5 Ways to Save Your Startup From A Digital Marketing Rut

Digital marketing is sort of like milk – it has an expiration date. Despite a killer marketing plan, enthusiastic interaction with your audience may fade over time. Many small companies experience little engagement on Facebook, Tumblr doesn’t exactly foster relationships, and the lifespan of a tweet is getting shorter all the time. If you want to swim, not sink, in the digital marketing world, it’s imperative to not only have a multi-platform presence, but to do it right and stand out amongst the rest.

A well thought-out and strategic digital marketing plan is a must if you want to propel your business to success. The last thing you want is to fall into a digital marketing rut. Suffering a loss in strategy will without a doubt lead to a loss in business. Who can afford that?

Here are 5 tips to climb out of your digital marketing rut:

Go Back To Square One
Re-evaluate your company’s overall digital marketing goals. You can’t expect a digital marketing strategy to thrive if you don’t have specific goals in mind. Maybe your goal is to increase the amount of hits and traffic you receive on your site. Maybe it’s something as basic as how many positive reviews are being written on sites like Yelp. Or maybe your goal is to increase your following on social sites. Whatever your immediate goals may be, your ultimate goal is to garner sign-ups, increase subscriptions, or sell. Never lose sight of that. If you’re thinking, “but I don’t have any specific goals…not measurable ones” then now is the time to make some. If you don’t measure, you won’t grow. On the other hand, if you already have quantitative goals, now is the time to see if you’re meeting them. If you haven’t, what’s stopped you? Look at your analytics. You need input to generate output. What can you do differently if your current methods aren’t working?

Bottom line: Have measurable goals and periodically check in to see if these goals are being met. Though we all want to be successful, “success” is not a goal, it’s an outcome.

Check In With Your Customer BaseEvery good company has a target customer base or demographic. This is who they cater to. Thus, every marketing campaign your company produces should be directly targeted toward this audience or demographic. Who are you trying to market to? Minding your customer base is one of the reasons that data and analytics is so important. Using analytics platforms helps you understand trends, patterns and behaviors your customers will reveal through their data. The more your company grows and the longer it’s been around, it’s essential to make sure you know exactly who is using your services, and even to learn who’s stopped using your product. If you’re a newly launched company, ask a handful of valuable users to become case studies. You’d be surprised at how much you can learn about your product and opportunities for growth or new features by simply talking to people who already love your product.

Bottom line: Data and analytics are invaluable, but sometimes a little human connection is great, too. Don’t be afraid to ask customers for feedback. First hand opinions will be infinitely useful as your company grows.

Set Yourself Up for an Excellent Performance
The best businesses figure out exactly what works for them and their audience, then they iterate these practices. Maybe your company’s video posts are getting more social love than long form blog posts. Maybe your quick status updates are getting more attention than your visual posts are (not likely). Maybe another facet of your online presence is getting no love from your audience, and it’s time to decide whether it’s worth keeping or not. At the end of the day, what you want is engagement. In order to set yourself up so that everything you post performs as well as your most evergreen content, look at the numbers and see what’s performing best. Which channels are bringing in the most conversions? A truly successful digital marketing campaign will generate responses, start conversations, and keep your audience coming back for more. If you’re finding that your online activity is getting likes, shares, and increased traffic, then repeat the actions that led you there. However, if you’re finding that you’re losing traffic or engagement, go back and decide what kinds of content your audience seems to like best. Keeping the flame alive between your business and your audience is key to content marketing. Without them, you’re nothing.

Bottom line: Determine which kinds of content are most favorable to your audience. Create a system, and don’t let them down.

Pull Out Your Digital Map
Are you in the right place? Are you where you need to be? This is an imperative question to ask yourself when judging if your campaigns are working. After checking in with your user base and determining what kinds of content your audience likes, you need to figure out if you’re still limiting yourself by not being present in the spaces your target demographics love. You need to be in the right place and have the correct digital presence, if you want to reach customer base you’re targeting. However, it’s been said that young people are bothered when brands are unnecessarily on every channel. If you’re not a visual brand, don’t create an Instagram, or a Tumblr for that matter. If you’re content producers, but not content curators, don’t create a company Pinterest account. Think of it this way: if you want to meet someone and you’re scoping out the dating scene, would it be more fruitful to go to a bar or a library?

Bottom line: Know exactly who you’re looking for and where to find them. Be native, be where
your audience is. If you do this right, you should be giving them what they’re already naturally
searching for.

Differentiate Yourself
Digital marketing is a dog-eat-dog, hyper competitive world. It’s easy to see a company enact campaigns that turn out to be very fruitful and then feel the desire to use the same practices for your own business. You know…that whole FOMO thing. Though success may follow for you, too, you’re simply becoming part of the mishmash of digital marketing similarities. It’s easy for consumers to tell when one brand is copying another (Coke and Pepsi are in an eternal game of cat and mouse), but like Robert Frost said, take the road less traveled! In order for your company to exist, it has to be at least slightly different from other companies on the market. Feed into these differences.

Bottom line: As long as it works for you audience, don’t be afraid to go against the grain. You’ll never know until you try. Make it quirky, make it jaw dropping, make it easy to digest – whatever. Just make it you.

Rosie Brinckerhoff is a marketing intern at Spinnakr – a new kind of analytics that takes action for you. Rosie is a social media enthusiast and a rising senior at the University of Delaware, where she majors in Political Science and Journalism.

Startup Culture: Offering Your Courageous, Daring Employees Something Intangible

ProdigiArts, Startup Culture, Startup Tips, Memphis startup

(cultureclub photo: alanpringle.com)

Who would choose to work for some entrepreneur they met at a coffee shop, for little pay, unconventional hours, and without promise of Google-like fortunes? They may have a fantastic idea that will solve some great problem in modern society, but right now their eyes are bleary from too much caffeine and a scalding Macbook. It’s hard to believe in them.

Startups not only face difficulty in convincing prospective investors and clients, but also potential employees whose talents would make a valuable contribution to the ever-growing company. Capital might not be the greatest resource at your disposal, but your people are.

