Kendall's "Internet startup checklist":

1. Idea:

  1. Would YOU write a check for your idea?
  2. Don't spill your candy in the lobby.
  3. Is your idea refining or revolutionizing?

2. Funding:

  1. Are your financials realistic if nothing goes right?
  2. Could you see your investors with a 10X, 20X return in 3 years?
  3. Do you have back-up plans b,c,d before quitting your day job?
  4. Do you have a great answer for the most cynical of investors?

3. team:

  1. Can you build your idea or will it take a team of pros?
  2. Is a specific person on your team essential or can he/she be replaced?
  3. Dont give up the farm to recruit talent.
  4. Hire brave & passionate smart people.

4. Product:

  1. Does your product SOLVE a problem?
  2. Beware of feature creep! Customers & prospects add features, not developers.
  3. Stay focused on money earning features, not cool ones.

5. Marketing:

  1. Is it costly (time/resources) to get branded in your target market?
  2. Make a goal of closing a core group of customers the first year. (traction)
  3. Adjust marketing resources to get traction (don't need much).
  4. Be sure to test your "seo / ad-words / ad-sense" properly before banking on them
  5. Nothing is better than "boots on the street." Start knocking on doors.

6. Customer:

  1. How many "loss leaders" do you have?
  2. Does your idea help your customer or is it just a "nice to have"?
  3. Make each customer feel like they are the only customer you have.
  4. Can your customers be up-sold? Do they have peers they could refer?


February 28, 2009 ad words = illusion

To all my Internet entrepreneurs who have gone through the super simple wizard to set-up Ad Words on Google and find how much it really costs for the value, what a joke.  If anyone actually gets a good return on investment with this type of Internet advertising, please let me know!  The opportunity looks so real and tangible, but its an illusion.
Photo: [flickr]
ad wordsThe unfortunate thing is an Ad Word is really the only “cheap / fast ” way, outside of grassroot approach, getting your brand marketed online.  The potential is amazing and the obstacle to getting involved is negligible.  (ie – the hype is super, the results are yawn.)

Tangent: Look at Yahoo!’s business model… It still doesn’t make any sense..They dont sell anything!  They are not even a good landlord of “leased” real estate…Could you imagine car dealers having that many eyeballs on their car lots and letting them leave the dealership without anything?  I read Berkshire’s letter to investors today and his companies’ tangible products and services compared to Google’s “Ad Word” is stark.

Bottomline – Google, Yahoo!, etc. have wheel barrels of cash from entrepreneurs buying these illusions (Ad Words) and hoping the droves of window shoppers will click/purchase the entrepreneurs product/service from the Ad Word.  Not happening.

Want to comment? Comments: 1

Posted by Kendall in Tangible Business Models

1 comment so far

  1. Creative juices on hold? Looking for a new post..

    March 6th, 2009

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