Seth Godin recently published his book "The Bootstrapper's Bible" online for a limited period of two weeks. Unfortunately, the book is not 'officially' online anymore, but I downloaded it and thought it so absolutely brilliant and completely essential to the starting entrepreneur that I just had to post it online.
An insight from his book:
"You need to start before you start. Figuring out which business to be in is one of the most important things you can do to ensure the success of your new venture, yet it's often one of the most poorly thought out decisions bootstrappers make."
It reminded me of a function I recently attended (at Mzoli's, no less) where Canadian telecomms magnate Charles Sirois was the keynote speaker. He put it in an interesting, uniquely Canadian way: "It doesn't matter how good your canoe is, it's the lake that matters! Even if you have the fanciest canoe in the world, if the lake is busy drying up, you'll find yourself at the bottom of it with all the other crappy canoes."
Download "The Bootstrapper's Bible" here in PDF format and start paddling!
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Township Entrepreneurship and Naked Kings
Mark Twain once said that any time he found himself in the majority on any given issue, he always reevaluated his position. One of my favorite stories of all time is "The Emperor's New Clothes". The main character is a vain king with a particular affection for fine clothing. He gets swindled by two tailors who sell him a suit made of material so fine and pure that it was invisible to the foolish and the unworthy. Of course, there is no material, but as the king and everyone else don’t want to be exposed as fools, they all keep quiet. When the king parades his new suit in front of his subjects they all cheer and make comments about how 'fine' his new suit is. Until a little boy points at the king and shouts out "The King is naked!"
People started realizing the trick, but the king continues the parade, telling himself: "I must go on pretending. I cannot stop now"
I've often felt like the little boy, pointing at naked kings of all sorts. There is a particularly large amount of 'naked kings' being sold to the public these days through the insane amount of advertising, marketing and branding being forced upon us. But who is to blame? The 'swindlers', or the public who accepts their lies?
Luxury goods (think of a $100 rolled-up tobacco leaf) in particular is a whole 'naked empire' in itself. And it's particularly interesting when swindlers try to sell a 'naked king' to a group that isn't used to buying 'naked kings'.
For example, I recently went to a wine-tasting in Gugulethu. For those of you who don't know, Gugulethu is one of
Everyone at Mzoli's got free samples and Pieter, the wine maker, explained to a crowd of about a 100 black people how to drink and "appreciate" wine in the correct fashion.
He then asked them if they could identify the subtle hints of guava and tropical fruits in the Chardonnay and if they could taste any other fruits in the wine. "What else can you taste?" And the crowd answered as one:
"Grapes!"
Friday, December 09, 2005
Cut your site in half
We finally launched our first public Beta Wi-Fi hotspot this week! However, feature-wise, it's very much a stripped down version of what we envision. And that's a good thing!
Becasue I believe one should start simple. The really funny thing is, even though our new service does something very 'simple', the interface is anything but. To sign up as a new user to our service, you have to go through 11 webpages!
Our current design was done by developers, for developers". I.e. the pages are actually just "test" pages so that our developers could test the working of the back-end system.
So we went back to the drawing board (literally) and realised straight away that we could cut out 3 of those webpages immediately before any major re-design or development.
Ironically, even though our design is already convoluted and the usability needs much improvement, we're already talking about extra features and in which priority we should be adding them to the existing webpages...
Then I saw a comment by Jason Fried on his Signal Vs. Noise blog: "As sites mature they should be getting smaller, not bigger. Fewer pages, not more. Fewer words, Fewer paragraphs, Fewer options. There’s too much on too many sites."
Back to the drawing board again..
Becasue I believe one should start simple. The really funny thing is, even though our new service does something very 'simple', the interface is anything but. To sign up as a new user to our service, you have to go through 11 webpages!
Our current design was done by developers, for developers". I.e. the pages are actually just "test" pages so that our developers could test the working of the back-end system.
So we went back to the drawing board (literally) and realised straight away that we could cut out 3 of those webpages immediately before any major re-design or development.
Ironically, even though our design is already convoluted and the usability needs much improvement, we're already talking about extra features and in which priority we should be adding them to the existing webpages...
Then I saw a comment by Jason Fried on his Signal Vs. Noise blog: "As sites mature they should be getting smaller, not bigger. Fewer pages, not more. Fewer words, Fewer paragraphs, Fewer options. There’s too much on too many sites."
Back to the drawing board again..
Monday, November 28, 2005
10 Rules for Web Startups vs. "Learning by Mistake"
Most of this year I've been following a Software Development methodology called "Learning by Mistake" or more commonly known as "Doh!".
Therefore it is with great joy that I read Blogger co-founder Evan Williams' article: "Ten Rules for Web Startups"
I can gladly say that I've been following (most) these rules without ever having learnt them at varsity (or at church for that matter). However, I must admit that most of these rules didn't quite come naturally...
