Guest bootstrap blogger Nina Godiwalla Talks about the Rise Conference
I was one of the RISE (www.riseaustin.org) participants who went to so many sessions that I didn’t get around to lunch until 6pm when the sessions were wrapping up. I ran all around town, from the North side to the South side to the East side. The session topics and the people they attracted were so varied. There were 70 year olds and 20 year olds in the same sessions, all eager to learn how to blog and create their own webpage. The sessions were free, making it a boon for any typical, broke entrepreneur. For these few days, those who couldn’t afford to join many of the professional networks in Austin had a place to share their ideas and make like-minded friends. It was impressive to see how many women and minorities were at the sessions. Because people around us were fairly represented, it really felt like a community.
One of the unique elements was the conversations and emphasis on business with a purpose to help others. As one business student said in a session, “I’m always an outcast for having these social-minded views when I talk about business. It is great to be around others that care too.” I’ve been to many business conferences in other cities. Typically you choose whether you want to go to the Entrepreneur’s conference or the Social Impact conference. There may be a session or two within each conference where the topics overlap, but for the most part people that share the idea of profit with a purpose tend to be the minority. The opening and closing talks (Roy Spence & John Mackey) at RISE gave participants a framework by which to meld the two philosophies—purpose and profit.
I witnessed many people, including myself, with a new spark of hope and excitement, knowing that there is a community of leaders and peers around us to join in our entrepreneurial journey. There are a couple of us so inspired by the conference that we are coming up with ways to keep it alive throughout the year. It would be sad to wait another whole year. We are working on a couple ideas with the organizers.
Nina Godiwalla
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Fred Castaneda of the Struggling Entrepreneur Talks about Podcasting and Entrepreneurism
Fred Castaneda of the Struggling Entrepreneur Talks about Podcasting and Entrepreneurism
Where are you from originally?
I was born in Mexico and Spanish is my native language, but I have spent the last 52 years here in the US. Although I am a permanent resident alien, I did serve in the US Army as a combat infantryman during the Vietnam War, as my draft number was #29 in the first lottery. And I have studied many languages-- Latin, Greek, French, German, and I speak fluent Spanish and English.
What university did you go to?
I have attended the following universities:
- Loyola University of Los Angeles (B.A.)
- Loyola Marymount University (M.B.A.)
- ITESM (aka "Monterrey Tech" in Mexico City- MBA program)
- Western State University (Law School, Calif.)
- KW University - PhD candidate in International Business
What brought you to Austin?
I came to Austin as a transfer from Dallas during my IBM career (I have just retired from IBM after 31 years in Systems Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Social Media, New Media, Podcasting and Software Development).
What is the idea behind your group focused on podcasting?
I have been a podcaster for 3 years, and I currently have 8 podcasts. I also am the organizer for the AUSTIN PODCASTERS GROUP with meetup sessions every month for the past 2 years. My idea is to provide the skills, technology, updates and best practices for the podcaster community of entrepreneurs in Austin, as well as nationwide (during the Telesummits and conferences in the US).
What need does it fulfill?
Podcasting fulfills the need of exposure, awareness, demand-generation & fulfillment, delivery of content and sales of premium content for the Small Business Owner and Entrepreneur--regardless of what product or service is being sold and/or delivered to the clients and customers. Including the proper format of both audio and video podcasts in this delivery channel can add to the marketing mix of the entrepreneur's firm, thus increasing revenue and profitability, while enhancing a competitive, differential advantage.
What exactly does your group do?
The Podcast of http://www.strugglingentrepreneur serves to provide lessons learned, best practices and case studies of the "entrepreneur's story" to the audiences of both aspiring entrepreneurs (aka "dreamers") and also the recently-launched entrepreneurs (aka "newbies"). It also delivers awareness of organizations that provide assistance, value and help to the entrepreneur (e.g., SCORE, BIGAustin, the Business Success Center, etc.).
The Austin Podcasters Group creates a community of entrepreneurs and other podcasters who wish to create and publish podcasts to enhance the marketing strategy of their company.
Whom is it for?
The AUSTIN PODCASTERS GROUP -- We support podcasters from every industry and at every level--from beginning to advanced.
The podcast series of THE STRUGGLING ENTREPRENEUR is for the individual who dreams about starting a business (either on a part-time or full-time basis), or has recently launched a business. It is also for the audiences that want to learn about entrepreneurship from the case studies, success stories and the personal experiences of those interviewed in the series.
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up the group?
(1) THE AUSTIN PODCASTERS GROUP - the challenge was taking a group that was about to fold and close its doors, because the leader of the group at the time, Mark Lassoff, wanted to terminate the group. However, with the insistence of a fellow podcaster (who has THE COMIC BOOK PAGE PODCAST), I took over as leader and saved the group from the brink of extinction to its current status of over 69 members. Also, in February, we have outgrown our current venue for meetings.
The other obstacle was funding out of my own pocket the cost of using the MEETUP FACILITY--that's right! the membership pays nothing for belonging to the group.
For the STRUGGLING ENTREPRENEUR podcast, the most challenging aspect was getting the podcast launched and keeping the success of the podcast in line with the quality of the content. That is, I have turned down all the offers for advertising from multiple vendors--mainly, because I do not want the quality and integrity of the podcast to suffer and lose my audience because they may think that I now have a credibility and integrity compromise. To this date, there has been no sponsorship or advertising. Thus, the content is free from ads and is not affected by others paying for their content to be pushed in the podcast.
What is the next step for you and your group?
For the AUSTIN PODCASTERS GROUP, the next step is to grow the group close to 100, and then transition the leadership to another member, with the model that the "baton" needs to be passed to other members--so that the group is really the members' group, and not mine.
Also, a sharing of the podcasts being done by the current membership will allow the exposure of the entrepreneurs with their podcasts.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Subscribe to the podcast series of http://www.strugglingentrepreneur.com.
WHY? Because every entrepreneur has a story, and one of the key items we ask in every interview is HOW they overcame their obstacles, as well as recommendations and "words of wisdom" from their entrepreneurial experiences for the "dreamer" and the "newbie." You can always learn from the experiences of others.
Remember the saying:
"Good judgement comes from experience; and experience comes from bad judgment."
Thus, let's learn from the experiences of others, so that we can avoid the pitfalls and become more successful with fewer chances for struggling with the obstacles to having a successful business in the shortest amount of time with the biggest return!
Best regards,
Hall T.
Where are you from originally?
I was born in Mexico and Spanish is my native language, but I have spent the last 52 years here in the US. Although I am a permanent resident alien, I did serve in the US Army as a combat infantryman during the Vietnam War, as my draft number was #29 in the first lottery. And I have studied many languages-- Latin, Greek, French, German, and I speak fluent Spanish and English.
What university did you go to?
I have attended the following universities:
- Loyola University of Los Angeles (B.A.)
- Loyola Marymount University (M.B.A.)
- ITESM (aka "Monterrey Tech" in Mexico City- MBA program)
- Western State University (Law School, Calif.)
- KW University - PhD candidate in International Business
What brought you to Austin?
I came to Austin as a transfer from Dallas during my IBM career (I have just retired from IBM after 31 years in Systems Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Social Media, New Media, Podcasting and Software Development).
