Posted by Dan Martin on Mon, 26/04/2010 - 10:55
Serial entrepreneur Andrew J Scott has launched several online businesses so he is perfectly placed to advise on how (and how not) to start a new business. I went to GeeknRolla last week where Scott, now running Rummble, offered these top tips.
1. Don’t choose a crap name: Playtxt, one of Scott’s previous businesses had a name very similar to a bra manufacturer and a US sanitary towel brand!
2. Pick the right co-founder: If you have a feeling it’s not going to work out with the person you're running your business with, it’s probably won’t, says Scott. “Bite the bullet and find a good co-founder or none at all. Trust your gut. It’s always right about people”
3. Location, location, location: Where your business is based is important so think hard about it. He advises technology start-up entrepreneurs to consider going to Silicon Valley in San Francisco.
4. Hire slow, fire quick: Never under hire, Scott advises. “If you know an employee is not right for your business, fire them!”
5. Delegate: Scott believes that if someone can do something 70% as well as you can, delegate it. The two exceptions are hiring employees and pitching to investors.
6. Have a one-line pitch: You need to be able to describe your business in one sentence. When talking to a potential investor your first line is the difference between them walking away and wanting to know more, Scott says. His favourite one-line pitch comes from a film; Alien was pitched as “Jaws in space”.
7. Beware the bubble: It’s very easy to absorb yourself in the echo chamber of the start-up business world but remember, Scott warns, those in the Twitterverse are not normal consumers, internet users or mobile phone users so talk to normal people!
8. Stop building and measure things that matter: It may not be sexy but you need to do it. Focus on the things which turn revenue and add to the core value of your company.
9. Time flies: Everything takes longer then you think so prepare for it,” Scott says. In his experience, for example, fund raising takes at least three times longer.
10. Practice makes perfect: It’s a cliché but so many entrepreneurs don’t practice particularly when it comes to pitching. “Do you think the politicians don’t practice?,” Scott says. Get your team to be the investors and if they laugh, get over it!
11. Help others, it’s circular: “When you need to fix a crap product then you need your friends to spend two or three hours giving you honest reason as to why,” Scott says.
12. Take time out: “Never under-estimate the value of a good hangover”, Scott quips. “It rewires your brain and makes you think creatively. Don’t spend all your time completely immersed in your business.”
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