Startups Nothing Good Comes Easy: A Case Study |
- Nothing Good Comes Easy: A Case Study
- Interviewing for a europe based startup - what are some questions I should and should not ask?
- Name recommendations for chicken sandwiches restaurant
- Trouble choosing platform
- How do you test user interest and market research?
- Anyone have experience selling software or hardware to hospitals?
- Thoughts on landing pages / SEO and non-TLDs?
- How to get volunteers to interview? Trying to conduct Problem Interviews to validate the problem we're trying to solve.
- Where can you find potential collaborators?
- Is it possible to do business today without advertising?
| Nothing Good Comes Easy: A Case Study Posted: 08 Feb 2019 11:30 AM PST Matt Damon is known to tell people who ask him advice about acting that they should quit. The reason being, if you're going to succeed in that business you're going to be told "no" many more times than anyone will tell you "yes". You might find more encouragement in trying to start a company, but you're still going to face a lot of rejection, bad news, and unexpected downturns that you'll need to overcome if you're going to succeed. I wanted to give a case study based on my experiences, as a real example is always better than a hypothetical. My company makes a gummy bear, based on clinical science, that helps boost your body's response to alcohol. The idea was born not, as you might guess, because I was a drinker who got hungover a lot. Instead it came about from a major illness, which was initially blamed (as it turns out, erroneously) on alcohol. I wasn't much of a drinker so I started researching how alcohol interacts with your body, and found a number of fascinating recent studies about how that damage (not just long term, but even hangovers) could be prevented with a number of naturally occurring compounds. Enter rejection #1: I asked my doctors about the studies I was reading, and basically got blank stares in response. When I reached out to the authors of those studies, most of them ignored me. If I was going to go from reading clinical studies to some kind of product or business, I was going to have to do it on my own. Instead of just dropping the idea, I decided to double down instead and do some testing of my own. After I got healthy I started a MBA program, so I had a large pool of people who went out regularly. Many of the compounds I'd read about were fairly common supplements, so I started buying them and asked people to try them before they went out. Enter rejection #2: As it turns out, convincing people to take strange pills before they go out drinking is a challenge, even when you know them personally. Even though a lot of people were sketched out and wouldn't try them, I found that the international crowd in my program was much more willing to try what I was offering. With trial and error, I was able to develop a formula that seemed really effective. Problem was, even with people vouching for it, the fact it was pills still scared off people. So I took that rejection, and turned it into inspiration: if people don't want pills, maybe they'll try something in a different format? So I started mixing my formula into liquid and having people try that. Enter rejection #3: While people were more willing to try a shot, it smelled and tasted positively horrifying. I got samples from flavor houses, talked to food scientists, tried a dozen different ways to get the taste down...nothing worked. Then things got worse. Enter rejection #4: My MBA program offered a variety of programs and services for startups that students were working on, and I applied for almost all of them. Funding? Applied for. Summer accelerator? Applied for. Pretty much across the board, I got turned down. I had one advocate in my corner, who led part of the school's accelerator, and she confided that the "powers that be" had basically vetoed supporting my business because of its ties to alcohol. At this point, it would've been really easy to throw in the towel. Costs were building up from buying all the testing materials, and without any funding or support, it was either give up and get an internship, or debt finance the company...and put post-MBA job prospects in peril if the company didn't work. Still, I knew my formula worked, and I knew people would want what I was making if I could make it in a form that wasn't completely horrifying. So, I kept at it. As I entered the second year of my MBA, I gave up for the first time. No matter how many varieties I tried, no drink worked. But rather than give up entirely, I started experimenting with other ways I could make it. Enter lucky break #1: Another supporter of mine at my school was able to get me a free ticket to a conference at which a number of pharma and supplement companies would be present. While I was there, I saw how a number of them were marketing gummy vitamins and other gummy products. And that sparked an idea. When I got home, I bought some jello, some gelatin, and tossed my formula into the mix. Just like that, I went from god awful smelling and tasting drinks, to a gummy that actually tasted pretty decent! And the difference was night and day compared to the pills and drinks I had before. Whereas previously I'd had to convince people to try my formula, everyone loved the gummies. At this point I knew I definitely had something, but I also realized I couldn't make a scalable