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    Tuesday, November 3, 2020

    Marketplace Tuesday! (November 03, 2020) Entrepreneur

    Marketplace Tuesday! (November 03, 2020) Entrepreneur


    Marketplace Tuesday! (November 03, 2020)

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 05:08 AM PST

    Please use this thread to post any Jobs that you're looking to fill (including interns), or services you're looking to render to other members.

    We do this to not overflow the subreddit with personal offerings (such logo design, SEO, etc) so please try to limit the offerings to this weekly thread.

    Since this thread can fill up quickly, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.

    submitted by /u/AutoModerator
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    50+ startups became Unicorn companies in 2020 - Congrats to all those who managed through these crazy times!

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 11:35 AM PST

    I'm always curious to see which companies are achieving the $1B barrier every year. But obviously, 2020 is a special year...

    Achieving such a milestone during Covid-19 lockdowns looks like an even more extraordinary achievement for any entrepreneur out there! I was stoked to see the winners of 2020 on this list!

    So far there are 50+ companies breaking into the Unicorn world. Some examples are:

    Gong.io

    Udemy.com

    Oatly.com

    Figma.com

    Rippling.com

    etc...

    These are some cool analyses I've created with this list:

    - Distribution of average tenure in these companies (average tenure= 1,5 years): https://i.imgur.com/PCMiJho.png

    - Average valuation per country listed: https://i.imgur.com/f3axZ0m.png

    ------

    I almost forgot to say, but congrats to all these winners! I imagine it can be one important step towards the realization of THE dream.

    (To check all unicorn companies and perform these visualizations I used the data from this spreadsheet - feel free to take a look)

    PS: I'm curious to see more analyses from other folks in here! Start interesting conversations by posting your visuals in the comments :)

    submitted by /u/r_pg101
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    I Quit My 6 Figure Tech Sales Job to Start A Software Company

    Posted: 02 Nov 2020 03:56 PM PST

    Two years ago, I quit my comfortable job in tech sales to start a software company.

    Many people (coworkers, family, friends) thought this was a huge risky thing to do—throwing away a great paying job to chase a risky new business.

    While technically true, deep down I believe that not chasing your dreams and not shooting for an amazing, adventurous life is 100 times more risky than doing so, even if you crash and burn.

    Despite this fact, it was still scary.

    Two years later, the gamble has paid off. The SaaS business I wound up starting now does more than a million dollars in annual revenue, and I have accrued much more value than I would have by staying at my comfortable tech job.

    Here are some lessons I've learned along the way:

    1. Focus On Small Wins Early On

    I think the biggest mistake that entrepreneurs make early on is they expect HUGE results to happen fast. It simply doesn't work this way, and if you go in with this mindset, you will get discouraged extremely quickly and wind up throwing in the towel too early.

    9 times out of 10, success will be a slow grind. You simply have to keep showing up day-after-day.

    For this reason, it's extremely important to set small, measurable goals that will advance you towards your larger goal overtime.

    Your hard work WILL compound over time. I promise. All the small wins you rack up day after day will start to stack up.

    The famous Confucius quote is so, so true: "The man who moves a mountain starts by carrying away small stones."

    Early on in my company, I focused on blogging and creating helpful, educational content for people who could likely get value out of my SaaS product. I then relentlessly focused on ranking this content highly in Google Search (SEO - Search engine optimization).

    Every single guest blog or content piece I wrote was a small win. After about 9 months, those wins really started stacking up, and Google started sending us A TON of highly qualified traffic into these blog posts.

    This traffic turned into customers for the business.

    If you want to learn more about the specifics of the SEO strategy I used to generate tens of thousands of qualified leads flowing into our website every month, comment below or reach out on Twitter, and I'll create a post if there is enough demand.

    2. Expect to Get Punched In The Mouth

    "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth" - Mike Tyson

    Again, it's all about expectation setting.

    If you come into starting a business with unrealistic expectations (i.e. that everything will be sunny and cheerful and your business will just take off from day one), you will get discouraged extremely quickly, and you will quit.

    This happens to most hopeful entrepreneurs.

    Discouragement is your biggest enemy when starting something from the ground up.

    However, if you simply expect to get punched in the mouth, beat up by the market, laughed at, made fun of, etc., you will be able to just roll with it.

    When adversity inevitably shows up, you should greet it like an old friend. Welcome him in. He's here to teach you a lesson.

    Take the punch. Figure out how to keep moving forward, and move forward.

    Don't quit.

    3. Only One Thing Matters: Distribution

    I don't care if you have the greatest product or service in the world. No one will ever use it, learn about it, or hear about you unless you have a scalable distribution channel to bring people in the door.

    For us, it was SEO, Google Adwords, and Facebook Ads.

    Nailing these three distribution channels allows us to bring customers in the door day-after-day in a scalable fashion.

    As people in our target market search on Google every day, they find us. As people scroll through their Facebook and Instagram feeds every day, our content gets thrown in their face, and they find us.

    All three of these channels are profitable for us, and they are the lifeblood of the business.

    You HAVE to focus on distribution.

    In the early days, focus on nailing down a single channel that can profitably and scalably bring you traffic and customers.