What is the idea behind your group focused on podcasting?
I have been a podcaster for 3 years, and I currently have 8 podcasts. I also am the organizer for the AUSTIN PODCASTERS GROUP with meetup sessions every month for the past 2 years. My idea is to provide the skills, technology, updates and best practices for the podcaster community of entrepreneurs in Austin, as well as nationwide (during the Telesummits and conferences in the US).
What need does it fulfill?
Podcasting fulfills the need of exposure, awareness, demand-generation & fulfillment, delivery of content and sales of premium content for the Small Business Owner and Entrepreneur--regardless of what product or service is being sold and/or delivered to the clients and customers. Including the proper format of both audio and video podcasts in this delivery channel can add to the marketing mix of the entrepreneur's firm, thus increasing revenue and profitability, while enhancing a competitive, differential advantage.
What exactly does your group do?
The Podcast of http://www.strugglingentrepreneur serves to provide lessons learned, best practices and case studies of the "entrepreneur's story" to the audiences of both aspiring entrepreneurs (aka "dreamers") and also the recently-launched entrepreneurs (aka "newbies"). It also delivers awareness of organizations that provide assistance, value and help to the entrepreneur (e.g., SCORE, BIGAustin, the Business Success Center, etc.).
The Austin Podcasters Group creates a community of entrepreneurs and other podcasters who wish to create and publish podcasts to enhance the marketing strategy of their company.
Whom is it for?
The AUSTIN PODCASTERS GROUP -- We support podcasters from every industry and at every level--from beginning to advanced.
The podcast series of THE STRUGGLING ENTREPRENEUR is for the individual who dreams about starting a business (either on a part-time or full-time basis), or has recently launched a business. It is also for the audiences that want to learn about entrepreneurship from the case studies, success stories and the personal experiences of those interviewed in the series.
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up the group?
(1) THE AUSTIN PODCASTERS GROUP - the challenge was taking a group that was about to fold and close its doors, because the leader of the group at the time, Mark Lassoff, wanted to terminate the group. However, with the insistence of a fellow podcaster (who has THE COMIC BOOK PAGE PODCAST), I took over as leader and saved the group from the brink of extinction to its current status of over 69 members. Also, in February, we have outgrown our current venue for meetings.
The other obstacle was funding out of my own pocket the cost of using the MEETUP FACILITY--that's right! the membership pays nothing for belonging to the group.
For the STRUGGLING ENTREPRENEUR podcast, the most challenging aspect was getting the podcast launched and keeping the success of the podcast in line with the quality of the content. That is, I have turned down all the offers for advertising from multiple vendors--mainly, because I do not want the quality and integrity of the podcast to suffer and lose my audience because they may think that I now have a credibility and integrity compromise. To this date, there has been no sponsorship or advertising. Thus, the content is free from ads and is not affected by others paying for their content to be pushed in the podcast.
What is the next step for you and your group?
For the AUSTIN PODCASTERS GROUP, the next step is to grow the group close to 100, and then transition the leadership to another member, with the model that the "baton" needs to be passed to other members--so that the group is really the members' group, and not mine.
Also, a sharing of the podcasts being done by the current membership will allow the exposure of the entrepreneurs with their podcasts.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Subscribe to the podcast series of http://www.strugglingentrepreneur.com.
WHY? Because every entrepreneur has a story, and one of the key items we ask in every interview is HOW they overcame their obstacles, as well as recommendations and "words of wisdom" from their entrepreneurial experiences for the "dreamer" and the "newbie." You can always learn from the experiences of others.
Remember the saying:
"Good judgement comes from experience; and experience comes from bad judgment."
Thus, let's learn from the experiences of others, so that we can avoid the pitfalls and become more successful with fewer chances for struggling with the obstacles to having a successful business in the shortest amount of time with the biggest return!
Best regards,
Hall T.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Michelle Frith of Biehler & Associates Talks about the City of Austin’s Small Business Development Program’s Getting Connected Business Resource Fair
Michelle Frith of Biehler & Associates Talks about the City of Austin’s Small Business Development Program’s Getting Connected Business Resource Fair
Where are you from originally?
All over the Midwest. I was born in the Oklahoma Panhandle, but lived in nearly every small town in Kansas and the Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle. The people are really nice there, but it was great to move to Central Texas.
What university did you go to?
The University formerly known as Southwest Texas State University – now known as Texas State University. I received a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Communication and a Master of Arts in Communication many years ago.
What brought you to Austin?
I came through Austin on a school field trip in middle school and thought it was so beautiful that I was determined to live here someday. And my dream came true! I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
What is the idea behind the SBDP's Business Resource Fair?
Business owners aren’t always aware of the incredible resources there are in Austin to help them be successful. We want to connect entrepreneurs to those resources, be it from non-profit groups whose mission is to help businesses, from business networking organizations, or from government programs which have ways to assist our small business owners. When Austin small businesses are successful, Austin itself is successful in so many ways.
What need does it fulfill?
These days everyone needs to stretch their imaginations and do research to find out how to be the best they can be. Businesses are no exception and an event like Getting Connected can offer a goldmine of information and assistance and all for free. While some see these times as “trying”, I think of them as an opportunity to be creative, to see things from new and different angles. Entrepreneurs seeking new information will only make themselves and their businesses the better for it. In any other tough economic times, it’s been the true entrepreneurs who turned things around for all of us. You know – necessity is the mother of invention!
Who is it for?
Getting Connected is a free event for anyone thinking of starting a business, who is researching and is about to start a business or anyone who is already in business. We will have resources that anyone can take advantage of. Besides the great exhibit with dozens of booths being conducted on the ground floor of Palmer Events Center, the City’s Small Business Development Program will also be offering three different BizAid Business Start Up Orientations throughout the event. The hour-long classes will be offered at 3:00, at 4:45 and at 6:00 p.m. These classes share the basic considerations every potential entrepreneur should ponder before starting. Many of our BizAid Start Up Orientations are currently business owners and the feedback is always extremely positive.
What was the most challenging aspect of running such a Fair? Coordination of so many different details is definitely a challenge. Venue selection, food, exhibitors, invitations, marketing, RSVP’s, speakers, audio/visual, booth layouts, evaluations, decorations – there is just so much to do! We have a great event coordinator and a team that is unbeatable. You can always tell when an event is well run when it looks easy. SBDP events appear seamless – and we’re really proud of that.
What other events/activities are you running this year?
Our major events each year are Getting Connected, the Ups and Downs of a Second Location slated for May 13 of this year and Meet the Lender offered each August. The Ups and Downs of a Second Location was a real hit last year and we’re really excited to be offering it again. That event will include panelists from three businesses that have successfully expanded their business to more than one location. They share their positive experiences and the challenges they faced in expansion as lessons learned. Meet the Lender on August 6 will once again offer 40+ lenders in one place at one time in a casual setting so that small business owners can shake hands and find out what the lenders’ requirements are and who they might want to do business with. Getting Connected and Meet the Lender are both free events but there is a small investment for Ups and Downs of a Second Location. Major events and recurring classes and events are listed on our website’s Calendar of Events or anyone interested can sign up to be in our database to receive emails about business related events and classes.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Plan, plan, plan and then go back and get a Plan B, Plan C, Plan D and Plan F. Being an entrepreneur is fun, scary, hard, thrilling, demanding, complicated, and such a blast! Seek out resources and help, get a mentor and have support and cheerleaders who are on your side. Do your research and don’t forget while you’re working at your business, you have to work on your business. Tell everyone you know what you do – and more than anything be passionate!
