This list is more or less a curation of tips I've surfaced from my reading or research and from what I've observed from being around some incredible investors and successful entrepreneurs. Note, this advice is geared towards ideation through product-market fit level startups, but the life tips are universally applicable I would say.
When possible, I tried to make the tip "actionable", which I define as something that's able to be done;
or an action having practical value.
So, in no particular order, I give you the Startup and Life Tips for Entrepreneurs: a Journal of Thoughts...
How I got 2.5 Million views on Slideshare (by @nickdemey - Board of Innovation)Board of Innovation
This document provides tips for creating engaging slide decks on SlideShare that garner many views. It recommends focusing on quality over quantity when creating each slide, using compelling images and headlines, and including calls to action throughout. It also suggests experimenting with sharing techniques and doing so in waves to build momentum. The goal is to create decks that are optimized for sharing and spread across multiple channels over time.
Discover The Top 10 Types Of Colleagues Around YouAnkur Tandon
The best part being with different colleagues is we learn a lot from them. Good or bad, sooner or later, better or best, we learn something unique from the different personalities working with and around us at our workplace. Read more interesting content, at www.thecareermuse.co.in - We intend to inform and inspire recruiters, job seekers and anyone with an interest in the workplace and HR technology.
Hope you enjoyed reading the Infographic.
Feel free to share your feedback with us at @CareerBuilderIn
Do you struggle to finish your daily tasks, juggle your work load and keep organised at work? If so, read our top tips to help work a little smarter everyday!
We held the largest ever Virtual SlideShare Summit a week back, if you missed it here's your chance to hear from the experts once more on some of the takeaways on presentation design and SlideShare Marketing
The document discusses the growth and impact of social media. Some key points made include:
- Social media usage, especially on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr has grown tremendously in recent years in terms of time spent, content shared, and number of users.
- Many large brands and organizations, including governments and the military, are actively using social media for marketing, outreach, and sharing information.
- Younger generations are leading the transition to digital and social media usage that will continue to shape future media habits.
Dispatches From The New Economy: The Five Faces Of The On-Demand EconomyIntuit Inc.
From people determined to be their own boss, to those embracing the flexibility to do something they love, to workers finding a replacement for a traditional job – people working in the on-demand economy are just about as diverse as the labor market itself. A new report from Intuit Inc. and Emergent Research shows that there are a broad range of motivations – and differing levels of satisfaction – among five distinct groups of on-demand workers:
The Business Builders – primarily driven by the desire to be their own boss. They represent 22 percent of on-demand workers.
The Career Freelancers – happily building a career through independent work. They represent 20 percent of on-demand workers.
The Side Giggers – looking to find financial stability by supplementing existing income. They represent 26 percent of on-demand workers.
The Passionistas – looking for the flexibility to do something they love. They represent 18 percent of on-demand workers.
The Substituters – replacing a traditional job that is no longer available. They represent 14 percent of on-demand workers.
Methodology
A total of 4,622 workers who find work opportunities via the platforms provided by the participating partner companies completed an online survey between September 11 and October 1, 2015. The results were weighted to reflect the proportion of workers in each of the following segments: Drivers/Delivery, Online Talent Marketplaces and Field Service/Onsite Talent. The weights were developed using earlier survey work that sized the on-demand economy. The largest weighted share of on-demand worker respondents from any single company is 16%, with most partner companies providing less than 10% of the respondents.
This is a deck we share with all new hires.
It's about the front line of the service relationship.
Thought we'd share it out there and see what people think.
We all know that incredible outcomes are only ever the result of brave choices. But being brave means giving yourself room to fail. Fail spectacularly and fail often. And for that failure to not be the kind of thing you lose your job over.
Which means you need to build room for mistakes into your process so you can fail forwards, keep being brave, and make some exceptional stuff as a result.
https://www.wrike.com/blog/how-to-build-the-perfect-team-nancy-butler/ - Having the right people in place is essential to accomplishing your goals and building your business. Follow these tips from Nancy Butler, business coach and award-winning author of Above All Else, to assemble the perfect high-performing team.
How to Craft Your Company's Storytelling Voice by Ann Handley of MarketingProfsMarketingProfs
You know your company's story, but what's the right voice to use in telling it? Find out how to craft your company's storytelling voice. Ann Handley, chief content officer of MarketingProfs and author of "Content Rules" shares tips and ideas for crafting your brand's storytelling voice.
The Science of Story: How Brands Can Use Storytelling To Get More CustomersDigital Surgeons
Storytelling is not only an entertaining source for information, but a way to engage and humanize our messages that helps them stick. Our brains are wired for stories. Like a drug, we seek them out. Good stories create lasting emotional connections that persuade, educate, entertain, and convert consumers into brand loyalists.
