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With Enough Passion, Anything Seems Possible

Thomas Oppong — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:40:37 +0000

All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion and desire.-Aristotle

Startups come in all shapes and sizes. Aspiring founders will attempt just about any idea, product, or business model under the sun. If it can be conceived, some dreamer has probably tried it. And that’s not a bad thing. A lot of businesses and great companies were conceived, tried and tested and have survived over the years till now.

For all the challenges faced by new businesses, a lack of passion is not one of them. Entrepreneurs are true believers, famously inspired and optimistic. These qualities are critical, because getting a healthy venture off the ground can be extraordinarily difficult. Successful founders draw from deep wells of conviction and faith to sustain themselves through long days and unexpected challenges.

Drive, determination, belief, optimism, courage, confidence, commitment, certainty, and faith are the forces that drive a new business to success. But you need more than that to grow a business.

How To Create The Right Culture for Your Startup

Guest Author — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:24:05 +0000

A company’s culture is usually determined from the initial brush strokes of its design. And, when talking about culture, we are talking about the “softer” aspects of business. This includes the types of people that are getting hired, management styles, communication styles, work-life balance, incentive structures, etc. Although there is no one right answer here, I will do my best to summarize a few preferred methods, based on my past experiences.

You cannot have culture without people, and that is where it all starts, right from your initial hiring decisions. To me, this comes down to an individual’s smarts, internal startup DNA and personality fit. It is critical you find the smartest people you can find, to help you build your business. I would rather have a smart person that is a quick study and no industry experience, than a marginal industry veteran. If you don’t have the fire power in the brain to think creatively out of the box, which is always required with a startup, then your business will never succeed. And, don’t be afraid to hire people that are smarter than yourself. Sometimes managers are worried about being made to look stupid by their subordinates. But, I say the smarter the better, to help raise everyone’s skills around the table.

But, it is more than just having smart people around you. They must also have the right startup DNA. Someone that is passionate about the product that is getting built and is excited to come into work each day, and put in the long hours required. Someone that is going to motivate the rest of the team to do the same. Someone that is an extrovert A-type personality that is going to cheerlead when necessary and lead by example. Someone that has a great personality fit with their peers, managers and subordinates. Someone that is not easily rejected, or bring a bad mood to the office. I always say, “we are all paddling together in a whitewater raft navigating the rushing rapids, and need all paddlers rowing in unison and as fast as humanly possible to survive.”

As for management styles, the less hierarchical the better. Sure there needs to be a clear chain of command, but it is critical an employee’s voice is always heard and that they feel their smart ideas are being listened to. There is no faster way to lose an employee than to constantly shoot down their ideas, or by making them feel stupid. And, when doing employee reviews, always do 360 degree reviews: manager reviews employee, employee reviews manager, peers review each other and employee reviews themselves. This way everybody participates in the process and both manager and staff problems can get addressed.

In terms of communication style, I always prefer open communications with the team. That means make sure the entire staff, from top to bottom, is always clear on the company’s goals, and has regular communications from management, on both the good news and the bad news. We are all in this together, so don’t try to hide anything. Employees are smart enough to know when things are going wrong, and would rather hear what the problems are, so they can help try to fix them. And, have the confidence in knowing management “has their back” and isn’t trying to hide anything from them.

Work-life balance can sometimes be hard to achieve in a startup environment, when everyone is putting in the required long hours. But, it is critical you take time every now and then to recharge the batteries. It is hard to do good work, when you can’t even stay awake, or if you are always upset you are not spending more time with your family. It is not all about working hard. It is about working smart, prioritizing your efforts and making time for yourself to maintain the proper work-life balance. This could also include things like flex time or working from home, letting staff members set their own schedules that work for them to meet their personal needs.

When Google was getting started, they even went as far as letting staff members take 20% of their time (one day a week) to work on any personal pet projects they wanted, many of which lead to amazing innovations and the next growth vehicles for the company. And, don’t get mad if staff wants to blow of steam with a mid day video game or trip to the gym. As long as they are doing the work, hitting their goals and putting in the effort, there is no need to micro manage their hourly schedules.

