While chatting with Duncan Riley over espresso I found out:
Web 2.0 bible techcrunch has more page views than the Sydney Morning Herald and The Melbourne Age combined.
The question is which one will drive our web start up further?
Category: web 2.0
Old media / new media
We all agree that media is changing – “ing”, not “ed”.
So it still makes sense to consider both options for our limited marketing and startup budgets.
So here’s a simple summary of each:
Old media
Costs a lot, but is really quick. Reaches people who might not have been looking for you. Leverages solid infrastructure so demands less human capital. But has a high wastage rate. Suits mass markets
New media
Usually free, and reaches those who are seeking you. Can be quick, but only for the lucky few who nail ideas people want to spread. Uses fragmented infrastructure so requires more man hours. Leaves a digital footprint and so effort compounds. Suits niches.
Until old & new media fully merge, we need to allocate budgets. But it’s also important we remember we can replace money with time when we are financially constrained.
Bono says
Circa 1992 on MTV across 4 big, no 4 massive TV screens U2 lead singer Bono was asked what ‘Zoo TV’ was all about. His reply:
“It’s about the chaos of choice.” Poignant.
Start ups ought listen to Bono – and avoid the chaos.
Bootstrappers business trip
I recently had to conduct some rentoid business interstate. The content of the trip is irrelevant, what’s relevant is the context. rentoid is a small startup with a long road ahead. Cashflow is important vital, so we conserve it where possible. This is what successful startups do. We know where they are on the revenue curve – and so we are frugal.
Flights: Cheapest tickets available with no frills budget airline.
Time: First flight in morning, fly back after business hours – last flight. This ensures a full day conversations and maximum value within the trip.
Hire Car: Smallest cheapest car available (Hyundai Getz 3 door to be precise). Low on cost, low on fuel. Only needs to fit two people and two laptops.
Lunch: A burger and fries at a local pub. (at least it had Sydney Harbour views!)
Internet access: Hunt down free wifi area and buy a $3 espresso.
Dinner: Airport Pizza & a soft drink.
Ok, it wasn’t the most glamorous business trip, but the objectives were achieved with the minimum cost, and we had fun. We’ll fly business class, or in a private jet when our business can afford it, and hence it’s deserved.
Start ups out there: Know where you are at. Never let ambition or ego get in front of the revenue reality.
Innovation is quite forgiving
All twitter users know that it’s not the most reliable website out there. At the time of this post, it’s currently ‘down’ and gives you the message below:
2 things:
1. They told us about it before hand.
2. We forgive it, because we love it.
If you’re a ‘me too’, chances are your customers would be less forgiving. If you’re a new killer app, service or widget then the lesson is simple: Innovation is quite forgiving.
Launch now – improve later.
Mass customization
Here’s a few categories or Industries which have been revolutionized by Mass Customization:
T-shirts (Threadless & Neighborhoodies)
TV (Youtube & Joost)
Handbags (Elemental Threads)
Journalism (Blogs & podcasting)
Newspapers (RSS)
Job Seeking (Aggregation & feeds)
Book publishing (Lulu)
Tourism (the web in general)
Luxury goods (fractional ownership)
Music (itunes)
Networking (facebook & social apps)
In fact there’s just too many to mention.
But the real question is this: If it hasn’t hit your industry yet, why not and what are you doing about it?
One piece of advice
If you could offer entrepreneurs one piece of advice what would it be?
Start up blog’s is this: Don’t die wondering.
I’m sure all 20,000 monthly startup blog readers want to hear yours. Add them to the comments or email them to me and I’ll post them on an upcoming blog entry with your name / blog beside it.