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?


March 21, 2012 perspective

I was helping Parker (10) wash the dishes and we both were frustrated that the water was backing up in the garbage disposal again. Like I could actually feel myself getting angry over crappy engineering. Then I was shocked by my foolishness almost instantly.
Photo: [ Jim Lind ]
exile
What about the people who don’t even have a sink, running water, or even food to put in a garbage disposal?
Is the average American the one who scripture refers to as “the rich”? Being rich to one person here in the USA is “having a million dollars”, where being rich to 2,000,000,000 people around the world is “having running water.”

Idea…

I told my sister a good idea would be to start a “Blessings / Perspective Family Camp.”
Here is the thought. A family takes a 2 week vacation. The first week (7 days), these families fly to Arizona, pay $1000 to live in a small clay house with no running water and have to ask / work for their daily supply of food. Then the second week, they fly to Cayman Islands or something for a big relaxing vacation. Tell me these families would appreciate their blessings!

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