As for incentives, every employee beats to the tempo of a different drum. So, properly set incentives on a person by person basis, for what personally drives them. Some people are motivated by cash, others by equity or others by perks. Figure out what the magic incentive is for each, and put achievable performance thresholds in place to achieve such. It should not be a “one size fits all” discussion. And, targets reasonable need to be achievable. There is nothing more demotivating than working your ass off and not seeing any fruits from your labor. So, there needs to be both “company targets” and “individual targets”, so employees feel they have control over their own incentive destiny.

This is a high level snapshot of a complicated topic. But, hopefully it gives you a better sense on how to best set up your business culture right from the start. As, it is very difficult to change down the road.

Article written by George Deeb, a serial entrepreneur. George is a Managing Partner at Red Rocket Partners, a strategy and fund-raising consultant for start-ups.

Which Of These 9 Startups Will Win The IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year

Thomas Oppong — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:24:30 +0000

The IBM SmartCamp Global Finals competition for entrepreneurs is here again. IBM is hosting the SmartCamp Global Finals this week in San Francisco, bringing the best and brightest startup companies from around the world together with venture capitalists and other leaders from the entrepreneur community.

IBM SmartCamps are designed to help entrepreneurs bring innovative new solutions to market quickly by providing mentoring and access to advanced technology and expertise. From Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, nine startups will vie for the IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year in in San Francisco. IBM Global Entrepreneur gives participants access to software, knowledgeable people, and promotion support.

The following 9 companies have created analytics-based software solutions to address some of the biggest challenges facing cities and citizens today, including traffic, healthcare and water safety. The winner will be named the IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year.

The finalists are:

BitCarrier: BitCarrier’s traffic management solutions analyze real-time traffic information, providing current travel times, estimations on congestion rates and accident alerts (winner, SmartCamp Barcelona).
C-B4 Context Based 4Casting: CB4 has created a context-based system for identifying and analyzing hidden data patterns in large-scale data warehouses. The system is particularly suited to the retail trade and customer relations management (winner, SmartCamp Tel Aviv).
ConnectM: ConnectM’s machine-to-machine technology uses advanced analytics to collect information from disparate systems to provide business intelligence. The solutions are developed specifically for the telecommunications, utilities and transportation industries (winner, SmartCamp Bangalore).
IDXP: IDXP’s consumer behavior solution installs sensors in stores and shopping carts to help retailers understand consumer behavior (winner, SmartCamp Rio de Janeiro).
Localytics: Localytics’ real-time analytics service provides makers of mobile phone and tablet applications with a better understanding of peoples mobile application preferences and tendencies (winner, SmartCamp New York City).
Palmap: Palmap’s mapping solution provides mobile users with instant information for indoor activities such as navigating airports and shopping malls (winner, SmartCamp Shanghai).
Profitero: Profitero helps online retailers maximize profits via competitor analytics (winner, SmartCamp London).
SecureWaters: SecureWaters’ patented technology continuously monitors, detects and identifies toxins in surface water. An early warning alarm system alerts clients to potential issues (winner, SmartCamp Austin).
SkinScan: SkinScan’s mobile application enables users to scan the moles on their bodies to measure skin cancer threat levels. They also offer a cloud infrastructure for medical histories of patients and doctors (winner, SmartCamp Istanbul).

The finalists, with solutions designed to solve problems facing cities, were selected from nearly a thousand startup companies that applied to IBM startup events in 2011. Streetline, which was named 2010 IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year as the winner of the 2010 SmartCamp World Finals, received a $15 million round of venture capital funding, and built several new products including a smart parking analytics offering based on IBM Cognos platform.

To watch the final presentations from the companies and hear from venture capitalists and entrepreneurs at the event visit: www.livestream.com/ibmsoftware on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012.

