FI Newsletter #9: Who killed Willie Loman?

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Who killed Willie Loman? Last week’s activities for the Founders Institute were centred on sales. I’ve never really thought of myself as a red blooded sales guy, although many people seem to think that I’m pretty ok at it. This 25 minute video on the sales process made a lot of things clearer for me especially the idea that you need to listen long enough to understand the need, and then propose a meaningful exchange of value…I feel a stigma disappearing... The other big takeaway, which I hadn’t really thought through beforehand, was, when is the right time to hire your first sales person? The FI mentor Franck Lacombe made a wonderful point that it makes no sense to hire anyone whilst you’re still trying to work out what the right sales process is. Only when you, as the CEO, have worked it out, can you start to hire additional people to “execute” and scale the proven model. It all seems so simple after the fact….who knows, maybe things would have been different for Willie Loman if he’d just had Franck and YouTube... So let’s see all of this actually works… FFLOK needs to start thinking about getting our first lighthouse or charter customers. A number of you have already been a fantastic help in connecting me with restaurant owners around the world (thank you). If any of you have friends that own restaurants (or indeed you own restaurants yourself), and you think they would like more good quality tipping customers improved online ratings information about what their competition are doing Then could you please respond to this email and we can chat more? I’d love to see if we can make FFLOK work for them if they become early adopters… A final thought… in addition to the learnings that I shared last week and the new people I’m meeting, the other really fun thing about doing this program is that it’s enabling me to reconnect with old friends I haven’t spoken to for years. Mark Goodyear is one obvious example, but I also had a thoroughly enjoyable breakfast in Paris with my old friend Thierry Grima this morning following a “FI inspired connection"… please keep the positive comments and vibes coming! Aidan Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*

FI Newsletter #8: The Final Straight

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The final straight I’m into the final four weeks of the Founders Institute startup incubation program I’ve been doing since March. Last week’s positive mentor review was a big milestone and it opens the door to the final topics of sales, marketing and fund raising.  It's time to take stock The course has been intense, physically tiring, and hugely beneficial. Here are the top five things that have stood out for me so far… It's the same You have a vision, you need to build and motivate a smart group of people. You then need to work hard, in a structured way, and apply oodles of common sense. Whether it be an Accenture project, a strategic initiative for the CEO of EMC, or a startup, it’s the same. Many of the things I’ve learned in the course are directly applicable to my work in a big company with big clients. It’s not the same Er, the whole money thing is a bit different. It’s not your client or the CEO giving you some of their company’s budget which is a number in some Excel spreadsheet your ops guy has built. This time it’s an investor, who you’ve got to know personally, who’s transferring money into a bank account you opened. Oh and there’s the whole payroll thing with lots of social charges…I now have a different view on contractors and crowd sourcing platforms. Everyone cares People love an entrepreneur and a startup. I’ve been struck at how much time people with “traditional” jobs are willing to spend with me. Maybe it’s because there’s a perception of glamour associated with startups? Whatever the reason, it’s hugely humbling, and very helpful. No-one cares When you spend more time with other entrepreneurs, you realise that few actually get overtly excited about what you’re doing, no matter how much you believe in what you're doing. But that doesn't matter because the only thing that really counts is the view of the market. But that is rarely clear cut or unanimous. Hanging out with entrepreneurs has however taught me the true meaning of the term “self starter”, and it’s not what I put on my CV at the age of 21. In fact the real takeaway is that you really need to have an intrinsic motivation to keep yourself going. I care I now realise that I’ve been able to get into the “zone” and get productive quickly when working on my assignments. This in of itself is hugely motivating. Over the last couple of months I’ve also witnessed massive highs and lows, often within the same day. It sort of makes you feel very alive. I’m also now more conscious of the need for discipline when it comes to what to work on, the need for sleep and the family…conscious, but not necessarily better at it, yet. The next steps are incorporating FFLOK, doing the initial sprints to confirm there is a market, and then raising funding to be able to build the first beta versions of the product.  If we’re genuinely successful then we need to be generating €10-12M of annual profit in about two to three years from now. Clearly there is a lot of work to be done before that is a reality. Your ongoing support and comments have helped me enormously throughout this whole process. Thank you. Aidan Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*