As entrepreneurs, it’s easy to fantasize about the kind of company culture you’d like to foster in the future: throngs of employees working diligently and creatively, in between collective games of Call of Duty. In reality, culture building happens the moment one other person says ‘yes’ to joining your crazy idea for a company.

The famed animation studio Pixar faced the same struggle to build culture. The production house that totes 27 Academy Awards on its mantle started out with sleep-deprived, passionate people who took a chance on an idea they believed in. Since its inception in 1979, Pixar has taken many directions, from producing special effects for Star Trek to working on a commercial for Listerine. Despite the change in vision, structure, or ownership, the individuals who were so passionate about their craft and creating a company notable for what it offered the world made Pixar great. By no means did this happen without investment and capital, but it started with the right people.

In James Collins’ celebrated book Good to Great, he emphasizes recruiting the right people, who are flexible and put in their time and energy day after day, even when the vision or direction of a company might take a detour. He says that while vision is essential when starting a business and gaining employees, “If you begin with ‘who’ rather than ‘what,’ you can more easily adapt to a changing world.”

One of the really important features of our company culture is a strong emphasis on trust and validation. In our industry most young, ambitious animators want to go work for the larger, more legendary studios in New York or Los Angeles, where they will probably be made to work longer hours and receive little credit.

While this is the reality of many recent graduates and young professionals in their career development journey, we try to value and recognize each accomplishment made, whether that’s with bonuses for especially noteworthy projects or getting taken out to lunch because someone forgot to bring theirs for the day. Every person, no matter how old or how young, desires a place in a community and to feel like their work is valued and contributes to something greater than themselves. We may not have the notoriety of a large studio, but what defines our culture is how satisfied and ambitious those brave souls are who have joined our growing studio.

Investing in human capital proves to be just as important as your real capital. Find those select few who invest their time, talents, and future in your company, because those are the ones who will be there at the end of the day, even when financial backers may not be.

Joshua Colfer is with ProdigiArts a Memphis animation, design and development firm. See what they can do for your startup visit them on the web at prodigiarts.com

14 Mistakes To Avoid When Pitching Investors

Question: What’s one dumb mistake entrepreneurs should avoid, at all costs, during their first couple of pitches to investors?

Smelling of Desperation

“When you pitch to an investor, don’t sound desperate. People like to invest and be connected to winning projects. If you come off as though this investment is the only way for your business to move forward, it seems needy and is unattractive to many investors, and can sets you up to be taken advantage of. You’ll end up giving away more equity then you should.”

– Raoul Davis | CEO, Ascendant Group

Thinking Only About Money

“When pitching an investor, you’re not just pitching your great idea. A relationship with an investor goes beyond the ROI and it’s important to focus on selling yourself as well as your business plan.”

– Raul Pla | CEO and Founder, SimpleWifi and UseABoat

Going In Unprepared

“Just because you have an idea and you think you need help does not mean you’re ready to raise money. Even if you get an investor interested, nothing will bring the conversation to a screeching halt quite like not knowing how much you want to raise and what you’ll do with it. The questions are core to justifying the investment and showing you’re prepared to lead an institutionally-funded business.”

– Jason Evanish | co-founder, Greenhorn Connect

Introducing the NDA

“Ideas are cheap. Chances are you’ll be laughed out of the meeting if you ask investors to sign an NDA. More important, anyone willing to sign an NDA in a first meeting is probably not sophisticated or serious enough for you to be considering as an investor.”

– Michael Tolkin | CEO, Merchant Exchange

What’s a Negotiation?

“It’s rare that an investor will, straight out of the gate, give you everything you ever wanted. You need to know what you can do with different levels of investment, and have an idea of what situations are bad enough to walk away from the table. A pitch to an investor is the start of a negotiation and you should treat it as such.”

– Thursday Bram | Consultant, Hyper Modern Consulting

Being Too Pushy

“The investors are already there to hear your pitch because they see something in you and your company. Those that push their product or idea too much cause most investors to immediately shut down and not hear the rest of the pitch. Be cool and confident, but not like a used car salesman. You only have one chance to make a first impression, and don’t blow it doing this simple thing.”

– Ashley Bodi | co-founder, Business Beware

Eagerly Meeting First

“Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of meeting with their best investor prospects first, yet their pitch only gets better with time. You will achieve your greatest odds by saving the best for last. Note reoccurring questions and concerns after each pitch, and revise your materials accordingly. By the time you get to the big guys, you will be confident and convincing enough to close the deal.”

– Christopher Kelly | Co-Founder, Principal, Convene

Taking Criticism Personally

“Most investors are direct and are going to ask you the tough questions. That’s a good thing; it means they’re thinking about your idea. Don’t take feedback our tough questions personally or as personal attacks. Answer directly and if you don’t know, say so. Don’t make something up.”

– Nathan Lustig | cofounder, Entrustet

Putting Down Your Passion

“You need more than passion to convince investors. You need a well thought-out business plan and a great product. Even with that, though, don’t be afraid to let your passion show through. It’ll carry you through the entrepreneurial journey, and investors know that, so don’t try to be all business by hiding that enthusiasm. Display it. It’s an advantage, not a weakness.”

– Nick Friedman | President, College Hunks Hauling Junk and College Hunks Moving

Leaving Without the Q&A

“Allowing time for questions will naturally create the need to have a concise and focused presentation, while also allowing the investors to partially guide the pitch. No matter how organized a pitch is, it may fail to answer certain questions your audience has. Planning for Q&A time allows your pitch to be clear to someone unfamiliar with your line of work.”

– John Harthorne | Founder and CEO, MassChallenge

Promising Too Much

“Don’t overpromise; go in with what you know, not what you think you can do. Investors will lose faith in you – that is, if they don’t see through you right away.”

– Jordan Guernsey | CEO, Molding Box

Too Diligent About Disruption

“Entrepreneurs often work on ideas in areas they’re passionate about, and along with that can come a sense of religion about changing the way a certain industry works. Disruption is certainly an ideal outcome for a new business, and investors are looking for disruptive ideas, but an entrepreneur that cares more about that disruption than building a sustainable business can often lose sight of the immediate decisions that must be made, even if they steer you away from your original vision.”