    Distribution is MORE important than product. I can't stress this enough. I wrote an entire blog post on how to apply this here. Don't ignore this.

    The "Build it and they will come" mentality is one of the biggest reasons entrepreneurs fail.

    Figure out how you're going to acquire customers before you ever write a single line of code.

    4. Work With People Who Are Smarter Than You

    If you're like me, you probably can't write a single line of code yourself. That's a bit of a problem when you're starting a software business.

    Obviously, you are going to have to partner with people to get your idea off the ground.

    In my opinion, this is one of the hardest things to do, but of course it is one of the most important.

    I think the best way to attract extremely talented people into your life is to become an expert at something yourself that a future partner/software engineer would find valuable.

    You will typically do this by becoming extremely good at sales / digital marketing / and customer acquisition.

    You have to become valuable to a future business partner. Otherwise it's going to be way harder for you to attract talent.

    My single biggest piece of advice for anyone looking to replicate what I've done is to launch a simple business on your own (a blog, an eCommerce company, a YouTube channel, a podcast, etc) and develop your marketing chops on this initial business.

    Once you have success and are a great marketer, you will easily be able to attract talented developers who want to work with you as you will be able to get their products in front of real people (something that most developers struggle to do). AKA you will become valuable to them.

    And yes, this will require a lot of work. But that's the name of the game.

    5. Have Fun and Enjoy The Ride

    Every single day will bring new challenges and problems. Enjoy the chaos. It's so much more fulfilling than your monotonous 9-5 job that you were working before.

    Once things really start clicking, the sense of fulfillment you get from your hardwork will be the best feeling in the world—I promise.

    Conclusion

    That's all for now! I have a lot more specifics to write about in future posts like how to build a profitable Facebook ad strategy to bring thousands of people to your products, and how to find the best keywords to bid on with Google adwords for your product or service.

    These things have been instrumental in my success, and I'm going to keep blogging about how to replicate this yourself soon.

    If you want this content delivered to your inbox, just drop your email below or find me on Twitter.

    That's it. Let's get it.

    -David

    Original Post: https://davidkemmerer.co/starting-a-software-company/

    submitted by /u/stratguy56
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    Case Study: Buying 282 Different Things from a Texas Gas Station to Resell Online

    Posted: 02 Nov 2020 06:55 PM PST

    TL;DR - I bought one of everything from a popular and outrageously Texas gas station and am reselling it all on a Shopify store, starting this week.

    If you've been to Texas but never been to Buc-ee's, then you've never really been to Texas. Buc-ee's is a larger-than-life chain of 36 gas stations that are as big as grocery stores. Despite only having 36 locations, they do over $500M in annual revenues. They are known for pristine, gargantuan bathrooms, entire walls of gourmet beef jerky, and hundreds of other gourmet snacks and foods you can't find elsewhere. It's less of a gas station and more of a tourist trap or destination. It's really a marvel to behold, and there's nothing quite like it.

    Buc-ee's is interesting because they refuse to sell their products online. I imagine the reason is that they want people to continue to have a reason to travel to their expensive, debt-laden gas stations to spend more money than they might online. As a Texan, and the owner of an eCommerce fulfillment brand in Dallas, I strongly believed that Buc-ee's is missing out big time by not selling any of their products online. Only 5% of groceries are sold online, and my company happens to specialize in shipping food. So clearly I am invested in the opinion that society is still in the very early years of being accepting of buying food online.

    Having had great luck in the past getting responses from Mark Cuban, John McAfee and many others via cold email, I spent months chasing down the two Buc-ee's founders via cold email as well. My pitch? Let me sell your food online for you. We can handle the warehousing and fulfillment of all orders, and you won't have to lift a finger. It's common for people all over the country to pull into a Buc-ee's on the way to the beach, fall in love with their products, only to never have opportunities to buy them again. I wanted to help them fix that problem, but they never responded to me.

    This is when I took matters into my own hands.

    After reading an article about Pirate Joe's, the small Canadian retailer who would drive across the border, buy thousands of dollars of Trader Joe's foods, only to resell them in his own store, I was inspired to do the same with Buc-ee's, except in an eCommerce fashion. You see, the owner of Pirate Joe's was protected by what's called first-sale doctrine. This law means that it's perfectly acceptable and legal to resell something that you buy, as long as you don't claim or pretend to be the original seller of the product. I can legally resell a new iPhone that I bought from an Apple store, as long as I'm not claiming to be Apple. The Pirate Joe's owner got in trouble because his branding and store were technically causing confusion in the eyes of shoppers. At lease that's the (somewhat weak) argument that Trader Joe's made to the judge. The bigger reason he lost this legal battle is because Trader Joe's had much more resources than him.

    So a few weeks ago I set out to do the same with Buc-ee's, if for no other reason but to finally get the attention of the founders. I took my wife and 4 small kids to Buc-ee's and we spent about 2 hours buying one of every non-perishable snack in the entire store. In case you were wondering, there are 282 of them. It cost around $1,500, and the cashier told me it was the biggest purchase he had ever seen. Pics here and here and here. The receipt you see is only 1 of 3.

