Conviction. Dreams do come true.

Just like that a real EV parking in a common parking lot. Way to go Agassi and Betterplace.

Startup CEO mind map – an extreme case of ADHD

Social is not just ‘Like’

I have been talking to many consumer-oriented or end-user-oriented software, internet and mobile startups with various offerings. Feature set is usually rich, and vision of the founders is sometimes big. But a lot of time when asking about social aspect of the service, the answer is quick “yes, we have a ‘Like’ button” or “yes, we have Facebook connect”.

Facebook connect does not mean that you integrated “social” into your service, and patching a “Like” button does not mean that people will actually share.

My point of view is that it does not matter whether you are an online retailer or a SaaS provider of a BPM platform, weaving social interaction into your service and creating value for your users and your service through this interaction is a goal worth achieving. See companies such as Zynga, Pinterest, DrawSomething, DropBox, Waze and others that are making use of the social interaction whether within the social graph of the user to totally outside it.

Deeper understanding of the user, the actual person and the nature of social interaction, can open tremendous opportunities to new services. Better ways to represent the social interaction and the content/value created in it can open others.

Using Social properly can benefit your service in user acquisition, user retention, and increase value to all participants. Social should not be an afterthought, but should integral part of the service value and service experience.

I encourage you all to invest the time and resources to see how you can socialize your service.

Social is not just ‘Like’

I have been talking to many consumer-oriented or end-user-oriented software, internet and mobile startups with various offerings. Feature set is usually rich, and vision of the founders is sometimes big. But a lot of time when asking about social aspect of the service, the answer is quick “yes, we have a ‘Like’ button” or “yes, we have Facebook connect”.

Facebook connect does not mean that you integrated “social” into your service, and patching a “Like” button does not mean that people will actually will share.

My point of view is that it does not matter whether you are an online retailer or a SaaS provider of a BPM platform, weaving social interaction into your service and creating value for your users and your service through this interaction is a goal worth achieving. See companies such as Zynga, Pinterest, DrawSomething, DropBox, Waze and others that are making use of the social interaction whether within the social graph of the user to totally outside it.

Deeper understanding of the user, the actual person and the nature of social interaction, can open tremendous opportunities to new services. Better ways to represent the social interaction and the content/value created in it can open others.

Using Social properly can benefit your service in user acquisition, user retention, and increase value to all participants. Social should not be an afterthought, but should integral part of the service value and service experience.

I encourage you all to invest the time and resources to see how you can socialize your service.

A Weekend of Geeky Fun

I joined the Global Game Jam Herzelia this weekend. It was simply great. About 200 game developers, designers, musicians, and others, dedicated their entire weekend to a game development innovation sprint. It’s a session that happens this weekend globally.

The theme was Ouroboros, a legendary snake eating its tail implying eternity. Ideas popped up quickly – you Car racing yourself in a circular racing, world-save-bunny: a bunny is running away from a snake, saved by the mercy and skill of the crowd, WonderSnake: an hilarious Steve Wonder PrimeSense (Kinect) based snake, dancing and collecting colors to eternity, a techno music based game that develops the rhythm based on your dancing skills, a hamster rolling throughout a house trying to avoid obstacles, even a concept for alchemy board game, and many more. See them on the Global Jam site.

Few observations:

• While a chaotic environment, people were able to get together and create working groups quickly
• People came in with their laptops, desktop computers and heavy gear. Some brought their dual monitors, others a complete musician stations
• The physical conditions were not the best, but it seemed that nobody cared
• Many developed in Unity
• The atmosphere throughout the session was friendly and collaborative. For example, one of the musicians created music for at least 8 teams
• People did it for their sheer fun and some of the results, were simply brilliant. There were no team leaders, no managers, but the results were delivered in a fraction of the time that a game is being developed the in the real world. About 40 games in different level of completion were submitted

Few years ago, I was asked what causes startup developers to stay up at night, and dedicate weekends in order to get the job done, I answered “a strong sense of ownership of something that is unique and innovative”. Over this weekend, I realized that again.

Kol Ha’Kavod to GameIS and Yuval Sapir who coordinated the event in a fun and professional manner.

Here are pictures I took at the event.

First two days with Android

It’s growing on me. I am now dictating my post using voice command app on my samsung galaxy s2. It’s really different instead of typing talking. It’s not flawless yet sometimes I need to fix the words. In general android is really geeky. There are so many options, and so many ways to do the same thing. In iphone it took me an hour to study the options while on android it took me 2 days, and I’m still learning…
The galaxy is big maybe too big.
But step by step I’m starting to understand that I have a mobile computer and that I can do anything that I want from this device.

