Top 10 Reasons Why Start-ups Fail

I just delivered this slide deck at the Bend Venture Conference workshop on Oct 14th, 2010. A great group of entrepreneurs, investors and start-up service providers…

7 Tips for Generating Citizen Marketers

Everyone knows the value of word of mouth marketing. It’s a concept as old as dirt, but not something most businesses know how to embrace. The social Web is a great avenue to allow the people that know and love you (aka, your Citizen Marketers) to promote your business in a fun way.

Citizen Marketers are basically customer evangelists. These are people who will generate media (primarily online) on behalf of products, services, companies, or anything/one who inspires them. A.K.A. Your Fans!

In order to generate a posse of Citizen Marketers you need to make sure you’re ready for them. You need to provide them with a tool kit that allows them to easily promote you. Oh – and this goes without saying – you’d better make sure you DON’T pay them. First of all, most don’t like to get paid. Once you pay them they feel like they’re an “employee” and now promoting you is an obligation as opposed to a personal desire.

Below are some tips for generating and keeping Citizen Marketers:

1. Post Community Guidelines: If you have an online community, blog or other social site – make sure you post a “Communities Guidelines” section where you spell out the guidelines for posting/sharing on your site. I personally like Flickr’s guidelines.
2. Seed Your Community with Love: Seed your community with people who already know and love you – and you only need 15-25 to get things going. This group will set the tone for your community. They’ll also take pride in ownership of your community and police it for you – so when/if someone talks crap about you or your products, they will be the first to stand up for you.
3. Reward your Citizen Marketers: Do this in ways that make sense for your business (remember, no money!). For example, provide free samples of your products to this group, ask them to talk about your product on your site, blog, community, etc. Invite them to grand openings, product launches, product research sessions, etc. They need to feel their contributions are valuable.
4. Transparency is Paramount: It’s extremely important to be transparent and authentic. It’s important other potential citizens (customers) don’t think you’re paying people to say great things about you. That’s not a slam dunk, that’s more like a body check! Honesty is the best policy my friends!
5. Provide them with a Toolkit: Just like you would give a sales person a toolkit, you should do the same with your Citizen Marketers. Examples include, sharing your company goals with them, provide them with the embed code so they can easily share your videos and widgets on their own social sites, share results with them – let them know their efforts are paying off!
6. Be ALIRT: By this I mean, Ask, Listen, Implement, Respond and Thank. This needs to be a 2-way relationship. Don’t just take, take, take from this group – you’ll piss them off and they’ll drop out of the game. Ask them what they think, listen carefully to what they say and repeat back so they’re sure your heard them correctly (this can be done on or offline by the way), Respond to their needs. Make sure you’re interacting with them and responding to any questions they have. Ignoring this group is the kiss of death. And lastly, Thank them in as many ways you that can think of!
7. Treat them as Part of Your Team: This may be one of the most important tips of all – Citizen Marketers need to feel the love. They need to feel they’re part of your team and not some separate entity that you use and abuse.  Invite them to meet new clients with you, share challenges, successes and results with them, promote them (and by this I mean, feature them on your community, or write about them in your blog). This is money in the emotional bank for Citizen Marketers.

Have fun – oh and drink champagne if the spirit moves you!

Sexual Health Company Wins the Big Cash!

Photo: Wendy Strgar, CEO of Good Clean Love (a Eugene manufacturer of natural/organic intimacy and sexual health products) – winner of the Willamette Angel Conference 2010 in Eugene, OR on May 13th. [photo credit: Craig Gray | CEO of Eugene Online]

For those of you who aren’t familiar with “angel conferences” – they are events where start-up companies get to pitch their million dollar idea to a group of angel investors in hopes they are selected to win the big seed investment prize to grow their start-up.  Sort of like the ABC show Shark Tank, but not quite as sensationalized.

“angel” = individual accredited investor

“accredited investor” = click here to read the SEC’s definition

This particular angel conference was called the Willamette Angel Conference – and it took place in Eugene, Oregon on May 13, 2010 at the historic McDonald Theatre (after all, a historic event is worthy of being held in a historic location).

First let me tell you a bit more about how this event came to be. This conference was inaugurated last year (2009) in Corvallis, Oregon by the Corvallis-Benton Chamber Coalition (most of the credit goes to a man named John Sechrest – who has been a pioneer of supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in our region – not to mention a friend and colleague of mine). The conference is now a regional partnership between the Corvallis-Benton Chamber Coalition and the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. It’s the first-time for many things actually — first time start-ups can participate in an angel conference in either Corvallis or Eugene and walk away with a 6 figure seed investment prize — the first time high net-worth individuals in both communities are able to partner and invest in local start-ups as a highly organized investment group, led by a highly skilled fund manager (Dana Siebert) — and the first-time I feel comfortable saying “sex sells,” and not mean it in a sleazy way!