    We then took the snacks home and tediously categorized them all into a Google Sheet, one by one. We marked the price we paid, the weight of each item (with a small food scale), and the price we wanted to charge. Every item is marked up by around 32% on average. We decided to call the site Beaver Snax. We intentionally wanted the site to look a little hokey, but simple, and to not look anything like the Buc-ee's brand, logo or colors. I've had Shopify stores for the past 8 years or so, so Shopify was a no-brainer when it came to which platform to choose.

    I then paid a professional photographer to spend a full day taking pics of each product, which cost about a thousand bucks. We then uploaded everything to the site and spent a few hours throwing up some content on there. There are four of us working on this project: Me, my co-founder, my brother-in-law and a virtual assistant that I've used to years. The VA spent a week or two finding every writer who has ever written about Buc-ee's or anything Texas/food related, for that matter. We start outreach to them all on Thursday. So as of right now, you fellow Redditors are the only ones who even know about this master plan. I'm optimistic that we'll be able to drum up some buzz and attention to the site, which should be perfectly timed, right before the holidays. Much much attention, and to what effect? I have no idea.

    In my mind, the potential outcomes of this project are:

    1. No one ever really goes to the site and it flops entirely. In this case I have a few months' worth of delicious snacks to eat.
    2. We generate some attention, but few sales, and the site slowly dwindles into obscurity. I stiull have snacks to eat!
    3. It becomes popular enough to generate meaningful sales, and thus the attention of Buc-ees, which ultimately results in a cease and desist letter.
    4. The site generates 4-6 figures of monthly sales, the attention of the founders, and brings attention to my eCommerce 3PL as well.

    Regardless of what happens, I have had a blast launching this and that' what entrepreneurship is about, right?

    We plan to make two shopping trips to the store per week, and have order cutoff times the night before each trip. The hardest part of this plan will be the logistics involving this, in my opinion. Luckily I already have some awesome employees that can help with all this.

    I would love to hear your ideas, input and feedback, whether good or bad. As I said before, we know the site is simple and hokey, but that's what we're going for here! You can see this is clearly done on a budget. I'll be sure to report back if we generate any news articles or make any meaningful traction.

    Thanks for reading this far!

    submitted by /u/ketomagyar
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    Examples of businesses pivoting or adapting in a Corona / lockdown world?

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 08:18 AM PST

    As everyone knows with much of the world in lockdown or under restrictions for most of this year a lot of small, local, businesses had had to adapt and pivot to a new business model or create new income streams, yet many more are floundering and unsure what to do. For example...

    I'm seeing a lot of my local businesses struggling and appear to be sitting on their hands and doing nothing or just staying closed and if they don't adapt soon they will probably be out of business by the end of the year.

    I'm in a local group for small business owners and a lot of them are asking what they should be doing to bring some business and cash through the door and I want to help them as best I can.

    I've shared some of my own ideas with them so far plus examples that I've seen from other businesses but the more ideas the better here.

    So people of Reddit I'd love to hear from you...

    If you're a local / small business owner have you had to pivot or add in new income streams, if so what have you done?

    Otherwise, have you witnessed any good examples of your local / small businesses pivoting or adding in creative new income streams, and what have they done specifically?

    Hope to hear some interesting and creative ideas from you...

    Thanks

    submitted by /u/CraftBeerFomo
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    How I validated and pre-sold my first info product

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 08:07 AM PST

    Idea validation

    The product idea came from a list I made for my previous startup. That was a list of 100+ directories where you can post your startup. I made it for myself, to expand the reach of the product I was working on. I sorted all the websites, removed all dead links, tag them, and used it to promote our project.

    Then, I wondered if it can be useful for others and share it on Indiehackers and on Reddit. These posts just blow up. It got a total of 1200 upvotes total and 200 comments!

    Some of the comment was even telling me that I should create a product out of it! I did not post that list to test the audience in the first place but that was a strong validation of an existing pain!

    Talk to people

    A few weeks later, I was free so I decided to tackle it! My first idea was to make a product by automating the submission to all these directories. The value seemed obvious: you don't need to spend hours filling out forms, a bot will do it for you. I put together a quick landing page with Carrd, show it to a few people, and get them on Zoom.

    And… they didn't like it.

    They felt like the overall value of a bot pushing their product on these directories was quite low. You need to spend time preparing your launch(es). Nobody wants an automated Product hunt launch from a simple pitch. You need to tailor your content for every community.

    The real value is about pushing the right content, to the right people at the right time.

    So I "pivoted".

    Instead of automating the submission, I started to curate more resources. I wanted to bring more value to the makers. It took me some weeks to curate, sort, and tag every link.

    At the end of the process, I gathered 400+ resources where to post your product. Including directories, but also Facebook groups, online communities, Slack/Discord, and guest post opportunities.

    Pre-orders

    The pain was validated, now I needed to validate the product. There is only one way to really validate a concept: does anyone willing to pay for it? Or, even better, can you have some people pre-order the product?

    So I created a landing page with a demo version of the database and set up a Gumroad product. I send the page to small communities and some friends. My goal was to have 100/200 visitors and see what happens. If you can't make a sale out of a few hundred visitors then you should consider pivoting again…

    But it worked!

    Out of the 100 visitors, I made a few pre-orders! The product is now launched and doing quite well!

