photo credit: Pardesi*

A very common similarity that I have noticed in human behavior is that ‘we want to do something, but we don’t end up doing it’. I want to have a successful career but I disrupt my interview. I want to be thin but I over eat. I want to excel in my job role but I don’t complete my tasks for the day and so on.

How can the rationale behind this behavior be explained? Seth Godin in his recent post explained the phenomena – why is it so difficult to do what we say we want to do?

Answer: The Lizard Brain (Resistance)

Resistance – The voice at the back of our head telling us to go slow, not take risk, compromise and back off. This resistance grows further as we get closer to an insight – the truth of what we really want. Lizards (a physical part of your brain) hate change, achievement and risk.

An advice to entrepreneurs is to block the lizard brain. Be open to change and development, compromise, have meetings, fear critics, take risks and pacify the lizard.

The lizard brain is here to stay – it’s your job to figure out how to ignore it

The lizard is a physical part of your brain, the pre-historic lump near the brain stem that is responsible for fear and rage and reproductive drive. Why did the chicken cross the road? Because her lizard brain told her to.

photo credit: Naj ( Desired Hopes © )

The world was closely watching and everyone in the media was fanatical about the launch of Apple’s new touchscreen tablet technology – the iPad. The outstanding feature that impressed everyone was the price (just $499). A lot has been written about the iPad but what we are concerned about is its business applications (especially for startups).

Startup entrepreneurs need to be on the go – creating documents, spreadsheets and presentations and also taking their product pitches with them to every meeting, presentation or event they go. iPad will make all of this easier and convenient.  For example: When they meet people at events, they can take out their iPad and flip through the presentation then and there. And also for VC presentations or bland elevator pitches – an iPad is certainly a smart purchase for an entrepreneur.

The price plus the benefits – A definite win-win situation for all entrepreneurs

For more details visit: http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2010/01/what-the-ipad-means-for-startu.php

Keynote, Pages and Numbers will all be available on the iPad when it goes on sale in a few months - and all at just $9.99 per app.
 

photo credit: Alex E. Proimos
 

All startups, at some point have to confront certain questions relating to their existence – about their current situation and the future. “Is our startup heading in the right direction? Will we reach where we wanted to, in the given time? Should we be acquired? Or shall we acquire and progress”? – Some of the dilemmas every startup has.

In several situations, mergers and acquisitions seem just ideal for a startup. But despite favorable conditions, many startups actually decide opting out of a merger or an acquisition decision. And the most common reason behind this is the ‘people issues’ involved in the process.

Mergers and acquisitions involve real people with emotions, egos and aspirations. Deals between companies (legal entities with a separate existence) are just on paper, in reality deals take place between people with emotions and feelings. For example: As a startup founder you are ready to be acquired by another company on a lucrative deal but the position they are offering you in the company is way below what you expect. In that case, you may decide against the acquisition. Your emotion and ego gets involved here.

The top four significant ‘people issues’ in mergers and acquisitions are:
• M&A culture issues
• Human capital Integration issues
• Lack of employee engagement
• Leadership/management retention issues

The discussions did not make much progress as there was no agreement on the pricing and more importantly on the roles and responsibilities of acquired company CEO in the new merged entity.

It is extremely important to understand ‘the people’ in a startup/company and tailoring the deal according to them rather than forcefully placing people in artificial positions and roles.

And yes, ‘people issues’ matter to the success of mergers and acquisitions.

For more information on the issue click here
 

photo credit: alice_c

The concept of lean startups is gaining prominence in today’s economic scenario. The term lean startup stems from the term ‘lean thinking’ which means spending money wisely by identifying differences between value-added activities and waste.

Many startup owners commit the blunder of spending extravagantly as soon as they receive some funding. An advice here; even if a startup gets all money in the world, it won’t help unless you have a product or revenue model.

Funding shouldn’t be mismanaged; there is an ‘implied contract’ of getting the company to an agreed level in the hope of increasing the value of the business. The stakeholders in an early venture should also benefit for their contribution.

So, waste less on luxury items and develop a practical approach for creating and managing a startup that excels in low-cost experimentation, rapid iteration, and true customer insight.For a detailed insight, visit:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/2010/01/when-your-funding-is-your-wors.php

"In early-stage companies, you will regret such spending when you hit the bumps in the road where you wish you had that cash. Inevitably, you will hit such bumps. Plan accordingly."

Make sure you have a revenue model since the beginning and remember – ‘money should only be spent if it provides return’.

photo credit: karindalziel

In the age of ‘information explosion’ it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage and organize data. And for a startup organizing and control at an early stage is really important. The following web apps will make sharing and collaboration much easier for a startup:

Basecamp: A great web-based project collaboration tool. It brings the people involved in a project together and makes communication easier. Assigning tasks, sharing files, tracking time and meeting deadlines – all becomes easier with basecamp. It has a 30-day free trial period and then you can choose from various reasonable plans available. A highly recommended web app to use – it doesn’t break your bank and provides first-class collaborating service (both internal and external).

Dropbox: It provides online storage space. There are so many files and documents that need to be stored and accessed frequently and dropbox makes this very easy. Not only storage but features like file sharing and offline backup of your files (which any member of your staff can access) are also provided by this tool. It is relatively inexpensive and easy to use.