Best regards,
Hall T.
Where are you from originally?
All over the Midwest. I was born in the Oklahoma Panhandle, but lived in nearly every small town in Kansas and the Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle. The people are really nice there, but it was great to move to Central Texas.
What university did you go to?
The University formerly known as Southwest Texas State University – now known as Texas State University. I received a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Communication and a Master of Arts in Communication many years ago.
What brought you to Austin?
I came through Austin on a school field trip in middle school and thought it was so beautiful that I was determined to live here someday. And my dream came true! I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
What is the idea behind the SBDP's Business Resource Fair?
Business owners aren’t always aware of the incredible resources there are in Austin to help them be successful. We want to connect entrepreneurs to those resources, be it from non-profit groups whose mission is to help businesses, from business networking organizations, or from government programs which have ways to assist our small business owners. When Austin small businesses are successful, Austin itself is successful in so many ways.
What need does it fulfill?
These days everyone needs to stretch their imaginations and do research to find out how to be the best they can be. Businesses are no exception and an event like Getting Connected can offer a goldmine of information and assistance and all for free. While some see these times as “trying”, I think of them as an opportunity to be creative, to see things from new and different angles. Entrepreneurs seeking new information will only make themselves and their businesses the better for it. In any other tough economic times, it’s been the true entrepreneurs who turned things around for all of us. You know – necessity is the mother of invention!
Who is it for?
Getting Connected is a free event for anyone thinking of starting a business, who is researching and is about to start a business or anyone who is already in business. We will have resources that anyone can take advantage of. Besides the great exhibit with dozens of booths being conducted on the ground floor of Palmer Events Center, the City’s Small Business Development Program will also be offering three different BizAid Business Start Up Orientations throughout the event. The hour-long classes will be offered at 3:00, at 4:45 and at 6:00 p.m. These classes share the basic considerations every potential entrepreneur should ponder before starting. Many of our BizAid Start Up Orientations are currently business owners and the feedback is always extremely positive.
What was the most challenging aspect of running such a Fair? Coordination of so many different details is definitely a challenge. Venue selection, food, exhibitors, invitations, marketing, RSVP’s, speakers, audio/visual, booth layouts, evaluations, decorations – there is just so much to do! We have a great event coordinator and a team that is unbeatable. You can always tell when an event is well run when it looks easy. SBDP events appear seamless – and we’re really proud of that.
What other events/activities are you running this year?
Our major events each year are Getting Connected, the Ups and Downs of a Second Location slated for May 13 of this year and Meet the Lender offered each August. The Ups and Downs of a Second Location was a real hit last year and we’re really excited to be offering it again. That event will include panelists from three businesses that have successfully expanded their business to more than one location. They share their positive experiences and the challenges they faced in expansion as lessons learned. Meet the Lender on August 6 will once again offer 40+ lenders in one place at one time in a casual setting so that small business owners can shake hands and find out what the lenders’ requirements are and who they might want to do business with. Getting Connected and Meet the Lender are both free events but there is a small investment for Ups and Downs of a Second Location. Major events and recurring classes and events are listed on our website’s Calendar of Events or anyone interested can sign up to be in our database to receive emails about business related events and classes.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Plan, plan, plan and then go back and get a Plan B, Plan C, Plan D and Plan F. Being an entrepreneur is fun, scary, hard, thrilling, demanding, complicated, and such a blast! Seek out resources and help, get a mentor and have support and cheerleaders who are on your side. Do your research and don’t forget while you’re working at your business, you have to work on your business. Tell everyone you know what you do – and more than anything be passionate!
Best regards,
Hall T.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Eric Hennenhoefer of Obsidian Software Talks about the Entrepreneurs Organization
Eric Hennenhoefer of Obsidian Software Talks about the Entrepreneurs Organization
Where are you from originally?
I was born in Washington DC, was a toddler in Dallas, and lived a dozen places before settling down in Harrisburg PA for kindergarten. If you’ve visited Hershey’s Chocolate World or remember Three Mile Island, I’m from up there.
What university did you go to?
I went to Penn State University and have a graduate degree in Computer Engineering.
What brought you to Austin?
I’m a migrant tech worker. I was living in Vermont and working for IBM when AMD lured me down to Austin to work on the Athlon microprocessor. I figured anywhere that serves ice tea year round works for me.
What group are you with?
I’m the Texas Director for Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), and I work with the boards of the Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston EO chapters.
The Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) is a global network of more than 7,000 business owners in 38 countries.
What need does it fulfill?
EO provides a peer to-peer-learning experience for entrepreneurs. Often entrepreneurs find that as their businesses grow, they need a safe forum to discuss their personal and business challenges with others facing similar problems. EO offers a way to connect with your peers to learn and grow.
What exactly does your group do?
The EO chapter has monthly education events and members are placed in a forum. Forums contain 8-10 fellow business owners who meet once a month for a confidential discussion. EO is not a networking group and there is a strict non-solicitation policy.
Who is it for?
EO is for founders and controlling shareholders who operate companies with over $1 million in sales.
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up the group?
Reaching entrepreneurs is difficult. The number one complaint I hear from new members is they wish they heard of us earlier. You can check out our Membership video
What is the next step for you and your group?
Growth, Austin EO is looking for new members.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Follow your passion.
Best regards,
Where are you from originally?
I was born in Washington DC, was a toddler in Dallas, and lived a dozen places before settling down in Harrisburg PA for kindergarten. If you’ve visited Hershey’s Chocolate World or remember Three Mile Island, I’m from up there.
What university did you go to?
I went to Penn State University and have a graduate degree in Computer Engineering.
What brought you to Austin?
I’m a migrant tech worker. I was living in Vermont and working for IBM when AMD lured me down to Austin to work on the Athlon microprocessor. I figured anywhere that serves ice tea year round works for me.
What group are you with?
I’m the Texas Director for Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), and I work with the boards of the Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston EO chapters.
The Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) is a global network of more than 7,000 business owners in 38 countries.
What need does it fulfill?
EO provides a peer to-peer-learning experience for entrepreneurs. Often entrepreneurs find that as their businesses grow, they need a safe forum to discuss their personal and business challenges with others facing similar problems. EO offers a way to connect with your peers to learn and grow.
What exactly does your group do?
The EO chapter has monthly education events and members are placed in a forum. Forums contain 8-10 fellow business owners who meet once a month for a confidential discussion. EO is not a networking group and there is a strict non-solicitation policy.
Who is it for?
EO is for founders and controlling shareholders who operate companies with over $1 million in sales.
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up the group?
Reaching entrepreneurs is difficult. The number one complaint I hear from new members is they wish they heard of us earlier. You can check out our Membership video
What is the next step for you and your group?
Growth, Austin EO is looking for new members.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Follow your passion.