– Derek Shanahan | Marketing, Playerize

Don’t Make Projections, Make Plans

“Don’t put a freaking hockey stick graph in the presentation and expect everyone in the room to “ooh” and “ahh.” Projections are guesses that rarely come true. What’s more impressive is your plan to get there. Investors know that your strategy means a lot more than your pretty pictures.”

– Brent Beshore | Owner/CEO, adventur.es

Rushing the Pitch

“As nervous as you might be, try to calm down and speak from the heart. Memorization is often the biggest crutch during a presentation. Nerves get the best of us, and we try to rush through the words just to get it over with. Studies have shown that speaking more slowly not only allows the listeners to register what you’re saying, but it also makes you sound more confident and knowledgeable.”

– Logan Lenz | Founder / President, Endagon

This startup conference was designed for even bootstrapped founders.

6 Reasons To Say “I Do” To A Fellow Entrepreneur

I’m an entrepreneur and I married an entrepreneur. No, I’m not crazy. OK, I am a little crazy, but more on that later.

I run an advertising agency called Rocket XL and my wife, Ro Cysne, is the co-founder of Jil Ro clothing. Like any relationship, it’s not always a bed of roses. Our busy startup lives caused us to change the date of our wedding four times, and forget whose turn it was to pick up our son at preschool seven times (and counting).

But there are some big advantages to marrying one of your own, if you’re daring enough to take the leap. Namely:

Being crazy together. It’s no secret that all entrepreneurs need to be a bit cracked in the head; otherwise, why would we start our own businesses when 50 percent fail in the first year? Shortly after Ro and I finally tied the not, after years of delaying, we once again had to postpone something else – our honeymoon to Mexico. I had a big client pitch that was scheduled at the last minute, and I didn’t want to have one foot in Mexico and one foot in Los Angeles, so we pushed off our honeymoon until the following year. Running her own startup, Ro understands the unpredictability of my schedule. But the craziest part is that rescheduling the honeymoon was her idea!
Networking. Aside from always having a much-needed companion on my arm at networking events (which I hate attending more than root canal conventions), we both benefit from the connections that we meet everyday in the startup world. This year alone we’ve introduced each other to accountants, painters, Web designers, and even a hip doctor.
Piggybacking. Being an entrepreneur means being scrappy and trying to leverage what’s at our fingertips. So naturally, Ro and I always take advantage of each other’s businesses. Take the time last summer, when Ro was shooting her fall clothing collection in a Hollywood photo studio. My son Luke and I arrived mid-shoot while Ro’s models were being prepped for their next outfit. We seized the opportunity, and grabbed the photographer for an impromptu family holiday greeting card. And even better for Luke, he shared a dressing room with the models, who couldn’t stop kissing him (he’ll thank me later).
Short commutes. We’re two of the lucky few that get to choose our office locations, so of course we chose two spots 10 minutes from our house. That means more valuable home time and less time spent in the car. Living in Los Angeles, it also helps that we don’t get home with sore fists from punching the steering wheel in road rage while stuck in traffic on the 405.
Motivation. As an entrepreneur, things get hard. They get hard a lot. And by ”a lot” I mean every day. Who better to keep you from jumping off the nearest building and throwing in the towel than a fellow future tycoon who can empathize with your situation? Last week, when I came home whining about a difficult situation at the office, Ro helped me see the bigger picture by recounting a story of a similar situation with her company and how she got through it. Then I believe her choice words were something along the lines of, “Suck it up, honey.”
A built-in writing buddy. And the best reason of all? Ro gave me the idea for this article and helped me write it. Now time to get Luke started on that lemonade stand of his…

Anson Sowby is a digital brand marketer with a proven track record of launching successful products and companies for over 14 years. He’s led global teams within the Brand and Agency functions of numerous Fortune 500 companies marketing their products in traditional and social media including Toyota/Lexus, Samsung, HBO, Activision, Sony, Old Spice, Dove, PepsiCo, The NHL, NASCAR, and The United Nations.

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

Great Marketing Is Not The Enemy of Great Product

In some circles, “marketing” is a four letter word.

For some, it’s as if marketing is the enemy of product, and they believe a great product will somehow find a way to sell itself. The implication is that marketing is needed only when the product isn’t good enough.If you need marketing, you’re doing something wrong.

While it’s true that good marketing won’t go far in helping a bad product, I think the product-marketing distinction disregards the value that can be created when the overlap between product and marketing is realized and exploited.

This false dichotomy happens for a few reasons.

First is that the term marketing is too broad to be instructive when working with early-stage companies. Discussing the constituent parts of the process is much more useful. Distribution strategy and user adoption, branding and naming, messaging and copywriting, pricing strategy—these are much more meaningful than “marketing” as a category.

In a similar vein, product is dangerously broad as well. As marketing has constituent parts, so does the concept of product. User stories, back- and front-end code, UI design and copy, transactional emails, the overall look and feel—these are all constituent parts of product.

In startups, as in most companies, there’s a portion of product and marketing activities that bridge the gap and live in both worlds.

Elements of marketing can augment elements of product, and vice versa.

Real value can be created in the cases where facets of marketing and elements of product overlap.

There are many examples of this overlap. Here are a few:

Copy in the UI: does it align with the voice and tone of the brand as established in the brand platform, on the marketing site, and on social accounts?
Transactional emails: are they sensitive to the realities of user behavior as seen within the app?
Overall aesthetic: is there design consistency between the personality and texture of your name, logo, marketing assets, and user interface?
Blog posts, white papers, case studies, and other marketing assets: do they reflect the attitudes and beliefs of users? do they account for data about usage and allow that data to influence the direction?

In a world where the earliest interactions between user and product occur within the context of an app store–first with app icon and name, then with screenshots–the separation between product and marketing is an increasingly false distinction.

Couple that with the necessity of building in effective viral hooks along with other growth hacking techniques, and it’s clear that the monolithic categories of product and marketing are rarely meaningful.

Thinking in separate product-marketing silos, then, e.g. “we need to start thinking about marketing now that the beta is live,” is harmful to the growth of your product.

So take time to dig a bit deeper past the abstraction of high-level categories. Proceed with caution when you hear someone waxing poetic on the notions of product or the dangers of marketing. And take advantage of the product-marketing overlap to strengthen your experience and further endear yourself to users.

