Presented by Ju-Don Marshall RobertsOctober 2013

Before You Launch:Things to Consider Before Beginning a Startup

☞17 years at The Washington Post

☞Restart No. 1: NewsCorp-owned Beliefnet

☞Restart No. 2: Beliefnet was sold; had to start over, rebuilding and training new team for the new company

☞Restart No. 3: Everyday Health

☞ J-Lab’s New Voices Board☞ J-Lab’s New Media

Women Entrepreneurs Board

☞Work with various startups

About Me

☞Is this really for you? Are you a solo act or can you lead

others? Will you devote the necessary time? Do you have the resources or

resourcefulness to make this work? Are you overwhelmed or excited by

challenges?

Are You an Entrepreneur?

☞ Resources: Dan Isenberg’s entrepreneur checklist http://bit.ly/1cvaFby

☞If they know and trust you – your personal brand

‒What have you already done? (reputation)

☞If you can sell the package of you and your idea effectively

‒Are you believable? (passion)

‒Are you credible? (experience)

If “You” Build It, They Might Come

☞But they won’t stay without a fight Don’t rest on your laurels. As fabulous as you/your idea/your product are, you will be in a death match for audience and revenue. You may be a visionary, but

can you execute?

If “You” Build It, They Might Come

☞Market opportunity It may be a brilliant project, hobby or

distraction but is it a business? Are you solving a problem and for whom? Do enough people care about the problem

and would they be interested in your solution?

Is it scalable? Do you have the skills, time, resources to

make it work?

Good Ideas Are Not Enough

☞ Resources: Dan Isenberg’s business opportunity checklist http://bit.ly/1cWunQb

☞Who are your competitors? How will you differentiate your

product or service? Does your product or service

compete with or complement them? Is market strong enough to support

another product in this category? Use free tools to analyze your

competitors and sharpen your positioning.

Know the Competition

☞ Resources: Measurement and comparison tools: www.similarsites.com, www.similarweb.com,

www.quantcast.com, www.alexa.com

☞Summarize your idea Is it clear? Does it convey value, differentiation,

excitement? Create an informal advisory group and pitch them. Do

they understand it? Would they use or fund it? Survey random people to test the idea/market. Use others’ questions/comments to refine your idea.

Define and Refine Your Idea

☞How will you support the site and yourself? Advertising may not be

enough to sustain your business; do you have alternative revenue streams in mind?

Other options: Grants, sponsorships, services, crowd-funding, events, products, etc.

Subsidize income: Freelance, PT work

Is It Worth Your Time?

☞ Resources: Sustainable business models for journalism http://www.submojour.net/ Sample business models from CUNY’s Tow-Knight Center http://bit.ly/H2adaj

☞You’ll need a team that you trust and that trusts you Hire (or team up with) people with passion. Find people with complementary strengths, expertise. Strive not to be the smartest person in the room. Build a culture, not just a business.

Can You Build the Right Team?

☞Your passion is your driving force Allows you to effectively motivate your team and

yourself. Provides inspirational leadership.

☞Unchecked emotions are dangerous Leads you to blind adherence or belief in your

own ideas in spite of indicators or team feedback. Results in erratic decision-making.

Can You Lose the Emotion, but Keep the Passion?

☞ Resources: Article: Lead and motivate – not just your team, but yourself, too http://bit.ly/1hZ1oZP

☞Good ideas need time to grow Do your due diligence to make

sure your ideas are sound and then give them time to work.

☞Avoid chasing every shiny new penny Distractions (nonstrategic

pursuits) will likely be corrosive and impact the execution of your actual priorities.

Stay Committed and Focused

☞Recognize when a strategy is flawed Wrong assumptions. Marketplace changes. Audience shifts.

☞Seize the opportunities you cannot afford to miss

Know When to Pivot

☞Build a solid foundation Make sure what you create or

sell is replicable and scalable. Invest in the infrastructure,

teams, technology to adequately support your initiatives.

Bigger Is Not Always Better

☞ Define your brand or others will define it for you Your Advertisers. Your Competition.

☞ Remember your differentiator

Be True to Yourself

☞Never stop challenging your assumptions Why won’t your product work

“tomorrow”?☞Figure out the game-changer in your

niche and become it Lessons from legacy media Gamification

Don’t Fear the Disruption; Be the Disruption

☞Build an advisory board.

☞Don’t expect your plans to go exactly as planned.

Donna ByrdPublisher,The Root;Co-Founder,Kickoff Marketing@by_donna

Advice From Founders

☞Stay laser-focused on what you are trying to accomplish. Don't let VCs, funders or staff allow

scope creep to kick in. If you have a great idea, then don't let anything get in the way of building or perfecting that.

☞ Avoid growing too fast. Quick success doesn't mean long-term

success, so stay cheap until the long-term path is clearer. No big staff expansion or fancy real estate.

Jim BradyPresident & Editor,Digital First Media;Founding GM TBD@jimbradysp

Advice From Founders

☞Turn a competitor into a mentor Build a partnership, where you share ideas with

each other, ask questions, and build a mutually beneficial relationship. Befriending your competition and developing a pathway to strengthen both businesses is what some of the most successful entrepreneurs are doing today.

☞Ask the “dumb” questions I see a lot of bright young people miss great

opportunities simply because they were too embarrassed to ask for clarification.… There's a big difference between confidence and hubris. It's easier to be flashy and act cocky. It's a lot harder to find quiet inner confidence and to be comfortable asking people for help, or admitting when you don't know something.

Advice From Founders

Amy WebbFounder and CEO, Webb Media Group@webbmedia

☞Dig deep to find your purpose. It matters for everything.

☞Don’t underestimate the work required.

Hamet WattInvestment Partner,Upfront Ventures; Cofounder,bLife and MoviePass@hametwatt

Advice From Founders

☞Establish a terrific group of advisers.

☞Avoid not having a detailed and executable Action Plan You have to prioritize what is really

important from what is not.

Greg BehrmanFounder & CEO,NationSwell@GregBehrman1

Advice From Founders

☞Establish shared values Talk openly with your founding team and establish

your shared values. Then hire for them, teach them and be true to them.

☞Don’t blindly adhere to a model Your model helps you understand the levers in

your business, but it's always wrong in ways you don't expect.

Tom GeraceFounder & CEO,Skyword;Founder, Gaither@tomgerace

Advice From Founders

☞Have a partner Building a company is hard - it's a big existential

struggle - and nothing improves one's odds of success more, or makes the process more enjoyable, than a another person to share the crusade.

☞ Avoid Editing Yourself In the face of bleak prospects or long odds, the

tendency is to second guess and to avoid risk, i.e. to narrow the vision, and to be quick to dismiss "crazy" ideas.… This doesn't mean that you embrace every half-baked idea, but that you allow ideas to live for a while, before settling on a course of action. Innovation is a very fragile process, and it can be so easily killed without sufficient vigilance.

Oliver RyanFounder & CEO,Social Workout@eauryan

Advice From Founders

Resources for Startups☞Entrepreneur’s 2 Weeks to Startup☞CUNY Online Entrepreneurial Journalism Bootcamp☞JStart: Resources for Startups ☞ReadWriteWeb’s Legal Resources for Startups☞Quantcast: Traffic and Demographics☞Alexa: Traffic☞New Business Models from the Tow-Knight Center☞Entrepreneur and Business Opportunity Checklist☞SuBMoJour: Database of Startups and Business Models☞Similar Web and Similar Sites: Measurement and

Comparisons

All links available here: http://bit.ly/19SYB5o

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ju-don@ju-don.comjmrmediaconsulting@gmail.com