    If you're interested in how to launch and grow a project I share all my progress openly on my Twitter account, check it out → https://twitter.com/angezanetti

    submitted by /u/xAvi_r
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    I analyzed 50+ high converting SaaS landing pages, here's what I found

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 03:43 AM PST

    Hello All,

    So recently I was trying to understand why landing pages of big Startups like Stripe convert so well why ours suck at it.

    After looking at like 50+ landing pages I understood that the magic happens by the way they deliver the message. Also, I noticed that most of them have followed a similar pattern and makers like us never noticed it.

    We all know how important copywriting is but sadly only a few implement it.

    Before I talk much, let me share a few images.

    Oops, looks like this Reddit doesn't support images. I'll try text.

    Case 1: Stripe Landing Page

    Heading: Payments infrastructure for the internet

    Link for image

    Case 2: Landen Landing Page

    Heading: The Website Builder for Startups

    Link for image

    Did you notice something similar?

    Well if you didn't then have a close look at their headings again. They both follow the same formula.

    Formula(Case 1): {Solution} for the {Target Audience}

    Formula(Case 2): The {Solution} for {Target Audience}

    You'll see that both are near same plus they both covert too well.

    Also, this similar thing continues everywhere. Here are few more you guys can use.

    1. {Competitor} is Good But {Product} is Better

    Eg.- {Evernote} is Good But {Notion} is Better

    2. How to {Process} in {n} steps

    Eg.- How to {Build Email List} in {4} Steps

    3. {Solution}: {Problem/Product}, Reinvented/Redesigned/Reimagined

    Eg.- {Levi's}: {Denim}, Reinvented

    4. Don't Make These {Number} {Problem} Mistakes While {Process} (A generic one)

    Eg.- Don't Make These {10} {Copywriting} Mistakes While {Writing Headlines}

    5. How/Where to Find {Desired Output} Even When It's Impossible

    Eg.- How to Find {Peace} Even When It's Impossible

    6. How To Make {Desired Output} That Matter to {Authority}

    Eg.- Make {a SaaS} That Matter to {Venture Capitalists}

    7. Difference Between Want & Need? I Want {Tough Goal} but Need {Product}

    Eg.- Difference Between Want & Need? I Want {Six Packs} but Need {Double Cheese Pizza} (This one has more focus on humour too, found it on Reddit actually)

    8. A Complete Guide to {Desired Output}

    Eg.- A Complete Guide to {Higher Conversion}

    9. {Solution/Product}: The Ultimate Guide to {Desired Output}

    Eg.- {ABC Book}: The Ultimate Guide to {Business Growth}

    10. The Epic Formula to Finally Achieve {Desired Output}

    Eg.- The Epic Formula to Finally Achieve {1M+ Subs on YouTube}

    I've made 100+ formulas like these with proper tagging(which to be used where). What do you all think of it?

    Do you guy's think these formulas look cool to you too?

    P.s: Case study was the most appropriate flair I found, feel free to correct me.

    Keep Hustling

    Ankit aka Growth Enthusiast

    submitted by /u/AnkitGrowthfyi
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    Anyone successful licensed something they invented?

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 07:19 AM PST

    So I have a product I've created ready to be manufactured but deciding the best route to go. Any suggestions?

    submitted by /u/cellycel92
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    Biggest learning from Corona-virus that we all missed!

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 07:31 AM PST

    "If you do something every day, it's a System. If you're waiting to achieve it someday in the future, it's a Goal." – Scott Adams

    Goals vs. System:

    When you think of growing, the first thing that you do is – set Goals. A common mistake is to focus on these Goals rather than the System you apply to achieve them. Goals are the end result, while systems are the processes that you follow regularly with discipline that leads you to achievement of your goals. Somewhere along the line you deviate from the System that prevents you from achieving your goals, even though you are focused – on your Goals.

    Focusing on Goals becomes counterproductive. So if you ignored your Goals and focused on your System for achieving these Goals, would that produce results? Obviously, yes!

    Learning from the Corona-virus:

    If you examine the Corona-virus, it has developed a robust System of multiplying and growing:

    Step: 1 Hijack Host

    Step 2: Infect the host's cells

    Step 3: Make copies of self

    Step 4: Take flight when the host sneezes or coughs

    Step 5: Find a new host

    Repeat.

    It follows this System rigorously and with discipline – no matter what! We all are witness to the fact that despite multiple hurdles in the form of lock-downs, improved hygiene, social distancing, personal protective equipment, etc. the Corona-virus keeps spreading and growing. Nothing can stop it – just because it follows a very good System.

    The growth path of Corona-virus is similar to a phenomenon of growth that can only be seen in businesses that have robust Systems.

    This is the most important thing to learn from the Corona-virus:

    If you have developed a robust System and you follow it with discipline, you are going to achieve your goals no matter what. Corona-virus does not have goals, still it is growing. Once you have a good System in place, Goals become secondary!

    As Scott Adams rightly points out: "If you study people who succeed, you will see that most of them follow Systems, not Goals."

    What can you apply from this learning?:

    The questions that you need to ask yourself today are:

    • How do I create a robust System?
    • How do I implement this System in my business to get things done?
    • How disciplined is my team in following the System?