Best regards,
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Jonathan Davis of American Workforce Talks about the Entrepreneur Organization’s Accelerator Program.
Jonathan Davis of American Workforce Talks about the Entrepreneur Organization’s Accelerator Program.
Where are you from originally?
I was born and raised in the northernmost reaches of rural Upstate New York.
What university did you go to?
I attended the University at Albany where I had the opportunity to study Economics.
What brought you to Austin?
I was fortunate enough to get to know a number of the people at Trilogy while I was going through the recruiting process in the late 90's. While I chose not to move to Austin right after college this same group of friends convinced me to move less than 18 months later to join a start-up called Mall.com.
What is the idea behind EO Accelerator?
Accelerator's a truly amazing program. The Entrepreneurs' Organization (formerly YEO) created it about 3 years ago with the goal of providing content-based learning opportunities to first-stage companies. Austin's chapter has been around just over a year and we now have nearly 20 cities in 3 countries with 350+ members.
The original goal was to have quarterly learning events with professional facilitators that focused on Sales, Finance, People and Strategy. What we've discovered after a couple of years is that while the content is great, our Participants are really enjoying the introduction to Peer to Peer learning that this provides. The twice-quarterly meetings that we have are based on teaching through real world experiences and driving real take-home value for the Entrepreneurs that are spending this time away from their businesses.
What need does it fulfill?
We found a number of resources for people who were thinking about starting a company (Fortune Small Business, Bootstrap Austin's Ideation Group) and even resources for companies who were pre-revenue and looking for ways to position themselves for funding.
The Accelerator Program is for Entrepreneurs who are actively engaged in and growing their businesses and they're faced with added complexity, scalability challenges and the complications of employees.
What exactly does the group do?
Accelerator provides peer to peer learning opportunities as well as the chance to learn from seasoned Entrepreneurs who are actively running their own businesses through what is called "Gestalt Protocol". Gestalt, which is also the basis of the Entrepreneurs' Organization, is the idea that we weren't born with opinions but we all have them. Instead of giving opinions or advice, members within EO and the Accelerator Program are responsible for listening to the experiences that Mentors and Speakers are sharing and decide what applies to them and how it can impact their companies. We don't offer advice and we don't hide the ugly side of the mistakes that we, as fellow Entrepreneurs, have each made.
Who is it for?
The Accelerator Program is for Entrepreneurs whose companies have at least US $250,000 in revenue but who haven't yet reached $1m.
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up the group?
In order to launch any kind of volunteer-led group you must have passion and leadership at the top. In launching the Accelerator Program in Austin I believe that while recruiting was difficult, assembling a team of other Entrepreneurs to serve as mentors, leaders and supporters was the single most challenging aspect. Now that I have a de facto Board that includes Jeffrey Stukuls, Alan Blake and Member-Leader Dean Dzurilla I'm more comfortable with the program's perpetuation and its future looks bright. Obviously, it took the support of Chris Canada as our Past President and Derek Wright as our current President to maintain its status as a focal point of the local Entrepreneurs' Organization chapter.
What have you learned from running it this past year?
I'm a reluctant CEO and I've made a lot of missteps during my short tenure as an Executive. That being said, I've gotten a unique and special opportunity to learn how to Lead other Leaders over these past 14 months. From a selfish perspective, I've really enjoyed the insight I've gained about myself by launching and managing our local Accelerator Program.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Baz Lurhmann parodied it in a song in 1999 called "Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)" but the true credit goes to Mary Schmich who wrote in the Chicago Tribune in 1997:
"Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth."
Best regards,
Hall T.
Where are you from originally?
I was born and raised in the northernmost reaches of rural Upstate New York.
What university did you go to?
I attended the University at Albany where I had the opportunity to study Economics.
What brought you to Austin?
I was fortunate enough to get to know a number of the people at Trilogy while I was going through the recruiting process in the late 90's. While I chose not to move to Austin right after college this same group of friends convinced me to move less than 18 months later to join a start-up called Mall.com.
What is the idea behind EO Accelerator?
Accelerator's a truly amazing program. The Entrepreneurs' Organization (formerly YEO) created it about 3 years ago with the goal of providing content-based learning opportunities to first-stage companies. Austin's chapter has been around just over a year and we now have nearly 20 cities in 3 countries with 350+ members.
The original goal was to have quarterly learning events with professional facilitators that focused on Sales, Finance, People and Strategy. What we've discovered after a couple of years is that while the content is great, our Participants are really enjoying the introduction to Peer to Peer learning that this provides. The twice-quarterly meetings that we have are based on teaching through real world experiences and driving real take-home value for the Entrepreneurs that are spending this time away from their businesses.
What need does it fulfill?
We found a number of resources for people who were thinking about starting a company (Fortune Small Business, Bootstrap Austin's Ideation Group) and even resources for companies who were pre-revenue and looking for ways to position themselves for funding.
The Accelerator Program is for Entrepreneurs who are actively engaged in and growing their businesses and they're faced with added complexity, scalability challenges and the complications of employees.
What exactly does the group do?
Accelerator provides peer to peer learning opportunities as well as the chance to learn from seasoned Entrepreneurs who are actively running their own businesses through what is called "Gestalt Protocol". Gestalt, which is also the basis of the Entrepreneurs' Organization, is the idea that we weren't born with opinions but we all have them. Instead of giving opinions or advice, members within EO and the Accelerator Program are responsible for listening to the experiences that Mentors and Speakers are sharing and decide what applies to them and how it can impact their companies. We don't offer advice and we don't hide the ugly side of the mistakes that we, as fellow Entrepreneurs, have each made.
Who is it for?
The Accelerator Program is for Entrepreneurs whose companies have at least US $250,000 in revenue but who haven't yet reached $1m.
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up the group?
In order to launch any kind of volunteer-led group you must have passion and leadership at the top. In launching the Accelerator Program in Austin I believe that while recruiting was difficult, assembling a team of other Entrepreneurs to serve as mentors, leaders and supporters was the single most challenging aspect. Now that I have a de facto Board that includes Jeffrey Stukuls, Alan Blake and Member-Leader Dean Dzurilla I'm more comfortable with the program's perpetuation and its future looks bright. Obviously, it took the support of Chris Canada as our Past President and Derek Wright as our current President to maintain its status as a focal point of the local Entrepreneurs' Organization chapter.
What have you learned from running it this past year?
I'm a reluctant CEO and I've made a lot of missteps during my short tenure as an Executive. That being said, I've gotten a unique and special opportunity to learn how to Lead other Leaders over these past 14 months. From a selfish perspective, I've really enjoyed the insight I've gained about myself by launching and managing our local Accelerator Program.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Baz Lurhmann parodied it in a song in 1999 called "Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)" but the true credit goes to Mary Schmich who wrote in the Chicago Tribune in 1997:
"Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth."
Best regards,
Hall T.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Thomas Finsterbusch of 3 Day Startup Talks about His Group
Thomas Finsterbusch of 3 Day Startup Talks about His Group
Where are you from originally?
I was born in East Berlin and moved to the US when I was 16.
What university did you go to?
I studied Computer Science at UC San Diego in beautiful La Jolla, with frequent internships on the beach.
What brought you to Austin?
