10 tips to the art of starting things

Whitepaper:Guy Kawasaki’s 10 tips to the art of starting things…

1. Ask and answer simple questions

Great companies, great entities start with people asking very simple questions. Questions like: “Therefore, what?” or “Is there a better way?”

2. Create an MVVVP

You may be familiar with the concept of a ‘minimum viable product’. For success you need a Minimum Viable, Valuable, Validating Product to test for success.

3. Get going

Don’t ship something too late, when you should have shifted it sooner. Don’t try to be perfect. Make a mistake by shifting it early, not too late.

It’s ok to do something cringeworthy. Ship something cringeworthy.

Find complementary soulmates. Someone to make it and someone who can sell it.

Make a mantra. Two or three words. No more.

4. Define a business model

Be specific.

Keep it simple.

Ask Women. I have a fundamental belief, that women support growing things.

5. Weave a MATT – it helps you prioritise

Milestone – you must have milestones.

Assumption – test the assumptions of your business vision.

Tests – launch and optimise.

Tasks – implement optimisations.

6. Tell your story

Apply the opposite test. Is your competition saying the opposite of you?

Make it personal.

Embrace the 10-20-30 rule. Tell your story over 10 slides in 20 minutes and no less than 30 point font.

7. Hire infected people

Ignore the irrelevant. Look beyond a CV. They may be technically competent, but do not love the product or get the company vision.

Hire better than yourself.

Apply the shopping centre test. You have to want to walk up to that person.

8. Socialise

Social media makes marketing fast, free and ubiquitous.

Perfect profiles – competent, trustworthy, likeworthy.

Embrace National Public Radio model – provide great content.

Pass the reshare test – it’s a higher test. It means people are risking their reputation to share your content.

9. Seed the clouds – make it rain = sales

The key to sales is to let a hundred flowers blossom.

Unintended customers will use your products in unintended ways, don’t freak out: celebrate!

Enable test drives – what you’re saying to people is ‘I think you’re smart’.

Find the influencers – the pyramid is inverted, you can’t ignore social media.

10. Don’t let the clowns grind you down

This is about bozosity. It’s about negative people.

There are two types:

Bozo Losers. Not dangerous. Only a loser listens to a loser.

Successful Bozo’s. They are dangerous. Rich and famous, passes to lucky half the time, not right or smart.