    First published here

    submitted by /u/Tienmo
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    People running technician appointment-based service businesses, what is your favorite ecommerce/website templating program?

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 08:14 AM PST

    I'm jumping into the remote field services model, for which I need to provide a website where customers can book service appointments online for technicians to come in and provide services at their address. I'm trying to find a way I don't have to hire a full stack developer right at the start to build the frontend where customers can create accounts, and book service appointments.

    Shopify's templating + a third party webapp extension like this looks pretty decent. Haven't used Shopify at all, but clearly it provides a nice path for long term scaling and custom solutions. I've taken a look at Wix, Squarespace, and their service booking template options are all based around services being booked at a single service address (like a masseuse) as opposed to customer booking services for a field technician to visit their house.

    Anyone have good experiences with website templating services that offer this (and possibly services that integrate with Quickbooks/CRMs/Logistics Apps for some level of automation of entries)?

    submitted by /u/nolongerlowres
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    Where can I find investors?

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 02:12 PM PST

    My company is developing a mobile app, and it is a step above an MVP. The problem is we want a larger marketing budget so we can get a large number of users at the start and use that to our advantage. To increase the marketing budget we'll need an investment, but I don't know where to find an investor.

    submitted by /u/darkshadowtrail
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    Something better than Zoom

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 02:05 PM PST

    I am looking for a platform that allows me to have an online event. We all know Zoom but I'm sure there is something better out there for my purposes. I need something that will allow me to have a market place where users can go into individual "booths" and have a separate experience. Similar to breakout rooms but driven by the user.

    I want the attendees to be able to visit a marketplace before having the main event.

    Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

    submitted by /u/Blondynka
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    Would love to hear.

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 01:59 PM PST

    I have key interest in entrepreneurship, I read a lot of books on businesses and sales ,organizing and developing businesses but have not been able to find or work on skills or connect that problem/ solve bridge with a business idea that might help to get into the world of business. Would love to hear how it started for you guys, the struggles with lack of knowledge and experience in the very beginning and how you guys overcame it? Sorry if this post is too beginner for this forum.

    submitted by /u/Opposite-Sugar2411
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    Be careful going into a partnership

    Posted: 02 Nov 2020 11:02 PM PST

    Things change and it's tough to have a 50-50 split all the time.

    Co-founder 6 months down the line got a full-time job. Nothing wrong with that. But he didn't want to commit any time into it anymore.

    While in those 6 months, I was focused on building the brand and landed us a large contract.

    His response was that things take time implying he'd come back it to later maybe. The thing is this boulder isn't going to push itself.

    Left on good notes. But please think twice before getting a partnership. I thought this partner was perfect but things change.

    submitted by /u/r_t24
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    What industries require a system to detect hacks?

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 01:40 PM PST

    I've got an interest in doing a startup in the cybersecurity specify detecting account hacks online. I understand industries like banks require it but they will not dive right into a startup. So they will be a customer but that will require trust. So, I'm in the thought that what other areas would be adequate in an early-stage startup?

    I would like some help on what field that can take the risk of partnering with a cybersecurity startup?

    submitted by /u/yahya173
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    Need feedback on an idea.

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 01:27 PM PST

    Hey there community. I need your help in validating this idea I have been thinking about. You all have been nothing but kind and helpful to me from the beginning. I hope you will be able to guide me with your experience and intellect.

    CSTEMA- Center for STEM and Arts.

    What is CSTEMA?

    CTSEMA will be a social network for entrepreneurs, STEM and Art students (It is different, believe us. Keep reading). It will be streamlined to have only like-minded people as members, no memers(We love them though).

    How will CSTEMA work?

    It's dead simple. You participate in the community (by posting,reacting to new ideas,making new teams, finding co-founders etc.), you earn points. Through those earned points, you buy resources that will REALLY HELP YOU launch your rockets like 3d printers, research equipment, exclusive access to renowned investors(also through direct messages), promotion of your brand on prominent YouTube, TV channels, music/art accessories (guitar,piano,etc.) and much more, without paying a dime ,only through your earned points.

    How is CSTEMA different from Incubators or Accelerators for Entrepreneurs?

    You need experience,a good team, a validated idea, a customer base and other aspects to get through an accelerator program. You can build all these qualities in the CSTEMA community. There is no bar in joining us, while serving the same way as an incubator/accelerator at the same time. Even if you have an established business, you can leverage the community to test your products and form a good customer base to skyrocket your company's growth.

    My only question is : If given the opportunity, would you board this platform? You guys don't have to worry about revenue and funds. Just the simple question.

