Become a Young Successful Entrepreneur

I just received a question from a reader which I have posted below:

I have an idea for a Social Media Start-up, but I’m a Sales Man by trade and dont have the ‘coding’ skills to translate this idea into a product. What advice would you give at this ‘idea stage’ for me? Should I be trying to find developers/interns to help convert the idea into reality?

Who should read this post: Professionals with no technical skills (coding) that are looking to start an internet or mobile startup.

What you will learn: How to build an internet or mobile startup if you have no technical skills.

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I walked into the Huntington Beach, CA Men’s Wearhouse ready to spend $500 on a suit; I walked out disappointed in less than 20 minutes not having spent a dime.

I walked into the Costa Mesa, CA Men’s Wearhouse ready to spend $500 on a suit; I walked out completely satisfied in 2 hours having spent $2,000.

What caused this huge difference in sales?  There’s only one clear answer: An outstanding sales manager named Assaf Levin.

Who should read this post: Sales professionals that are looking to increase their sales conversions and commission value.

What you will learn: Given the same exact resources, what makes one sales rep better than another?  Given the exact same circumstances, what causes a customer to spend more than he was originally planning to?

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It is quite easy to get an interview with any company.

Recently, my close friend decided to move up to San Francisco and pursue a career change.  In less than a week, I helped him get an interview with 3 fortune 500 companies located in San Francisco.

My friend does not go to networking events, does not have a vast connection list on LinkedIn, and does not have an actively read blog online; and yet, in less than a week, he has secured in-house interviews at 3 top companies.

Who should read this post: A young professional who is looking for a career change

What you will learn: How to get an interview at your dream company

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Early stage startups love to give their product out for free.  It lets them beta test their product with early stage customers, get the bugs fixed, and build case studies so that they can later use these case studies to close large accounts.  This model has been tried again and again.

Stop doing it: stop giving your product away for free; stop letting your early-stage customers take advantage of you; stop de-valuing the product that you’ve built.

I’m going to tell you two lessons that I learned a long time ago:

1. If a client uses your product for FREE, it does NOT mean that a future client will pay for the product
2. Clients don’t purchase your product based on case studies

Who should read this post: Early stage startups that don’t have case studies and are looking to find their first paying customers.

What you will learn: How to pitch your product to your first customers so that they pay for your product without needing to look at case studies.

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It’s a chicken and egg problem that all startups face: we need case studies to close clients, but we can’t create case studies because we don’t have any clients.

First movers are of course important, but when your target market consists of established companies with over $20M in annual revenue, you’ll find that there are very few first movers - if any at all.  How can a small startup pitch big clients with no case studies?

My company faced this problem and overcame it.  I’ve outlined the steps we took below.

Who should read this post: Startups who target an established customer base beyond the small to medium-sized market.  Small companies are easy to close; it’s just a matter of who has the most resources to make the most calls. For larger firms, it’s all about the quality of pitch rather than the quantity of pitches.

What you will learn: How to present your startup in a way that makes your youth and small stature an asset rather than a weakness.

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The reason we moved to Silicon Valley was to be closer to investors, A-caliber developers and designers, and to immerses ourselves in the startup lifestyle. After a year in the valley, I can honestly say that the move was more than worth it.  The connections we’ve made, money we’ve raised, and progress that we’ve made have happened thanks to Silicon Valley.

It’s about time I update you on our new team and how we assembled such an excellent, talented group of individuals.

Who should read this post: Entrepreneurs who are looking to assemble an A-team

What you will learn: How to build an A-team for your startup
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I just received a terrific question from a reader which I have posted below:

I have started an online business with my college roommate.

We have many ideas that we strongly believe in, and I am trying to anticipate everything that we would have to face along the entrepreneurship road. I’m thinking of approaching investors, getting the word out, maintenance of the site, future upgrades, contingency plans, among a million other things. What I have a problem with is that my roommate and I haven’t written much down in terms of a business plan… or anything pertaining to what I stated above. My roommate is telling me to relax.

His approach is quite different. For now, he wants to keep our ideas in our heads, launch a functional site to begin, wait until we get visitors (we expect to have a lot), see how they behave, and then take action. Whenever I mention the things that I want to eventually do (and suggest to put it on paper or type it up), he suggests to wait until we are more established. I understand that over-planning can lead to planning paralysis, but since this is our first business venture, I worry that things will happen too quickly for us to handle… unless we really prepare.

What I want to know is: What can you suggest are the absolute first steps we should take to build a strong foundation? Am I getting too ahead of myself? and Do you believe there any downsides to being over-prepared as an entrepreneur?

Who should read this post: Young entrepreneurs who are starting their first venture

What you will learn: How to walk the fine line between preparing for the future and executing on the now
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