startups with passion

Posted on May 14, 2009

being one of the ambassadors to microsoft’s bizspark program, i have the opportunity to talk to many startups and hear all about really cool ideas. at my core, i am software developer and i love listening to people that are excited about their software ideas.

today i talked to 2 startups with 2 very different ideas and at 2 very different places in their startup. it is great talking to entrepreneurs that are really passionate about their ideas, but sometimes ideas are just not enough.

here are a few things i have learned along the way when trying to figure out how to bootstrap a software business into the next big thing.

1. cash is king. at the end of the day, if cash is leaving faster than it is coming in, your idea may never be realized
2. have a business plan. flashy powerpoints are good, but without a good business plan the hope to sustain your business is not likely
3. make sure you know how to make money. if you think that companies like twitter have not thought about this, think again. they wouldn’t get capital if that were the case
4. if you decide to take vc or angel money, you are going to need some sort of exit strategy. that could include ipo, aquisition, or financial success of a sustained business model (see #2 above). investors are going to want to know how they are getting their money back
5. have a trusted board of advisors. there are many resources online that talk about making the right choices here (here is one good article), but it is very important especially if you are embarking on something you do not have much experience in. some advisors will charge a percentage of your company (typically a fraction of a percent) or some will provide advice for free. what is important is that regular meetings happen with the advisors and you listen to and challenge them. you would not have asked them to be an advisor if you did not believe in what they could provide you
6. stealing this one from guy kawasaki – ship, then test (i’ll add, iterate). you may have a very grandiose idea of what you want to create, but unless you ship something you will never start bringing in cash (see #1) and won’t be able to solicit feedback for your next big thing
7. do not hire people too fast. this has to do with the whole cash thing as well as being able to be agile and nimble at first
8. understand your market. there are many resources out there to tap into market analysis. make sure you understand the demographic you are targeting and cater to them

there are tons of resources available to entrepreneurs. one of the best collection of resources is available on microsoft’s own startup zone.

with the current economic climate, there is no better time to get out there and start something cool.