We've had many heated discussions about "#1: Be Narrow". We see the potential for Skyrove providing IPTV, VoIP, free Internet etc. And maybe one day we will, but for now, we're gonna focus on one thing, and that's providing a solution where there currently is none.
#2: Be Different - "There are lots of people thinking about - and probably working on - the same thing you are. And one of them is Google. Deal with it. How? ..."(read the article to see how!)
Almost every time I tell someone about Skyrove I hear someone say: "But what if Google stole your idea and put 200 programmers on that problem tomorrow? You'd be screwed, wouldn't you?" I wonder if Brin & Page were asked the same question regarding Microsoft when they started Google.
My favourites:
#5: Be User-Centric - "User experience is everything. It always has been, but it's still undervalued and under-invested in. If you don't know user-centered design, study it (check). Hire people who know it(check). Obsess over it(check). Live and breathe it(check)."
#6: Be Self-Centered - "Great products almost always come from someone scratching their own itch. Create something you want to exist in the world (check). Be a user of your own product (check). Hire people who are users of your product(check). Make it better based on your own desires(check).
Okay, so what am I still doing wrong? Definitely #10: Be Balanced. I did go hiking in the Cedarberg this weekend, but it's the exception to the rule... "What is a startup without bleary-eyed, junk-food-fueled, balls-to-the-wall days and sleepless, caffeine-fueled, relationship-stressing nights? Answer?: A lot more enjoyable place to work."
I think with that said I'm going to spend some time with my family now!
Therefore it is with great joy that I read Blogger co-founder Evan Williams' article: "Ten Rules for Web Startups"
I can gladly say that I've been following (most) these rules without ever having learnt them at varsity (or at church for that matter). However, I must admit that most of these rules didn't quite come naturally...
We've had many heated discussions about "#1: Be Narrow". We see the potential for Skyrove providing IPTV, VoIP, free Internet etc. And maybe one day we will, but for now, we're gonna focus on one thing, and that's providing a solution where there currently is none.
#2: Be Different - "There are lots of people thinking about - and probably working on - the same thing you are. And one of them is Google. Deal with it. How? ..."(read the article to see how!)
Almost every time I tell someone about Skyrove I hear someone say: "But what if Google stole your idea and put 200 programmers on that problem tomorrow? You'd be screwed, wouldn't you?" I wonder if Brin & Page were asked the same question regarding Microsoft when they started Google.
My favourites:
#5: Be User-Centric - "User experience is everything. It always has been, but it's still undervalued and under-invested in. If you don't know user-centered design, study it (check). Hire people who know it(check). Obsess over it(check). Live and breathe it(check)."
#6: Be Self-Centered - "Great products almost always come from someone scratching their own itch. Create something you want to exist in the world (check). Be a user of your own product (check). Hire people who are users of your product(check). Make it better based on your own desires(check).
Okay, so what am I still doing wrong? Definitely #10: Be Balanced. I did go hiking in the Cedarberg this weekend, but it's the exception to the rule... "What is a startup without bleary-eyed, junk-food-fueled, balls-to-the-wall days and sleepless, caffeine-fueled, relationship-stressing nights? Answer?: A lot more enjoyable place to work."
I think with that said I'm going to spend some time with my family now!
Meet Joey - Skyrove Movie at Enablis Exposé
We presented at the Enablis Exposé last Thursday evening. The format of the evening was 7 entrepreneurs with 7 minutes each. It was our first chance to present Skyrove on a "stage". It gave us the opportunity to showcase Skyrove a bit and also to practise our presentation skills for an upcoming "Elevator Pitch" at a Cape Town VC.
From my past experiences I knew only one thing: I hate PowerPoint presentations! We were scheduled to present last, and I anticipated that it would be very hard to get people's attention!
With only a week to prepare, I got hold of a friend whose brother is a prodigy when it comes to doing animations and short films. I drew a very rough storyboard and Adrian went home and did the drawings, animations and sound effects in 5 days of non-stop, no-sleep work!
It still needs a voice-over before we can put it on our website, but it worked like a charm for our presentation and we were swarmed with queries about Skyrove!
Click here to see the presentation (with my own, amateur voice-over). (Click here for script). It's a short PowerPoint presentation (I couldn't escape it entirely) with the movie on the last slide.
I followed VentureBlog's "The Dos and Don'ts of Presenting at DEMO" religiously. Particularly the first point: "DEMO is all about demonstrating your product". Of the 7 entrepreneurs who presented I think i only understood what 2 of them were actually doing. Many people were telling the audience how much money they made last year or who their biggest customers were.
You only have 7 minutes, so let your product shine!