INFOGRAPHIC] Social Media Marketing for Startups

Thomas Oppong — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:25:47 +0000

Social Media has proven to be a great way to market new products or services. A good social media strategy is the key to success. Creating the buzz for your new startup or existing product requires the best practice. You need to adopt the right strategy to get people to start talking about your startup. This infographic outlines strategies you can adopt to market your startup. Click image to enlarge.

Flat6Labs(Egyptian Accelerator) Graduates 5 Startups

Thomas Oppong — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:06:23 +0000

Without the proper funding, guidance, and understanding of marketing and production, chances are that a newly sprung startup will not have what it takes to survive. Flat6Labs, a new Egyptian seed stage accelerator for tech startups with a focus on mobile and social applications has graduated its first group of startups dubbed cycle 0.

Flat6Labs hosts teams for a three months period and gives them access to the facilities, expertise, mentorship, and support needed to make the most of their own talent. Teams receive seed investment of $8-10,000 for an equity stake of 10-15%.

Ekshef is aimed to enhance efficiency at local hospitals, by helping patients find and book doctor appointments online or on their mobile device.

Careerise aims to address the press needs for better recruitment in Egyptian society, by leveraging social networks. Careerise leverages a user’s Twitter or Facebook account to showcase the knowledge bases of people you know.

Snapze helps users find the best way to spend their time.

F16Apps’s product Neatly is mobile application that rearranges one’s Twitter timeline according to interests rather than chronology.

Tabshora helps creative community members communicate easily with their clients and peers.

Flat6Labs was started by Egyptian venture capital firm Sawari Ventures, in conjunction with the American Uinversity of Cairo (AUC) School of Business Entrepreneurship & Innovation Program (EIP).

Why Startups Are Turning To Coworking Spaces

Guest Author — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:17:21 +0000

It is no big secret that money is a major concern for many startups. Unless they have a hefty investment or a fair amount of funding, startups often rely on bootstrapping in order to make ends meet. Startups need a space for their base of operations; however, a dedicated office space can exceed far beyond the entrepreneur’s budget. Many entrepreneurs rely on coffee shops, cafes, or even working from home in their early years. But there is another option for startups, who require a space without the high costs. Coworking spaces are an attractive alternative, providing a dedicated space at a cost-effective price.

The Benefits of Coworking Spaces

The potential gains of a coworking space can be enormous, providing enormous benefits for the entrepreneur. The startup simply needs to pay a relatively low cost to gain access to a wealth of resources. Depending on the coworking space, the entrepreneur can take advantage of a dedicated workspace, all with the amenities of a traditional office. In addition, coworking spaces can also offer conference rooms, networking events, and a foothold into the local startup community.

What to Look for in a Coworking Space

Coworking spaces have increased in the recent years, with spaces appearing in major cities throughout the world. Each has their own individual flavor, culture, and community. Before signing a contract, startups looking for spaces should consider the following.

The Space: The workspace itself should be the main concern for the entrepreneur. Many spaces will give the startup the opportunity to tour the offices. While walking through the area, keep an eye out for type of furniture and the general layout of working space. Does the space possess a kitchen, office equipment, and wireless, high speed internet? A good frame of reference is whether an individual can consider working within the space for an extended period of time.
Cost: Again, a major concern of any startup involves effective management of costs. One of the major attractive qualities of coworking spaces is the relatively low prices. Many spaces offer space at a daily or monthly rates, and others even offer on a per hour basis. A number of different factors will have an effect on the price, such as size of space, number of dedicated users and use of additional rooms.
Resources: Certain coworking spaces have entrepreneurs in mind, tailoring their services to meet the exact needs of a startup. Some coworking spaces offer meeting and conference rooms, allowing startups to meet with clients and display a level of professionalism. Other coworking spaces will feature incubator services, connecting startups to potential investors, mentors, and other valuable resources. While looking for a space, entrepreneurs should carefully consider whether a coworking model can provide more than just a place to work.
Community: Coworking spaces should possess an active, vibrant environment, with startups constantly brainstorming and pitching ideas back and forth. Successful coworking spaces often possess their own community, with many dedicated startups. By joining a space, an entrepreneur can get more than a workspace from a subscription; he or she can also take advantage of speaking and networking with many peers.
Events Calendar: One indication of a great coworking space is to see if it possesses an active events calendar. These events can be a priceless opportunity for startups, giving them the ability to network with others. Whether they participate in community events or host events themselves, a calendar can show the involvement of the coworking space in the startup environment.