Here’s another good reason to believe in the power of stories: You don't have a goddamn choice. We spend a third of our waking hours crafting stories, and the rest of the time consuming them. Our brains are always searching for stories. You need stories. You live your life around stories. Your life itself is a story. So, now find out how you can use them to better understand how brands and businesses can use storytelling to increase engagement and sales.
Every startup begins with an idea. This is a talk on how to come up with startup ideas and how to use validation to pick the ones worth working on. It's based on the book "Hello, Startup" (http://www.hello-startup.net/). You can find the video of the talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkmiE8d_5Pw
The document discusses employer brand thinking from an agency perspective. It emphasizes that the labor market is highly competitive and HR communication must be a strategic partner, not just tactical. Employer brand thinking involves managing a total employer identity through consistent employer stories and an integrated employer marketing mix across internal and external channels. An employer brand is alive and must be constantly measured and steered to have lasting impact on both current and prospective employees. It requires organization-wide coordination to be effective.
How to growth hack my startup idea tommaso di bartolo slideshareTommaso Di Bartolo
How many of you can embrace the future with confidence when it comes down to getting traction?
Join Tommaso Di Bartolo's Guest Lecture at Stanford, where he provides a framework on how startups can get traction in the age of Snapchat.
Creative Traction Methodology - For Early Stage StartupsTommaso Di Bartolo
The document discusses the Creative Traction Methodology (CTM) for gaining traction for new products and ideas. CTM has three parts: 1) The Idea Release Life Cycle which emphasizes validating ideas before development and engaging communities early. 2) Ransack Tools which means leveraging new growth hacking strategies and tools. 3) Act Creatively which involves lateral thinking with no biases to attract niche audiences and validate assumptions through experimentation. The document provides examples and case studies for applying each part of CTM.
Some think working remotely is a terrible setting that takes control away and let's employees stay at home and be useless. Others find that remote work increases overall productivity and lowers the need to micromanage.
And both sides might be correct as remote work, like all other structures, work really well for some and make others crazy.
The only thing that we can say for certain is that telecommuting is increasingly popular and there are problems you need to face to make it work.
As a leader, you spend a lot of your time making sure that your team is working well together. Here are the secrets that every manager should know to make your team successful.
Subscribe to our free 11-day email course on HOW TO BE A BETTER LEADER:
http://officevi.be/29Sx4bK
Read more on employee engagement on Officevibe blog:
https://www.officevibe.com/blog
20 Fantastic Flat Icons and Their Meaning In Logo DesignDesignMantic
Icons tell stories. And when it comes to building visual identity for a brand, iconography plays a big part. Icons, incorporated into logos, not just make brand identities visually appealing but they also tend to deliver brand’s vision or underline message more effectively. Each icon ensues an inherent meaning that sparks a certain kind of psychological behavior, resulting in emotive consumer association with the brand. Because people tend to identify and appreciate these icons right away even in various colors or screen sizes. Hence, selecting the right icon for your logo is of great importance and must be treated carefully.
Here are 20 flat icons and their hidden meanings that make them effective in logo design.
10 Ways Your Boss Kills Employee MotivationOfficevibe
This document outlines 10 ways that bosses can kill employee motivation, including micromanaging employees, focusing only on mistakes, dismissing new ideas, holding useless meetings, making empty promises, telling inappropriate jokes, not keeping their word, measuring employee success in the wrong way, setting unrealistic deadlines, and playing favorites. The document encourages bosses to listen to employee concerns to better motivate them.
2016 Digital predictions for marketing, tech, pop culture and everything in b...Soap Creative
Another light-hearted look at what we think the zeitgeist of 2016 will be for marketing, tech, pop culture and everything in-between.
Many of our previous predictions are still in play and while we like to be right we'd rather make you smile with these less predictable trends.
Follow us for more updates.
43 Expert Tips for Future Proofing Your Content StrategyVisme
Top content marketers and social media influencers provide their best advice and insights on how to future proof your content strategy against content shock and content fatigue.
Ever see great presentations on this site and wonder "How can I make slides like those?"
This quick, insight-packed course will distill many of the major lessons I've learned designing presentations (20 or so of which have been featured on the Slideshare homepage for clients like Honigman Media and Group 8A) over the past half decade.
The major areas of discussion include
STORYTELLING | RHETORIC | DESIGN
Each of these are rigorously examined using easy to understand examples and practical, actionable takeaways.
Click through these slides and come out the other side a better presentation designer, guaranteed!
I currently teach Digital Marketing at General Assembly and have given this lecture to nearly unanimous positive feedback.
If you'd like to get access to this PDF or pick my brain about presentation design, marketing, etc... shoot me a line!