The Model:

• 32 early-stage Oregon-based companies applied for a chance to pitch at the Willamette Angel Conference this year.
• Only 6 were selected to deliver a full 10 minute pitch at the conference, and four were selected to deliver AngelIgnite pitches – where they are given 3 minutes to deliver their entire business plan using 13 slides that advance automatically every 15 seconds. This is my favorite part of the competition. The audience voted for the best overall AngelIgnite winner and that company got to move-on to deliver a full 10 minute pitch. Click here to read more about the finalist companies.
• 33 accredited investors each invested $5000 each into the Willamette Angel Conference LLC, raising a total investment of $165,000
• The “angels” are mainly made-up of individuals who are learning about investing in start-ups for the first-time (this is part of the reason why this event was created, to help support local companies, raise local investment capital and educate both the entrepreneurs and the investors about how to work together to grow start-up companies in our region). As a result, the investors are provided three workshops well before they need to decide which company wins the investment prize. The workshops include: ANGEL INVESTING 101, DEAL STRUCTURE, and CONDUCTING DUE DILIGENCE. The Oregon Entrepreneurs Network , headquartered in Portland, helps provide instructors for these workshops by tapping into their vast network of seasoned entrepreneurs, investors and service providers.
• The investors utilize AngelSoft as a tool for reviewing company submissions and communicating about the companies.
• The investors meet 5-6 times as a group to conduct the due diligence on the companies they think offer the best investment opportunity. During a few of those due diligence meetings, the top 10-15 companies are invited in to pitch their business plan to the investor group, respond to questions, and get partnered with an investor (Deal Lead) who continues-on with the due diligence process. The companies are narrowed down to 6 main pitches (10 minutes) and 4 AngelIgnites (3 minutes).
• The investors conduct an anonymous vote the day of the conference to select the one company who will walk away with the $165,000 seed investment prize. This year the prize went to Good Clean Love – a Eugene-based start-up company.

Click here to read Wendy’s blog entries about her WAC experience. Congrats Wendy! I look forward to following the success of her company – as well as the success of the other 9 companies who presented at the WAC!

———————

Hashtag: #wac10

Register Guard article

Willamette Angel Conference official Web site

Videos from the WAC will be posted to Eugene Online

Don’t think you need leadership coaching???

This is great! I love the use of humor to open your eyes up to the fact that most of us are out there in the world working our butts-off. And we’re bored, frustrated, lost, confused, or stuck. Then there’s the dreaded position of complacency – ugh that’s the biggest killer of all. Don’t let it happen to you anymore! We all know the definition of insanity — continuing to do the same thing over and over again, yet expecting a different result. If that’s happening in your life you should consider hiring a leadership coach – believe me — it will change your life!

I hired a leadership coach with this company – Edge of Change – Corinne McElroy is amazing! Check it out…

Authentic Self Promotion (on- and off-line)

Most people – women in particular – do not promote themselves as often as we should. Below is a presentation the defines self promotion, shows why we don’t self promote, strategies for self promoting both on- and off-line – and general advice about uncovering your inner hero! Enjoy…

Holiday gifts that give…

It’s that time of year again and if you’re like me you’re wondering what the heck to get for the people you love. If you’re looking for some unique gift ideas – that you can feel good about giving – here you go…

Give the Gift of Mentoring

Donate to a Big Brothers Big Sisters program in your home town – and help change a kid’s life. I mentor two girls in Lane County (Oregon) and I’m also the board president of the local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters (this is me disclosing).

Click here to make a donation the the Lane County Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Click here to make a find a Big Brothers Big Sisters in your area to donate the gift of mentoring to.

Give em the Beef!

(that is, the antibiotic-free, grass-fed, healthy beef)

Okay – this may piss-off the vegetarians and environmentalists out there, but I’m someone who loves a good healthy piece of meat, fish, pork, chicken, etc.

This site allows you to search for local meat farmers in your area. They also provide links to read about the benefits to the animals (I know, they still get eaten), the environment, the farmers and the health benefits to you.

I’m also a fan of the Farmer’s Markets – so for my fellow Oregonians, here’s a link to find your local farmer’s markets.

Have an Merry Etsy Christmas!

Two years ago I had a total Etsy Christmas – where I used the Etsy Local search option and purchased handmade items for family and friends from their own back yard! It’s a great site and it supports all individuals who create their own items.

Just enter your City and State in their “local” search field and browse away! There are some really beautiful products on this site – and some of the photography is spectacular!

Happy Holidays!!!

