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?


January 20, 2009 Oh Captain my Captain.

I am pacing through one of the most dense written, but historically poetic, books of leadership by Doris G. (she won fancy prize and we are on a first name basis ;) called Team of Rivals.  It has to be the best researched books I have ever read, next to some insane Genetics textbooks.  Team of Rivals is the story of how A.Lincoln’s political genius brought together & appointed his campaign opponents (i.e.  Secretary of War (at that time)…or Secretary of State…Clinton anyone?) and the Whigs / Democrats for a better country  If you know Lincolns early history, the parallels with what Obama is doing, is frankly “political genius.”  Photo: [SHEPARD FAIREY]

obama

Being more of an Abraham Lincoln fan than a Barak Obama fan, I have to admire Obama’s desire to actually keep his campaign promises to unite and listen to both sides to make a better country (before he is even in office.)  As this country is pretty sweet, I think Obama will be savvy enough to sincerely try and keep it that way. I know my republican friends cannot wait for Obama to make a mistake, but I do think we should cherish this time.  As I look around the world right now, I realize that there is no other country in the world that celebrates the power of the people more.  ~ Whatever happened to Obama girl? ;)

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