Still need help? I’m offering free 30-minute Google Hangout office hour sessions to take questions about startup branding and messaging. No strings attached. Get in touch if that interests you.

Patrick Woods is a hybrid ad man/startup guy. As director of a>m ventures, he connects startups with awesome branding, PR, and marketing strategy.

*Nibletz is an a>m ventures portfolio company.

**This post first appeared on Medium.

Is Your Crazy New Startup Idea A Home Run Or A Dud?

Four years ago, I started a company based on the notion of wearing T-shirts for living, IWearYourShirt.com. More recently, I set up an auction for a business to buy the rights to my last name, BuyMyLastName.com.

Needless to say, I come up with a lot of crazy ideas. In my car, in the shower, heck, even in my sleep. All of them get written down somewhere, and I revisit them at a later date when I’m not mobile, wet, or unconscious. After taking a second glance at my list of ideas, about 95 percent of them are complete and total garbage. The other 5 percent have a small shot at becoming something worth acting on. How do I know the difference? I ask myself five simple questions first.

Whether it’s your next big business or a unique marketing campaign, when that next ambitious idea hits, ask yourself these five questions — and if the answer is yes to all five, well, roll up your sleeves and make it happen!

Does my idea solve a problem? What’s that saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention?” Ideas that are born out of needs come complete with a built-in demand. It’s harder to sell someone something they don’t need. In the case of BuyMyLastName.com, I knew that marketing — especially online — was becoming so congested that businesses were having trouble finding ad space that makes them stand out from the crowd. By offering such a unique venue for them to do so, it fulfilled a need for them to maintain an element of surprise and creativity. Does your idea do the same?
Is this an idea I can execute? The worst thing you can do is get your heart — and any investment money — set on an idea that you simply can’t pull off in the end. Give yourself the time to really think through how this idea is going to work. Do you have the resources? Do you have the time or the budget to make it successful? Challenge yourself to ask the hard questions, and get specific.
Is this idea something people will talk about or share? The best ideas are ones that market themselves. You want to pour your effort into something that’s going to make people talk or something that’s going to “turn heads” virtually. If your idea has that surprising element or share factor built in, it is much more likely to be successful. Word of mouth is king!
Does this idea have a shelf life? Maybe it seems like a good idea today, but is it something that will be a good idea in six months or five years? Think hard about where your market is now and where you think it’s headed. Does your idea still solve a problem down the road or will it still be shareable? For example, you know that technology will probably only get more and more advanced as time progresses. Knowing this, does this make your idea more valuable in the future, or less valuable? Put your idea in the context of some of those future external market conditions or internal business conditions and then evaluate it.
Is the value of this idea worth the investment? Crazy ideas can be crazy smart — or a crazy waste of everyone’s time, depending on the idea. If you’ve already answered yes to the previous questions, sit down and ask yourself if the outcome is going to be worth the input. Will your idea bring enough value to the end user that you have to make it happen? Some may say that selling my last name is a gimmick, but I truly believe that it has the potential to be a huge stage for the right company and I feel strongly about the value it can bring them. Do you feel as strongly as I do?

I can’t say that every idea I’ve ever tried has been successful, but I can say that I don’t regret pursuing a single one. I’m the guy that will always believe in crazy ideas.

You can’t guarantee a new business idea will work, but you can make sure it has every chance possible to be a home run.

Jason Sadler, Official T-Shirt Wearer at IWearYourShirt, hasn’t always been wearing T-shirts for a living, but has always been creative. Fox Business has called him the “Entrepreneur of the Century.”

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

Jason Sadler Image

13 Tips For Expanding Your Startup Into A New Region

Question: What advice would you give a CEO launching or expanding in a brand new region? (one tip)

Lead With Media

“I have the honor of doing CEO branding for several CEO’s, and I would advise a CEO to lead with media. Hire a public relations professional that can immediately get you on local TV, newspapers or radio, as this will add to your credibility locally and put you on fertile ground.”

– Raoul Davis | CEO, Ascendant Group

Are Your Legal Bases Covered?

“Check with your attorney to make sure you are not triggering any additional legal requirements. For example, many cities and states require a company to register if they are “doing business” in the jurisdiction. You need to notify your legal counsel so you can determine whether your new business activities trigger any additional legal requirements.”

– Doug Bend | Founder/Small Business & Startup Attorney, Bend Law Group, PC

Add a Local on Your Team

“Unless you have lived in the region you’re launching in for years, you need someone local who knows both the area and the culture. Even regional cultures can be different than what you’re used to, and you want a launch to go smoothly. Even bringing in a consultant can help dramatically.”

– Thursday Bram | Consultant, Hyper Modern Consulting

Research the Region

“I would recommend doing research on the region and on the culture of the region. I would also recommend doing market research on the area. Become knowledgeable about the type of consumers you will encounter and their buying habits, as well as what works from a marketing/advertising/public relations standpoint.”

– Zach Cutler | Founder and CEO, Cutler Group

Draft a Local Strategy

“Go in with a strategy if you’re in a new region. If you have a client or group of clients in the area, then have them take you around and show you who they interact with. Join them – they have a local view into the community.”

– Jordan Guernsey | CEO, Molding Box

Market Makers Make Good Friends

“Make friends with the market makers — the people who know and influence everyone. They set the tone for a product or service and can make or break your business. Make fans of them, and they’ll do much of the work for you.”

– Brent Beshore | Owner/CEO, Adventur.es

Join Startup America!

“The best all-around resource for startup founders is Startup America. Sign up online (s.co), connect to startups in your new region, and attend local Startup America events. It just works — I met my top mentors and co-founders this way.”

– Neil Thanedar | CEO, LabDoor

Build Your Personal Brand

“As a leader, you need to build your personal brand so you can effectively launch your new business. You will need new relationships, partnerships and clients to build your company. A solid brand will attract more of these than anything else.”

– John Hall | CEO, Influence & Co.

Speak at Local Events

“Early on, find a conference or event you can speak at to create fans, customers, and a following of your product or service. Seeing someone out-of-state coming to speak about their expertise bolsters credibility at events.”

