Stepping Stones

No Time to Blog... Need to Make Time

Unfortunately I haven't had time to blog recently, there have been many exciting changes with the projects that I'm currently working on and I have been completely taken by those events.  Within the next few days I'm going to be adding new posts.  I have a few ideas already lined up and I can't wait to get to it.  I miss this stuff!  I should be back to serious blogging tomorrow. 

Hope everyone is doing well with their projects and really pumping up those entrepreneurial muscles. 

The T1000 of Corporations

This really baffles the mind: After 20 years of antitrust efforts to break up telecoms in the US we are back to where we started.  Just look at the switch back from Cingular to AT&T, which just several years ago bought AT&T wireless and was just bought itself by AT&T.  Seems like this is one big conspiracy to earn lawyers, investment bankers and most importantly top management big $$$... no one breaks it down like Stephen Colbert =)

There Really is a Market for Everything

This is a bit late, coming from MacWorld 2007, but its really a timeless product =)

This is the Icarta Ipod Dock and toilet paper holder.  I saw this beauty among many other products seeking to capitalize on the popularity of the Ipod.  The odd thing is that it seems to sell really well, at least thats what the sales guys standing in the background told me. 

The Key to Succesful Presentations: Be More Like Gumby

The key to success in all your presentations is being more like Gumby.  No, not Ghandi... I mean Gumby the 1950s cartoon character made of clay.  This may sound like a strange conclusion to come to, but after having presented to VCs, Angel Investors, potential customers, at  elevator pitch competitions and at conferences I've come to realize that the one quality that separates the best from the rest is flexibility, being able to adjust your presentation on the fly.   

To illustrate my point: Today I pitched my company EyeStride to a VC and was expecting to go through my PowerPoint and follow it up with a product demo.  All my materials and practice runs were focused on giving a pitch with this traditional format.  When I got to the presentation I immediately understood that this simply wouldn't work out, the audience wasn't interested in a formal pitch.  They wanted to get to know me and in the process explore my project.  I had to adjust on the fly, refocus my energy on a casual encounter where the agenda wasn't predetermined by the order of my PowerPoint slides.   A few months ago I would have been lost and uncomfortable, today I can easily adjust and know when to make these adjustments.  Here are my quick tips for achieving Gumby like flexibility in your pitches:

1. Know the Material - this is basic and should be a given, but that's hardly the case.  I've been in  situations where I'm not sure about the topic I'm presenting and without confidence in knowing material there is no hope of being flexible. 
2. Don't Over-Prepare on Format - don't expect to do things a certain way unless you are 100% sure of the format and know the audience well.  If you do too many practice runs in a certain format the information (words) get set in your mind and you'll have a harder time being flexible. 
   
3. Real Time Analysis - try to study your audience while you pitch, the clues are always there about when its time to shift directions or change the tone of the pitch.  It may be as slight as someone quickly checking their watch or as blunt as them reading their blackberry, but if you see that your audience is loosing interest change the topic, try to recapture their imagination.
4. Talk to People - talk to as many people as you possibly can about your business.  Don't pitch to them just talk; see what interests them, see how they react and practice your real time analysis (see tip three) when the stakes aren't high.  The more you talk it through with different people the more comfortable you'll be changing direction on a dime. 
5. Keep Trying - Don't let a bad presentation discourage you, we've all had our successes and failures.  Public speaking is more frightening to many people than death, its hard and it takes time to build your speaking skills.  Even if you think you're an ace, don't relax keep looking for new approaches.

If you don't have someone to practice with, contact me. I'll be glad to hear your pitch and give you my honest opinion and some constructive advice. 

Attend MacWorld 2007 Free

So 2007 is underway and I feel that its going to be a fantastic year, one of many breakthroughs.  If you have a business you want to start DO IT NOW... don't wait until the energy of the new year wears thin.  If you don't have an idea you want to work on or feel comfortable perusing start looking!  Ideas are everywhere, its just a matter of tuning your mind to the inefficiencies, gaps, problems and trends that are all around you.  Thats not to say its easy to come up with a great idea, only that they're out there and will always be. 

A good way to get your creativity flowing is to see what others are doing and how they're doing it, and there's no better way to do that then attend a big tech conference like MacWorld.  I found a way to see the exhibits free of charge from the 9th to the 12th of January at San Francisco's Moscone Center.   Just follow the link below for more detail or go straight to the registration page and click to register for exhibits only, then enter priority code DIGG.  That's it, you're in free!  I'll be there at some point this week, have a great time =)

http://digg.com/tech_deals/Free_MacWorld_Expo_Passes_For_All_Digg_Users

Merry Christmas!

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy upcomming New Year!  Best of luck your entrepreneurial endeavors and I hope that next year will be a tremendous success.  Keep learning, keep fighting for your ideas!

The Typical Venture Captialist

This is a hilarious clip from Blueprint Ventures that gives us a peak into the world of a typical VC.  I've done a few pitches and can only say that its funny because its so true!

Now that's Competitive Advertising!