EMAIL: Jig813@gmail.com
TWITTER: twitter.com/JoeandTell
LINKEDIN: linkedin.com/in/josephgelman
The Great State of Design with CSS Grid Layout and FriendsStacy Kvernmo
This document discusses the importance of doing work that you love and believe is great. It includes a quote from Steve Jobs about finding truly satisfying work by doing what you believe is great work and loving what you do. The rest of the document provides examples of challenges, questions, and discussions that commonly come up for designers in their work.
14 Tips to Entrepreneurs to start the Right StuffPatrick Stähler
14 tips for Entrepreneurs how they can develop from an idea the Right Thing. The Right is being loved by your customers, gives meaning to you and employees and is profitable. Finding and later doing the Right Thing is an agile and iterative learning journey. With these 14 tips you can profit from the experience of successful entrepreneurs since you do not have to experience and fail by yourself. Hopefully, the slide deck helps other entrepreneurs.
Love reading comics? You're not the only one. What about these stories about super-beings keep our eyes glued to the pages and our minds salivating for more? We explore in this deck how comic writers use these storytelling techniques and how you can apply it in your presentation.
To help the curious class stay relevant, we’ve assembled an A-Z glossary of what we predict to be the 100 must-know terms and concepts for 2017.
We hope this cultural crib sheet will help prepare you for the year ahead.
Enjoy!
Today we all live and work in the Internet Century, where technology is roiling the business landscape, and the pace of change is only accelerating.
In their new book How Google Works, Google Executive Chairman and ex-CEO Eric Schmidt and former SVP of Products Jonathan Rosenberg share the lessons they learned over the course of a decade running Google.
Covering topics including corporate culture, strategy, talent, decision-making, communication, innovation, and dealing with disruption, the authors illustrate management maxims with numerous insider anecdotes from Google’s history.
In an era when everything is speeding up, the best way for businesses to succeed is to attract smart-creative people and give them an environment where they can thrive at scale. How Google Works is a new book that explains how to do just that.
This is a visual preview of How Google Works. You can pick up a copy of the book at www.howgoogleworks.net
What Would Steve Do? 10 Lessons from the World's Most Captivating PresentersHubSpot
The document provides 10 tips for creating captivating presentations based on lessons from famous presenters like Steve Jobs, Scott Harrison, and Gary Vaynerchuk. The tips include crafting an emotional story with a beginning, middle, and end; creating slides that answer why the audience should care, how it will improve their lives, and what they must do; using simple language without jargon; using metaphors; ditching bullet points; showing rather than just telling through images; rehearsing extensively; and that excellence requires hard work with no shortcuts.
How To Fail: 25 Secrets Learned through FailureTaylor Davidson
25 Secrets Learned through Failure, by Taylor Davidson at Unstructured Ventures.
Visit the post on unstructuredventures.com/uv (short link to post: http://tinyurl.com/howtofail ) to add to the discussion, share your lessons learned from failure, and view more.
The document outlines essential steps and creative tools for generating a digital business idea. It discusses 7 steps to idea generation: 1) become an idea detective by noticing problems, 2) get creativity flowing through research, 3) think of admired digital businesses, 4) consider personal problems, 5) synthesize other ideas, 6) brainstorm solutions, and 7) narrow ideas. It also describes 4 creative tools: brainstorming, brainwriting, random input, and SCAMPER. Finally, it stresses the importance of defining the digital business idea.
The document provides 14 techniques for generating business ideas, including analyzing problems in one's current or previous job, drawing inspiration from successful ideas but improving them significantly, analyzing annual reports of public companies to find problems and opportunities, and applying new business models to existing ideas. It emphasizes that ideas are useless unless acted upon, and that execution is more important than coming up with a truly unique idea. The key is focusing on validating and scaling ideas, not just generating them.
The "Genesis: Idea Stage" ebook explains the phase where the journey starts for every startup: the idea stage. This eBook is the first part of the "Startup Master Class" series covering the idea, problem/solution fit, product/market fit and scaling stages.
Mission statement: Your company’s mission goes hereDeepak Shukla
Growth hacking may appear to be just another fashionable jargon used by business school literature and marketers with no real meaning. While there is lots of terminology like that, which, as anyone who knows Deepak is more than aware of, strives to avoid using, growth hacking isn’t one of them.
Tips on how to turn your hobby into a business. For more information, check out the rest of the lesson: http://grasshopper.com/academy/creating-a-business-idea/brainstorming-company-culture/
Get Scrappy A (Small) Business Owners Guide To Marketing On Lessmfitzgerald0705
Get Scrappy is a pared down, practical guide about how to incorporate marketing into the heart of a business plan. In a three-step process, Get Scrappy breaks down how to create meaningful, brief marketing plans, outlines the tools and resources available to getting it done and describes how to leverage Marketing to learn more about your business.
Packed with expertise from Fortune 500 marketers and SMB consultants, Get Scrappy provides real-life examples on how organizations, even those on less time and money, can make seemingly tactical objectives become strategic initiatives that generate results.