– Kenny Nguyen | Founder/CEO, Big Fish Presentations

Go on a Listening Tour

“Too often, an upstart company enters a new region with too much bravado. You’re entering somebody else’s community, so get to know the people — key business leaders, industry reps, and potential customers in the region. Don’t go in trying to sell, but work on listening. Set a tone that shows how you want to become part of their community. Build the relationships and the money will follow.”

– Michael Margolis | President, Get Storied

Call In the Experts

“Expanding to a new region is never as simple as “Take what we did before and repeat.” Find experts in the region who can help you translate your product to the new environment. The smartest move is to find those who know the local customer sentiment, regulatory environment, real estate market, and have insights into the local talent pool.”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

Keep Uncompromising Focus

“Stick to your core competency and do what you do best. It’s usually a mistake to vary your formula for success when moving into a new market. Build your brand on what you’re known for, using the killer skills that made you successful to begin with.”

– Nick Reese | CEO, Elite Health Blends

Be Prepared to Test

“After making sure your new regional website is catered toward your new demographic, it’s important to quickly figure out what works for you in that particular market. Split-testing is priceless, since there can be culture and/or language differences that you and your team don’t completely comprehend first-hand. Move things around, try different language tones, swap out images, etc.”

– Logan Lenz | Founder / President, Endagon

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

Check out this awesome post by Neil Thanedar “Do you want to build a startup or a small business?”

Image: Earth

11 Methods For Dealing With Problem Employees In Your Startup

Question: What’s your #1 tip for dealing with problem employees gently — so the whole team doesn’t suffer as a result?

Focus on Actions

“When you need to deal with a problem employee, be prepared to reference the original description for that position or project, and frame the talk around actions. ‘You need to stop doing this, and start doing this,’ is easier to communicate than blame or lectures. ‘You’re screwing this up’ or ‘Why can’t you get the numbers you promised?’ will just put the employee on the defensive.”

– Kelly Azevedo | Founder, She’s Got Systems

The First Clean Kill Awakens the Herd

“If you have a problem employee at a startup, you should get rid of them. A small company has to function as one cohesive team, and even one troublesome employee will slow everything down. A mentor once told me, “The first clean kill awakens the herd.” What that means is that your whole team will actually be relieved if you get rid of the problem that likely has been bothering them as much as you.”

– Jason Evanish | co-founder, Greenhorn Connect

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree

“Deal with the whole tree, not just the bad apple. The best piece of advice I ever heard on this was that you should identify the problem employee and observe them for a week. See who they associate with and who they have their “water cooler” talks with. Generally, a bad apple is not isolated but part of a bad group. Deal with the group collectively and address any issues as a whole and don’t be afraid to fire a few people at once.”

– Aron Schoenfeld | Founder & CEO, Do It In Person LLC

Show Some Respect

“Although they are causing problems, take them off to the side and talk with them about the issues. Don’t involve everyone because as always, that person may not realize you’re actually talking about them. Doing so face-to-face and not embarrassing them in front of others is always the best way to go. Put yourself in their place — wouldn’t you rather have someone approach you one-on-one?”

– Ashley Bodi | co-founder, Business Beware

Provide the Right Incentives

“I think one must provide incentives to perform better and lots of positive reinforcement. Problem employees should not be reprimanded publicly, but in private. One should make it clear that good work will be amply rewarded.”

– Zach Cutler | Founder and CEO, Cutler Group

Transparency Goes a Long Way

“Be as honest and transparent as you can. People want to know why; just know that some people don’t work out. If you try to hide that fact, it will backfire and your people won’t trust you anymore.”

– Jordan Guernsey | CEO, Molding Box

Keep Your Cool

“Don’t blow your lid in front of the entire office. Rather, have a side conversation in which you outline the issues and your expectation in a constructive, yet firm, manner. People who are humiliated start to resent you, not work harder for you.”

– Nicolas Gremion | CEO, Free-eBooks.net

Get Rid of Dead Weight

“Fire them. You don’t have time for bullshit. Your team certainly doesn’t have time for bullshit. If employees become a problem, that means they’re not a long-term fit. The first moment you realize that, let them go. Carrying dead weight eventually hurts your entire staff and can endanger your relationships with your superstars.”

– Brent Beshore | Owner/CEO, Adventur.es

Identify the Problem, Explain the Solution

“Don’t jump to conclusions. Very often we think we know what the problem is, but we don’t, and sometimes the employees don’t know what the root problem is as well. A co-working issue could be the result of a procedural problem. Whatever the case may be, you need to identify the real problem. Once you can identify the issue you can determine solutions. Figure out a solution that is going to create positive change, and then envision with the employee on how the workplace and the employee will benefit as a result.”

– Benjamin Leis | Founder, Sweat EquiTees

Give Them a Second Chance

“Address the situation individually first. Be transparent about the problem, but let your employee know how he can do better, and encourage him. If things don’t get better, then fire fast. The last thing you want is a problem employee in the office.”

– John Hall | CEO, Influence & Co.

Give Them Clear Consequences

“Managers should quickly address any issues one employee might be causing to avoid affecting the whole team. They should also provide consequences to follow through with if the problems continue or escalate. Putting the conversation in writing can also help to avoid future problems and make sure everything is clear. Finally, fire fast and hire slow.”

– Heather Huhman | Founder & President, Come Recommended

Bad Apple Image: Rich’s Management Blog

Do You Want to Build a Startup — Or a Small Business?

A couple months ago, I officially left my rapidly growing, profitable small business to launch a tech startup with a huge vision and zero salaries. Why did I do this? For me, it came down to the huge differences between a small business and a startup.

First off, the biggest difference between these two company types is in their top objectives. Small businesses are driven by profitability and stable long-term value, while startups are focused on top-end revenue and growth potential. Steve Blank’s three-minute definition provides great insight.

Earlier this year, I also got the opportunity to meet Mark Cuban, Kevin Plank, and Scott Case, who asked me a classic question with a special motive: “What do you want out of your life in five years?” I knew how Cuban and Plank had made eight-figure companies in their twenties, so I said, “Thirty million dollars,” thinking it would impress them. Instead, Plank said, “That’s a terrible goal!”