Order of Magnitude and Compelling Event in Enterprise Sales

Yesterday, I had a meeting I enjoyed with a senior sales and marketing executive. He was sharing with me his startup success in selling enterprise software.

There were two terms left with me after this session:

Order of Magnitude – Enterprise IT is bombarded by IT vendors who are trying to sell anything from storage to mobile applications. Many of the enterprises already have Enterprise License Agreements (ELA) with the leading vendors (IBM, Oracle, EMC, etc). A startup mission trying to tap into these domains is impossible by definition. I have seen many startups trying to pitch IT executives that their solution will be faster or better in 30% and their cost is 30% less of the big vendors or the current solution used in the enterprise. Some are also going through an ROI calculation showing that the enterprise will return the investment in 12 months or so. Reality is that such offering is indeed impossible to sell. If you want to succeed in getting into enterprises the impact has to be in Order of Magnitude (times 10). Your solution has to be 10 times better and cost 10 times lower and should show ROI in weeks to few months at most. Otherwise there is no reason for the IT executive to stick his neck and risk his job for you.

Compelling Event – say you were able to achieve the above, you still need to overcome another barrier. The question “Why should I do that now?”. If customer can postpone the buying decision, they will. IT budget is limited, time is limited and there are so many priorities. If there is no compelling event, there is no reason to buy, no matter how great is your solution. Try finding the compelling event to purchase your product/service, when you find it, use it in the qualification process of leads and obviously use it in the sales process with the customer. That executive and his company discovered early on that their initial offering (while good) had no compelling event. They changed the product offering working with a design partner which led to finding a compelling event that was immediately replicated to many customers and generated substantial revenue. Search the compelling event.

I wish continued success to that executive who impressed me with his analytical and execution capabilities.

Hire Up

You just finished your a funding round and now you start hiring.

Who will you hire?

I have had many discussions with startup CEOs about hiring, and it’s strange to see that most think the same. When hiring they think about where they are now and less about where they aim at being. So they hire people that might be (at best) fit the company for the current stage. I did the very same mistake myself once or twice. So, I feel free to tell you it’s wrong.

When you hire your management team, hire up.

Look up and forward – at least three years ahead and hire based on where you want your company to be. The task of succeeding in today’s dynamic markets is so complicated and sometimes near impossible that only a great management team will lead you to success; an average team will take you nowhere.

I hear a lot that will say “but, I’m just a small startup, that executive will never join”. This automatically leads to “let’s hire people who are willing to join us”. As my mentor Groucho Marx once said “I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member”. If you believe you’re leading a “game changer” startup, don’t hesitate to pitch your company to top-notch talent that you believe should join you. You will be surprised. They might see the opportunity as you see it and join. If they don’t see the potential in your company and/or are not ready to take the risk, they might not be the right selection after all. So don’t hesitate – try.

Sure, there is a balance. We all need to shy away from “senior” executives who don’t get their hands dirty in the startup work. Good management team is like an engine in a racing car. You want that engine to fit the car performance envelope. I’m suggesting that the envelope can be pushed and with the right engine and with a good driver win the race.

Hire up my friend.

The Buck Stops Here!

You are the CEO. You lead your startup. You are changing the world. In your daily work you have so many decisions to make. In the process of decision-making, many will consult and advise you – your co-founders, your management, your board, your investors, your employees, and many others.

At the end, you are left to make a decision alone.

At the end, you have to remember that you will take responsibility to that decision alone.

You can’t say “but you told me so”. You can’t say “but we agreed on that together”.

You can only say “It’s my decision and I’m taking full responsibility for it”.

On December 19, 1952 President Truman said, “You know, it’s easy for the Monday morning quarterback to say what the coach should have done, after the game is over. But when the decision is up before you — and on my desk I have a motto which says The Buck Stops Here’ — the decision has to be made.” In his farewell address to the American people given in January 1953, President Truman referred to this concept very specifically in asserting that, “The President–whoever he is–has to decide. He can’t pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That’s his job”.

In my personal opinion, this is the only way to lead an organization. The leader takes charge and responsibility for everything.

So, I’m encouraging you the CEO. Make your own decisions. Listen to your consultants (for sure), but make up your mind and act. No matter whether you will take their advice or not, you will be the one to get the prize or pay the price. So, lead your company as YOU believe it’s right. 

In Memory of Steve Jobs

This address to the Stanford Commencement from 2005 is the story of Steve Jobs as provided by him.

Highly inspirational address to any person whether in high-tech or not. It’s about love, passion, living and dealing with death.

“You got to find what you love”

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do”

“Keep looking, don’t settle”.

“Remembering you are going to die, is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked, there is no reason not to follow your heart”.

“Follow your heart and intuition…everything else is secondary”.

Good bye Mr. Jobs. Good bye a Great Man.