With coworking spaces appearing in major cities everywhere, startups have little reason not to join this movement. At a low cost, the startup has the opportunity to join a community, network with peers, and establish their business at once. Startups no longer have to rely on the confines of their local coffee shop. Coworking spaces can facilitate the entrepreneur’s journey and help them achieve success.

About the Author: Rachel Hyun Kim is a writer on topics ranging from workers compensation insurance to document scanning. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including document software to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.

Start-Up Chile Selects 100 Startups For Its Third Class

Thomas Oppong — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 01:53:19 +0000

Start-Up Chile has announced that 100 startup companies have been selected to be part of its acceleration program’s third generation. Start-Up Chile is a program created by the Chilean Government, executed by Corfo via InnovaChile, that seeks to attract early stage, high-potential entrepreneurs to bootstrap their startups in Chile, using it as a platform to go global.

The goal of the accelerator program is to convert Chile into the definitive innovation and entrepreneurial hub of Latin America; this is a mission shared by the Government of Chile and is a primary focus of the Ministry of Economy.

The 100 chosen startups (236 entrepreneurs) from more than 36 different countries are expected to be in Chile in either February or March of 2012 to begin their program. The chosen startups were selected from over 570 applications.

The top five most frequently represented countries are: USA, Chile, Argentina, India, and Brazil. This is the first time that Romania, Hungary, Peru, South Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden have had entrepreneurs participate in Start-Up Chile.

The goal to provide capital to 300 startups by the end of the year was exceeded– in total, 319 startups were financed during 2011.

Why Startups Should Take Advantage of Social Networking Brand Pages

Guest Author — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:01:50 +0000

Social networking sites are extremely important for startup companies because they are a free way to gain a lot of publicity. People are comfortable using social networking sites, so they are more apt to search for a company and get to know a company through these mediums. Fortunately over in the land where social media networks are created, most networks allow companies to create specific brand pages on the social networking sites. As December 9 of this year, all the major social networking sites will allow brand pages. Twitter was the last of the four to open up brand pages (following Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+)

Brand pages generally work differently than traditional individual accounts because they are catered to the needs of a business. If your company still has an individual account and not a company account on any one of the four major social networking sites, it’s time to take social media a bit more seriously. Today 73% of U.S. companies use social media for marketing purposes, and that number is only expected to rise as brand pages become more popular.

If you’re starting a small business and still on the fence about utilizing brand pages, consider a few of the benefits:

Benefits to Utilizing Social Media Brand Pages

Mobile Capabilities – The New Year is expected to be the year of the mobile takeover. People will be searching and surfing on their phones more than ever, and this includes social media. While it can be difficult to optimize a website for the small screen, many social networking sites already have an application that easily converts content for the mobile screen. This will help insure that you have information on the web that consumers can find easily on their cell phones.

Brand Page Perks – There are perks that go along with creating brand pages. Twitter recently announced that their brand pages will allow for larger headings so that companies can include their logos next to their company name. Facebook brand pages have features that allow people to “like” an entire page; thus increasing your exposure. Google+ is connected to gmail accounts, and Google places, making it easy for your company to stay connected as a company (as opposed to as an individual).

Price – Brand pages are completely free to create. While some marketing services charge a larger fee for companies versus individuals, social networks do not care. They are happy to have your company participating, so there is no reason not to take the opportunity.

Comfort Level – People are comfortable using social networking sites because they have their own individual accounts. While people often get frustrated trying to navigate their way through a company website to find the answer to a simple question, they are more apt to remain on a social networking site. They will be able to get the information they need; thus boding well for your business. After all, frustrated people rarely buy.