company mixing my formula into jello in my kitchen, so I started looking into what it would take to do it at scale. Enter rejection #5: To sell a supplement, not only would it have to be made by a FDA registered manufacturer, but those manufacturers required massive minimum orders. Hundreds of thousands if not millions of gummies. I had already been financing the company through credit card debt for the better part of a year, but it would take multiple times what I'd already put in just to order the minimum. Still, it only cost a couple of thousand to run a small R&D trial to prove the concept, so once again I bit the bullet and kept digging. R&D proved successful, and were were able to make a gummy bear that the manufacturer could mass produce. At this point, my MBA program was just about over, but I had a product that people were really liking, and a pathway to bringing it to market. I just needed the funds to do it. Enter rejection #6: Ultimately, I decided to run a crowdfunding campaign. I spent the better of two months preparing, but still was trying to get the campaign ready for graduation. It was a disaster. The entire thing was rushed beyond belief, I had virtually no gummies to show, I hadn't even finished the basic packaging design so I had no demos to show, and while I had a group of backers from my MBA program, it was entirely too self contained and overlapping an audience to work. So, for the second time I quit, and cancelled the campaign when it became apparent it wasn't going to work. At this point, I was totally stuck. I didn't have the funds to bring my product to market, nor could I legally make it myself in order to start slow and build up an customer base. So I started doing more fundraising. I'd met a few angels and VCs in the course of business school, and I met with as many as I could. I sat in on pitches, and gave pitches of my own. But, things were going slowly. Enter lucky break #2: while my crowdfunding campaign hadn't worked out, it had received some positive attention from my friends and family network. Even after I cancelled it, a number expressed interest in the idea and the company, and I was ultimately able to raise an initial seed round that would allow me to make deposits on a first batch of gummies. But I still needed to raise more if I really wanted to be able to launch. Enter rejection #7: I spent most of the summer and early fall fundraising. It was a slog. Lots of conversations that went nowhere, and lots of "keep us updated". I had some backing, but not enough if I wanted to aim for the kind of growth I was aiming for. I had bootstrapped a company with minimal funds once before so I knew exactly how much of a tooth and nail battle that was, and it was one I really wanted to avoid if I could. But I might not have a choice. Enter lucky break #3: One of the biggest parts of raising funds is networking. You never know who can make the right introduction, and in my case, that introduction came from an entirely unexpected source. Throughout my time working on the gummies, I'd had a number of CPG professionals inquire and basically pitch their services in launching the company; my background was in tech, so working with someone with more industry experience was something I had interest in. One firm in particular seemed like a good match, but it was definitely going to require me to raise more funds. As it turned out, that firm had its own VC network, and so an introduction was made. Less than a month later, I had a term sheet. Of course, things are never quite that easy. It took another two months and lots of back and forth with attorneys to go from offer sheet to signed deal. Of course, even now the journey is far from over. We have a great product, strong team, and high quality support, but curveballs still come from unexpected places, and there's still plenty of ups and downs. But we'll keep figuring out how to make things work, because if you've read this whole post, you know there are a lot of times I could've easily quit, but instead steady work (and a little good fortune) has conquered those obstacles. Problems of all shapes and sizes will come up. But building a quality product and a quality company means enduring through those problems. TL; DR: Starting a company requires facing a lot of challenges that can seem insurmountable, but with perseverance and creativity they can be overcome. Nothing good comes easy. [link] [comments]  |
| Interviewing for a europe based startup - what are some questions I should and should not ask? Posted: 09 Feb 2019 02:08 AM PST I'm going to be interviewing for a startup in europe next week (mainly hardware startup). They've had a few seed round fundings but none of the series fundings. maybe they'll go for it soon, i don't know. What are some things i should and shouldn't ask about? some things I had in mind are:
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| Name recommendations for chicken sandwiches restaurant Posted: 09 Feb 2019 02:17 AM PST Hey everyone, I hope your day is great, I'm planning to open a chicken sandwiches restaurant after I graduate and I don't know what should I name it. So, any recommendations for the name I would be very glad. I need something chicken related and also catchy as well I don't want it to be traditional like any chicken restaurant and also not used cause the copyrights It's my dream project and I don't wanna fail so any recommendations would be great Any language or synonyms for the name And thanks in advance [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Feb 2019 12:00 AM PST Specs:
my Current Idea is to write a java app that manages the database and offers a GUI to interact with the data. In the background it can host a lightweight http server so the data can be displayed and changed on a tablet or phone Would this be a legit way of handling things without hosting the users data? Is this done usually? [link] [comments]  |
| How do you test user interest and market research? Posted: 08 Feb 2019 12:13 PM PST I have a few concepts that i think could grow legs, but i need to good way to collect data and really assess my confidence in these ideas by getting user input. hopefully with as minimal of a build/cost as possible. Most communities that i would value input fro are closed off from surveys. What im thinking, is i could snag a url, and wordpress a very basic marketing site, which conveys the concept and offers users a survey to be included as an early adopter or be notified when ready etc... in the survey i would ask a few pointed questions helping me understand where the options to monetize really are and if there is really demand for these products. It does seem like a bit of work, and also seems kind of misleading to viewers. better suggestions? [link] [comments]  |
| Anyone have experience selling software or hardware to hospitals? Posted: 08 Feb 2019 01:26 PM PST Curious if anyone here has had hospitals as their target customer, and could share their experience and tips on how to approach sales to them. Any leading distributors I should know about? Who are usually the key purchase decision makers in a hospital's hierarchy? Any universal compliance expectations (beyond HIPPA)? Brief background: I have no background in healthcare services. I'm a software guy with a hardware idea. I've done enterprise software sales primarily targeting Fortune 1000 CTO/CIO's. Any help here would be greatly appreciated! Thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Thoughts on landing pages / SEO and non-TLDs? Posted: 08 Feb 2019 07:58 AM PST One of my colleagues and I have been considering splitting off from our current company to work on an idea. I've personally founded 3 companies, but it has been a few years in the corporate world since I've done my own thing. With my last 3 startups, having the .com was 100% critical, but now with the ubiquity of mobile I'm wondering if that is still the case. The way we're thinking about things: Consumer mobile app that then hooks into a cloud based service & marketplace. We plan to test some ideas out by creating landing pages and throwing a few bucks at facebook ads to gauge interest before we spend the time to write any code. What have your experiences been with using a non TLD when it comes to driving awareness of your product / company (especially in the landing page arena)? Are there any SEO constraints that one may need to think about? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 08 Feb 2019 06:30 AM PST Hi guys, currently we follow the Lean Startup method and specifically we've adopted the Lean Canvas Methodology. Currently trying to conduct Problem interviews but we are finding it hard to get volunteers to interview. Our product is B2C focused and it is app based. Any advise to get the ball moving? We've started with family and friends but I think there is too much bias coming out of them. Looking for some unbiased potential users. Some advice would really be appreciated. Thanks. [link] [comments]  |
| Where can you find potential collaborators? Posted: 08 Feb 2019 01:26 PM PST I apologize if this is the wrong subreddit to ask. I don't frequently roam outside of my regulars. I will be trying a few other subs, but if you have suggestions or if the content is inappropriate, please let me know and I will remove. The question is simple. I'm thinking of entering the startup/tech world after grad school. I have lots of ideas and a particular skillset (science-based, statistics, programming), but I don't know the business aspect of opening a small business or startup. What's a good way to find others that share similar interests to you and may be interested in collaborating on a new project? [link] [comments]  |
| Is it possible to do business today without advertising? Posted: 08 Feb 2019 09:33 AM PST Let me put this clearly: I hate advertising. I don't mean I hate paying for it; I hate it entirely. But, I also realize ads are literally the only reason the world is functioning. There would be no TV, no internet, no anything. The back of a local football flyer, the placemat at your local diner, the side of a city bus, everything big and small. NFL is paid for by TV revenue, all the most seen websites Reddit, facebook, youtube. Entirely driven by ads. I feel so scuzzy knowing all of us are just being advertised to nonstop. I've done some some business ventures in the past and I've always had stunted growth from not being willing to dump hard earner money into a scuzzy feeling ad. Selling products and services only goes so far when using word of mouth. My question is this: can a company grow, sustain a few employees or even a few locations, provide me with financial and career satisfaction without putting money into advertising? [link] [comments]  |
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