That remains the best piece of business advice I have ever gotten. Instead of focusing on great products and huge customer bases, I was too focused on dollar amounts — a small-business mentality instead of a startup mentality. I spent the rest of the weekend working with Case on new business models and products, and left these meetings with a grand new business idea.

My startup journey led me to launch LabDoor. LabDoor provides report cards for your medicine cabinet. Products are graded based on safety, efficacy, and price. Behind the scenes, technical experts analyze top FDA, clinical and independent lab data that informs the product safety apps. Building this startup has been the perfect opportunity to continue my obsession with science, while greatly expanding the amount of people that will benefit from this research.

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with starting your entrepreneurial career with a small business. Building a solid financial base will help create a longer personal financial runway for future startup ventures. Also, establishing a successful small business can build credibility and networks through the business community that will be hugely valuable when launching a startup that requires outside angel and VC investments. But while you do that, be careful not to get too comfortable with a steady paycheck.

How do you decide which one is for you? First, ask yourself, what is my tolerance for risk? And what is my tolerance for failure? Because no matter where you are in your life, it is a great exercise to stop everything and visualize your absolute top-end potential. It’s the kind of brainstorming you did as a kid, when you imagined being the President or, even better, an astronaut.

Then, start by deciding the biggest problem in the world that you want to solve. Develop your ideal solution to this problem, and then invite your trusted friends and family to poke holes in it. Iterate until you’ve got an awesome idea. If you can build a great team around your awesome solution, now you can stretch one foot into the world of startups.

Finally, determine your top objective. Is your long-term goal to build a nest egg or make a dent in the universe?

What do you really want out of your life in five years?

Neil Thanedar is the founder and CEO of LabDoor, a mobile health startup providing consumer-focused product safety ratings. At 24, Neil is the visionary and scientific mind behind a company seeking to replace the FDA and Big Pharma as our top sources of safety information about pharmaceuticals, supplements, and cosmetics.

Check out our interview with Neil Thanedar here.

Why Brands Are Spending $43 Billion On Stories This Year–And You Should Too

Did you know that 90% of consumers find custom content useful, and that 7 in 10 consumers prefer content campaigns over display advertising? That’s why it’s so important to focus on a content strategy – it builds trust and relationships with your customers.

Even though content campaigns have many shapes and sizes, the main goal is the same — attracting customers to you through quality content. Over at Markerly, we call them STORIES.

Why STORIES are Important

S EO. Stories build your SEO. The more content that you have out there, the higher the chance that Google will feature you.

TRUST. Stories build trust with your audience. Educate your potential customers instead of being overly sales-y.

ORGANIC. Incorporating a pull strategy to attract customers to you, instead of a push strategy attracts customers more organically.

RETARGET. When you use Markerly for your content campaigns, you will target niche audiences that are most likely to engage with your content. If you want to target married women who live on the West Coast that are into fashion, we can run a retargeting campaign to that specific audience.

INSIGHTS. Another benefit of using Markerly for your content campaigns is the ability to run polling within the content. While running your campaign, you can ask the readers questions about your brand and we can collect emails and demographic information .

EVERGREEN. Unlike display ads, content never disappears from the web–it’s always there, searchable, and improving your SEO and thought leadership.

SOCIAL. You’re not going to share a display ad, but you will share a thoughtfully written post.

STORIES and Your Brand

STORIES are the most organic and effective way to build your brand online, and that’s why over 43 billion dollars have been spent on content marketing this year alone! Whether you are already advertising through content, or you are exploring your brand’s options, you’re in good company. Over 39% of marketing, advertising and communications budgets are dedicated to content marketing.

Taking the time to incorporate a pull strategy to attract customers to you through quality content instead of the generic push strategy (spraying ads out that add no value) is the future of advertising and already yields better results and conversion rates. We’re excited that more and more brands are moving towards STORIES so that they can improve their ROI and take their market insights to another level.

Markerly makes publishing tools that we’ve proudly been using since their alpha stage over a year ago. Right click on anything on Nibletz and watch Markerly go to work. For more info visit markerly.com

6 Startup Lessons From Man’s Best Friend

Recently, I wrote an article about how dogs can be an asset to entrepreneurs and their startups. I thought it was a fun topic, but I was not prepared for the overwhelming response. Entrepreneurs from all over the country emailed me with stories of their own dogs and how much they’ve learned from them. The advice was just too good to keep to myself.

Below, a selection of entrepreneurs (all fellow members of the Young Entrepreneur Council) share the wisdom they’ve gleaned from their furry friends:

1. Live in the present.

From Snoopy, our office mascot and a vivacious maltipoo, I’ve learned that living in the present moment is the best gift you can give yourself. He loves it when he gets a treat, but he is just as content taking a nap on my pillow.

– Shama Kabani, The Marketing Zen Group (@Shama)

2. If it’s not rewarding, don’t do it.

My dog won’t do menial tasks without promise of a reward, and neither should entrepreneurs. Sure, Zoe will sit on command or come when called, but it’s always because she enjoys the treat or attention more than the alternative. I too try to only do things that are fun, rewarding and enjoyable. Life’s just better that way!

– Alexis Wolfer, TheBeautyBean.com (@AlexisWolfer)

3. Maximize fun.

Spending time with my Wheaten Terrier Lulu reminds me not to take life too seriously and to leave plenty of time for relaxation and play. For instance, without taking a breather from the go-go startup mentality, I wouldn’t think of creative solutions to some of the problems I face on a daily basis that are programming related, project management related, etc. In general though, I’ve learned from her that you have to maximize your fun as much as possible. That way, work isn’t really work!

– Matthew Ackerson, Saber Blast (@saberblast)

4. Never stop trying.

Growing up, I had Desert Tortoises as pets. The oldest and largest of the two actually learned how to open our back screen door. In the summer, she would open the door and hide under a bed where it was much cooler. We got smart and started locking the screen door so she couldn’t get in. However, that didn’t deter her. She would try every day to open the door, and from time to time we’d forget to lock it and she’d come right in. The moral of the story is that, as an entrepreneur, even when the door is locked, never stop trying — because one day, someone will leave it unlocked, and that’s when your perseverance will pay dividends.