Social Media Revolution

Tools for Your Online Fans are a Slam Dunk!

Everyone knows the value of word of mouth marketing. It’s a concept as old as dirt, but not something most businesses know how to embrace. The social Web is a great avenue to allow the people that know and love you (aka, your Citizen Marketers) to promote your business in a fun way.

Citizen Marketers are basically customer evangelists. These are people who will generate media (primarily online) on behalf of products, services, companies, or anything/one who inspires them.

In order to generate a posse of Citizen Marketers you need to make sure you’re ready for them. You need to provide them with a tool kit that allows them to easily promote you. Oh – and this goes without saying – you’d better make sure you DON’T pay them. First of all, most don’t like to get paid. Once you pay them they feel like they’re an “employee” and now promoting you is an obligation as opposed to a personal desire.

Below are some tips for generating and keeping Citizen Marketers:

1. Post Community Guidelines: If you have an online community, blog or other social site – make sure you post a “Communities Guidelines” section where you spell out the guidelines for posting/sharing on your site. I personally like Flickr’s guidelines.
2. Seed Your Community with Love: Seed your community with people who already know and love you – and you only need 15-25 to get things going. This group will set the tone for your community. They’ll also take pride in ownership of your community and police it for you – so when/if someone talks crap about you or your products, they will be the first to stand up for you.
3. Reward your Citizen Marketers: Do this in ways that make sense for your business (remember, no money!). For example, provide free samples of your products to this group, ask them to talk about your product on your site, blog, community, etc. Invite them to grand openings, product launches, product research sessions, etc. They need to feel their contributions are valuable.
4. Transparency is Paramount: It’s extremely important to be transparent and authentic. It’s important other potential citizens (customers) don’t think you’re paying people to say great things about you. That’s not a slam dunk, that’s more like a body check! Honesty is the best policy my friends!
5. Provide them with a Toolkit: Just like you would give a sales person a toolkit, you should do the same with your Citizen Marketers. Examples include, sharing your company goals with them, provide them with the embed code so they can easily share your videos and widgets on their own social sites, share results with them – let them know their efforts are paying off!
6. Be ALIRT: By this I mean, Ask, Listen, Implement, Respond and Thank. This needs to be a 2-way relationship. Don’t just take, take, take from this group – you’ll piss them off and they’ll drop out of the game. Ask them what they think, listen carefully to what they say and repeat back so they’re sure your heard them correctly (this can be done on or offline by the way), Respond to their needs. Make sure you’re interacting with them and responding to any questions they have. Ignoring this group is the kiss of death. And lastly, Thank them in as many ways you that can think of!
7. Part of Your Team: This may be one of the most important tips of all – Citizen Marketers need to feel the love. They need to feel they’re part of your team and not some separate entity that you use and abuse.  Invite them to meet new clients with you, share challenges, successes and results with them, promote them (and by this I mean, feature them on your community, or write about them in your blog). This is money in the emotional bank for Citizen Marketers.

Have fun!

Solar Storm Warning is looming…

Apparently, the most intense solar maximum in fifty years – is coming! According to the Science & NASA site – The prediction comes from a team led by Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). “The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the previous one,” she says. If correct, the years ahead could produce a burst of solar activity second only to the historic Solar Max of 1958.

In 1958 the northern lights could be seen as far as Rome – and reports indicate that it lit up the sky so brightly that people could read a newspaper outside in the night!

Wikipedia describes a Solar Max as: “Solar maximum is contrasted with solar minimum. Solar Maximum is the period when the sun’s magnetic field lines are the most distorted due to the magnetic field on the solar equator rotating at a slightly faster pace than the solar poles. The sun takes about 11 years to go from one solar maximum to another and 22 years to complete a full cycle (where the magnetic vharge on the poles is the same.”

This is fascinating and scary at the same time.There’s also a documentary film about this called Solarmax. Below is the documentary broken up into 4 parts…

Part 1 of 4
Part 2 of 4
Part 3 of 4
Part 4 of 4

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Designing for the Social Web, Joshua Porter

I’m currently reading Designing for the Social Web – by Joshua Porter. He’s done a nice job of explaining the psychology behind why and how people interact online – as well as how to build social applications to enhance the “ask” to the consumer (which by the way, we now call “citizens” or “collaborators”).

Here’s a link to Joshua’s blog: http://bokardo.com/ (by the way, Joshua, if you’re listening – you should promote buying your book from Powell’s Books (headquartered in Portland, OR – they are an awesome company and put Amazon to shame when it comes to social and environmental advocacy. They are huge supporters of their local community and invest in clean energy – there’s my 2 cents!).

Click Joshua’s photo to read more about him.

Let me know what you all think of the book…