Entries Tagged 'Entrepreneurship' ↓

When I’ve described Silicon Valley has having some qualities in common with a big casino, one thing that is different is that everyone is constantly calculating the risk level of any effort, they are not just dropping coins into a slot machine hoping to win.

There are a dozen ways to measure the risk but here is a quick list of six.

What is the technical feasibility, the business viability, the usability, and the desirability of the product or service?

There is always the question of, does it (product/service) address a major pain point? Pain points are often discussed in the business school, a short hand way of looking at how a product might solve someone’s problems. Interestingly, there is a debate on the need to address pain points. I listened to one entrepreneur who argued, with some success in a class filled with skeptical students, that some of the most interesting digital products don’t address pain points but are so intriguing and engaging that they become wanted without ever being needed.

I like to attribute any ideas like the above list of six but my notes don’t offer that information. If anyone can help me track down the source, know that I appreciate

What makes someone an entrepreneur?

Here are some of the words and phrases (in no particular order) that I’ve heard entrepreneurs use to describe themselves or that those who are studying them (and there is a lot of that at Stanford) use to capture the complex entity that is a entrepreneur.

Restless
Curious
Mind on speed
Team builder
Cheap
Focused
Visionary
Resourceful
Resilient
Tenacious (see this blog for a quick item on that)
Flexible

This last one is particularly important. I was told several times that “Final businesses are rarely like the first business plan.”

A list of resources was recently mentioned on a twitter account that might be of interest to entrepreneurial journalists, particularly those seeking funding for ideas.

You can check it out here from the Knight Challenge team.

When you starting up a business, you are asking a long list of questions.

Here are a few questions that I heard during this year that venture capitalists often put to those asking for money. They are also good questions for entrepreneurs can ask themselves first as they work on their big idea.

“Do you have a defensible technology?”

Variation is “What are you going to do when the big boys come to town?”

“Is this a good business?”

Variation is “Will it continue to be a good business?”

“Will the problem become worse over time?”

Variation is “Will this problem fade away?”

And because I collect questions, here is an interesting set of ten questions that one blogger suggests any entrepreneur ask themselves.

My favorite of those questions? “If you could get one solid hour of advice from a guru you respect, what would you discuss and what would be the goal of the meeting?” This question forces you to think of what you would ask…and may make you think of who can answer those questions for free.

Addition: I was reading The Spectator magazine where a columnist talked about how people behind start-ups always talk about how there is a gap in the market. The columnist, Rory Sutherland said that he says he has this “simple riposte”: “Yes, but is there a market in the gap?”

Many journalists think they specialize in communication but I know that I didn’t appreciate the nuances of making in person presentations. One of the professors here at Stanford, JD Schramm, focuses on teaching that topic along with strategic communications at the Graduate School of Business.

I was just reviewing my notes from his class and thought I should share some of his insights.  He says effective communicators do two things:

connect

stick

He shared with his class six key elements to help you make that connection and make your ideas memorable:

• Consider the unexpected (which means plan to do something the audience might not expect)
• Ask What’s In It For You
• Establish common ground
• Parachute in…don’t pre-amble
• Choose first words with care
• Develop vivid analogies

His thinking is shaped in part by the books The Exceptional Presenter by Timothy Koegel and The Guide to Presentations by Mary Munter and Lynn Russell, The Everyday Writer by Andrea Lunsford, Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte.

Having seen a presentation by someone from the company that Duarte runs, I can recommend that last resource.

Here are a few other presentation resources that I’ve had recommended to me that can be found on the Stanford ecorner website.

How to make a good pitch

Another perspective on how to make a good pitch

The importance of a good presentation

Stanford has an entrepreneurship week each year. I was able to be involved in just a small fraction of all the events and discussions going on around campus so I was glad to see that they have gathered many of the presentations and discussions (including some handouts) on one website for people to review.

If you are interested in starting a business or learning how to make a better presentation of your ideas to your colleagues, you might check some of the information here.

http://eweek.stanford.edu/

“Are you a woman with a great idea for a new web site, mobile news service, or other entrepreneurial initiative that would create interactive opportunities to engage, inspire and improve news and information in a geographic community or a community of interest? J-Lab’s New Media Women Entrepreneurs grant program for startup projects might help you launch…

Eligible projects must:
Be spearheaded by women.
Launch (at least a live beta) within 10 months.
Have journalistic value.
Have a plan for continuing after initial funding has ended.
Open to independent projects or those from traditional media organizations. Personal blogs or one-time documentaries are not eligible. Program is supported by the McCormick Foundation.

Deadline: April 12″

Thanks to the Knight Digital Media Center folks for this tip

For more information go to NewMediaWomen

Tina Seelig, the Executive Director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Progra, will be speaking at UC Berkeley School of Information’s Distinguished Lecture series Wednesday, March 17th on the topic of “Entrepreneurship as an Extreme Sport”.

The invitation says:

“Most people move through the world tripping on problems in their path. True entrepreneurs look at those problems through a different set of lenses: they see them as opportunities. This lecture will focus on creating value by turning problems on their head. Tina Seelig, executive director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, shares surprising stories that come from her courses on creativity and entrepreneurship that demonstrate that by creatively challenging assumptions, breaking the rules, and having a healthy disregard for the impossible you can bring remarkable ideas to life.”

For more information, you can visit the UC Berkeley website.

“Chris Anderson, prize-winning author and editor in chief of WIRED magazine, spoke Monday…about the Internet’s potential to reduce barriers to entry in manufacturing for small-time inventors and entrepreneurs”

He describes a “democratization of the tools of production and distribution.” at this article from the Stanford Daily.

This website is gathering all sorts of resources for journalists who want to start up their own digital media efforts inside or outside of a larger journalism company.

Recently I had a couple of journalists call me who have stuck out on their own and they were asking me for just a couple of resources to look at.

I shared three with them (with one bonus).

Startupmedia.org

Rjicollaboratory.org

OJR.org

and for business models:

Newsinnovation.com