Startup Success

The Top Ten Rules of Zoombieland

The Top Ten Rules of Zoombieland

Our World has changed, my friends. We have moved from in-person gatherings, coffees, lunches, and boardroom conferences to a series of seemingly endless virtual interactions. We are tethered to our communities, even our friends and family members, through sometimes fragile connections on various devices. Teaching, team meetings, startup brainstorming, investor pitches, healthcare, and checking in on Mom in her skilled nursing facility have all gone into the Matrix. We live in a transformed reality. We call this new reality…Zoombieland..

Fortunately, the actual movie Zombieland has some good advice to follow. The rules of Zombieland directly apply or can be adapted to help guide our behavior in this “new normal.” So here are our Top Ten Rules for the Zoombie Apocalypse…

Entrepreneur - Woman - Black: “Do You Want to Dance?”

“Hello dear reader, how are you?” I typically ask this question first as a way of trying to avoid this question being asked of me. Many people, whether they realize it or not, like to talk about themselves, so if I present that opportunity early, I won’t have to talk about myself (or my business). Don’t get me wrong. I love to talk about myself and what I have accomplished with my company, AwayZones. However, I am selective about who, and in what crowds, I do this. I’ll explain why in a little bit.

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Six Startup Secrets We’ve Shared on Podcasts

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Six Startup Secrets We’ve Shared on Podcasts

Since The Titanic Effect: Successfully Navigating the Uncertainties that Sink Most Startups came out in June 2019, we’ve been fortunate to be a guest on a number of podcasts. If you’re interested in listening to these conversations, all of the links are on the Podcast page of the website. One thing that each podcaster does is look for sound bites in the discussion. These sound bites can become hooks in social media posts. They are a hook because there is truth that rings out through them. They are also little secrets, that “those in the know” only share occasionally with others. So we thought we’d share a few of these secrets with all of you.

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Is Marketing Spend an Expense or an Investment for Startups?

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Is Marketing Spend an Expense or an Investment for Startups?

When macroenvironmental challenges (like a recession or a pandemic) occur, many companies immediately slash their marketing budgets. We saw this in the recession of 2008 to 2009. We are seeing it again in the coronavirus pandemic. The argument goes like this: 1) we are not generating as much sales revenue, 2) we need to cut costs, and 3) let’s just cut all costs.

If marketing dollars are included in these moves, they are being treated like an expense. Well-spent marketing dollars can and should generate sales levels that are multiples of the spend. When this happens they are like an investment with a positive ROI.

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Launch a Startup During a Pandemic? It’s Not as Crazy as it Sounds

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Launch a Startup During a Pandemic? It’s Not as Crazy as it Sounds

These are hard times for all of us. The pandemic is taking a global toll on our health and our economy. It is a time of tremendous uncertainty. Why would you possibly start a company during such challenging times?

First, there is a history of great companies being started in hard times. Going back more than a century, GE and IBM, Fortune 100 companies today, were founded during the 1890s, a time of great upheaval and tough times with a major banking crisis. In fact, the original J.P. Morgan of banking fame, Director of the White Star Line who built and operated the Titanic, was instrumental in steering the U.S .economy from the brink of collapse in the late 1890s. Read more about J.P. Morgan and how he affected the Titanic’s demise in our book, The Titanic Effect.

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Startups can Leverage Customer Insights to Build a Stronger Relationship

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Startups can Leverage Customer Insights to Build a Stronger Relationship

You know that restaurant you love to visit. You walk in the door, they say hello, and they call you by name. You chat with the server. It could be any server, because you’ve chatted with all of them. Now the pandemic hits and you can no longer visit your favorite restaurant. Guess what, they probably don’t even really know who you are.

Most small and new companies have never put together a customer database. Yes, they know frequent customers when they see them. But how does that work when you no longer “see” your customers? It doesn’t. Now is the time to pull together a useful customer database so you can see insights about who your customers are.

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Three Pet Peeves in the Startup Vernacular

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Most of our blogposts have focused on positive steps startups can take to navigate their launch and success. For example, we have talked about product/market fit, pivoting, and what proof of concept means. But there are some phrases that have become part of the startup world lingo that we believe are misleading or inappropriate. So here are our top three pet peeves: