In the business development world, the world silence usually has a negative connotation, but when you’re pitching it can be a good thing.
People are naturally uncomfortable with silence during a phone conversation with a new acquaintance. When they encounter it, they don’t know what to do…so they just start talking.
Often there are valuable pieces of information that prospects hold close to their chest. An example might be how interested they are in buying your product or service. Just like on a car lot, they might not want to seem too interested to maintain bargaining leverage. Other times there’s questions that are just awkward to ask directly.
You can use the silence disposition to your advantage in these type of scenarios. Purposefully …
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How do you if know a business development person is “good” at an early stage startup?
I think one mark of a great BD person is that they’re able to get that initial deal with a meaningful party. Generally speaking, they’re able to convince someone worthwhile to take a chance on them.
If I’m a successful company why should they take a meeting with a lowly startup? Why should I trust you can execute what you say you can? Why should I potentially risk time, energy, and resources on something that’s largely unproven?
A great BD person can answer all these questions. But it takes much more than answers to get these type of deals done. It takes a meaningful relationship to get …
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One thing I love hearing about is unique cultural traditions within companies. They provide a window into the actual “company” beyond just the product. This is usually pretty opaque and far more interesting to me. Building a good product is cool, but building a company that people love to work at is way cooler. Ideally you want both.
It’s easy to lump cultural traditions as a gimmick to make work seem more fun or interesting. But I think they’re so much more than that.
One aspect that separates one company from another are the people and the things that you do together. When you do fun, rewarding things as a company, it’s awesome. And when those things feel unique to your company, I think they’re …
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There are many products out there that have been able to infuse elements of offline experiences into their digital products. Whether it be an actual experience or just the emotions that surround it, these products tap into something that’s already happening in my life. It’s just downright cool.
Turntable.fm
On pretty much every roadtrip I’ve ever been on, there is a point where ipod djing ensues. Everyone in the car alternates picking a song. I anticipate what everyone else is going to play as well as their reaction to my choice. It’s fun and usually my favorite part of the car ride.
Turntable.fm provides the platform to emulate this experience sans the car and …
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If there is one networking virtue I wish I knew earlier in my career it’d be consistency. Tell me if this story sounds familiar:
I go to the Crunchtech Explosion Conference. I meet the contact of my dreams and we end up having an awesome conversation. After exchanging information I send a thoughtful follow-up email. I get a response. I’m so in! Time passes and I thrust myself back into my normal routine.
Months later I realize that the company I’d like to do a partnership with is extremely close to the dream contact I met that day. I want to email him for an introduction request, but it just feels weird. We haven’t talked for four months. I wonder if they …
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So how is (enter startup name) going?
Many people answer this question with some iteration of “good” regardless of where things stand. I’ve talked with founders who I know are flailing, yet they still come up with some anecdote that things are “going well”. I’m not surprised at this behavior; we live in a world that says show your best and hide the rest. I just think it’s an ineffective, unsustainable paradigm. So save the dog and pony show.
When people ask “how things are going,” it’s far more productive to be honest and authentic. I have far greater respect for and more meaningful interactions with people that are.
Why You Should Always Be Authentic:
Intimacy:
No one is perfect. Everyone just pretends to …
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Just because you can put cool items people want inside of a box does not mean a viable subscription commerce business exists. After the success of Birchbox, so many people are trying to find ways to emulate the coveted subscription commerce model. Why? My guess is because it’s an attractive, easy to understand model.
Over the past 8 months, I’ve heard the “Birchbox” for x countless times. The problem is that this model is not plug and play. I feel comfortable saying this because I tried to start a subscription commerce company not too long ago.
Like many, I gravitated toward the idea of emulating Birchbox in another vertical. From the sidelines, the model just seemed so attractive. So …
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A few weeks ago I went to TC Disrupt and spent some time walking through “startup alley” where new companies set up booths to demo their products. In a span of two days I came across 3 social calendaring apps, 3 mobile marketplace apps, and 2 mobile app directories. Its wild that even within a small microcosm significant overlap exists and I imagine theres far more companies are in these spaces then were at TC Disrupt.
When this occurs people react one of two ways. They comfort themselves by saying this is evidence that a market exists or they are overcome with anxiety that someone else is trying to solve the same problem. I don’t find fault with either of these reactions, but …
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