– Mark Cenicola, BannerView.com (@markcenicola)

5. Find a sounding board.

My min pin, Frisco, and I have been “working” together for the last couple of years. Working with him has taught me that our own headspace can be our worst enemy. What sounds like a good idea in your head might not be a great idea in practice. To prevent bad ideas, I tell Frisco what I’m thinking. By talking through my idea out loud with him, I can find out what needs to be improved or get confirmation on my concept. If Frisco were a human, he’d be really annoyed with me. But since he’s a dog, I can bounce ideas off him without any worries.

– Brett Farmiloe, Markitors (@BrettFarmiloe)

6. Don’t take work (or life) too seriously.

I adopted a puppy about a year into my startup, and it definitely enhanced my quality of life. Watching her play reminds me to follow suit. Don’t take work or life too seriously. Sometimes, you just need a break. This realization has done great things for my energy and creativity, and for my startup!

– Martina Welke, Zealyst (@zealyst)

Does your dog inspire you, too?

David Adelman is the Founder and CEO of ReelGenie, an online platform that will revolutionize the way family stories are told and shared. David is also Founder of Reel Tributes, the premier producer of high-end documentary films. Reel Tributes’ films preserve timeless stories and memories for families and family-owned businesses.

Wait you’re a dog owner, this New York startup is FitBit for dogs.

5 Advantages To Forgoing An MBA

Where you choose to learn is one of the most important decisions you’ll make in your career. The choice between attending graduate school and working in the real world is in fact the choice between two different models of education — and two very different outcomes. Each will enhance and challenge you as a professional, but you will emerge a fundamentally different person depending on where you spend your time.

Meanwhile, the world is changing. The cost of a graduate education is at an all-time high, but employers are entertaining candidates from a range of backgrounds and fields, with an increasing interest in productivity and results. The Internet has opened up new channels for employment, networking and professional development, as well as entire industries, tools and communities. Resources that were previously locked up in the hallways of the university are increasingly accessible in the real world.

So as you navigate the decision, you must ask yourself whether grad school — particularly an MBA — will help you accomplish the things you want to achieve and become the person you want to be. Answering that question honestly is a critical step for every business professional.

I’m an entrepreneur, and my view (particularly in this unique era) is that working in the real world is a far more valuable, enriching experience than grad school. I therefore chose to opt out of an MBA and pursue my education through real-world startup experience. Here’s why:

1. Doing Over Learning

The old adage that you learn best by doing has never been truer. Two years hard at work in your field, as opposed to two years in a university learning about your field, will always be a more valuable experience. All theoretical training must eventually find its application in the real world, so why not play there from the start? Even with a graduate education, most candidates will find that employers care far more about real-world experience than business school training. Ask yourself: How best can I spend the next two years? I’m confident that for most people, a truly productive two years will center on the real world.

2. The Value of Paper

It’s a glamorous, interesting degree, but the MBA is no longer a requisite passport to the kingdom of business. Nor is it always reflective of the real world: Discussions in the classroom only simulate the dynamics of the working world. Real-world experience, in contrast, always speaks for itself. It also says a great deal about you — your priorities, your passions, and your abilities. What’s more, the market is teeming with MBAs, and companies in this increasingly specialized world want more than a degree. They want a person, and one who can achieve real results.

3. Life On Hold

In addition to the sky-high costs of grad school, there is also the significant opportunity cost that all candidates take on when they head back to school. Two years in a classroom also means two years not spent making money, developing relationships, enhancing skills and learning about your field. Many candidates find that personal lives are put on hold as wedding and family plans are delayed until after graduation, even though the burden of these costs (tangible and intangible) can last years. Part-time and fully-employed graduate programs are designed to manage that downside, but many students end up straddling both school and the real world without getting the full experience from either.

4. A Demanding Vacation

Grad school is often celebrated as a vacation from the real world — that is, to some degree, the allure of the MBA for many professionals — but a rigorous program done properly is one of the most strenuous experiences imaginable. Assignments build up, extra preparation and teamwork become paramount, social and extracurricular activities beckon, and sleep becomes a distant memory. Many candidates end up wondering whether they wouldn’t rather be paid in the working world — where they would also be getting hands-on experience — to forego so much of their personal lives.

5. The Right Education

Take a moment and define your goals. Make them clear, honest and attainable. Invest the energy, emotionally and intellectually, to truly understand where you would like to go — and, most importantly, why. Then ask yourself how grad school will bring you closer to that goal. Oftentimes, grad school becomes a replacement for the hard work and choices you must make in the real world. Or it is a common path that was thrust on you by a company or encouraged by your industry. In many cases, the MBA isn’t as pivotal as it seems to getting where you want to go in life. Operating in the real world, where you ultimately want to advance, is the greatest education imaginable.

Bottom line? Education is a deeply personal choice. And it’s important. It helps define who we are, what we know and how we work. Where you decide to learn should reflect your goals in each of those areas.

But when it comes to advancing your career, your education and your life, the instincts and insights you acquire in the real world will always serve you better than the ideas and concepts you explore in a classroom. I encourage you to continue playing in the real world, as I did. I’m confident you’ll be a stronger, smarter person for it.

Jay Wu leads Innovation at A Forever Recovery. In his startup experience, he has built a digital marketing agency, a content network, and an e-commerce store. Jay speaks in the Bay area about social media marketing, SEO, and current trends in the internet-startup industry.

Cash flow is king, this founder learned the hard way.

Finding New York Success By Way Of Miami Living

By: Neilson Paty, Founder & Creative Director of Jetty Productions

Can sunshine and beaches improve your bottom line? At Jetty, we found the answer to be yes — and it’s a nugget of wisdom I try to pass along to my fellow entrepreneurs.

Technology start-ups are born in the minds of the founders, but that idea can incubate anywhere — a coffee shop, a home office, even a garage. As every entrepreneur knows, these ideas can come out of nowhere and spring to life at unexpected times; sometimes, proof-of-concept arrives lightning fast while other times it might take months or years of massaging an idea into a workable model. Whatever the case, the one sure thing that an entrepreneur can count on is this: every single penny counts along the way.