    Thank you. Appreciate any feedback.

    submitted by /u/bsnshdbsb
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    Some Common Business terms that you might encounter in your entrepreneurial journey

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 01:11 PM PST

    I run a podcast about fundraising for early stage startups and I've conducted nearly 200 interviews with angel investors, VCs and successful founders and created a list of the common terms that they are using. Here it is:

    1. Soft capital commitment: it's when an investor says that he/she will invest money once some milestone is hit (generally that milestone is getting the lead investor). No papers are signed at this point and those commitments are very fragile. When the COVID hit most of such commitments disappeared in an instance.
    2. Lead investor: The first investor in a funding round; can be also referred to as the anchor investor. Those are hard to find and sometimes anchor investors get better terms for additional risk they are taking.
    3. Down Round: A fundraising round in which a company raises money at a lower value than before. For example, if you raise your series A at 10 million valuation and then raise Series B at 8 million valuation - that's a down round. Horrible thing to happen with a startup and sometimes kills the company completely.
    4. Anti-dilution Clause: A contractual clause that protects investors from having their investment value reduced in future funding rounds. This clause protects investors from the down rounds - if she invested 2mil at 10mil valuation and a startup had to raise additional capital at 8mil, she will be given additional shares.
    5. Pro Rata Rights: A contractual clause that protects investors from having their stake in the company diluted. This means that investors are allowed to buy additional shares at every round of funding to maintain their stake in the company. So an early investor in Uber might maintain her 1% in the company even on the day of the IPO because of that provision (she'll spend some extra money retaining this stake of course).
    6. Bridge round/bridge loan: A round of funding or a loan that helps a company achieve a certain milestone that it couldn't achieve using money from the previous round. For example the founders have $100k in their account after their Seed round but they want to acquire additional 10k users prior to raising their Series A. That will cost additional $300k and at this point bridge rounds/loans are coming into play. Generally bridge rounds/loans are raised from existing investors.
    7. Cap Table: paper that provides data on who owns what percentage of the company, when did they join and at which value did they invest. One of the must-haves at every single round of fundraising.
    8. Management Fee: The fees that General partners of Venture funds charge their limited partners each year. VCs pay for their due diligence and sometimes provide support to the startup (such as accounting services, legal services etc.) by taking money from that management fee. If you work with a small fund, chances are they won't be able to help you with that since their management fees are small.
    9. No shop clause: A clause in a term sheet that prohibits founders from sharing the term sheet with other investors in an attempt to receive a competing offer. Rarely used in real life, but if an investor wants to sign one of those with you, run a very precise background check on the investor - that might be a sneaky move by a sketchy VC.
    10. Party Round: A round in which a startup raises multiple investments from a lot of small investors. This is becoming a new trend because "it's easier to raise 10k from 10 investors than 100k from one investor" - that statement isn't always true so you have to assess the situation yourself. We recommend party rounds for founders with large networks of industry professionals who are making $100k+/year in salaries.
    11. Washout Round: A round in which founders and previous investors get significantly diluted. The new investor in this round will most likely gain majority ownership. Basically it's like a bad version of the acquisition. Washout Rounds (similar to washout sale) happen in the situation of the company crisis - this is the last resort for a startup.
    12. Lock-up Period: A specific amount of time that must pass before someone can sell their shares in a startup. That's one of the downsides of IPOs - founders of the company frequently face 6-18 months lock-up periods and that's why some companies (like Spotify) prefer direct listing. These provisions also prevent investors in your company from running around selling your shares the next day they bought them.

    Hope this helps someone.

    submitted by /u/FundraisingRad1
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    Why You Should Cold Call Without A Product

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 01:05 PM PST

    Cold calling has taken a backseat to digital marketing and advertising on social channels. This isn't surprising, as cold calling in general, is less powerful than digital marketing purely because you can reach so many more people with an online campaign than with an iPhone and phone book.

    However, when you are at the early stages of your startup/business cold calling is actually just as effective if not more effective than digital marketing.

    In the early stages of your startup, you need to be doing thorough market research and having extended conversations with people in your target market.

    Understanding their pain points is key.

    While this can be done with landing pages and advertising campaigns, it's much more straightforward to just talk with your prospective users.

    This idea of cold calling without a product actually works to your benefit because cold calling becomes much more difficult when you are selling a product. This seems counterintuitive, as cold calling is directly associated with sales, but this is because the listener will naturally raise their defenses and try to get off the phone when they sense they are being sold something. Business owners are tired of cold callers trying to sell them useless junk on a weekly basis.

    Instead, position yourself as someone who wants to interview them or survey them about a certain problem they have.

    For example, if you are a student or someone who is trying to break into the industry, a sizable percentage of business owners will happily volunteer their time to speak with you. If you are asking about how you can provide value and what the user is struggling with, it's a much more organic and valuable conversation than trying to pitch your product at someone who is half-listening and waiting for your spiel to end. You can read more about these strategies in this great video by Y-Combinator.

    I applied these strategies and grew my startup, Jenni AI, from 0 - 7k MRR in less than 6 months.

    Here's a step by step of what I did:

    1. I started by cold calling every single prospective business in my area. You can find their numbers on Google and read a bit about their sites/services before each call. In my case, the businesses were all marketing and SEO agencies.
    2. Whenever anyone picked up, I would say that we were a student-led startup conducting interviews and that I would love to learn more about their business.
    3. They usually gave me an interview on the spot, or gave me an email to schedule a better time.
    4. If they did not give me an interview on the spot, I sent them an email immediately after the call while it was still fresh in their mind. A lot of times they would ignore my email. Either way, I would call back 3 business days later and ask if they got my email. This almost always led to an interview on the spot or an interview that week. When it comes to having people give you their time of day, persistence is key.
    5. After every interview, I asked them if they would like to be updated with my progress as I try to create something that would solve the problem they were facing. If they were interested, I noted that down and shot them weekly update emails. I would also ask for warm introductions to other SEO agencies in the area, if I felt the interview went really well.

