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By Faye Nicholson  Everybody at one point in their lives asks the question, why am I here? What is my purpose and what do I want to be known for? Organizations ask those same questions and answer them in the form of mission statements, vision statements and value statements. These statements help form the culture of the organization.
Your mission, vision and value statements are much more than a sign on your wall or a placeholder on your website. These statements communicate to your stakeholders your sincere beliefs that guide your organization. They share why you exist, where your organization is going and what your organization stands for. These statements also help your organization develop strategies and ideas that build your startup’s identity and foundation. Let’s talk briefly about each one:
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By Shannon Marshburn  The winter holiday season is my favorite time of the year. I love participating in family traditions, the cozy hot chocolate and movie marathon nights, and I love to give the people around me gifts that create smiles and memories. My least favorite thing of all is the holiday shopping season, and that is why I vow to have my shopping done before December begins.
I am not alone in this shopping trend, as Black Friday traffic at retail stores are down 28.3% from 2019, according to preliminary data from Sensormatic Solutions. With retailers operating with reduced hours and the pandemic hanging around, many shoppers stayed home. You may think online shopping is taking place of these in-store shoppers, but even the online retailers are seeing a decrease.  By Nick Glavan
Every cohort of I-Corps, we assign the participating teams a worksheet to help them think through their overall market opportunity. We ask them, “If every person who experiences the problem you are trying to solve bought your product or service, how much money would they collectively spend?” This is just one way to think about how big an opportunity a startup business has in their industry. Here are a few common tips I share with early-stage founders taking their first crack at deciding what number is right for them: There is no one right answer! No matter how hard you try, there is no exact way to determine how much your future business revenue will be. It will always involve some form of guesswork or assumptions, so don’t stress yourself searching and searching for the one right answer. There are quite a few acceptable estimations. Most reviewers and advisors acknowledge there is some level of uncertainty in determining these numbers, so no need to panic. Share your rationale in making your assumptions. Because there isn’t a singular right answer, you will want to explain how you arrived at your number. If the explanation makes sense, the numeric values will too. Many reviewers are more interested in seeing how you got to the market size number than the actual number itself. If you used sound assumptions that seem logical in determining your total, addressable, and target market values, you will convey that you as the business leader can make sensible decisions in other aspects of the business. On the other hand, if you are giving overly optimistic or unsupported rationales, you may appear too out-of-touch with the realities of your market.  By Faye Nicholson
Many people think just because they have written a news release it will automatically be picked up by a media outlet. Well, here’s a news alert: That could not be farther from the truth. In fact, studies have revealed that between 55 and 97 percent of all news releases sent to media are never picked up. So, the next time you announce a new product or feature, win an award, host a technology seminar, acquire or merge with another company or share survey results, know that you are competing with the masses for media attention. A study conducted by Greentarget found that 69 percent of journalist spend less than a minute reading a release, even after they have made the decision to open it. The study went on to report that all other releases are dealt with in less than a second. Here are a few tips to consider preventing a reporter or editor from discarding your next news release and instead, ensuring that it gets noticed, read and followed-up upon. You can start by determining your story’s best news angle and applying one of the news pegs below to promote your startup:  By Anna Radachy
Being part of Gen Z, I have spent my consumer media life on demand via Netflix and Hulu, and there is only one event that I will put on my calendar to watch on cable… Shark Week! This event is the longest-running TV event ever, as this year will be its 33rd annual run. This enduring event has made itself a mainstay by giving the people what they want, showcasing the unbelievable power of sharks in their natural habitat. But what else has made this event, which is now synonymous with the Discovery channel, come back every year? Marketing! Shark Week marketing is everywhere, they have flooded the market for the month leading up to the event. Billboards, commercials, social media posts, among other things that are identifiable, and create the same hype everywhere. Creating an effective marketing plan is not easy, and these are some key components of creating one: By Anna Radachy  Did you know there are people who raise bugs? There are companies and startups all over the world with bug farmers who breed, raise, and sell all sorts of insects for all sorts of purposes every day.
This market of raising and selling bugs affects many, many markets across the world. Some markets include things you would expect like reptile food and fertilizer, while other markets are more covert like dyes and fabric production. Around the world, people eat bugs, use them to feed their animals, make their clothes, and many other things every day, but how does this affect us? Have you ever looked at a beetle and thought “I could make a business out of that”? I am willing to bet the answer there is no. In reality, every single day we come into contact with hundreds of entrepreneurial opportunities that never even occur to us because we are unaware of their market potential. Raising bugs is not the only hidden specialized market out there and taking the time to think about these small things may lead you to your next idea! How would you like to use what some call “market fishing” to find the best market fit for your business?  A big mistake lots of novice entrepreneurs make is choosing the wrong target market. You can spend a ton of time and energy creating a great product. You have developed an invention or service that you are really proud of. And you think you’re customers are going to love it, too. But then you spend loads of time and money trying to sell it... And it falls flat. No sales. Not even a dime. *Cue the violin music*  What the heck happened?
The number one reason for startup failure is due to a lack of product-market fit. How to Avoid Failure What I’m about to share with you is a simple way to discover the best possible customer for your business. Plus, if you follow these steps, you’ll end up with a solid set of validation data that you can share with investors, and maybe convince them why they should bet on your company, too. |
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