Before You Launch:Things to Consider Before Beginning a Startup

Presented by Ju-Don Marshall RobertsMarch 2014

☞Director for the Center for Cooperative Media/NJ News Commons

☞ 17 years at The Washington Post

☞Restart No. 1: News Corp-owned Beliefnet

☞Restart No. 2: Beliefnet was sold; had to start over, rebuilding and training new

team for the new company

☞Restart No. 3: Everyday Health

☞ J-Lab’s New Voices Board☞ J-Lab’s New Media Women

Entrepreneurs Board☞Work with various startups

About Me

☞Is this really for you? Are you a solo act or can you lead

others? Will you devote the necessary time? Do you have the resources or

resourcefulness to make this work? Are you overwhelmed or excited by

challenges?

Are You an Entrepreneur?

☞ Resources: Dan Isenberg’s entrepreneur checklist http://bit.ly/1cvaFby

☞If they know and trust you – your personal brand

‒What have you already done? (reputation)

☞If you can sell the package of you and your idea effectively

‒Are you believable? (passion)

‒Are you credible? (experience)

If “You” Build It, They Might Come

☞But they won’t stay without a fight Don’t rest on your laurels. As fabulous as you/your idea/your product are, you will be in a death match for audience and revenue. You may be a visionary, but

can you execute?

If “You” Build It, They Might Come

☞Market opportunity It may be a brilliant project, hobby or

distraction but is it a business? Are you solving a problem and for whom? Do enough people care about the problem

and would they be interested in your solution?

Is it scalable? Do you have the skills, time, resources to

make it work?

Good Ideas Are Not Enough

☞ Resources: Dan Isenberg’s business opportunity checklist http://bit.ly/1cWunQb

☞Who are your competitors? How will you differentiate your

product or service? Does your product or service

compete with or complement them? Is market strong enough to support

another product in this category? Use free tools to analyze your

competitors and sharpen your positioning.

Know the Competition

☞ Resources: Measurement and comparison tools: www.similarsites.com, www.similarweb.com,

www.quantcast.com, www.alexa.com

☞Summarize your idea Is it clear? Does it convey value, differentiation,

excitement? Create an informal advisory group and pitch them. Do

they understand it? Would they use or fund it? Survey random people to test the idea/market. Use others’ questions/comments to refine your idea.

Define and Refine Your Idea

☞How will you support the site and yourself? Advertising may not be

enough to sustain your business; do you have alternative revenue streams in mind?

Other options: Grants, sponsorships, services, crowd-funding, events, products, etc.

Subsidize income: Freelance, PT work

Is It Worth Your Time?

☞ Resources: Sustainable business models for journalism http://www.submojour.net/ Sample business models from CUNY’s Tow-Knight Center http://bit.ly/H2adaj

☞You’ll need a team that you trust and that trusts you Hire (or team up with) people with passion. Find people with complementary strengths,

expertise. Strive not to be the smartest person in the room. Build a culture, not just a business.

Can You Build the Right Team?

☞Your passion is your driving force Allows you to effectively motivate your team and

yourself. Provides inspirational leadership.

☞Unchecked emotions are dangerous Leads you to blind adherence or belief in your

own ideas in spite of indicators or team feedback. Results in erratic decision-making.

Can You Lose the Emotion, but Keep the Passion?

☞ Resources: Article: Lead and motivate – not just your team, but yourself, too http://bit.ly/1hZ1oZP

☞Good ideas need time to grow Do your due diligence to make

sure your ideas are sound and then give them time to work.

☞Avoid chasing every shiny new penny Distractions (nonstrategic

pursuits) will likely be corrosive and impact the execution of your actual priorities.

Stay Committed and Focused

☞Recognize when a strategy is flawed Wrong assumptions. Marketplace changes. Audience shifts.

☞Seize the opportunities you cannot afford to miss

Know When to Pivot

☞Build a solid foundation Make sure what you create or

sell is replicable and scalable. Invest in the infrastructure,

teams, technology to adequately support your initiatives.

Bigger Is Not Always Better

☞ Define your brand or others will define it for you Your Advertisers. Your Competition.

☞ Remember your differentiator

Be True to Yourself

☞Never stop challenging your assumptions Why won’t your product work

“tomorrow”?☞Figure out the game-changer in your

niche and become it Lessons from legacy media Gamification

Don’t Fear the Disruption; Be the Disruption

☞ Center for Cooperative Media and NJ News Commons Grow & Strengthen Incubator

☞ Entrepreneur’s 2 Weeks to Startup☞ CUNY Online Entrepreneurial Journalism Bootcamp☞ JStart: Resources for Startups ☞ ReadWriteWeb’s Legal Resources for Startups☞Quantcast: Traffic and Demographics☞ Alexa: Traffic☞ New Business Models from the Tow-Knight Center☞ Entrepreneur and Business Opportunity Checklist☞ SuBMoJour: Database of Startups and Business Models☞ Similar Web and Similar Sites: Measurement and Comparisons

Resources for Startups

All links available here: http://bit.ly/19SYB5o

Thank You!https://twitter.com/NJNewsCommonshttps://twitter.com/jmarroberts

https://www.facebook.com/njnewscommons

robertsj@montclair.edu