I came across these great advertisements from BMW, Audi, Subaru and Bentley, I haven't seen them in any US newspapers or magazines so I felt particularly compelled to post this.  It seems like the number of companies openly taking jabs at each other has been growing, and I'm not talking about those tame Pepsi vs. Coke taste test commercials, but hardcore back and fourth bouts like this one:

Personally, I'm with the Bentley guy :)

Keeping a Good Designer (Part 3 of 3)

If finding and working with a good designer wasn't hard enough, try keeping one around.  Its never easy to hold on to good employees, especially creatives such as designers.  Although theres no one size fits all formula for keeping a good designer or any strong employee around upholding some basic principles will help you succeed:

1. Keep Things Interesting - to keep a creative person around you have to give them work that will interest and challenge them.  When it comes to design some jobs/projects are simply more appealing than others.  Try to source your mundane work to someone else and save your top designer's creative energy for the bigger more challenging tasks. As your business grows your relationship should evolve over time to handle more significant work. 
   
2. Make it Personal - Give your designer the freedom and sense of ownership of the work they do.  Those are crucial factors of success, if your designer feels connected to the product or service you're making they will not only produce better work but will also be ready to sacrifice more to help you succeed. 
   
3. Ignore Minor Bumps - its important to work through any problems and conflicts that come up.  Doing so in a positive, constructive way that brings understanding to your relationship is important.  Don't let trivial issues get in the way of a good working relationship.
   
4. Keep in Touch -  If there is a pause in the work you're doing with your designer make sure that you send an email or two just to say hi, like you would with your friends.  This will help build your relationship and is part of "Making it Personal" (see point two).
   
5. Reward Good Work - If someone is making an extra effort they deserve extra compensation.  You may be on a very tight budget that simply won't allow for any bonuses, but if you can fit an extra reward in you should.  If a monetary reward is impossible try to send an extra thank you email, referring a new customer is also a wonderful way to make say thanks and make an indirect monetary contribution.

I hope my three part series on Finding, Keeping and Working with a Good Designer will help you avoid some of the simple mistakes I've made and take the necessary steps to creating beautiful designs for your business. 

Working with a Good Designer (Part 2 of 3)

So now that you found a good designer its time to sit back, relax and watch him/her work! Not so, this is when the real challenge starts because at this point the outcome depends as much on you as it does on your designer.  No matter how brilliant and talented the person you hired is they won't deliver the result you expect without your help and support.  This is especially true for passionate entrepreneurs who have a specific vision for their product and want the design to reflect that vision either stylistically or even more importantly functionally.  The challenge at this point is conveying that vision and having the designer add creative value and dress everything up.  To help achieve the end goal of beautiful and functional design and a strong working relationship with your designer I wrote the following pointers based on my personal trial and error:

General Tips:

1. Spec Everything - Start the project by writing as much as you can about what you want.  If you're creating a website make sure to make a site map, wireframes and send plenty of examples of styles you think will work well.  The process of preparing this information will give you time to filter your ideas and likely generate some new ones.  Be meticulous in your descriptions and if possible let someone else (brother, sister, friend) read what you wrote to check it for clarity.  Sometimes its easy to get lost in your thoughts.
2. Emphasize Creativity - When you send your detailed design spec make sure you make it perfectly clear that you don't want the designer to simply replicate what you wrote in graphic form. Your designer should be a creative force, not an input/output device.  Sure you wrote a detailed spec, but anyone good will only use that as a starting point.
3. Be Patient, Thoughtful - When you see the first comps, don't rush to judge them.  Even if you love what you see take a few hours, maybe even sleep on it before replying with your first comments.  It's usually the case that the first comp won't be  as good as you expected.  That doesn't mean that there aren't good elements in the design it or that theres nothing to work with.  You need to be patient and let everything sink in, after a few hours you'll have a different perspective and be ready to give constructive criticism not an emotional kneejerck response. 
4. Be Respectful and Constructive - Whenever you comment work that has been sent you must be respectful and kind.  Most designers, like any creative person have a difficult time separating themselves from the work they do, so if you're too harsh it will often be treated as a personal attack.  Some designers will take any criticism, even the most kindly worded and constructive, personally, but like I mentioned in part one of this three part series such action should immediately tip you off that this relationship won't work.  Try your best to work things out and find the right tone, if it doesn't work cut your losses.
5. Keep the Lines Open - Once you've exchanged ideas and opinions on the first comp keep  your communication as smooth and open as possible.  The creative process is all about flow.  One of the biggest mistakes I've made is taking too long to respond and comment on work sent to me. Don't delay beyond the time you need to let the ideas sink in, otherwise your designers interest in the project and creativity will drop. 
   
6. It's a Process - Good design doesn't happen overnight.  It will take at least 3-4 iterations to get quality work done.  Don't get discouraged... Fight ON! =)

Extra bit of Advice for the Fiery Entrepreneur:

1. Be Objective and Open - You have a strong vision of what you want from your design and thats fantastic, but its important to remember that you hired a designer to add value to your creative process, so give him/her a chance to show what they can do.  You'll always have time to adjust and get your way later. 

Feel free to add your thoughts and suggestions on improving the client/designer relationship.