course. (which is why its a cliche)

I do think though that for some people, this gets in the way because people try to look for their passion in the SUBJECT of the idea, when sometimes, DEVELOPING A STARTUP itself is the passion.

There are a number of entrepreneurs now I talk to who I think face this dilemma.

“Peter, there are these ideas I have which are interesting and I think can make money, but I’m not really sure I’m SUPER passionate about. What I am REALLY passionate about are comic books and food, but I can’t really find an idea in those areas which I think can work yet.”

Look, finding a subject matter which you are really really passionate which CAN be transformed into a profitable venture is a tremendous blessing. It can also prove to be a time-consuming, frustrating endeavor, since a lot of times, the things we are passionate with just cannot be monetized.

But what if the very thing we are passionate with is entrepreneurship itself? Being the guy who calls the shots? Building something and working with people in building it?

If this is the case, then we can find something we are not necessarily passionate about yet, but are interested in. Something we can GROW to be passionate about.

In my case, when I started STORM, I wasn’t like, super passionate about flexible benefits. I didn’t have flexible benefit posters, think about flexible benefits when I woke up in the morning, or named any of my kids Flexter Cauton.

But I WAS interested in it enough that I could talk about it for long periods of time, or read a book about it, or go on the internet and research about it for long periods.

What I REALLY was passionate about is entrepreneurship, building teams, and leading them. These were the things which scratched my primordial existential itches.

So you know what? It worked. Many years after, work still doesn’t feel like work.

So yes, by all means, go search for a passion play. If you don’t find it, don’t fret. There’s a significant chance that you’re passionate about the general elements entrepreneurship itself. In this case, try an interest, something that you know you can GROW to be passionate about. INTEREST is still quite important, no matter how passionate I am about entrepreneurship, I doubt if I’d have enough interest to invest time and energy on say, construction, or fishing.

What’s the most important word in all these?

TRY.

 

6 Tips to Ensure Your Idea is BIG Enough

6 Tips to Ensure Your Idea is BIG Enough

Peter Cauton

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

pill

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)

Clipart Illustration of a Group Of Businessmen In Colorful Shirts, Carrying Briefcases And Holding Their Resumes Up At A Job Interview

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.

monopolies

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)

dirty

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. 

thinkbig

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.

glimpse

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!)