a guide to working with startups at the media kitchen

HOW TO WORK WITH STARTUPS& WHY IT MATTERS

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WHAT IS A STARTUP?

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A 'startup' is a company that is confused about --1.What its product is,2.Who its customers are.3.How to make money.

As soon as it figures out all 3 things, it ceases to be a startup and then becomes a real business.

Except most times, that doesn't happen.

DAVE MCCLURE VIA QUIBB

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STEVE BLANK VIA QUIBB

A startup is a temporary organization used to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.

"Temporary" is emphasized because a startup's goal is to cease being a startup, to graduate up to being a large business or to fail and move on to another opportunity. An early stage venture that isn't capable of this type of rapid scale-up is a small business, not a startup.

I also emphasized the verb to "search" because it is a key distinction from small and large businesses that operate in mature markets. These businesses execute known business models while a startup searches for an unknown business model - in order to disrupt existing markets or even create knew ones.

You use very different techniques to search effectively and efficiently for something unknown than you do to execute something that is already known.

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FOUNDER(S)SMALL TEAMTECH BASED

VENTURE CAPITAL

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ven·ture cap·i·tal

noun

1.capital invested in a project in which there is a substantial element of risk, typically a new or expanding business.

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THESE COMPANIES ARE NO LONGER STARTUPS

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WHY STARTUPS

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WHY STARTUPS

INNOVATIONINVENTIONCREATION

ENTREPRENEURIALNO BOUNDARIES

BIG IDEAS

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88 TIPS FOR WORKING WITH STARTUPS

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1WORKING WITH INNOVATIVE COMPANIES IS NOT EASY

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1WORKING WITH INNOVATIVE COMPANIES IS NOT EASY

YOUNG, IDEALISTIC, NON-PROCESS ORIENTED, PERSONNEL

CONSTRAINED

UNDERSTAND THIS. DON’T TRY PUTTING A SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND

HOLE. BE OPEN.

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2YOUR PRODUCT IDEA IS NOT ON THEIR ROADMAP

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2YOUR PRODUCT IDEA IS NOT ON THEIR ROADMAP

SELLING YOUR IDEA TO A STARTUP

CONSTRUCT A BRIEF DOCUMENT THAT WILL OUTLINE EXACTLY WHAT

YOU WANT FROM THE STARTUP.

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3EXECUTION TIMELINES

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3EXECUTION TIMELINES

TAKE THEIRS AND MULTIPLY BY 3

MAKE SURE YOU BUILD ENOUGH PADDING INTO YOUR TIMELINES.

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4RELATIONSHIPS MATTER

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4RELATIONSHIPS MATTER

HAVE YOU TRIED CONTACTING A “HOT” STARTUP?

START BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH VENTURE CAPITALISTS AS

THEY ARE YOUR ACCESS POINT FOR STARTUPS

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5BE NICE.

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5BE + PLAY NICE.

YOU MIGHT BE WRITING A CHECK, BUT THERE ARE

PROBABLY 10 OTHER PEOPLE WHO WANT TO AS WELL.

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6NOT EVERYONE IS ENTREPRENEURIAL.

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6NOT EVERYONE IS ENTREPRENEURIAL.

DON’T SWIM AGAINST THE CURRENT.

FIND THOSE WHO ARE AND GIVE THEM THE TOOLS TO SUCCEED.

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7FEEDBACK CAN BE TRANSFORMATIONAL.

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7FEEDBACK CAN BE TRANSFORMATIONAL.

PROVIDING STARTUPS WITH CONSTANT FEEDBACK

ULTIMATELY HELPS THEM SUCCEED.

PROVIDE HONEST AND THOUGHTFUL FEEDBACK AS TO WHY OR WHY NOT

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8VISIONARY THINKERS

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8VISIONARY THINKERS

SOMETIMES IT’S HARD TO WRAP YOUR HEAD AROUND A VISIONARY

IDEA

CHALLENGE YOUR STAFF CONSISTENTLY WITH BIG IDEAS.

STRETCHING THE MIND HELPS GET TO BIG IDEAS.

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FURTHER READING.....

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IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A TWITTER ACCOUNT, GET

ONE TODAY. MANDATORY.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TWEET, BUT LEARN HOW TO

CONSUME CONTENT ON THE FEED.

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@davemcclure @MikeBrownJr @chrisfralic @garyvee

@boughb @ganeumann @ceonyc @caro

FOLLOW @

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THE MEDIA KITCHENWWW.MEDIAKITCHEN.TV

@THEMEDIAKITCHEN

PRESENTED BY DARREN HERMAN, CHIEF DIGITAL MEDIA OFFICER @DHERMAN76OCTOBER 2013

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