Managing the Flat, Blank Parts

Remember the pieces of vinyl that separated the tracks on an album? They would look like circular borders that gave a pause to the music. They were the easy places to drop the needle before the song you wanted to hear. A startup software company has those flat blank parts too.

There are a few reasons that I can think of that result in a “breath” in development. Hiring, financing, code freeze, perf testing, or any of the many other causes can all result in a flat blank part for the team. It is important to manage these so that you maintain your momentum.

No matter how well you manage to process, or how big your team is (if you’re lucky), there are always items marked as “deferred”, and these are not necessarily just bugs.

commenting code

• post mortems
• reviewing the backlog
• process improvement
• updating estimates
• functionality research
• usability reviews
• producing white papers

We can go on and on here.

A startup cannot afford to misuse their pauses.

They are there, and when you see one coming get ready to make the best use of it. Your team will come out of it stronger then ever and with the feeling of increased stability.

Editorial: Ties Suck (but you knew that)

The WSJ got me all fired up this AM with an article The Tie is Dead (Long Live the Tie).
I'm on the "No Tie" bandwagon and Richard Branson seems to be leading the parade.

Branson is famously anti-tie.
There are stories of him using scissors to cut the tie off of unsuspecting employees that broke his reverse dress code.
I don't think I have ever seen a picture of Branson with a tie.
So, this defeats the idea that a tie is a necessary accessory for
success in business.

But is there other data to more firmly indicate the direction of menswear in the new millennia? Yes
The WSJ article showed that by 2008 tie sales had dropped 92%. This is a key indicator, but it isn't a fun one. I think I have better and more conclusive proof that we can hold farewell party for this antiquated accoutrement. Let me lay out my case.

1.  Bogie looked great in a hat. He was what cool was. To be cool in his era, you wore a hat.
2. Kennedy updated menswear style by breaking the hat tradition. Automakers even lowered car tops, you couldn't wear a Bogie style hat now if you wanted to.

Now lets look at our often tieless current president.

The last G8 Summit and this summer's meeting with President Xi Jinping of China showed world leaders sans tie. Is this the repeat of Kennedy's influence on men's hats? I think so. But there is one trap that needs to be avoided. Don Draper!

Mad Men is super popular. It is a great show and I'm addicted to it. I think Don has an influence on us all. Just like Bogie, he is super cool (yes, lots of bad traits that make me cringe, but still super cool).
Are we strong enough to resist the temptation to revert to this look? I think so.

I've seen my "trying to by hip" friends attempt the hat. Reaction: nope, you can't pull off the Bogie look in 2010. That hat doesn't go well with cargos at all :) LOL. So even though Draper may tempt a few of us to bring back this office formal look the tide is too strong against it. Thanks Mr. President.

As a last word though, is this Invisi-tie trend completely attributable to Mr. Branson and Mr. Obama?
Nah. It started with us tech guys.

Now Zuckerberg is the most well-known example with his statement making hoodie, but he wasn't the first. Lets say that the dotcom bubble was the fuse.

You can't wear a tie with Birkenstock's, and lots of Birks were sold to software engineers in 1999. This type of thing led to casual Friday for the entire business community.

Technology has changed the world and has even influenced our president to solidify the tie-less trend.

AND there is something that you can do to help!
Ahem, change your LinkedIn profile picture.
If you're wearing a tie, get a new shot. You still look great (probably better) just minus the tie.

Sorry Brooks Bros., you'll just have to sell more socks.

Cash is King

The King

"Cash is King", this is always true.

First off, I enjoy Johnny Cash more than Elvis, so that should be enough to prove my statement right there. I do like Elvis, but the Long Black Veil is in its own league.

http://bit.ly/1epfYdg 

"Cash is also King in your startup"

Having a set of linked financials is a must have for us. I've listned to a lot of successful entrepreneurs and investors argue both sides of the 5 year projection battle, but when it comes down to it, planning a startup is facilitated by your linked financials.

What you need

For each of the next 5 years: income statement, cash flow statement and balance sheet. Also, summary and assumptions worksheets. Everything should be linked so that you (or a potential investor during diligence) can use the data on the assumptions tab as levers that flow through your other worksheets. Think of how incredibly useful this is in working through different scenarios for your business model.

Oh, don't forget another sheet that anchors your assumptions into reality by citing credible resources.

[Back to Cash being King]

Once the hard work of setting these up is complete, you can pull the levers yourself and check out the viability of your plan as it ripples through your worksheets. Where do I spend most of my time? Right, the cashflow statement.

As a business owner, what do I want to know most? Do I have enough cash to continue to take over the world...er, I mean "to execute on my plan"  ;)

The income statement is important to see how we're doing based solely on revenue, but my cashflow helps me to determine how much outside investment I need, and where it is best allocated.

Here is a resource to download a financial templates:

http://www.score.org/resources/business-plans-financial-statements-template-gallery

It may be exciting and anti-establishment to work by your gut, but when planning a sales & marketing effort, it's important to see how your decisions will play out. 

So, sit back, listen to Johnny & June Carter sing Jackson and dig in. 

It'll be fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzhzCF77GDo

Prioritizing the "Get it Done" List

One of the biggest challenges for an early stage company is balancing one-off requests with developing the features that have wider client appeal. 

This is a trap

It seems like a good idea to focus on the features that your current clients want. It seems intuitive to power through the wish list of a potential sale. 

I understand the overwhelming urge to continually bubble client requests to the top of the backlog,          but consider:

Each and every request that comes in needs to be evaluated.

Q: "Will it make my product specific to the needs of this one client, or does everyone want this?"

Customer acquisition is the #1 effort for a startup

More customers proves the business model, gives investors the warm & fuzzies, provides much needed cash flow and provides critical fuel for an early marketing campaign. So, the argument may be made that yes, make this customer happy, BUT our goal is more than just ONE customer. So spending valuable development cycles on features that will only be used by one client should be a hard pill to swallow.

Instead I suggest that every client request gets logged and evaluated. 

If it is specific to only one client, we must figure out how to create the feature in a way that would be valuable to all, or say

                                     ...Wait forrrr iiiitttt...

"No"

Wow, that is a hard thing to do, but congratulations, you're in it for the long haul.

With a todo list that is probably very long, it is up to us to sell our clients on why they need the features that will makes us the number 1 choice of the many, not the few. I can't tell you how to work diplomatically with clients & potential clients, but sharing your vision for the product, showing them how well you turn around solid releases of advanced features and valuing their feedback will go a long way in building your brand goodwill.

So in summary: evaluate & value the requests, if you need them to sell the product to more clients put them on the top of the list, if not, sell what is on the top of your list to your client. Getting them excited about your product direction and thanking them for their continued feedback builds a collaborative environment. I enjoy working in environments like this.