    One thing I was very cognizant about was to never become "sales-y". This is because at this point in time, the true value wasn't the money that they would pay for our services, but the feedback about their pain points, which could be used to build a great product.

    As I updated these prospects over email, I would continually ask for feedback and pick their brain until we built an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) that addressed all of their core problems. From there, it was a natural step for them to become paying customers for our services. In fact, some of our prospects didn't need much encouragement at all; they were so curious about Jenni that they wanted to sign-up as soon as possible.

    submitted by /u/DavidPark206
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    S Corp structuring before applying - questions on non-traditional structuring.

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 12:59 PM PST

    I'll give example first: leadership: CEO ___, _% founding partner. CMO _, _% founding partner. Development: CDO _, (hopefully) 60% founding partner.

    The use case here is that I am the 60% "CDO", or whatever that title can be. The one who would traditionally be "CEO", or President. The reason I am seeking this route is to distance myself from leadership. I have bipolar, less than favorable "public face". Behind the scenes though I'm pouring my dedication and what professionalism I have into this. 100% of my work, and personal investments. No money needed in return for their percentages. Here, this idea, especially in the beginning the CEO and CMO, though at less ownership percentages, would hopefully have to do little to no work, past a pic and bio on website, and maybe answer a few emails. If the company finds success, hopefully their percentages and willingness to go into business with maybe not the best reputable individual will pay off for them. Any thoughts appreciated.

    *edit, consider myself good at visioning, bad at leadership

    submitted by /u/Cryptovisor
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    Wide Sneakers Business

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 12:41 PM PST

    Disclaimer: I am not trying to sell anything to anyone. I am simply doing research.

    Hi everyone! I'm a 28 year old male, around 180 lbs, and have very wide feet. In most brands, I am a size 11, width 4E (or H). To date, I have yet to find a nice looking pair of sneakers that look nice. The closest I ever got was a pair of Cole Haan's tennis sneakers, but they made my pinky toes numb if I wore them for too long.

    To fit my own personal needs, I've always considered starting my own sneaker brand, specifically targeted at people who want a simple, nice looking leather/suede sneaker for wide (and extra wide) feet.

    So my question: if you fit into this category or similar (like really narrow feet), how much would you pay for sneakers like this? How would you decide to pull the trigger on this?

    Thanks for reading, and if you have more feedback on this idea, I'd love to hear it!

    submitted by /u/amalafrozalam
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    Shipping within Canada

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 12:20 PM PST

    Hi folks, I've locally been selling art such as canvas', posters and different art supplies. Im in the middle of bringing my business online. Just a few questions when processing orders since im new to this.

    - once a order is placed by a customer, can i take the item to Canada post, do they handle packaging ?
    - how much does Canada Post charge to ship items within Canada and to America?

    - Any other recommendations when shipping within Canada or to the states for a new business owner?

    Thanks for any answers in advance :)

    submitted by /u/coreyZotic
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    Audio Question: What is your go-to source for ideas?

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 12:10 PM PST

    I've really enjoyed the conversations that have happened on this subreddit, and I'd love to consolidate some of those into a podcast episode. In order to do that, I need voices and opinions. I've made a link to send a voice message here: https://www.speakpipe.com/creationalley

    The purpose of this is to get individuals ideas on how you find inspiration to make things, whether that be businesses or inventions or what have you. Or if you don't want to share your physical voice, talk about it in the comments, and I'll put that on the podcast episode as well.

    Thanks!

    submitted by /u/AmateurHotShot
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    Please help me come up with a name for this programme

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 11:24 AM PST

    So I have a e-commerce store and we're introducing a programme where pretty much anyone can sell their designs on merchandise with zero upfront cost, if you have a design idea we will have it up on our store on t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies you name it and have a dedicated page that you can promote to potential customers and also get featured on the home page, the problem is we have no clue as to what to name this programme, can any of you creative people suggest any? Thank you in advance ( serious answers only please )

    submitted by /u/Guyfromthepast_
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    New Idea: Lead generation via local Facebook groups.

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 11:10 AM PST

    Facebook isn't useful for much but I've noticed that people love joining local-community groups.

    People in these groups love asking for recommendations for local service businesses. Mostly plumbers, electricians, veterinarians, dentists, doctors, realtors, roofers, etc.

    Most business owners don't hang out in these groups and I think they are missing out on a ton of warm and hot leads. I thought why not start an agency that funnels these leads to local businesses.

    Give a thoughtful and honest recommendation in the group, but also capture the lead, send direct mail and even retarget on Facebook.

    I spun up a quick site, I'm calling it Social Groupies, I'd love to hear your thoughts. [Social Groupies](www.socialgroupies.com)

    submitted by /u/photoboothtraining
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    How to determine if your idea stinks

    Posted: 03 Nov 2020 06:41 AM PST

    Over the years I've met the person who came up with the idea for the screw-on cap for milk cartons, the wakeboard, and several thousand successful mobile applications. None of these individuals actually created these products, they just claim to have had the original idea. Today those ideas are worthless. Without action, $0 is the value of every idea, no matter how life changing the end result could be.

