by Behzad on Human Resource

Right Hire

For the “right hire” in addition to obvious role-related skills and experience check for:

  • A high energy level
  • A high mental capacity
  • An abundance of common sense
  • An ability to communicate

By Doyletech’s Denzil Doyle, Making Technology Happen

 
by Behzad on Communication

Five Negotiation Don’ts

Five things you should not say while negotiating:

  1. “Between”, don’t use a range in your offering
  2. “I think we are close”, it’s a sign of frustration and willingness to compromise
  3. “Why don’t you throw out a number?”, be the first bidder
  4. “I’m the final decision maker”, always leave some room for advice from your dog!
  5. “Fuck you”, I say use it if needed

Source [Inc.com]

 
by Behzad on Business Model

Components of a Business Model

Seven components of a business model are:

  1. Cost of reaching customers
  2. Differentiating products or services
  3. Pricing
  4. Selling
  5. Delivery/distribution
  6. Support system
  7. Customer satisfaction/retention

For more information read:

http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/08/business-models-and-teenage-sex/

 
by Behzad on Fund Raising, Presentation

Pitch to VCs

 
by Behzad on Business Plan

Business Plan to PowerPoint

With many thanks to Aydin, Co-Founder and CEO of chide.it, here are the rules around the business plan

  • write your business plan and use it as a reference
  • keep the business plan internally
  • turn your business plan into a presentation instead
  • follow the 10/20/30 rule in your presentation (REMINDER: 10 slides, 20 minutes and 30 point font size)
 
by Behzad on Communication, Marketing, Organization

Innovation

 
by Behzad on Uncategorized

Prototyping

The best practice in every project is cyclic prototyping; start prototyping very early. Very quickly, all design aspects and provisions to be made will reveal themselves. Repeat this process until necessary.

In prototyping consider the following rules:

  1. Recognize That Ideas Are Cheap – Given the connected, Internet-savvy world in which we live, ideas have become cheap … A great prototype is often the best way to start a dialogue with potential customers and test your idea’s value.
  2. Start With a Paper Design – … Writing code without real consideration for several design factors leads to heartache and a lot of rework … You can get peers and, hopefully, customers to give feedback … Paper designs are inexpensive and more valuable than words.
  3. Put in Just Enough Work – Know your objectives and stick to them … Keep these objectives in mind and be careful not to fall in love with the process … you want to invest just enough time and work to meet the objectives.
  4. Anticipate for Multiple Options – Design your prototype with modularity in mind … Customers ultimately decide how to use your product, not you. Design in options for expansion, performance, packaging, and lower cost.
  5. Design for Reuse in the Final Product – … Look for prototyping tools that make it possible for you to scale your prototype from lab to market.
  6. Avoid Focusing on Cost Too Early – … Initially, focus on proving the value of your innovation, and design with modularity in mind … Focus on securing your first set of customers and then work on cost optimization.
  7. Fight “Reversion to the Mean” – When prototyping, the tendency is to develop something easy rather than develop something that has a “wow” factor. Stay true to your vision and make sure your prototype captures the original thought of your innovation.
  8. Ensure You Can Demonstrate Your Prototype – … Do not build up to a crescendo. Most people’s attention spans are limited to less than 60 seconds … If the demonstration is amazing, all else falls into place.

[source] http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/pub/p/id/579

 
by Behzad on Marketing, Sales

Inbound Marketing

Short, simple, solid advice to make startups stick:

source [http://onstartups.com/]