After finishing my undergrad, I jumped straight into the Computer Science PhD program here at UT. My other choice for grad school was UMich. I visited both Ann Arbor and Austin in mid-March. Both have great programs, but only one did not have snow on the ground...(tongue in cheek).
What is the idea behind you’re the 3 Day Startup group?
The idea behind 3 Day Startup is really simple: we get 40 of the most passionate student entrepreneurs together for three days to start a technology company. We provide high-quality work space, cater food and drinks, and invite mentors from the Austin venture capital, angel, legal, as well as local tech communities. The goal of the event is to build enough momentum and a network of motivated people to sustain the company beyond the weekend.
What need does it fulfill?
There are two pains we are addressing. First, we see a lot of entrepreneurship talks on campus that invite speakers who have done successful startups. This is a great learning experience, but at the same time, people are just sitting back and passively absorbing material. We are at the exact opposite of this spectrum: the weekend is intense, deadline-driven, and above all, is grounded in execution.
Among other things, we develop a working prototype, incorporate the company, and elect a board of directors. Second, we know a lot of people with great ideas that never actually get implemented for whatever reason: not enough time or money, no access to people with complementary skill sets, or lack of confidence. Our response is to provide a platform that has all the resources necessary to start a venture. At 3 Day Startup, students pitch their ideas, one will be picked, and 40 highly motivated people bring it to life.
What exactly does your group do?
On Friday at 1pm, the 40 people meet at ATI and split up into groups of 5 to brainstorm ideas. They each prepare a pitch to everyone else. Out of these 8 pitches, the participants vote to select the top 3. Now, they split up into these three groups to refine their pitch and to prepare for an intense grilling on why their idea should be picked. Finally, the participants decide on which idea (or multiple ideas) to run with. Then, throughout Saturday and Sunday, the software engineers build a prototype, our graphic designers develop a corporate identity,
and the business folks engage customers, validate the market, and write a business plan. The final highlight is the pitch to a panel of investors and local entrepreneurs to get candid feedback on the project.
Who is it for?
Passionate students at UT who want to execute ideas. We are recruiting from a wide variety of majors, including Computer Science, business, engineering, law, graphic design, PR, advertising, journalism, etc.
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up the group?
Time management. All of the organizers are full-time students, they serve as TAs, do research and publish papers, or they have already graduated and are working at startups already. Also, there is tons of noise in the process. Students have a phenomenal commitment problem, and it's surprisingly hard to find people who are aligned with the project's vision and who are ready to invest the same amount of sweat, blood, and tears. I'm extremely happy to work with a core group of people that all share the same high quality standards.
What is the next step for you and your group?
We're starting to reach out to folks at other universities with strong entrepreneurial programs, including Stanford, Berkeley, and MIT, to host similar events. Also, we have received inquiries from students in Israel and the UK to partner on 3 Day Startup events around the world.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Follow your goose bumps.
Best regards,
Hall T.
Where are you from originally?
I was born in East Berlin and moved to the US when I was 16.
What university did you go to?
I studied Computer Science at UC San Diego in beautiful La Jolla, with frequent internships on the beach.
What brought you to Austin?
After finishing my undergrad, I jumped straight into the Computer Science PhD program here at UT. My other choice for grad school was UMich. I visited both Ann Arbor and Austin in mid-March. Both have great programs, but only one did not have snow on the ground...(tongue in cheek).
What is the idea behind you’re the 3 Day Startup group?
The idea behind 3 Day Startup is really simple: we get 40 of the most passionate student entrepreneurs together for three days to start a technology company. We provide high-quality work space, cater food and drinks, and invite mentors from the Austin venture capital, angel, legal, as well as local tech communities. The goal of the event is to build enough momentum and a network of motivated people to sustain the company beyond the weekend.
What need does it fulfill?
There are two pains we are addressing. First, we see a lot of entrepreneurship talks on campus that invite speakers who have done successful startups. This is a great learning experience, but at the same time, people are just sitting back and passively absorbing material. We are at the exact opposite of this spectrum: the weekend is intense, deadline-driven, and above all, is grounded in execution.
Among other things, we develop a working prototype, incorporate the company, and elect a board of directors. Second, we know a lot of people with great ideas that never actually get implemented for whatever reason: not enough time or money, no access to people with complementary skill sets, or lack of confidence. Our response is to provide a platform that has all the resources necessary to start a venture. At 3 Day Startup, students pitch their ideas, one will be picked, and 40 highly motivated people bring it to life.
What exactly does your group do?
On Friday at 1pm, the 40 people meet at ATI and split up into groups of 5 to brainstorm ideas. They each prepare a pitch to everyone else. Out of these 8 pitches, the participants vote to select the top 3. Now, they split up into these three groups to refine their pitch and to prepare for an intense grilling on why their idea should be picked. Finally, the participants decide on which idea (or multiple ideas) to run with. Then, throughout Saturday and Sunday, the software engineers build a prototype, our graphic designers develop a corporate identity,
and the business folks engage customers, validate the market, and write a business plan. The final highlight is the pitch to a panel of investors and local entrepreneurs to get candid feedback on the project.
Who is it for?
Passionate students at UT who want to execute ideas. We are recruiting from a wide variety of majors, including Computer Science, business, engineering, law, graphic design, PR, advertising, journalism, etc.
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up the group?
Time management. All of the organizers are full-time students, they serve as TAs, do research and publish papers, or they have already graduated and are working at startups already. Also, there is tons of noise in the process. Students have a phenomenal commitment problem, and it's surprisingly hard to find people who are aligned with the project's vision and who are ready to invest the same amount of sweat, blood, and tears. I'm extremely happy to work with a core group of people that all share the same high quality standards.
What is the next step for you and your group?
We're starting to reach out to folks at other universities with strong entrepreneurial programs, including Stanford, Berkeley, and MIT, to host similar events. Also, we have received inquiries from students in Israel and the UK to partner on 3 Day Startup events around the world.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Follow your goose bumps.
Best regards,
Hall T.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Starting an Angel Network at Your University—Some Key Lessons
I’m glad to say the Baylor Angel Network is up and running and running dealflow. We have over 10 members already signed up with another 10 in the works and we’re reviewing deals in preparation for our first dealflow meeting at the end of this month. It’s great to see the acceptance of the group but then again, in these economic times how many new angel groups are forming and bringing fresh capital to the table.
I’ve learned a great deal about how to start an angel network in a university setting. The first lesson is to get sponsorship by a well-respected faculty member. In Baylor’s case Bill Petty who the National Entrepreneurship award last year serves as our anchor. The second lesson is to get two to five alumni backing the idea and promoting. In Baylor’s case, Robert Brewton and Pat Horner championed the idea and encouraged their compatriots in the alumni association to join. The third lesson is to get buy-in to the idea from the university’s legal department. They don’t let just anyone use the name and colors of the university.
An angel network is a great way for an alumnus to give back to the university. In addition to investing funds, the angel member can also invest time and expertise in deals that come out of the university.
If you know anyone who wants to foster an angel group at their university, please let me know as I can share with you my experiences.
Best regards,
Hall T.
