David Cummings on Startups

Blog

  • End of Quarter Review

    With the end of the quarter only a couple weeks away, it’s a great time to review. Depending on the size and stage of the startup, there are a number of items to do:

    Every startup needs a rhythm. Build a process to run at the end of the quarter and continually refine it.

    What else? What are some other steps in your end of quarter review?

  • 3 Quick Tasks at the Start of the Week

    At the start of every week it’s a great time to be intentional and do some prep work to make the most of it. I don’t have a complex process but I do three quick tasks each week:

    1. Calendar Review – What’s on tap for the week? Anything pressing? Is there a good mix of scheduled time and flex time?
    2. Progress Review – How do the numbers look? Anything out of whack? Anything of note in the weekly updates?
    3. Top 3 – What are the three most important things to accomplish this week? What needs to happen to make sure they get done?

    This simple process gets me focused for the week and helps me stay on target. I’d recommend it to all entrepreneurs.

    What else? What are some more tasks you like to do at the start of a new week?

  • Where are the Startup Goals?

    One of the lessons I’ve learned recommending the Simplified One Page Strategic Plan to entrepreneurs is that they often don’t have goals. Crazy, right? When asking for the one pager before a meeting, most of the time I get a response that they don’t have any goals yet but will put some together and send it over. After enough of these conversations, I’ve realized there are a few factors at work:

    • Entrepreneurs are focused on the here-and-now. It’s hard to work on the business when the business isn’t working yet (it’s a startup!).
    • Goals are a form of commitment. If I make a goal, it means that I want to hit it. Without goals, I can keep ambling along.
    • With goals, there’s a scorecard. With a scorecard, it’s black-and-white as to how well things are going. Many entrepreneurs struggle with admitting they’re failing.

    My recommendation is to at least track the weekly operational metrics. Start with metrics, then add goals as the business matures.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on entrepreneurs not tracking progress against goals?

  • Video of the Week: Simon Sinek – Why Leaders Eat Last

    Our video of the week is from Simon Sinek (author of the famous book Start With Why) on the topic Why Leaders Eat Last. Enjoy!

    From YouTube: In this in-depth talk, ethnographer and leadership expert Simon Sinek reveals the hidden dynamics that inspire leadership and trust. In biological terms, leaders get the first pick of food and other spoils, but at a cost. When danger is present, the group expects the leader to mitigate all threats even at the expense of their personal well-being. Understanding this deep-seated expectation is the key difference between someone who is just an “authority” versus a true “leader.”

  • Startups Selling to Other Startups

    As much as we like to think that we’re bringing our new product to the old-guard businesses, the reality is that a number of startups sell their product to other startups. At Pardot, most of our early customers were other tech companies (more progressive and tech savvy) and many of them were startups. Over time, the market expanded and more non-tech companies became Pardot customers. Many startups start this way.

    With so many startups selling to other startups, there are a few things to keep in mind:

    • If we have another Great Recession, startups are more likely to be less stable customers
    • When bartering one product for another (this happens often), sell the product to each other and pay full price in lieu of just swapping apps (this is important in the event one side isn’t living up to expectations but be careful as this is one of the reasons the Dot Com implosion happened so fast when the house of cards crumbled)
    • Be upfront with investors the percentage of sales that comes from selling to other startups as well as the percentage from bartering deals
    • When startups are a good type of customer, use a data source like MatterMark to target startups that are similar to existing customers

    Startups selling to other startups is commonplace but still needs to be better understood. Not all customers are created equal and it’s important to be intentional.

    What else? What are some other thoughts on startups selling to other startups?

  • Saying No is Harder than Saying Yes

    As an entrepreneur, there’s often the desire to say “yes” to many requests. A potential customer wants this one feature added. A partner wants to do a webinar with you as the guest. A community leader wants you on the board. Yes, yes, yes. Only, after looking around, it’s clear that you’re over committed and don’t have time to work on the business.

    Saying “no” is harder than saying “yes.” Yet, it’s time to do more of it.

    The next time someone asks something of you, ask yourself the following questions:

    • When answering this request, am I being intentional with my time?
    • Am I the absolute best person to work on this?
    • How easy is it to delegate this?
    • If I say “yes” to this request, what am I giving up?
    • If I say “no” to this request, what will happen?

