I often wonder how easy it would be in today’s market for a non-tech person to transform a great idea into a great startup. I have a feeling that, while not impossible, it might be a fairly daunting task. More ideas than not these days have a technology component, since technology has become so closely intertwined with every aspect of daily life. A whole bunch of today’s entrepreneurial companies (Web 2.0, community and marketplace companies, services companies such as energy or healthcare) require a solid online presence and a technology backbone.
So are there a lot of people out there with great ideas who have difficulty transforming them into great startups? I think so. Which is very ironic, because in today’s startup-friendly world there are so many tools available that can help young companies – search engine marketing, hosted solutions, outsourced staff, virtual showrooms and modular technology options. What I believe is happening is that these tools make it easier to setup and run a company, but entrepreneurs who are tech-savvy can better leverage them by combining them with a strong technology component. So the power to create a successful startup is increasingly becoming concentrated in the hands of those who understand technology.
One of the reasons why I love Potion is that we try to shift some of that power back. We have one simple objective – to make it possible for a team with a good idea to find market traction whether the founders and management have expertise in technology or not. I like calling it the Startup Depot, because one visit to Potion will provide you with all the tools you need to start and build a company, regardless of your background in technology. We help startups leverage all those tools of modern technology out there (strong website development, quick & inexpensive technology, Google AdWords, global sourcing) in an intelligent fashion to bring costs down, enhance customer experience and turn your company into a winner.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Which noodle is the best?
I love startups, and I love the noodles that always seem to go with them. My personal favorite is Maruchan Instant Lunch.
Noodles are for me the constant in the roller coaster of startup life. They are more permanent than your first idea for a new company (it always changes anyway), your office space (everything is virtual anyway) and your salary (we all know how that goes). Regardless of everything else that changes, you can always depend on a nice hot lunch for under a dollar.
Noodles bring to mind for me the romanticism, the dream of a startup. The fantasy of living in a basement, working on cool ideas that will change the world and eating something cheap and tasty to keep you going through long days and longer nights. I love that fantasy - I love startups. They are constant insanity; constant excitement; constant simultaneous pain and joy. I love how they always teeter on the edge between boundless success and looming failure.
What could possibly be more exhilarating? From the time you get that $200 Delaware LLC certificate in your mailbox you are on a liberating path. No more boss. No more endless meetings and voicemails. No more Machiavellian struggle to get promoted instead of your coworker. In a startup you can sleep in the middle of the day, go to work in your pajamas, and put whatever title you like on your business card. You can promise your friends positions as Advisors. You can promise the local bartender some Friends and Family shares from the authorized capital when you run out of cash and have had one too many.
Perhaps best, you can blog at 4:00 in the afternoon while everyone else is in some meeting in which their boss is getting Buy-In for the Action Plan and Assigning Ownership to the Team Players for the Deliverables based on their Bandwidth and making sure everyone is On The Same Page.
More later…it’s time for a nice bowl of Maruchan…
Noodles are for me the constant in the roller coaster of startup life. They are more permanent than your first idea for a new company (it always changes anyway), your office space (everything is virtual anyway) and your salary (we all know how that goes). Regardless of everything else that changes, you can always depend on a nice hot lunch for under a dollar.
Noodles bring to mind for me the romanticism, the dream of a startup. The fantasy of living in a basement, working on cool ideas that will change the world and eating something cheap and tasty to keep you going through long days and longer nights. I love that fantasy - I love startups. They are constant insanity; constant excitement; constant simultaneous pain and joy. I love how they always teeter on the edge between boundless success and looming failure.
What could possibly be more exhilarating? From the time you get that $200 Delaware LLC certificate in your mailbox you are on a liberating path. No more boss. No more endless meetings and voicemails. No more Machiavellian struggle to get promoted instead of your coworker. In a startup you can sleep in the middle of the day, go to work in your pajamas, and put whatever title you like on your business card. You can promise your friends positions as Advisors. You can promise the local bartender some Friends and Family shares from the authorized capital when you run out of cash and have had one too many.
Perhaps best, you can blog at 4:00 in the afternoon while everyone else is in some meeting in which their boss is getting Buy-In for the Action Plan and Assigning Ownership to the Team Players for the Deliverables based on their Bandwidth and making sure everyone is On The Same Page.
More later…it’s time for a nice bowl of Maruchan…
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