Entrepreneurial Tips

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Here at MidVentures, we appreciate things that make our lives easier. Especially things that make work easier. Why work harder than you have to? Not that we mind work, (really, we love it), but anything that cuts out steps is something we are going to use.

Enter our new wiki.

We are a bit late jumping on the wiki train, but jump we did, and how happy we are. A wiki is a wildly simple concept: a website that anyone can edit. But at the basis of every great idea is a simple premise with myriad applications. A wiki is just that.

We use it for everything: project management, standards sheets, contact lists, anything. New uses crop up every day; it’s turning into our central information storage solutuion. Makes you begin to double check your backup solutions.

Our advice? Get a wiki, both PBWiki and TikiWiki are great for any business. Once you intsall it, it will take a few days to become populated with content and users, but trust us, it’s worth it. 

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Part of entrepreneurship involves the brilliance of a concept. But most of entrepreneurship is a matter of building up your track record- as a business, or as an entrepreneur. Your business and personal track record are what investors look for as proof of competency, it is what partners will look for when seeking confidence in your ability, and it allows you to get more funds- and more sweat equity- for less shares in your company. Entrepreneurship might be innovation at its foundation; yet building on that foundation requires you to demonstrate milestone performance markers- as follows.

1. Complete designs, mockups, flow charts, story boards, videos, or research papers explaining your idea

2. A long list of customers who want to use your product. Even without actual revenue- ‘Letters of Intent’ from customers can secure more investment than you would have otherwise garnered.

3. Awesome resumes. It’s the painful truth- partners, investors, banks, and even vendors will look at your professional resume. It’s the personal track record behind your business track record.

4. Prior business success. If you built and sold a company before- your current venture is valued higher. If you have never built a company before, team with someone who has.

5. Revenue. Even without profit- revenue shows the reality of your company. Web companies can get investment as long as they have revenue- even with a complete absence of profits.

6. Business Plans. I’ve never written an entire business plan; but all things being equal- a 50-page plan demonstrates a certain volume of research and financial projections that contribute to your track record of diligence.

7. Skills. Engineering degrees, business degrees, law degrees- even accounting certifications value you, and your venture, higher.

8. Experience. If you are starting a software company targeting restaurants- work in a restaurant for a few months. That way, you can speak to investors, partners, and even employees ‘from personal experience’.

If your business is growing- all of the above items fade in comparison to real business success. But if you want respect and attention before your business takes off; build your track record.

It is clear; when you follow the crowd, you will only be as successful as the next guy in the crowd. In entrepreneurship; it pays to rebel against the crowd. But it does not pay to rebel for the sake of rebelling. If anything; you should rebel with the emerging trends. Follow the trends- against the crowd.

America’s financial institutions are in turmoil, ivy league MBAs are having trouble finding jobs, and acceptance rates at professional programs are dropping alongside the escalating education prices. Professional positions are consistently outsourced to developing nations, and technology seems to have a 3-year turnover.

With that said, it pays to act against the crowd- and find a career path that does not leave you vulnerable for outsourcing, domestic financial turmoil, or career pigeon-holing. But you need to understand the trends of our time in order effectively rebel against the groupthink.

What are the current trends in the business and technology world? Lower barriers for international entrepreneurship; an importance of technological competence- rapid turnover in the job market, rapidly changing cultural icons, ease of travel, emergence of microfunding, international legal paradigms- the list goes on. I wish I knew the entire list.

There is a difference between joining a trend and identifying a trend. If you can identify which way the wind is changing; capitalize on it.