I’ve learned a great deal about how to start an angel network in a university setting. The first lesson is to get sponsorship by a well-respected faculty member. In Baylor’s case Bill Petty who the National Entrepreneurship award last year serves as our anchor. The second lesson is to get two to five alumni backing the idea and promoting. In Baylor’s case, Robert Brewton and Pat Horner championed the idea and encouraged their compatriots in the alumni association to join. The third lesson is to get buy-in to the idea from the university’s legal department. They don’t let just anyone use the name and colors of the university.
An angel network is a great way for an alumnus to give back to the university. In addition to investing funds, the angel member can also invest time and expertise in deals that come out of the university.
If you know anyone who wants to foster an angel group at their university, please let me know as I can share with you my experiences.
Best regards,
Hall T.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Chris Treadaway of Notice Technologies Talks about His Startup
Chris Treadaway of Notice Technologies Talks about His Startup
Where are you from originally?
Born and raised in south Louisiana
What university did you go to?
BA Louisiana State, MBA University of Texas
What brought you to Austin?
I first moved to Austin in 1997 when I was on the Founding Team of Stratfor.com. I was responsible for building out the web site, developing content strategy, etc. After two more startups, I got my MBA from the University of Texas in 2004 and spent just under 3 ½ years at Microsoft in Redmond, working in Developer Marketing and Web 2.0 Strategy. My wife and I moved back to Austin in October 2008 because we love it here, and there are a lot of advantages to starting a company here in Austin. But over and above all else, Austin is home.
What is the idea behind your startup?
Local businesses know that their customers are increasingly moving to the Web, but they generally have no idea how to advertise themselves on the Internet and social networks. Meanwhile, people are forsaking their Yellow Pages/newspapers/etc. for the Internet. We believe that every ad that you see in a newspaper, a billboard, or on a chalkboard in a restaurant should be online – indexed, searchable, available on portals and location-based services, etc. Right now, you have to read page 3D of your paper to see an ad… you have to pass by & notice the billboard… and/or you have to walk into the restaurant to find what the lunch special is. That model is woefully inefficient and it will change.
So we are actually launching two products – 1) a location-based advertising network called MinutesNotice, and 2) a complimentary consumer coupon/local business deals site called Youpons.net. The two products go into Closed Beta in the next 7-10 days. We’ll spend that time learning as you can imagine.
What need does it fulfill?
It fills needs on both the business side and the consumer side.
In a recession, every business needs effective ways to reach more customers. We are finding that local businesses spend a lot of money on ineffective advertising because they understand how it works (i.e. buy a ¼ page ad in the newspaper, pay $1,000, and it can reach as many as 175k people in the Statesman.) It’s simple, so people adopt it even though they intuitively know that a lot of folks won’t see the ad on Page 3D. We want to make things similarly easy for the Internet. Pay one low monthly fee, and you can advertise on the Web and social networks in four easy steps. We make Internet Marketing easy for busy managers of local storefronts. Ultimately, we think this becomes the “easy button” to help local businesses find a local customer.
On the consumer side, everyone is trying to save a few bucks in a recession. We help consumers find great deals in their area without requiring them to call or walk into a local business. We want to make this data available in as many passive ways as we can… we don’t want to be intrusive or offensive as many e-mail marketing campaigns tend to be.
What exactly does your product do?
For MinutesNotice, we provide a simple interface that helps companies broadcast real-time deals, specials, clearance items, and/or open appointments on the Internet. Four easy steps take about 5 minutes at the most, and a local business is advertising on the Web. Offers are made available on youpons.net, RSS feeds, Twitter, and Facebook. We are also working with an emerging LBS company to make offers available when someone is within say 300 yards of a business. There are a lot of opportunities in this area especially when you combine a location-based service with a location-based ad network like ours.
Youpons.net is a “Craigslist-style” listing of local business offers where people can search or browse by category, zip code, city/metro, etc. Consumers can subscribe to updates of any of these via RSS, e-mail, or SMS.
Who is it for?
Local businesses (large and small) and consumers.
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up a business?
Knowing what to do with customer feedback… sometimes customers will be polite with you and other times they will give you hints that you’re really on to something. As entrepreneurs who work in our product all day, every day, we can assume that the feedback we get is the latter when it is often time just politeness. You just have to listen, internalize what you hear, and be willing to make significant changes so you don’t build the wrong product.
What is the next step for you and your startup?
Scale… we need to quickly move from perfecting the product for our first customers to selling more broadly. We are spending a lot of time on channel partnerships in an attempt to reduce customer acquisition costs. This business doesn’t work if we sell individual local businesses one by one. Fortunately, we’ve gotten a lot of interest in this area from partners who at this stage appear to be rather patient and willing to work with us.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Don’t believe your own hype until you get a significant number of customers in agreement to the point that they’d happily pay for your product and evangelize it to peers.
What Austin-based resource have you found to be the most helpful and why?
I think there are more entrepreneurs per capita here than anywhere else I’ve been. It’s a very supportive community. I spend at least one early AM hour per day meeting new people, and I learn something from just about every interaction. This is a great place to start a company.
Best regards,
Hall T.
Where are you from originally?
Born and raised in south Louisiana
What university did you go to?
BA Louisiana State, MBA University of Texas
What brought you to Austin?
I first moved to Austin in 1997 when I was on the Founding Team of Stratfor.com. I was responsible for building out the web site, developing content strategy, etc. After two more startups, I got my MBA from the University of Texas in 2004 and spent just under 3 ½ years at Microsoft in Redmond, working in Developer Marketing and Web 2.0 Strategy. My wife and I moved back to Austin in October 2008 because we love it here, and there are a lot of advantages to starting a company here in Austin. But over and above all else, Austin is home.
What is the idea behind your startup?
Local businesses know that their customers are increasingly moving to the Web, but they generally have no idea how to advertise themselves on the Internet and social networks. Meanwhile, people are forsaking their Yellow Pages/newspapers/etc. for the Internet. We believe that every ad that you see in a newspaper, a billboard, or on a chalkboard in a restaurant should be online – indexed, searchable, available on portals and location-based services, etc. Right now, you have to read page 3D of your paper to see an ad… you have to pass by & notice the billboard… and/or you have to walk into the restaurant to find what the lunch special is. That model is woefully inefficient and it will change.
So we are actually launching two products – 1) a location-based advertising network called MinutesNotice, and 2) a complimentary consumer coupon/local business deals site called Youpons.net. The two products go into Closed Beta in the next 7-10 days. We’ll spend that time learning as you can imagine.
What need does it fulfill?
It fills needs on both the business side and the consumer side.
In a recession, every business needs effective ways to reach more customers. We are finding that local businesses spend a lot of money on ineffective advertising because they understand how it works (i.e. buy a ¼ page ad in the newspaper, pay $1,000, and it can reach as many as 175k people in the Statesman.) It’s simple, so people adopt it even though they intuitively know that a lot of folks won’t see the ad on Page 3D. We want to make things similarly easy for the Internet. Pay one low monthly fee, and you can advertise on the Web and social networks in four easy steps. We make Internet Marketing easy for busy managers of local storefronts. Ultimately, we think this becomes the “easy button” to help local businesses find a local customer.
