kivanmaharaj.com

With all the hyp around social networking and the giants in the that space like Myspace , Facebook and the likes , the one thing we need to keep in mind as well is that there is nothing better then a face to face meeting. Technology is really good but a face to face intial contact is better.

As a startup that will be focusing on social networks and other consumer areas , this is important part to think about. how do I bridge the gap between real and virtual social networking. I think that this should be the next step in social networking. Combining the real with the virtual will  not only build the group of people’s relationship but they will be less likely to leave the site as they would become more involved in the social aspect.

Can we define this as Web 3.0 V2R ? I wonder but I think it should be part of the future of social networks. It would also give the social network a chance to bring in more advertising revenue from setup social days.

This is just a thought anyway.

For most startups within the internet space the main source of income is through advertising, specifically web ads. Most just use one of the 3 ad providers. Slap some ads on and wait for the cheques to roll in and hope it is enough to cover the costs and allow for some small luxuries.

The reality is that in the current market those cheques are getting smaller and we need to look at alternate ways to grow revenue. One of the hot areas at the moment is the mobile realm which is dominated by admob. They do billions of impressions and seem to be really gaining a foothold around the world.

For my roadmap I was looking at mobile content and advertising models as it is a possible way to grow revenue. People are also more accepting to mobile ads then before and with a good rewards program it can really take off. If you think in terms of access most people have mobile phones then Pc’s.

Currently India and China have the largest number of subscribers then any other country but that does not mean the country you are in does not hold potential. So if you are in startup mode look at your roadmap and include some sort of mobile revenue model in that.

Captains Log: Wednesday 27 August 2008

So you have built your product and want to get maximum exposure for it, you want to have a brand that everyone remembers , similar to the way everyone associates search to Google.

Building a brand is hard work with no guarentees that you will reach your target audience. There is a fine line between creating a quality brand and a worthless one. Your brand strategy will also determine your pricing point for your product.Think of it like this , the cost to manufacture a Gucci bag and the retail price has no correlation to it. It purely comes down to how you associate to the brand. They have also spent a ton of money to build the brand ,which you don’t have.

Here are some points to think about when branding product:

1. Your target audience

2. Product price point

3. Potential size of your market

4. Growth of the brand

5. Customer loyalty to the brand

These are fairly important as it will determine at what cost you launch your product and how you determine the price increase of the product. This will determine your profit margins and ultimate growth of the product in that space. We also need to keep in mind that this not as easy as it seems. If you want to play in the high end niche or general space you need to keep in mind the barrier to enter that space and understand the buying patterns of the consumer in that space. Also what makes your product standout against others already playing in that space.

For my startup I will be focusing on all the above issues as I need to figure all the following out myself.

Captains Log: Tuesday 26 August 2008

They say that people spend les during a recession as there is less money available. That is actually not true. There is more or less the same amount of money running through the system during any cycle. The actual difference is that some of the money is being held back from expenditure which causes the market to slow as money is moving around at a slower pace. The slower it moves the more we move into a recession type mode.

So how does a recession and innovation go together. The first thing to keep in mind is that the word innovation can be used in many instances, as it is not confined to something a person has created.  You can innovate with marketing , sales , innovation, people, time and so on.

In recession mode you have to use all the different types of innovation or as many which would be relevant to your business. The thinking behind it is that you have to work harder to convince someone to hand over their money. You need to look at your sales and marketing strategy and take a two fold approach, one is how much can you stretch your marketing budget and also get the maximum ROI on that budget.

Seeing that I am in startup mode this is very important to me as I need to run the marketing as lean as possible. I need to be able to convince a person that by giving me $1 dollar they will actually still see value from it. If I can do that then I will see the ROI I need to take the company forward. I intend using as many types of innovation as possible to get the required result. If you are working in small team even better as you can draw on their ideas to refine whatever strategy you have decided to choose.

I will followup on this topic again as soon as I have tested my plan.

Captains Log: Monday 25 August 2008

Being in a startup you are most likely passionate about what you are building and totally believe in your vision and the its future growth, but one important question that arises, can your vision cloud your judgement in excuting your product plan and gain traction or even listening to a good idea. This has been the fall of many a visionary.Having the vision and begin realistic about it are two different things.

Sometimes while building your dream the market shifts and you end up  building the was hot , not the is hot.Obviously scope creep is a very bad thing , but while you are building your product keep the consumer and the market in mind, otherwise you might end up with something no one wants to use. Also don’t change your design if you see a competitor adding a feature , you can always get there after launch.

The main aspects to keep in mind would be to :

1. Have a clear vision and plan for your concept to product strategy

2. Make sure there is no scope creep into the initial product

3. Watch the market and competitors

4. Listen to your team

5. All decisions are made on business decisions not your personal feeling
It is a very tricky thing to work work as unless you have an outside person that is independat looking in from time to time ,it can get difficult to figure out where the cloud is building.

