This is the 12th article in a continuing series that examines the state of the ecosystem necessary to successfully bring technology to market. Based on dozens of interviews with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, business leaders, academics, tech-transfer experts and policy makers, this series looks at what is working and what can be improved in the go-to-market ecosystem in the United States, Canada and Britain. We invite your feedback.
By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
It’s fitting that we follow up last week’s post on the strategic value of marketing in its purest sense as a process for enabling customer validation and iterative product development with a definition of this thing called lean startup.
Strategic marketing is a fundamental aspect of the lean startup methodology, a methodology first defined by Eric Ries almost three years ago. And lean startup itself as a process for bringing technology to market warrants careful consideration by any entrepreneur in the socially enabled age of Web 2.0.
It’s fitting because just this month, Ries updated his definition of lean startup based on how the concept has evolved since it was first coined.
Ries defines lean “in the sense of low burn. Of course, many startups are capital efficient and generally frugal. But by taking advantage of open source, agile software, and iterative development, lean startups can operate with much less waste.”
He also defines lean startup as an application of lean thinking, which at its most basic is about maximizing the value you provide to your customers while minimizing waste in your organization. If it ain’t focused on delivering value to the customer, get rid of it.
Ries further defines a lean startup as one that is powered by these drivers:
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By Alexandra Reid
Earlier this week, we explained that so many startups fail because they adopt a “build it and they will come” mentality and neglect to define the market opportunity for their products. In an even earlier post, we looked at the findings of two studies into the factors that contributed to the demise of 50 startups. In both studies, issues related to market research and customer engagement ranked high among the reasons for startup failure.
As a community manager, I can’t help but draw parallels between these reasons for startup failure and the reasons they also fail at social media. I’ve seen and read about many startups that build social media accounts and then sit back and wait for their communities to build themselves. Sure, this method may work for well-established brands like Coca Cola and Disney that have developed loyal communities outside their online accounts. But for developing startups, waiting for a community to build itself is, quite frankly, wishful thinking and a waste of valuable time and opportunity.
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As part of our ongoing series examining the ecosystem necessary to bring technology to market, we asked Nick Quain co-founder and CEO of CellWand, to share some of his insights as an entrepreneur who has successfully brought technology to market. This is the first of his commentaries and we welcome your feedback.
By Nick Quain
They are becoming the adages of management gurus and startup experts everywhere. So many popular catch phrases, they make your head spin.
Build a great team.
Know the right people.
Learn from the experts.
Manage your people.
All young business leaders need to learn how to do these things, right?
I say wrong.
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This is the 11th article in a continuing series that examines the state of the ecosystem necessary to successfully bring technology to market. Based on dozens of interviews with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, business leaders, academics, tech-transfer experts and policy makers, this series looks at what is working and what can be improved in the go-to-market ecosystem in the United States, Canada and Britain. We invite your feedback.
By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
“Companies that can’t clearly articulate their customer and market are not real serious companies, they are research projects … Engineering and marketing need to work together from the get go.”
We began this series a couple of months ago with this timeless quote from Band of Angels’ Ronald Weissman. It strikes to the heart of what all of us here take as gospel.
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This is post is by Associate Phil Newman, a London-based marketing and commercialization strategist for technology companies. We welcome your comments.
By Phil Newman
“OK. Tuesday at 2:30. Great, see you then. We’ll get our NDA over to you guys … yeah, it’s mutual … we can talk more freely about how things could shape up between us. OK, Tuesday it is.”
Sounds fine, doesn’t it? Countersigned NDA filed in the company’s records, check. Possible collaboration with the guys at XYZ Corp., check. Mutual NDA that states what’s ours is ours, check.
But is the NDA, or Non-Disclosure Agreement, a simple business-process document that’s as everyday as a purchase order, or a legally binding document that opens up the potential of intellectual property (IP) issues later? And what about those IP clauses in your standard employment contract? French car-maker Renault recently suspended three senior execs in what was described as a sophisticated case of industrial espionage. The case revolved around electric vehicle programs and power train and battery technology. Chinese companies have been named, but involvement has been denied.
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By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