Do more on less. GET SCRAPPY.
*Contributing authors includes individuals from ExactTarget, Hubspot, iLoop Mobile, Swanberg Associates, Communicate Value and the David Marketing Group.
When angels and venture capitalists started flooding the market with cash 20 years ago, people forgot that bootstrapping was the way most companies used to get started. Because it deserves to make a comeback as the best way to think about starting a company, I've shared here, my 4 rules for bootstrapping.
This document provides tips on turning a hobby into a successful business. It discusses that the success depends on the founder and the market. The founder must be passionate about the hobby-turned-business and ensure it remains enjoyable. Testing the market is important to validate demand before fully committing. Common obstacles like lack of staffing and scaling up can be overcome by getting feedback, abandoning unprofitable aspects, thinking creatively, taking breaks, and planning ahead. The first steps are thorough research, adjusting based on results, and financially planning without quitting the current job.
The document discusses what entrepreneurs need to know when seeking venture capital funding. It states that securing venture capital is difficult, with less than 1% of startups receiving it. Investors want to see strong leadership and a cohesive team that can adapt to change. They also want evidence of significant revenue potential and scalability. Simply having a good idea is not enough - the business must demonstrate traits like addressing a large market, producing high returns, and having product traction to attract venture capital funding.
The document provides guidance for validating a new business idea before beginning development. It discusses the importance of validating demand through customer feedback. The author recommends getting feedback from 100 potential customers to better understand if there is a viable market for the idea. It emphasizes the importance of honesty when evaluating one's intentions and motivations for starting a business. Exercises are provided to help the reader identify goals, motivations, and passions to increase the likelihood of success.
We love Lean Startup! Here are 23 Lean Startup Insights that we've collected for you guys to enjoy and learn from. If you got additional Lean Startup Insights, just comment below! We definitely want to hear about it!
20 Deadly Mistakes That Kill Startups (According to Experts)Vitaliy Verbenko
No matter what anyone says, there is no secret recipe for success. Over half of startups out there can’t make it past their fifth year on the market. Why is that? Simply put, they make a number of mistakes which we’ll try to dissect in this post.
20 Mistakes that Kill Startups (According to Experts)Vitaliy Verbenko
No matter what anyone says, there is no secret recipe for success. Over half of startups out there can’t make it past their fifth year on the market. Why is that? Simply put, they make a number of mistakes which we’ll try to dissect in this post.
The document provides advice for those considering starting a startup. It discusses evaluating if you have the personality and skills for entrepreneurship. Your personal brand and ability to effectively sell your idea are important. Good ideas alone are not enough - you must solve a problem for a viable market. Know your competition and refine your idea based on feedback. Consider revenue streams and if the venture is worth your time. Building the right team is key. Stay focused, committed, and open to pivoting. Follow the advice of experienced founders.
The document provides a 10 step guide to starting an online business. It discusses defining your niche or topic, creating an online community, establishing trust through valuable content like articles and videos, investing in website traffic, and offering products or affiliate products related to your niche. Maintaining consistency and interacting with your community are emphasized. Overall the document offers advice for building an online business from the ground up in a step-by-step manner.
35 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Quit My Job (3yrs later)Ross Simmonds
The document provides 35 tips for things the author wishes someone had told him before quitting his job. Some of the key tips include: learn to say no to opportunities that will not help you focus; build relationships before quitting; read entrepreneurship books while still employed; expect things to go wrong and be prepared; maximize revenue while minimizing costs; and save money both before and after quitting your job. The tips cover a range of business advice focused on preparing to transition from full-time employment to self-employment or entrepreneurship.
5 factors that contribute to the success of your businessGeorge S. Ammar
The document discusses 5 key factors that contribute to business success:
1. Having an innovative business idea that offers real value to customers.
2. Assembling a talented team that shares your vision.
3. Building a strong professional network for advice and resources.
4. Being willing to work hard in the trenches.
5. Prioritizing sales from the beginning to prove viability and generate revenue.
The document provides 7 golden rules of management for new managers and employees. The rules are: [1] Think consumer first and understand their perspective; [2] Have an opinion and be willing to share diverse thinking; [3] Collaboration is key to success so work across functions; [4] Take on more than your role requires to expand your skills and visibility; [5] Network and understand how to navigate your organization; [6] Always be in a learning mode and open to new skills; [7] Give respect to everyone you work with internally and externally. Following these rules will help shape careers and lives as managers coach and guide new recruits.
“From The Money and The Maker” : The relationship between Product Management and Fundraising
This talk will reveal the secret of how much (if at all) is it important to communicate Product Vision when fundraising and will present both investors and entrepreneurs perspectives of the fundraising process for startups.