    Saying “no” is often harder than saying “yes” for many entrepreneurs. The result: too many things to do and not enough time to think. My advice is for entrepreneurs is to get better at saying “no” and being more intentional with their time.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on saying “no” being harder than “yes” with requests?

  • Today’s Business Ideas That Weren’t Possible 10 Years Ago

    One of the ways I like to think about business ideas is in the context of what can we do today that we couldn’t have done 10 years ago. As an example, when we started Pardot in early 2007, we could build a web application quickly using open source software, run it on commodity web hosting, and deliver B2B marketing automation with analytics, campaign execution, and insights in a cost effective manner to SMB customers. 10 years prior it would have been 100x more to build it, 100x more to host it, and the market wasn’t ready for it (being too earlier is still a failure).

    Here are a few things to think about when considering ideas that weren’t possible 10 years ago:

    • What new ideas are possible because we have a super computer in our pocket (e.g. iPhones didn’t even exist 10 years ago)?
    • How can we use cloud computing and big data tools like Hadoop to unlock insights we never knew about before?
    • How do advances in technology in one industry help another one (e.g. GPU advancements helping self-driving cars, cell phone miniaturization helping a number of other devices, etc.)?
    • What ideas were good before but the timing wasn’t right (e.g. limited broadband penetration, GPS adoption, independent contractor availability, etc.)?

    The next time you’re considering a business idea, ask the question why wasn’t this done 10 years ago and see what you come up with. Some ideas weren’t even possible and some ideas were just before their time.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on thinking about business ideas in the context of what wasn’t possible 10 years ago?

  • Addressing Competitor FUD

    One major challenge for a startup is when established companies start putting out FUD to slow the upstart down. FUD, an acronym for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt, is painful for scrappy startups that are working hard and doing what’s right for the customer, yet it’s a normal part of business.

    Here are a few thoughts on addressing competitor FUD:

    • Don’t ignore the FUD — talk about it head-on with the potential customers, and make sure every issue is discussed (too small, will go out of business, not proven, about to be eclipsed by a new in-house product, etc.)
    • Engage with the potential customer on a level where it’s abundantly clear how the product or service will be better, faster, and/or cheaper than how they’re doing it now, and tie that directly to a hard ROI (the solution needs to be a must-have and in the path of revenue)
    • Reach out to the competitor spreading the FUD and look to build a bridge, or at least the start of a relationship
    • Finally, ensure that you’re controlling what you can control

    Competitor FUD is one of the more annoying aspects of being an entrepreneur but it still needs to addressed, just like everything else. Don’t ignore it or shy away from it and build the case for why it it’s a non-issue.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on addressing competitor FUD?

  • The Most Successful B2B Apps are Must-Haves

    One area I see a number of entrepreneurs struggle with is building a product that is truly a must-have for their customer. While it’s true that every spreadsheet is another SaaS app, the reality is that if what the app does is only slightly better than the spreadsheet, it’s going to be a nice-to-have and not a must-have. Why? Because spreadsheets are commonplace, well understood, and people don’t like change. The most successful B2B apps are must-haves.

    Here are a few ideas for assessing if an app is a must-have:

    • Customers say things like “I don’t know how I did my job before XYZ” and “I can’t run my business without XYZ”
    • If the app goes down, customers are calling immediately (as opposed to shrugging their shoulders and not caring)
    • Customers use the app multiple times per week, if not daily, to accomplish something important
    • Is the app clearly in the path of revenue?
    • The results (value delivered) are not possible without specialized software (e.g. the data isn’t available without the system capturing it, the data size is too large to process it in spreadsheets, the data is too siloed, the data is too large to be actionable without automations, etc.)

    Building a B2B app is easy. Building a must-have B2B app that hundreds or thousands of customers use is incredibly hard. Build a must-have B2B app whenever possible.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on the idea that the most successful B2B apps are must-haves?

  • Video of the Week: Making Something People Love

    For our video of the week, watch the Tools for Entrepreneurs: Making Something People Love as part of Google for Entrepreneurs. Enjoy!

    From YouTube: Google for Entrepreneurs and General Assembly have partnered up to create “Tools for Entrepreneurs,” video classes for entrepreneurs to grow their skills and grow their businesses. — Renowned entrepreneur and Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, will inspire you to think of unique ways to connect with your customers, and to build a community of users who want your business to succeed. In this class you’ll learn some key branding, marketing, and user experience principles, plus specific tactics and strategies that you can use to create a company people love.