    Overprotection of an idea is a gut reaction for the average person. Discussions in their own backyard take place in hushed tones out of fear their neighbor will hear too much and beat them to the punch. While we know idea theft has occurred, it's pretty rare. Most people are too lazy, or too busy, to execute on their own ideas much less a vague description of something they overheard. If you're disagreeing with me at this point, then think of the last idea someone stole from one of your personal acquaintances. If you even have an example, I'm sure there were one or more unusual circumstances. Yes, you still need to be careful. Don't barge into your competition's office and conduct a whiteboard session. Just consider what you say, and to whom you say it, and then get out there and get some feedback.

    The fact is, if the product you deliver is exactly the same as the idea you had, then you were wrong or you missed a lot of opportunities. Products formed from the experience of a single individual are only a perfect fit for that same individual. Opinions, taste, process, budget, timing and dozens of other variables change for each person in each situation. You need as much data as you can get to ensure you're producing the best version of your idea possible.

    Our success at Fieldlens was partially because of the amount of employees with experience in the construction industry. While I was proud to be one individual that contributed on that subject, my construction experience was capped at a three story building. High-rise, civil, industrial, oil and gas, and so many other categories of construction were foreign concepts to me. Without the experience of my colleagues, we would have built an application perfect for a contractor building strip malls and grocery stores, but likely useless for the team building a theme park. We would have ignored over 95% of our potential market.

    Ideas only grow when they are fed with knowledge and experience, and you only have a limited supply of each. It's your job to get out there and find enough food for your idea to ensure that it grows to its full potential. You will learn some of your assumptions were wrong, see entire market segments you ignored, and uncover potential problems you never imagined. You will also meet people who are more skilled than you in specific areas, you will need their help, and this is where it gets tricky.

    A quick note for those that still think they have all the answers. You would never pick up a saw if your intention is to hang a picture because it's obviously not the correct tool for the job. In fact, there isn't a single item in your toolbox suitable for every task. As you think about your Idea, company, or department, remember no single person is right for every job... including you.

    Once you completed the tough step of admitting you need help to develop your idea, it's time to decide what type of help you're willing to accept. You must develop the product or service, how to market it, how to sell it, how to support it, and how to increase efficiency and decrease costs along the way. If you're not a subject matter expert in one or more of those areas, then you need to find one. After you find that person, you need to determine if they are right for you and your idea.

    Lots of people are willing to help with your idea, but chances are the ones that are easy to find were easily found for a reason. You're going to meet perfectionists, visionaries, and straight up grifters. While you need strong opinions in the areas where you lack experience, you also need people that align with your values, respect your vision, and that you can actually work with. Assessing the skill set of an individual is tough. It's even tougher when you don't have an equal or greater skill set in the same area. But it's not impossible. Software engineers get hired by non-technical people every day. The same goes for most skilled professions, and the key to making the right decision is a strong process. Consider the following when assessing the skills of individuals that may be able to help you along your journey.

    • Present them with clear short and long-term goals, and ask them to develop their 30-60-90 plan to meet those goals. Make sure you have absolute clarity in their plan when it's presented. If they stray from the goals you set, have a discussion about why. It's possible they see something you missed. It's also possible they lack the ability to follow direction. Your job is to determine which type of person they are.
    • Your network may not be full of people who have time to help you, but I'll bet it's full of people who could if they wanted to. Reach out to those individuals and ask them for help in assessing the skill sets of potential employees/partners/advisors.
    • Ask for references and actually check them. Get into the weeds about how they work, what struggles they encountered and how they resolved them, and how they achieved success with specific projects.
    • Ask for a presentation on a major project they've completed, and push for the details behind why they made specific decisions. Ask for clarity in areas you don't understand until you have it and push for direct answers until they eliminate all ambiguity. You're not trying to recreate the project yourself. You're just trying to understand how they think, why they made specific decisions, and will their process be a fit for what you're trying to accomplish.

    Lots of people are willing to help with your idea, but chances are the ones that are easy to find were easily found for a reason. You're going to meet perfectionists, visionaries, and straight-up grifters. While you need strong opinions in the areas where you lack experience, you also need people that align with your values, respect your vision, and that you can actually work with. Assessing the skill set of an individual is tough. It's even tougher when you don't have an equal or greater skill set in the same area. But it's not impossible. Software engineers get hired by non-technical people every day. The same goes for most skilled professions, and the key to making the right decision is a strong process. Consider the following when assessing the skills of individuals that may be able to help you along your journey.r team accountable, give them the freedom they need to meet their goals, and breathe. You can thank me later.

    This is a repost from www.bluecollar.business. The Blue Collar Business School project is intended to work with current and potential business owners to develop a framework of information they find most useful in setting up and running their businesses. An MBA is not going to help them, and no one else seems to be helping the blue-collar professional either. I'm trying to change that. If you want to help, or if you have comments on how I can improve this material please DM me or contact me thru the site. The site, newsletter, and associated podcast are all free projects with no ad support. Donations are never requested or accepted.

    submitted by /u/betilfan
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