Similar to Startups are Hard. Like, Really Hard. @luketucker (20)
The document provides information about the Zika virus outbreak, including how it spreads and symptoms. It notes that Zika virus is mainly spread by Aedes mosquitoes and infected mothers can pass it to fetuses. While there is no vaccine currently, people can protect themselves by preventing mosquito bites, using repellent and eliminating standing water where mosquitoes breed. The most important advice is to stay informed but remain calm.
The document contains 20 quotes from Prince ranging from short phrases to full sentences on a variety of topics including music, life, freedom, spirituality, happiness, and more. Some of the quotes say music should make you feel good, life is a party that doesn't last, too much freedom can lead to soul decay, and a strong spirit transcends rules.
Viral video challenges are more popular than ever! What is a viral video challenge? They can be fun! They can be silly, but most challenges can be dangerous...
The Syrian refugee situation, has become one of the biggest humanitarian crisis’ in the last decade. An estimated 9 million Syrians have fled their homes since the outbreak of civil war in March 2011. We see it on tv. We read about it in the news…but do we understand who and what a refugee is?
Prior to Your Pitch - 4 things to consider before presenting your #Startups t...Empowered Presentations
Four things to consider before presenting your startup to investors:
1. Focus on how you present yourself through your attire and commitment to the business, and making a good first impression.
2. Clearly outline your idea's market potential, how fast the business can scale, and the impact it will make.
3. Ensure your slide deck content is concise and designed boldly, and that your delivery is enthusiastic.
4. Consider the types of investors in your audience and how they may react.
The NFL is the most popular professional sports league among U.S. fans. 111.3 Million people watched the 2012 super bowl. That's more than the 2012 Presidential debates with only 65.5 million viewers...
#Concussion #Football #Sports #ConcussionMovie
Thirstier - Time is short. We are running out. #drought #California #SaoPaulo...Empowered Presentations
Groundwater is rapidly disappearing and in less than 12 months California will run out of water. What you can do to save yourself from getting thirsty.
Hit Comedy-Drama series, Orange is The New Black, follows the lives and stories of women inmates at Litchfield Federal Penitentiary. We've unlocked 10 Business Lessons from Orange is the New Black.
The Democratic Party has a larger electoral advantage in this state than in any other state according to the document. This suggests that Democrats have more support from voters which could make it easier for their candidates to win elections in this particular state over Republicans. The document provides very little context but indicates that Democrats are politically stronger in this one state than in others.
HEY Olive Garden! We are sorry... #PowerPoint #OliveGarden #Darden #Starboard...Empowered Presentations
We sure hope Olive Garden survived the presentation yesterday with that 294 slidedeck that was presented by Starboard Value in hopes to restructure their business. In light of that #Deathbypowerpoint example we decided to send design them a personal message of hope and inspiration!
Are you looking for investors to help get your business off the ground? Finding investors can be daunting! But have no fear! Investors are looking to fund your business or product. It's not only about the money. Investors become part of your team...
The document discusses the ongoing debate around legalizing marijuana in the U.S. Proponents argue that marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol and support its medical uses, while celebrities and business people admit to using it. However, others oppose legalization due to health risks like lung damage and effects on adolescent brain development. The document provides historical context on marijuana and information on its chemical components and effects on the body. It encourages readers to research both sides of the debate and decide whether legalizing marijuana would make their country better or worse.
Soccer (Football) is arguably considered the world's most popular sport. Over 250 million soccer players world wide. This June, brazil will host the 2014 world cup...
My Business Pitch (Defining my Business Project)Gurjant Singh
In this Presentation me as an organic dietitian, dedicated to promoting health and wellness through organic nutrition. My business provides personalized diet plans and nutrition counseling that prioritize organic, whole foods. Leveraging my background in plant science and AI in agriculture, I offer scientifically-backed, sustainable dietary recommendations tailored to individual needs. Through my services, clients can achieve their health goals while supporting eco-friendly practices and local organic farmers. Join me in fostering a healthier lifestyle and a more sustainable future with organic nutrition.
Unleashing the Potential Investing in Emerging Startups in India.pdfFoxnangel
India has emerged as one of the world's fastest-growing startup ecosystems, with thousands of new startups being launched across various sectors every year.
Master the Art of Creating Viral Instagram Reels, Snapchat, and FB Stories Vi...SOFTTECHHUB
Social media has become an integral part of our lives. From sharing personal moments to promoting businesses, social platforms have revolutionized the way we communicate and engage with audiences. Among the various features offered by these platforms, Stories have emerged as a powerful tool for capturing attention and driving engagement.
Diversity in Toys is an online toy shop that brings together unique and custom toys, art supplies, accessories, inclusive toys, and many more. Our goal is to make available toys that enable children to see themselves reflected as a positive member in society, and have these available in one single location.