For entrepreneurs, your life is your business. Personal and professional time meld into one, and don’t forget about finances. Suddenly, things you take for granted at a corporate job — such as ergonomic chairs and endless supplies of pens — become a tangible expense. The old adage of “a penny saved is a penny earned” becomes magnified.

Today’s start-ups are lucky in that they were born into the technology age. Not only do we develop ideas for the Internet, the Internet allows us to work on these ideas anywhere because of its immense communication and collaboration abilities. Necessities like office space, supplies, and cost-of-living are still hovering over the bottom line, even in the best of circumstances. That’s the bad news. The good news is that we’re not necessarily tied to geography, and that allows entrepreneurs to think outside the box — or in my case, think outside of New York City.

In 2006, I founded Jetty Productions in the skyscrapers and bustling streets of New York City. As a digital content creation company, it was the ideal place to situate our blend of creative and technical. Focusing on premium video content, we worked with many of the best companies in the business. In early 2009, everyone had to tighten their wallets, no matter what the situation. With that in mind, the door opened to a new possibility — and with technology powering cloud services, smartphones, and other accessibility tools, it made sense to leave the Big Apple and take root in Miami. By that time, Miami’s beautiful Brickell neighborhood had a startling vacancy level; it was easy to find office and living space at rates that would make even the most die-hard NYC dweller drool. It also helped that Florida has no state or city tax on personal income.

The savings easily trickled down to the way I could put money into my business. This kicked open the door to a level of flexibility in what we charge, what we take on, and our resources. We can scale up or down as needed, and the annual savings compounds itself into our client base and bottom line. Jetty’s revenue increased significantly these last few years, and things are on track to continue. I truly believe that Jetty’s move to Miami has directly impacted our success. Because of our always-on connectivity, we still easily integrate within any agency anywhere in the world, including our many clients in NYC.

When I talk with entrepreneurs these days, I always stress two things: first, start your business where you can achieve a strong foundation of customers, and second, once your foundation is solid, move to a place where it’s easier to grow. For Jetty, that was Miami — for you, that could be anywhere in the world that supports your logistical and financial needs. It’s been four years since I left the skyscrapers and traffic of New York City, and our business has never been stronger.

About Neilson Paty

Neilson is the founder & Creative Director at Jetty Productions, a place for brands and agencies to create short form premium video content. Neilson is known for leading eye popping content driven campaigns steered by an analytical and user engaging approach. Jetty Productions has a client roster to include over 50 companies, creating thousands of videos viewed and shared millions of times via broadcast, film, web, & mobile.

This is the biggest startup conference in the country for startups “everywhere else” get your early bird tickets now.

Building A Social Site? You Can Trust Your Users Are Full Of It

Your startup began because you wanted to create the Airbnb for X or the Match.com for Y. You have visions of thousands, if not millions, of users flooding your site, all of them acting with the best intentions as they rent, share, buy, date, and network.

Well, they’re liars and full of bullshit.

Not all of them, of course. But the majority of them aren’t totally honest. There’s the online dating girl who posted a picture on her profile from fifteen years ago, the guy who lied about his income and interests, and the opportunistic teen who is selling goods on Craigslist that he just happened to have “borrowed” from a neighbors open garage. Not only are people lying about small facts, but whole identities are fictional as 83 million Facebook users and 20 million Twitter accounts are fake; the odds are good that you’ve had an interaction with a fraudulent individual or social media account in the last month alone.

The scary thing is, opportunities for such fraudsters will continue to grow, a scary proposition for your startup, whether it be a P2P, networking, dating, or any other site that connects people. When you look at it, our new fangled digital economy is built upon increasing amounts of strangers entering into trust-based transactions, and your new startup sits on top of these transactions, which you should be praying go without incident.

If you’re in the startup ecosystem, you’ve probably spent countless hours worrying about how you and your website best ensure that everything is on the up-and-up with the least amount of effort. There are definitely a variety of ways that startups have tried to keep the bullshitters off their site, each which have their own pros and cons. Some of the popular ones include:

Leverage users social media connections – These days sites are popping up overnight, allowing users to login using their Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts. On the face, this is great, as it saves time to get in the door and creates a minimal barrier to entry for each new user, which is one of the goals of any founder. Websites see this as a way to better know their users because at the very least it anchors them to an account that has interactions with others. If you see that Jane has her Facebook account connected to her Airbnb account, you can look for common connections, possible see more about Jane’s education, and make assumptions that Jane seems like a nice gal. You as a platform owner and as someone checking out Jane might feel great . . . that is until you remember the large amount of fake Facebook accounts and realize how low the barrier to entry for most social networks is. Now, one starts to wonder if Jane is really Jane and if she’s not, who did you just let stay in your Manhattan loft. Pro: Utilizes technology that is commonly used. Con: Fake accounts and fraudsters can easily make it onto your site.
Disclaim It – True, it can be a burden for sites, especially startups, to even think about fraudsters on their site, so many, including a lot of dating sites, will just disclaim it. They’ll say in big, bold type that they don’t conduct background checks or verify their users at all. While this is definitely easy for the site, as they can collect subscription payments as usual, it leaves the consumer, you know the one without the leverage, being stuck chatting with potential fraudsters. Pro: It is cut and dry for the website owner. Con: Users interact at their own risks.
Vet Them – Some startups will look to tackle this problem head on, spending extra time and money on creating their own vetting system. They may have users send in passport/license photos or run background checks on their users to confirm identity. These steps really begin to show that a site cares about their users, but some consumers have begun to push back as to fears that this is a bit big-brotherish. Do you want a car sharing site having your passport on file for the one time you’re going to use them? Pro: Provides verification for users, so they know who they’re dealing with. Con: The fear of too much personal information locked up with one site.

While these are just a few of the methods used to verify users and keep out the fraudsters, the bottom line is that you must take the proper steps to deliver a great experience to your users and make them comfortable with your service and others on the site. You must not overlook the elements that go into your offering, as many issues likely sprout from such decisions that affect your staffing, your liability, your site’s friction, and how much time and effort is necessary to pull it off.

Michael Bergman is the CEO and Co-Founder of REPP, a platform for identity management and self-curated background checks. His goal is to provide everyone an easy way to take control of their information and every platform a simple solution to their verification and fraud issues.