The most important thing to remember is that you have to manage all of your brand pages. While it is certainly worth your while to have a presence on all of the social networking sites, it can be difficult to keep them maintained. For this reason, many companies hire someone or ask their marketing department to keep an eye on the accounts and answer any customer questions. In the end you will find that brand pages are great for creating and maintaining customer relationships.

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from merchant services to liability insurance for Resource Nation, an online resource providing tips for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Meltwater Foundation Invests In 2 New Ghanaian Technology Startups

Thomas Oppong — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:55:52 +0000

Meltwater Foundation has invested in 2 new Ghanaian technology startups-ClaimSync and Saya Mobile. The two companies will join six others currently in the MEST incubator program, and hope to launch their products within the next few months.

ClaimSync provides an end-to-end system that enables healthcare service providers to easily compile medical claims electronically which are later submit them to insurance companies for processing. The ClaimSync platform seeks to reduce the high administrative and labor costs, delays in reimbursements and data entry errors associated with manual processing of paper claims.

Saya Mobile currently offers a mobile group and individual chat application available to both feature and smart phone users. Saya’s application is also available across the different mobile OS platforms. Saya is a thousand times cheaper than SMS and uses phone contacts as it’s medium of connection.

The MEST Incubator, located in Accra, Ghana, is the second stage of Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), a three-phase entrepreneurial program designed to foster the growth of global software companies from Africa.

The Meltwater Foundation offers a three-phase entrepreneurial program designed to foster the growth of software companies in Africa. The program begins at the MEST campus in Accra, Ghana, with a rigorous, two-year training program. Entrepreneurs in training with business ideas that are deemed to be viable then move to the MEST Incubator for assistance in getting their businesses off the ground. Finally, the Meltwater Foundation and its networks of experienced mentors and advisors provide mentorship for companies that emerge from the incubator.

The Bitter Truth About Bootstrapping

Thomas Oppong — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:37:56 +0000

I am a huge advocate for bootstrapping, but the truth about bootstrapping is that its tough and only the toughest can survive the process. Bootstrapping or booting refers to a group of metaphors that share a common meaning: a self-sustaining process that proceeds without external help. And that has its challenges. Startups that bootstrap fund the development of their company through internal cash flow and are cautious with their expenses. Microsoft, Dell, Cisco, Oracle, eBay — were all “bootstrapped”. But can you survive the process?

The process
When you decide to bootstrap, you commit to fund primary development and growth through internal cash flow from real-life customers. You — the founder — and a limited number of early employees may forgo paychecks for quite some time to make this work. But to keep that strategy to a minimum, it’s common for bootstrapping companies to turn to consulting engagements, non-recurring engineering contracts, value-added reseller agreements and projected supplier contracts. In short, “moonlighting.” These funds go toward initial growth and expansion until the company can stand on its own two feet.-Javier Rojas

The bitter truth about bootstrapping is that you you will loose some friends and family. And most importantly when you have to re-architect your infrastructure to scale, you may not have the funds to do that. The ability to achieve scale and growth is greatly enhanced by having the funds in place to focus and execute on the plan in a timely manner. A bootstrapped company can take longer than usual to hit mainstream. A V.C. could give someone funding to compete with you when you refuse funding at the initial stage, which buys lot of market advantage for the funded competitor.

Bootstrapping forces you to become risk-averse to whatever doesn’t help you prove a core business hypothesis. That’s great at the pre-seed stages, but leaves you almost no room for error down the road and certainly won’t support abnormal growth. Guy Hirsch, chief executive of SayHired.

Bootstrapping requires founders and entrepreneurs to start selling immediately in order to survive. When the sales are not coming in, you are in trouble! But that makes you focus on making money off your business, which is what you should be focusing on.

The process of bootstrapping a startup is challenging, and bootstrapping is not for everyone. But for those who pursue it, it can lead to a great company and even greater financial rewards.