On the consumer side, everyone is trying to save a few bucks in a recession. We help consumers find great deals in their area without requiring them to call or walk into a local business. We want to make this data available in as many passive ways as we can… we don’t want to be intrusive or offensive as many e-mail marketing campaigns tend to be.
What exactly does your product do?
For MinutesNotice, we provide a simple interface that helps companies broadcast real-time deals, specials, clearance items, and/or open appointments on the Internet. Four easy steps take about 5 minutes at the most, and a local business is advertising on the Web. Offers are made available on youpons.net, RSS feeds, Twitter, and Facebook. We are also working with an emerging LBS company to make offers available when someone is within say 300 yards of a business. There are a lot of opportunities in this area especially when you combine a location-based service with a location-based ad network like ours.
Youpons.net is a “Craigslist-style” listing of local business offers where people can search or browse by category, zip code, city/metro, etc. Consumers can subscribe to updates of any of these via RSS, e-mail, or SMS.
Who is it for?
Local businesses (large and small) and consumers.
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up a business?
Knowing what to do with customer feedback… sometimes customers will be polite with you and other times they will give you hints that you’re really on to something. As entrepreneurs who work in our product all day, every day, we can assume that the feedback we get is the latter when it is often time just politeness. You just have to listen, internalize what you hear, and be willing to make significant changes so you don’t build the wrong product.
What is the next step for you and your startup?
Scale… we need to quickly move from perfecting the product for our first customers to selling more broadly. We are spending a lot of time on channel partnerships in an attempt to reduce customer acquisition costs. This business doesn’t work if we sell individual local businesses one by one. Fortunately, we’ve gotten a lot of interest in this area from partners who at this stage appear to be rather patient and willing to work with us.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
Don’t believe your own hype until you get a significant number of customers in agreement to the point that they’d happily pay for your product and evangelize it to peers.
What Austin-based resource have you found to be the most helpful and why?
I think there are more entrepreneurs per capita here than anywhere else I’ve been. It’s a very supportive community. I spend at least one early AM hour per day meeting new people, and I learn something from just about every interaction. This is a great place to start a company.
Best regards,
Hall T.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Kelly Cottrell of Trew Marketing Talks about Working with Tech Startups
Kelly Cottrell of Trew Marketing Talks about Working with Tech Startups
What university did you go to?
I attended Northern Illinois University and then started working full time at Hewlett Packard. I continued to pursue my education in the evenings which still living in the Chicago area and continued after moving to the Silicon Valley. By then, I was very focused on my career and traveling and I think I can honestly say that the best of my education came from a combination of hands on experience and some tremendously supportive mentors.
How did you get to Austin?
I started traveling to Austin for business in the late 1980's when I worked for 3Com. We were setting up telemarketing and lead generation call programs to increase direct mail responses and improve lead quality. I was impressed with the people that I met and worked with here and I loved the wide-open feeling of the Austin terrain and the sense that things were beginning to happen here. Most of all, I was attracted to the friendly feeling. I knew then that I wanted to get here somehow. Finally, in 1999, newly married, we bought a house and made it happen.
What did you do at your previous positions?
I was Director of Marketing at NetObjects and also held management positions in high tech marketing at companies such as 3Com, HP, and Pure Software. After working at these companies, I started my own firm, Springboard Marketing Group, in the Silicon Valley, working primarily with startups to set the strategies and build momentum for their companies. Because of the nature of a startup, I got involved in every aspect of the business, from product positioning, to lead generation programs to creating sales strategies and everything in between. I also had the opportunity to work on some unique projects, such as one at Adobe Systems in San Jose where I worked on the integration of two software acquisitions. The challenge here wasn’t just the rapid timeframe in which to integrate the products into the Adobe brand and distribution channels– it was also keeping the products positioned and marketed to the target that they were originally designed for. There were a lot of late night sessions!
What kind of companies did you work with?
I started out working for large companies like Hewlett Packard and 3Com. I realized at 3Com that my natural tendency is starting things from the ground up and I was attracted to startups. My first startup experience was a B2B software company with a high price point -- intensive purchase decision and long sales cycle. I heard about another hot startup that was making UNIX software development tools and went in to interview on a whim. The company was initially bootstrapped and started producing cash almost immediately. I was the 30th employee to join and the first non-technical employee in marketing. I learned a lot about technology and the software development process and taught the rest of the team about marketing principles including demand generation and how to work with the sales force. This was a great company -- new products were developed quickly and the company had an excellent reputation for fulfilling a need and having high quality products. After the IPO, the company was purchased and I moved on to work with companies that created web design applications, internet services and eventually built my own startup – Springboard Marketing.
How is the Austin market the same as Silicon Valley?
A lot of great ideas and technologies are generated here just like in Silicon Valley. When I first moved here in 2000, being downtown had a similar frenetic feeling to San Francisco but with more of a hometown feel to it. There’s also a similar casual atmosphere – you can bump into a millionaire and never know it. Networking is important here just like the valley. And a good reputation can go a long way in both towns.
How is Austin different from Silicon Valley?
I would definitely say that there is a more balanced approach to life here. Austinites work hard but aren’t going to stop playing hard. And football isn’t just a sport here – it’s a lifestyle! I also think there’s a real sense of loyalty here, people really want to stay in Austin and stay with a company. That’s not always the case in the valley where folks are more prone to look for the next shiny thing.
What is the biggest mistake you see startup companies doing?
I guess you can always point to something obvious like wrong product, wrong price, or wrong time. I feel pretty strongly, though, that quality is probably the biggest area where people make mistakes. I don’t just mean quality in your product but throughout your organization. Is the communication clear and consistent? Are your materials professional looking? Does your entire team treat every interaction with potential customers, influencers and investors professionally and respectfully? Especially early on in a company’s development, every small thing has a cumulative effect and answers the question – “who is this company?”
There are many smart, talented and motivated entrepreneurs who tend to think they can use their skills that helped them early on in another, less familiar area. I have seen this lead to poor results. It’s important that business owners know their strengths and weaknesses and when to get help.
What is your next step here in Austin?
I'm really enjoying working at TREW Marketing. The founders, Wendy Covey and Rebecca Geier, are a great team and they’ve created an environment where we all have a slightly different background but adhere to the same core values and beliefs about marketing and the community that we live in. We were fortunate to have a great first year in serving clients in B2B technology and cause-related programs -- working across all marketing disciplines from web to direct marketing to public relations. I look forward to continuing to help TREW grow, and putting down stronger roots in the Austin work community.
Best regards,
Hall T.
What university did you go to?
I attended Northern Illinois University and then started working full time at Hewlett Packard. I continued to pursue my education in the evenings which still living in the Chicago area and continued after moving to the Silicon Valley. By then, I was very focused on my career and traveling and I think I can honestly say that the best of my education came from a combination of hands on experience and some tremendously supportive mentors.
How did you get to Austin?
I started traveling to Austin for business in the late 1980's when I worked for 3Com. We were setting up telemarketing and lead generation call programs to increase direct mail responses and improve lead quality. I was impressed with the people that I met and worked with here and I loved the wide-open feeling of the Austin terrain and the sense that things were beginning to happen here. Most of all, I was attracted to the friendly feeling. I knew then that I wanted to get here somehow. Finally, in 1999, newly married, we bought a house and made it happen.