Smart Money Moves Trends in Fintech Investments in the Indian Market.pdfFoxnangel
The importance of fintech is multifaceted and extends across various sectors. One key aspect is financial inclusion. Fintech has the potential to bring financial services
Art of Selling (Developing and Expanding Your Bussiness Goals)Gurjant Singh
Mastering the art of selling as an organic dietitian (specifically taking an account of this Presentation, you may consider your own defined/dreamed Bussiness goal) involves effectively communicating the benefits of organic nutrition (your own business goal) . This includes understanding clients' unique needs, offering personalized diet plans, and emphasizing the health advantages of organic foods. Building trust through transparency, showcasing success stories, and providing ongoing education about sustainable practices are key strategies. By demonstrating expertise and delivering exceptional customer service, you can inspire clients to invest in their health through your services and foster long-term relationships.
FSSAI Registration : Everything You Need To KnowEnterslice
FSSAI registration is essential for entering the food market, including retail and export. It opens up business opportunities and helps in expanding your market reach.
Bussiness portfolio Assignment: A brief description to my business logo, des...Gurjant Singh
This Presentation discusses about my organic dietitian business that is represented by a vibrant green leaf logo, symbolizing health, growth, and sustainability, with a clean and modern design reflecting our commitment to eco-friendly practices. We offer flexible pricing options, including Basic, Standard, and Premium plans, to accommodate various needs and budgets. Our marketing strategies focus on a strong online presence, content marketing, and collaborations with local organic farmers and fitness centers. Our services include personalized diet plans, nutrition counseling, educational workshops, and fitness integration, all tailored to promote healthier lifestyles and sustainable practices, helping clients achieve their health goals while supporting the environment.
Efficient Shipping Essential Supplies & Packing List Envelopes.pptxconquestdistributors1
Shipping and packaging supplies encompass a range of items essential for the transportation of goods. From sturdy boxes to cushioning materials like bubble wrap, each component plays a vital role in protecting items from damage during transit. Whether it's fragile electronics or delicate glassware, proper packaging ensures items reach their destination intact.
2. This list is more or less a curation of tips I've surfaced from
my reading or research and from what I've observed from
being around some incredible investors and successful
entrepreneurs. Note, this advice is geared towards ideation
through product-market fit level startups, but the life
tips are universally applicable I would say.
When possible, I tried to make the tip "actionable",
which I define as something that's able to be done;
or an action having practical value.
So, in no particular order, I give you the Startup and
Life Tips for Entrepreneurs: a Journal of Thoughts...
6. The Ycombinator maxim is brilliant and words to live by for any maker and entrepreneur.
3Buildsomethingpeoplewant.
7. 4Findoutifpeople
wantsomethingby
interviewingthem.
Not a novel idea anymore, but the lesson is
don't just stop at the initial interviews. Ash
Maurya talks in his book Running Lean
about the whole lifecycle of interviews.Also,
use a tool like Intercom to keep a regular
dialogue going with your customers.
8. It's so much better when you
can empathize with your users.
Not 100% necessary, but helpful.
5Whenpossible,
solveyour
ownproblem.
12. Self-awareness is a trait that
shows maturity and humility.
9Knowyour
strengthsand
weaknesses
asafounder.
13. 10Findaco-founderwith
complementaryskills.
Kind of obvious, but once you know your
weaknesses, choose someone that has a strength in
that area. The big lesson is: choose your co-
founder(s) wisely because you'll be spending a whole
lot of time together: do the 6-hour road trip test: can
you stand being in the car with someone for 6-hrs?
14. You can have "too many cooks in the kitchen" and
too many shares spread across the large founder
group making it harder for a sizable return. This is
not a hard and fast rule, but from what I hear from
seasoned investors 4+ is problematic, 1 is a basic
non-starter but can be done at least at the beginning.
11Trytonothavemore
than3co-founders.
15. 12Getaccountabilityearly.
Noah Kagan recommends setting a goal and emailing a
friend every day to benchmark your efforts and maintain
social motivation and pride to Get Stuff Done. He did this
with his friend Neville Medhora as discussed in the
#coconog webinar this past holiday season.
16. Seems obvious, but often times I think
it's overlooked and/or undervalued.
13Pursueadvisorsand
advicefromthosewho
havecomebeforeyou.
17. 14Readlotsofcontent.
Knowwhothebestare.
Curation is king. Knowing where resources
can be found and having "a guy" (or gal for
that matter), who are specialists or mavens in
an area is smart. Conscious ignorance of
certain things to save space and retain focus.
18. Someone is building what you are building,
you probably just don't know it. It's
shocking how little people actually
spend searching for information on
their idea or company. They assume
that if they've never heard of it, it
can't be that big. Don't be that guy.
15Getreallygood
atgooglingstuff.
19. 16Payattentiontoyour
competitorsearly.
They impact your customers. I think this is more true
today than maybe 5 years ago. Hiten Shah recently
talked about this in a 20 Minute VC episode as well.
The ease of which people can launch software now,
means competition can crop up real quick.
20. It's called the lean startup methodology, you may have heard of it:
applying the scientific method to startups. Instead of bunsen
burners and beakers in a lab; markets and customers are subject to
testing as well. This advice is applicable at any stage of a company
as scrum and agile deployments (micro projects and teams)
statistically outperform bloated, waterfall developments.
17 Build something. Measure it.
DocumentyourLearning.Repeat.
22. Best way to see if someone really wants
to use your product is to ask them for
money. If they're willing to pay, others
will be as well and you're on to
something. This de-risks the idea and
development investment cost.
19Chargeforyour
productearly.
23. 20.Trynottohaveamarketing
budgetforaslongaspossible.
Do your best to let the product speak for itself. Focus your time on
finding the online communities where your customers hangout
and be a contributing member of those communities. Then reach
out to patronage opinion leaders who have a following to try out
your product, you can be a blog first company too (like these
guys). So much "free" and unpaid efforts that can have high
return. And of course, focus on building a bomb diggity product!
Because if you don't have that right, no amount of marketing
gasoline will help; it will just burn cash.
24. Control your own destiny, utilize revenue to grow
your business. Shows you have a real business.
Gives you leverage as the entrepreneur. Ultimately
it can come down to what your goals are and how
fast you want to grow. In order to grow fast, you'll
probably need to take outside investment. But a
lifestyle business can be a beautiful thing.
21.Bootstrapifyoucan
foraslongasyoucan.
26. Investors see too many deals and are in no way
interested in having to sign an NDA to have a
conversation about your business.At some point,NDA's
may come into play but definitely not in the initial
conversations. Just shows naivete and is a red flag.
23Neveraskan
investortosignanNDA.
28. Just seems a shystery thing to me. There's enough
opportunities to develop real relationships with
investors that this just seems like nonsense IMHO.
25Don't"paytopitch".
32. Everyone on the team should take
turns through customer support.
Keep your users happy.
29Beradicalabout
customerservice.
33. 30CreatealistofKPIstotrack
(remember,accountability).
What gets measured gets managed is the old saying. How do you
measure success and keep accountability? Data and numbers that
will meaningfully drive your business forward and can tell you right
away the health of your business at any given point in time. There's
leading indicators and lagging indicators. Know the difference
between the two and make sure you're KPI's are a short list at the
beginning, not a spaghetti on the wall approach.
34. Be HOT: Honest, Open, Transparent. Like Buffer.
31Betransparent.
36. Fun project and something that has both
internal team benefits, as well as ease
of use when sharing investor updates.
33Createalivedashboard
ofyourcompanyKPIsand
displayitprominently.
38. Or maybe this is better put by Buffer
when they say in their core values "You
ship code immediately when what you
have is better than what's live".
35Shipcodedaily.
40. Early employees are like your co-founders / owners and are taking risks to
join you. They should believe in your vision and be aligned with the founders.
37Spendalotoftimehiringthebest
people(talent,andculturalfit).
42. This I found in the Greylock Partners video on Technology enabled Blitzscaling
Lecture 01. Their Greymatter series is a podcast / video series of a Stanford
course by Reid Hoffman and crew.
39Remember:Family,Tribe,Village,
Citywhenyourstartupscales:
Beadvisedyourprocesseswillbreak.
43. You're replaceable and likely will be.
The best know when to step down.
40Don'tthink
you'reirreplaceable.
44. Success in life will be determined more by
what you say no to, rather than what you
say yes to. A maxim my father taught me.
41Say"no",more
thanyousay"yes".
46. Tim Ferriss has a good recipe for being efficient
and doing more with less. Read his book. Despite
it's over-marketed hype, it's very tactful and
practical and Tim's got a bigger vision at play
when you look at all the things he's got going on.
43Delegate,Eliminate,
Automate,Liberate.
47. 44.ListentoTim
Ferrisspodcasts.
Probably at the top of his game in terms
of value and quality in his long-form
interviews. Just plugging it because I
get a lot of value from it. I'm a big Tim
fan if you can't tell. #mancrush
48. The ancients did it. The top performers do it. You should do it. A brief philosophical
point: I see prayer as a "checking in for duty" with the Lord, not a laundry list of what
He needs to do for me. The Christian perspective on prayer in some sense I see is seen
in the apostle Paul when he says, "I die daily". Another scripture says "Humble yourself
in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up." Prayer inherently is a humble activity
and an emptying of your heart to the Lord so that he may fill you with his Holy Spirit.
There's a mindset that you should "pray without ceasing", which is another Scripture.
But purposeful time set apart is what I'm talking about here. Meditation, on the other
hand, I see as emptying yourself of distractions through incantations, practices, etc. I'm
of the opinion, both have a place, when employed with the right heart and perspective.
