startup harvard part 1 (chen)

Sponsored by HDOT & HCEF

April 26th, 2007Fong Auditorium

Q&AQ&A

DerekDerekTech Overview Prog Languages Development

AlexAlexWeb Publicity Handling Traffic Making $$$

ChenChenWeb Business 101 Domains & Hosting Outsourcing 101

Did you know?

• There’s 1 blog created every half a second?

• Reuters reported 80% of all US adults go online

• Morgan Stanley reported that the market value of the top 5 internet market leaders is 46% higher than the May 2000 market peak

Did you know?

Key Points

• The internet is changing

• Using different programming / development techniques to enrich our online experience –making the net a more sociable space

• The rise of dynamic content

• New name – “Web 2.0”

• A term coined in 2003 that refers to the next evolution of the Internet

• Although not a new technology “release,” this evolution is powered by a series of emerging technologies, processes and technology standards, that

• …enable active user involvement and collaboration with corporate and community sites

▫ Posting facts or opinions

▫ Engaging with the site, its owner, and other interested participants

• Web 2.0 is sometimes referred to as Social Computing, Social Networking and Social or S-Commerce

Web 1.0 Web 2.0DoubleClick è Google AdSense

Britannica Online è Wikipedia

YellPages.com è Facebook

Home Pages è Blogging

Taxonomy è Folksonomy

Reading è Writing

Companies è Communities

Server-Client è Peer-to-Peer

Owning è Sharing

HTML è XML

Hardware Costs è Bandwidth Costs

Downloadable Apps è Web Applications

Static Portals è RSS

Web 2.0 technology enables the internet to finally begin to realize the “interactive” promise of the interactive communications

across and among all spheres

Web 1.0

One-way communicationWeb 2.0

Multi-way communication

• Passive• Companies publish• Company-centric

• Active• People participate• Community/interest-centric

Web Business 101

So you have an idea..

• .. where should I begin?

• 7 Step Startup Task list1. Research

2. Competitors & audience

3. Name & business plan

4. Setting goals

5. Program, debug, debug

6. Pub, marketing, & $$$

7. Repeat steps 1-6

Guy Kawasaki’s Art of the Start

priceweb

being stupid

you

Top 10 Types of Company Names

• Real words

• Compounds

• Phrases

• Blends

• Tweaked words

• Affixed words

• Made up

• Puns

• People’s names

• Initials and Acronyms

Giving your idea a name

1. Easy to pronounce & spell

2. Make it memorable

3. Don’t pigeonhole yourself

4. Go easy with numbers

5. Don’t use names with a negative connotation

6. Don’t alienate any group

7. Search for existing trademarks on potential names

8. Make sure it’s available

Name Generation Tools

• www. NameBoy.com

• www.MoreWords.com

• www.WorldLab.com

So you have an idea..

• .. where should I begin?

• 7 Step Startup Task list1. Research

2. Competitors & audience

3. Name & business plan

4. Setting goals

5. Program, debug, debug

6. Pub, marketing, & $$$

7. Repeat steps 1-6

Demonstration

Things you need to consider

• Top 3 concerns1. Time

2. Money

3. Interest

Domain Registration & Hosting

Domain Names Basics

• DNS

• ICANN

• WHOIS

Domain Registration vs. Hosting

• Registering your domain gives you sole ownership and rights to the name of your site.

• Hosting provides a server, its network connection, its configuration, and its upkeep.

Vs.

Registering a domain

• Very straightforward

• Finding a suitable registrar is the harder part▫ Pay attention to price

▫ ICANN accreditation

▫ User feedback on Google

• Finding an available domain name for your company is the hardest part

Backordering

• So what happens when a domain you want is taken?1. Do a WHOIS search

2. Stalk the person

3. Try to negotiate a deal

4. Backorder or try the domains aftermaket

• Pool.com, SnapNames.com, NameJet.com▫ Backordering will cost $60-$70 vs. $6-$15 for a

unregistered domain

▫ Domain may go into auction

Finding a host

• Deciding on the type of host▫ Linux vs. Windows

▫ PHP vs. ASP

• Things to look for▫ Price

▫ Hard drive space

▫ Bandwidth

▫ Uptime

▫ Supported langs

• Server features▫ SSH

▫ # of FTP accounts

▫ # of DB

▫ # of Add-on domains

▫ # of Sub domains

▫ # of Mailing lists

DNS Forwarding

ns1.bluehost.comns2.bluehostcom 88.23.12.4

TLD BlueHost.com

MyDomain.com

LAMP Solution

• LAMP = Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP

• Cheaper than Microsoft’s competitive product because all the software is free

• Change every aspect of your server through a software platform called cPanel

cPanel Demo

Outsourcing 101

Finding the right person

• Your choices▫ Doing it yourself

▫ Hiring a domestic development team

▫ Hiring a foreign development team

• Things you’ll need to provide▫ Credibility

▫ Design Brief

▫ NDA (if necessary)

▫ Business plan (don’t be stupid)

Things to consider when hiring

1. Clearly define the scope and schedule for your project

2. Evaluate a service provider like you’d hire a full-time employee

3. Look for specific experience fit

4. Don’t choose a vendor based solely on price

5. Review portfolios and samples

Things to consider when hiring

6. Start small

7. Tie payment to clearly defined project milestones

8. Negotiate ownership of work up front

9. Don’t forget about support after the project is complete

10. Get it in writing

More suggestions

• Distinguish between designers, programmers, and “developers”▫ Know who you’re hiring and their skill sets

• Firms vs. Freelancers• Use instant messaging• Don’t be afraid to ask for updates• Be firm with deadlines• Be generous and kind

▫ “we greatly appreciate your team's talent and cooperation”

▫ “the site is truly coming along wonderfully”

Payment process

• For <$300 (Projects less than 3 days)▫ Send money after delivery

• For $300-$1500 (Project less than 2 weeks)▫ 15-25% before

▫ Rest after

• For $1500+ (Projects more than 2 weeks)▫ Ask for increment pricing in exchange for pieces of

the source code

Pay with?

• Paypal.com

• 2Checkout.com

• Escrows▫ GetAFreelancer.com

▫ ReatACoder.com

• Money Orders

• Direct Bank Transfers