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 17, 2009 Save GM!

To all the tax payers that are about to write another check to General Motors, ugh. Wouldn’t it be easy just to say “Free Market, take them away!”   WSJ has a nice overview on what the heck is happening to this American landmark and man, that Rick Wagner (CEO) probably hasn’t slept in a year!
Photo: [flickr]
gm

Does GM want to slash jobs?  I doubt it.  Do they have to, I think so.   Unions? Fugedaboutit.  UAW isn’t competitive, but they do take care of their people (for the most part.) Many generations have had good lives thanks to the UAW.  What about pensions?  What about all the people who put their LIVES into a company? I think GM’s problems are worse than 10 MADOFF scandals.

GM = Wall Street: How so?

  • 01 Leveraged on hype (Hummer, Oil Barrels = CDOs, Sub Prime)
  • 02 Elite group of controllers (Hedge fund managers = UAW)
  • 03 Ripple effects throughout country (GM,Chrysler = AIG, Bear Sterns)

Bottomline, it is the people who count not the balance sheet. Stabilize the people but salvage the free market.

Want to comment? Comments: 1

Posted by Kendall in economy

1 comment so far

  1. I found this to be informative.

    February 17th, 2009

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