6 balancing acts in starting a company (@markjuviler)
TRANSCRIPT
IN MANY WAYS , STARTING ACOMPANY IS LIKE PERFORMING AN
ELABORATE BALANCING ACT .
Or rather,several ofthem.
From expandingtechnical knowledgeto building andmanaging a team,there are several keybalancing acts ittakes to launch acompany.
THE TECHNICAL BALANCE
If you were going to open a Toyota car dealership, youshould have knowledge of all the cars that you’d beselling. But your knowledge base shouldn’t stop there.You should probably also have a good idea of whatHyundai, Ford, and Volkswagen cars are like.
After all, they’re going to be some of your keycompetitors. Ideally you’d be able to talk comfortablyabout Mercedes Benz and Bentley, but these clearlycompete less with your area of cars.
THE TECHNICAL BALANCE
The same grasp of knowledge is needed with anyother enterprise.
Know what you need to know about theproduct you’re offering and also make sureyou know about your competitors.
You don’t need to be a technical master of yourindustry, but aim for technical mastery.
THE SCALING BALANCE
You shouldn't launch your product until it'severything you dreamed it would be, right?
Facebook didn’t start off as an intricate interface for events,news, and oh-so lucrative advertising. It started off as a simpleway to build an online profile for yourself, find other people’sonline profiles, and interact (remember the Facebook “poke”?).
Not quite.
THE SCALING BALANCE
Similarly with your company, figure out what’s a simple,base iteration for your product.
Once you have a basic product out, then you can scale it. Startsmall. Scale Big. Of course, things get even more complicatedwhen venture capital gets in the mix.
Think of something that is achievable andscalable.
THE MARKETING BALANCE
One mistake some startups makes is that they go all inon marketing before they even know what they’re doing
It’s like sending a rocket ship up into spacewithout any navigation computers.
i.e. their content (product) isn’t up to snuff and there isn’t aclear enough an idea of the character (brand) of thecompany.
Sure, you’re announcing to the rest of the world “Hey we gotthis rocket into space!” But your rocket really can't fly.
THE MARKETING BALANCE
Make sure you invest in marketing.
Just make sure your navigation systems arefully functional.
Social media is a great place to start. It may be worth while tohire a freelance analytics expert to kick your marketingcampaign into gear.
Conversely, some companies build rockets with themost advanced navigation systems possible, butdon’t actually think of how they’re going to get thatrocket UP.
THE TEAM BALANCE
You want to make sure that you surround yourself withpeople who are motivated, talented, and easy to getalong with.
Working with people you know is definitely a strong placeto start. Just make sure that everyone is onboard andeveryone has their strengths. If they have gaps in theirexperience, make sure that you’re working with them toaddress that.
THE TEAM BALANCE
Create an environment where individualsfeel comfortable to express their thoughts.
Be a leader, not a dictator.
Stay open to the ideas of others.
THE INVESTING BALANCE
As tempting as it may be to go all in, asnecessary as it might seem to put your life’sblood into your company–make sure thatyou keep a little bit of money in the bank.
Even Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, didn’tgo all in on the now goldmine of a company.
THE INVESTING BALANCE
Looked at in another way, make sure to giveyourself a decent salary.
Employees are happier and more productive whenthey’re being paid fairly.
The same thing applies to you.