Google Apps: This is a web-based collaboration and communication tool for businesses launched by Google. Calendars, e-mail, contacts, document sharing are a few features of this tool. Very useful and highly recommended for all startups.

Dimdim: It’s an outstanding tool to conduct web conferences online. The application works entirely from your web-browser – no need to download anything. Save on traveling expenses and conduct meetings, presentations and seminars online.

For more information on this, visit:

http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/2010/01/5-web-apps-to-keep-your-startu.php

photo credit: .faramarz

A budget is a detailed document showing the spending and revenue of a business. It concentrates more on reporting expenses and trying to control them. Its a reporting and controlling tool used widely amongst businesses of various kinds.

Yes, budgets are a great tool to keep all expenses in ‘control’ but are they necessary for a startup? For a startup, budgeting should not be a priority. At the ‘startup’ stage, you don’t have much to budget about. Whose expenses are you going to control? Yours? Or another 2 – 3 employees?

Creating budgets, perhaps, will be useful when you are a few years into your venture. A static budget at an early startup stage is of no use.

So what startups need to do is not ‘budget’ but ‘forecast’. Forecasting is more flexible, dynamic and relevant to a startup. It is less rigid and detailed, and can be updated regularly to reflect changes in the company.

The article below explains the importance of forecasting for a startup and how it can be done:

http://anthillonline.com/why-startups-dont-need-a-budget/

photo credit: star5112

Startup founders can pay back their investors by either selling the business to bigger companies or offering shares to the public (IPO). Public offering seemed to be the ultimate goal of every startup since it promises continuing returns and expansion. Yes, its true many startups still dream of a place on the NASDAQ and startups like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Zynga also want to go public rather than sell.

But in a recent survey of startups by venture capital firm DCM, only 19 percent wanted to go public. Many startup founders mentioned that a major barrier to go public was the strict regulations for public companies. They believe that there is so much emphasis on paperwork and legislation that a startup can’t focus on actually building a business. Newer restrictions are making public offerings less and less attractive for startups.

"People don't want to run public companies anymore because they don't want to get dragged through the mud," said Rob Coneybeer, a managing director at the investment firm Shasta Ventures

Read the article below for more information:
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_14218184?source=rss&nclick_check=1

photo credit: Joshua Rappeneker

None of us are unaware about the economic downturn and how it has affected businesses – small or big. You have the idea, drive, creativity, plan and resources to launch a startup but there are certain aspects you should be careful about when launching a startup in the midst of the recession.

Focus, discipline and building value – three tips for Startup launches and the rest follows. Seth Godin, (the Marketing Guru and founder of Squidoo) in an interview with Mashable gives more light on this matter. Here is what he had to say:

http://mashable.com/2009/02/04/seth-godin-advice-for-startups/

Understand that in a down economy, not only is there less money for people to spend on you, but you have to spend less money to make stuff that’s worthwhile.

photo credit: jaeWALK

The staff of any business/startup can be divided into three categories; A, B and C. The people belonging to “category A” – the extraordinaire and really talented people are the ones every business wants to keep. A huge problem arises when the “A players” decide to quit and the company goes haywire in trying to keep them from resigning. Suddenly star treatment is provided and all sorts of promises about the future are made to them. But does this work? Will the A star worker not resign?

After reaching a saturation point where you feel under-appreciated or mistreated, an employee will leave regardless of any newly created incentive. The star treatment and incentives aren’t enough to hold back the employee. Instead identify such employees from the beginning and keep them motivated and happy.

The article below is a great read and talks about first hand experience of an entrepreneur:

http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2009/11/16/dont-roll-out-the-red-carpet-on-the-way-out-the-door/

Don’t roll out the red carpet on the way out the door, but roll the red carpet inside the organization.

photo credit: mkosut

At a certain point of time, “being virtual” loses its appeal, especially if you hire new team members or it isn’t possible to work from home. As a startup, you’re on a tight budget and at the same time it is important to have a good office space for your team. A trade-off between the two is an ideal win-win situation for a startup.

A small suggestion here to all startup businesses is that look for an inexpensive office that will help you survive in the initial period. No private office, prime locations, pretentious architect or sixty story buildings.

Here are a few other points you should keep in mind when looking for an office for your startup:

1.  Don’t get carried away with too many choices. Try being more decisive
2.  Try striking a good bargain whether buying or letting
3.  Find a balance between what your clients expect, a good price and the kind of atmosphere your team will be most productive in
4.  Identify all parameters when choosing your office space. Location, size and price are the obvious ones but also think about access to extra amenities (coffee shops, communal areas), parking, atmosphere, furnished/unfurnished and security.
5.  Avoid agents and try doing your search. Make a good comparison of available options
6. Stick to being conservative. Don’t lease expensive premises the moment money starts coming in. Wait for a good three to five years before taking such a step.
7.  Find office space that comes with tax benefits

You can also use the “SPACE” test to get a good deal on office space:

                     S- Savings, P-Productivity, A-Address, C-Clauses, E-Expansion

To get more insight on the issue, we recommend you read:
http://www.coachwei.com/blog/2009/11/09/a-geeks-guide-to-startup-office-space/
http://thenexttrain.co.za/2009/03/6-tips-for-finding-start-up-office-space/