it's a wonderful life - starting a news venture

JAWS Alchemy III :: reinvent yourself@wendynorris

an unconventional path@wendynorris

The rules have changed

Old Man Potter rules

• Don’t underestimate yourself and your skills for running a business• Don’t surround yourself with sycophants• Don’t allow research paralysis to prevent you from launching

Clarence the Angel rules

• Do find partners, mentors and collaborators• Integrate your values into your business• Iterate. Fail. Iterate. Fail. Iterate. Ding! Win.

focus on what matters@wendynorris

What problem are you solving? Where's the intersection between the customers' pain and your idea?

• Don’t get miserly about your idea. Share it widely• Imagine what if and what never?• Seek feedback about your business idea• Note audience reaction for clues on the need to fine tune your idea

Old Man Potter: the imaginary foe@wendynorris

What do you fear?

• How is that fear holding you back from launching?• Identify the problem you are solving• Crystallize it into a single sentence• Who and what will prevent you from solving that problem?

Uncle Billy: the real enemy@wendynorris

Be smart about delegating important tasks

• Well-intentioned partners can sabotage the business• Bootstrap to prove your case and work out the bugs without the pressure of financial partners• Perfect is the enemy of the good

makin’ money: Mama Dollar and Papa Dollar@wendynorris

Hit the financial books

• Learn about disruptive business strategies and lean startups• Get creative about financing your business• Adopt a Dollar Store mentality about expenses

ask for help: crowdsource@wendynorris

All crowdsourcing is not created equal

• Think through the operational, ethical and quality assurance issues of working with the public or posting user generated content• Many consider it high praise to be asked to help• How I used crowdsourced investigative reporting and lessons learned Link to: Quora response

belly up to the bar@wendynorris

Community engagement

• Talk to your public. Even the grouchy ones. Learn from their valid criticisms• Use social media, public forums, surveys, commenting and free tech tools for both qualitative/quantitative metrics• Make yourself easily accessible to the community you serve

give it your best shot@wendynorris

Break a few windows

• Experiment with new technology, editorial direction, newsgathering process and revenue model• Always map how a specific decision may affect business goals and organizational values. Not everything will always align but at least you're prepared• Iterate. Fail. Iterate. Fail. Iterate. Ding! Win

rock that bathrobe like a queen@wendynorris

Go lasso that moon!

• The secret sauce of successful entrepreneurs: a healthy dose of chutzpah, humility and humor• Confidence attracts money, attention and new opportunities• What’s your Alchemy speech?

Slides posted at wendynorris.posterous.com

twitter @wendynorris | email wendy@wendynorris.com | mobile 720 281 9378