From my past experiences I knew only one thing: I hate PowerPoint presentations! We were scheduled to present last, and I anticipated that it would be very hard to get people's attention!
With only a week to prepare, I got hold of a friend whose brother is a prodigy when it comes to doing animations and short films. I drew a very rough storyboard and Adrian went home and did the drawings, animations and sound effects in 5 days of non-stop, no-sleep work!
It still needs a voice-over before we can put it on our website, but it worked like a charm for our presentation and we were swarmed with queries about Skyrove!
Click here to see the presentation (with my own, amateur voice-over). (Click here for script). It's a short PowerPoint presentation (I couldn't escape it entirely) with the movie on the last slide.
I followed VentureBlog's "The Dos and Don'ts of Presenting at DEMO" religiously. Particularly the first point: "DEMO is all about demonstrating your product". Of the 7 entrepreneurs who presented I think i only understood what 2 of them were actually doing. Many people were telling the audience how much money they made last year or who their biggest customers were.
You only have 7 minutes, so let your product shine!
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Who wants to be a gazillionaire?
2 years ago, while still a computer science student at the University of Cape Town, I dreamt up the most bizarre, ridiculous, insanely huge idea! Let's create a worldwide network of Wi-Fi hotspots! Not by setting up the infrastructure myself, but rather by getting folks around the world to set up their own Wi-Fi hotspots, all linked through a single system.
I soon realized that I needed some way to motivate people to buy Wi-Fi infrastructure and share their internet connection with others. The free Wi-Fi sharing model was my original idea, and I recently saw Wibiki.com launch with a similar concept. But I felt that the best way to get someone to set up their own hotspot was by making it ridiculously simple to set up and for the hotspot owner to start earning money straight away.
About a year ago I finally got round to writing a business plan with the help of a mate studying Business Science, Allister. We wrote it for an innovation competition at our university, but didn't win any prize! We did spend countless hours on doing market research and realized that the dream was worth pursuing.
We set up shop after graduating, initially earning an income through doing all sorts of IT & marketing odd jobs. We raised our first capital from an Angel Investor in the US, Don Levy of SkyWi Inc. (Thanks Don!). We started the actual product development of Skyrove in May 2005. Currently, we're set for launching our first commercial beta testing hotspot at a small hotel in December. (And in the meantime our business plan has actually won a competition! See www.enablis.org/challenge/results)
So why am I blogging all of this? Because I hope that in some way I could be of assistance to other entrepreneurs. I can't remember whether it's the 1st or 2nd year of doing a business that's supposed to be the hardest, but I've definitely learnt a lot of things this year that I wish I knew beforehand. About marketing, venture capital, negotiations, keeping customers happy, setting up entities in different countries, shareholders agreements, types of shares, trademarking etc.
I'm no expert in any one of these fields, but I've found that when talking to old hands that they've often forgotten how intimidating doing all of these "simple" things could be to the young entrepreneur! So feel free to post a comment here with any questions while it's still fresh in my mind and while you've got a great idea and, like me, you need all the help you can get to become the next gazillionaire!
I soon realized that I needed some way to motivate people to buy Wi-Fi infrastructure and share their internet connection with others. The free Wi-Fi sharing model was my original idea, and I recently saw Wibiki.com launch with a similar concept. But I felt that the best way to get someone to set up their own hotspot was by making it ridiculously simple to set up and for the hotspot owner to start earning money straight away.
About a year ago I finally got round to writing a business plan with the help of a mate studying Business Science, Allister. We wrote it for an innovation competition at our university, but didn't win any prize! We did spend countless hours on doing market research and realized that the dream was worth pursuing.
We set up shop after graduating, initially earning an income through doing all sorts of IT & marketing odd jobs. We raised our first capital from an Angel Investor in the US, Don Levy of SkyWi Inc. (Thanks Don!). We started the actual product development of Skyrove in May 2005. Currently, we're set for launching our first commercial beta testing hotspot at a small hotel in December. (And in the meantime our business plan has actually won a competition! See www.enablis.org/challenge/results)
So why am I blogging all of this? Because I hope that in some way I could be of assistance to other entrepreneurs. I can't remember whether it's the 1st or 2nd year of doing a business that's supposed to be the hardest, but I've definitely learnt a lot of things this year that I wish I knew beforehand. About marketing, venture capital, negotiations, keeping customers happy, setting up entities in different countries, shareholders agreements, types of shares, trademarking etc.
I'm no expert in any one of these fields, but I've found that when talking to old hands that they've often forgotten how intimidating doing all of these "simple" things could be to the young entrepreneur! So feel free to post a comment here with any questions while it's still fresh in my mind and while you've got a great idea and, like me, you need all the help you can get to become the next gazillionaire!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