More to come on this in another post. Ok... moving on.
45Prayand/ormeditatedaily.
49. It's a discipline that teaches you to deny yourself of the luxury of eating food every meal.
46Fastregularly(foodandotherthings).
51. It saves money and will make you eat healthier.
Eat your lunch outside, weather permitting. Or you
can work for a startup that has bomb lunch plans
and a gourmet chef, that works too.
48Planaheadand
packyourownlunches.
52. Hire people for their talent and passion for your company. Give
them a beautiful and inspiring place to work, but don't make it
such a point with the management team in the early days that
it's distracting and detracting. Design of an office can be additive
and highly relevant to how your culture is. Make it reflect that,
but don't spend $1,000 on the perfect stools for the kitchen. I
heard a story that Amazon took old doors and put them on work
benches. That's scrappy and awesome.
49Don'tpayforofficespace
untilyouabsolutelyhaveto
(andwhenyoudo,staycheap).
54. Just something I've heard over and over that it's very gratifying to have a physical
thing that you've created. Near immediate gratification / sense of accomplishment.
Oddly enough, I think those in the ministry or psychology are similar. They work on
building people and sometimes you don't see progress at all so it can be frustrating.
But hey, I built that lego train set today with my own hands!
51Ifyou'reinasoftwarestartup,
haveahobbythatyouuseyourhands
tobuildsomethingtangible/physical.
56. User OKR's. Google does this.
Originally introduced I think
at Intel, a framework of
accountability that works.
53Setgoalsfor
yourselfand
yourcompany.
58. For instance, "I'm going to work out of the
Tokyo office this week". Which is a personal
favorite of mine, and was originally quoted by
Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote on a TWIST episode.
55Havealistof3-
phrasesyouwantto
beabletosayoneday.
59. 56Taketheeffortto
buildapersonalbrand.
It will be more important than you realize. This is
just a general tip. It shouldn't be an over-emphasis,
I just see it as a must for any workers in this day
and age. You don't have to actively do the over the
top branding, just own a web presence that you can
show the world who you are.
60. Getting all spiritual on you again, but it's so
important to take regular times to review.
Reflection and introspection are marks of maturity.
57Taketimetoreflect.
61. 58 Spend quality time
withpeopleyoulove.
No matter how busy you are, and how crazy
things are; invest in people. You make time
and prioritize what's important.
63. I've been reading in Joshua in the Bible
recently, and in like 5 chapters there's
literally half a dozen references to
"And Joshua arose early in the
morning". Look at most successful
people: they get up early. Now, you may
say that you work best at night - and
that's fine, again this is a general piece
of advice. It also has to do with the
principle of "first fruits" which I won't
get into here but maybe at a later date.
59Wakeupearly.
64. 60Wakeupatthe
sametimeeachday.
We are creatures of habit, develop a
routine and stick to it. Test out
different times and habits to see
what works best for you. Iterate your
life just like you iterate your product.
65. Get stuff done that's individually important to
you. I don't check email until after I've read
my Bible and prayed. I'm trying to write more
in the mornings. I would venture to say almost
every daily blogger / vlogger does this.
61Designateyour
morningsas"metime".
66. 62Keepmeticulousrecords.
It will pay off. Setting up processes and structures
both in personal and professional record keeping will
make your life so much easier when tax season rolls
around or for those times when you need to find that
one invoice. Easier said then done, for sure.
67. Both personally and as a company! If
you're not slightly uncomfortable and
scared at what you're doing, then you are
not pushing the boundaries and getting
outside your comfort zone enough.
63Getoutsideyour
comfortzone.
68. 64Travel.
Ah, Venice! Travel provides
perspective and stories.
Irreplaceable, really. Now,
there is a time and season
so don't go galavanting to
conferences or on a 4-
week trip through South
America right before a big
product launch.
69. By incorporate, I mean as a business. It's
such a small thing, just do it right, and
don't rush it though. When you take
investment, you'll have to incorporate and
you'll need to do it regardless at some
point for legal and practical purposes but
don't rush to do all the paperwork when
you should be building an MVP and proving
if your idea should be a company at all.
65Don'tincorporate
untilyouhavetoo.
71. I listen to lots of podcasts
and talk to high performers.
Almost to the man, they all
do the 2x audiobook speed
and most of their content is
being read to them through
the illustrious ear buds.
68Listento
audiobooks
on2xspeed.
73. This list is more of a running note pad of things that
I've seen, heard, read, or observed. It's in no way
meant to be me preaching as I don't have the soap
box to do so, but as I've said before I hope my blog
can be a resource - One beggar telling another
beggar where they found food. So, here's 69 morsels
of bread that I've found. Go forth and prosper.
Until next time,
@LukeTucker - Sultan Ventures, CEO Aloha Squared