What did you do at your previous positions?
I was Director of Marketing at NetObjects and also held management positions in high tech marketing at companies such as 3Com, HP, and Pure Software. After working at these companies, I started my own firm, Springboard Marketing Group, in the Silicon Valley, working primarily with startups to set the strategies and build momentum for their companies. Because of the nature of a startup, I got involved in every aspect of the business, from product positioning, to lead generation programs to creating sales strategies and everything in between. I also had the opportunity to work on some unique projects, such as one at Adobe Systems in San Jose where I worked on the integration of two software acquisitions. The challenge here wasn’t just the rapid timeframe in which to integrate the products into the Adobe brand and distribution channels– it was also keeping the products positioned and marketed to the target that they were originally designed for. There were a lot of late night sessions!
What kind of companies did you work with?
I started out working for large companies like Hewlett Packard and 3Com. I realized at 3Com that my natural tendency is starting things from the ground up and I was attracted to startups. My first startup experience was a B2B software company with a high price point -- intensive purchase decision and long sales cycle. I heard about another hot startup that was making UNIX software development tools and went in to interview on a whim. The company was initially bootstrapped and started producing cash almost immediately. I was the 30th employee to join and the first non-technical employee in marketing. I learned a lot about technology and the software development process and taught the rest of the team about marketing principles including demand generation and how to work with the sales force. This was a great company -- new products were developed quickly and the company had an excellent reputation for fulfilling a need and having high quality products. After the IPO, the company was purchased and I moved on to work with companies that created web design applications, internet services and eventually built my own startup – Springboard Marketing.
How is the Austin market the same as Silicon Valley?
A lot of great ideas and technologies are generated here just like in Silicon Valley. When I first moved here in 2000, being downtown had a similar frenetic feeling to San Francisco but with more of a hometown feel to it. There’s also a similar casual atmosphere – you can bump into a millionaire and never know it. Networking is important here just like the valley. And a good reputation can go a long way in both towns.
How is Austin different from Silicon Valley?
I would definitely say that there is a more balanced approach to life here. Austinites work hard but aren’t going to stop playing hard. And football isn’t just a sport here – it’s a lifestyle! I also think there’s a real sense of loyalty here, people really want to stay in Austin and stay with a company. That’s not always the case in the valley where folks are more prone to look for the next shiny thing.
What is the biggest mistake you see startup companies doing?
I guess you can always point to something obvious like wrong product, wrong price, or wrong time. I feel pretty strongly, though, that quality is probably the biggest area where people make mistakes. I don’t just mean quality in your product but throughout your organization. Is the communication clear and consistent? Are your materials professional looking? Does your entire team treat every interaction with potential customers, influencers and investors professionally and respectfully? Especially early on in a company’s development, every small thing has a cumulative effect and answers the question – “who is this company?”
There are many smart, talented and motivated entrepreneurs who tend to think they can use their skills that helped them early on in another, less familiar area. I have seen this lead to poor results. It’s important that business owners know their strengths and weaknesses and when to get help.
What is your next step here in Austin?
I'm really enjoying working at TREW Marketing. The founders, Wendy Covey and Rebecca Geier, are a great team and they’ve created an environment where we all have a slightly different background but adhere to the same core values and beliefs about marketing and the community that we live in. We were fortunate to have a great first year in serving clients in B2B technology and cause-related programs -- working across all marketing disciplines from web to direct marketing to public relations. I look forward to continuing to help TREW grow, and putting down stronger roots in the Austin work community.
Best regards,
Hall T.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Andy Meadows of Live Oak 360 Talks about his New Technology called BudURL
Andy Meadows of Live Oak 360 Talks about his New Technology called Budurl
What does Live Oak 360 do?
We offer software development, web services, and web hosting. We have hundreds of hosting clients and continue to see good growth. Hosting is about 25% of our business and development is about 75%.
What kind of applications are you seeing?
We see ecommerce, content management, and social network development mostly. We work with startups to big companies. With seven years under our belt, we’ve worked in a lot of different areas.
I understand you have a new technology you’re bringing to the market. What is it?
It’s called Budurl. It’s like TinyUrl but it provides real-time web analytics such as how many people click on the link, how often they go back to it, etc. Tinyurl takes a long link and shrinks it down to a small link. With BudURL, you could put it on your Twitter feed and as it propagates through the web you can follow it. Our metrics can tell where the users came from and which links are generating real interest and value.
What are some applications you’ve seen for it so far?
You could put it on your Facebook or LinkedIn page and then measure where people came from to your page and where did they go afterwards. You could put it on press releases and then see who picks it up. People are using it in social media, email, direct mail, sales materials, and in client prospecting.
How do you monetize it?
Users can sign up and use it for free. There’s paid plans of course that give you greater granularity of web metrics. It can be white labeled so companies can buy it and use it throughout their enterprise with their own domain name.
How many people are using it?
There are over 4000 users so far. It launched in August and we just started charging about a month ago. The success of the paid subscriptions has been a great surprise.
How much are you trying to raise?
Around $300K to $500K to expand new development, sales, and marketing for BudURL.
We just started a new angel group called the Baylor Angel Network. Are you connected to Baylor in some way?
I was a 1996 graduate from the Hankammer School of Business at Baylor.
They’re seeking to fund deals that are in the $200K to $2M range. If you’re seeking over $500K then you need to come with a lead investor and a terms sheet.
Best regards,
Hall T.
What does Live Oak 360 do?
We offer software development, web services, and web hosting. We have hundreds of hosting clients and continue to see good growth. Hosting is about 25% of our business and development is about 75%.
What kind of applications are you seeing?
We see ecommerce, content management, and social network development mostly. We work with startups to big companies. With seven years under our belt, we’ve worked in a lot of different areas.
I understand you have a new technology you’re bringing to the market. What is it?
It’s called Budurl. It’s like TinyUrl but it provides real-time web analytics such as how many people click on the link, how often they go back to it, etc. Tinyurl takes a long link and shrinks it down to a small link. With BudURL, you could put it on your Twitter feed and as it propagates through the web you can follow it. Our metrics can tell where the users came from and which links are generating real interest and value.
What are some applications you’ve seen for it so far?
You could put it on your Facebook or LinkedIn page and then measure where people came from to your page and where did they go afterwards. You could put it on press releases and then see who picks it up. People are using it in social media, email, direct mail, sales materials, and in client prospecting.
How do you monetize it?
Users can sign up and use it for free. There’s paid plans of course that give you greater granularity of web metrics. It can be white labeled so companies can buy it and use it throughout their enterprise with their own domain name.
How many people are using it?
There are over 4000 users so far. It launched in August and we just started charging about a month ago. The success of the paid subscriptions has been a great surprise.
How much are you trying to raise?
Around $300K to $500K to expand new development, sales, and marketing for BudURL.
We just started a new angel group called the Baylor Angel Network. Are you connected to Baylor in some way?
I was a 1996 graduate from the Hankammer School of Business at Baylor.
They’re seeking to fund deals that are in the $200K to $2M range. If you’re seeking over $500K then you need to come with a lead investor and a terms sheet.
Best regards,
Hall T.
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