Captains Log: Saturday 23 August 2008

So I was busy today with all the usual things one would do  on a saturday, working on product , planning on when I think we should breakeven, but then I thought how does one define the break even point ?

I think there are a few ways to define the break even point as I don’t think it is only a financial one. I think it depends on your defined goals and where you want to see you product go.

Here are a few types of break even points

1. Revenue

2. User/Consumer base

3.  A combination of both Revenue and User/Consuer base

4.  Time

5.  Your Bootstap budget

I think these just about cove them. If you have anymore please add a comment to it.

Captains Log: Friday 22 August 2008

As you can see from my many blogs I am focusing alot on marketing and branding. The reason is that this is an important part of a startups business. So I was thinking maybe the founders should ne the brand ambassadors for the product. Eat , life and wear the brand. The thinking behind this is that if people see your passion around your product , it might inspire them to use it. We need to keep in mind that you also need a relatively good product. Don’t be the $999 do nothing Apple application. That will not fly and you will look like an snake oil salesmen, a passionate one at best.

I itend not only living the brand but also making my team passionate about what they are building. If they feel the same about the idea as the founders it tends to give the product more credibility. If you speak to any car designer they are totally expressive about the design and the brand. I mean you would’nt want to hear the designer saying, well this is not the best design but please but it, or I did this design while sitting on the toilet. Not very inspirational.

So how can we be the brand ? Well I have simple concepts for that.

1. Branded items like T-shirts(Hot Girls help), tatoos, bags

2. Richard Branson type branding stunts

3.  Have a car rebranded and driven around, while giving out free stuff.

4. Have competitions that involve the brand

5. Get people to be brand evangelists

These are some that came to mind. I am sure there are many more.

Captains Log: Thursday 21 August 2008

So we are building a product and will be launching soon. But there is one thing that we need to think about. How do we get the word out there so people come over and have a look. That is where product buzz becomes so important. Without positive buzz (sometimes even negative helps) you are going to be part of the living dead pool.

So how do we create buzz ? Here is a list of possibilities,

1. Get a PR company to create buzz

2. Give out business card advertisments

3. Get hot girls to wear branded T-shirts

4. Do a competition where one can win something

5. Buy ads from Google and hope you see a ROI

6. Viral marketing ( There are many types)

7. Have a good product and create hardcore fans.

I am sure there are many more so please feel free to add more.

Captains Log: Thursday 20 August 2008

I had a interesting discussion today with regards to the impact a global recession or economic slowdown will have on the startup sector. We know that most VC’s are looking more carefully at investments and there is a slow down in the amount of companies in startup mode especially in the tech sector. the biggest reson I think would be a slowdown in ad revenue for that space. Companies like Google have put the brakes on hiring and are starting to look at cost management.

If the consumer is spending less , then logically a business would or should spend less on advertising or just refocus it to get a better ROI. As most web companies rely 100% on ad revenue and seeing that Google is changing the way they manage their ad business as quality is preferred over quantity, most web companies that use Google will see a drop in revenue.

But is a recession all doom and clone. My answer to that is a clear NO. Why you may ask is becasue this is the best time to start a company. Starting lean and living lean keeps you in recession mode even when things get better and you tend to have greater increases in revenue. Also you have to be clever with marketing your product and if you can gain traction in a slow market you are sure to grow rapidly in a growth market. It obviously takes alot more work to get all this done in a slow market.

For a startup you think to think on your feet and that is not to say you are currently not ,but you have to be very creative with every dollaro you spend and make sure you are getting a $2 value. Seeing that I am in startup mode this is one of the main concerns for me. Every thing is based on cost especially if you have raised no money and are in current bootstrap mode. I think that one could make a lot of money in a slow economy but you have to work on a mass market with a low margin per user.  I am actually excited about running in this mode as it will show where my real talents are and help myself and the team grow and think not out of the box but with out the box.

It might also be the best time to build the next Google as well. Google has shareholders and corporate policy as well as 15ooo or so employees. So if you are thinking search now is the time to do it.

Captains Log: Tuesday 19 August 2008

So I got home yesterday and decided to do as little as possible. Why you may ask ? Well the reality is that when you are in startup mode there is a constant sense of urgency. You are high on red bull and other delious sugar inspired foods. We sit thinking of the ten things we still need to do while adding another ten things to that list. It gets crazy.

So we tend to forget that our body needs to take some downtime just like a server. Without the relaxation we are going to burn out our processor and that is far more difficult to fix then one in a server. So I have decided that at least one time per week I will take a day to do nothing.

That means nothing , no logging on to read emails , no writing ideas, just no.