In October of 2008 I launched a company called SocialDreamium LLC. I started out doing social web consulting work and used the revenues from that to fund the development of our first product. I recruited a co-founder and development team in December 2008 and we “broke ground” on our product just before the New Year.
Now in late-May 2009 we’ve decided to shut down SocialDreamium and move on. What did we get out of the business? A much better understanding of the social web landscape and significant entrepreneurial lessons learned. As much as I don’t like writing this post, it’s extremely valuable for all of you who are, or will be, in the same boat. The startup road is a narrow and rough one to travel along, my only hope is that you will be smart enough to learn from my mistakes. We weren’t just unlucky, we screwed somethings up; below are many (but not all) of the top lessons I learned from the 8 months we devoted to SocialDreamium.
Just as your Thanksgiving day will likely be memorable because of the friends and family that you have around you, it is critical that you have the right people around you in your startup. The most expensive and most valuable asset in any startup is the people that make up the company. Spend the time and money necessary to find the perfect people to help grow your company and it may be even more memorable than your Thanksgiving.
Stuff the turkey and savor the flavor
Stuff your startup. During such a tough economic time pay close attention to your cash. As much as possible you should stuff away cash so that you can fair the tough times ahead. Many experts think that the severity of the financial crisis to come is all speculation and scare, other experts think that it is an inevitable reality. The point is nobody knows, and preparing for an unsure time and “weathering the storm” should be your number one priority. Once you’re prepared and have stuffed away enough to get through the recession you’ll be able to focus on the fun/important stuff like company culture and your product. If you stuff your startup full of cash you’re much more likely to be able to savor the flavor of startup success.
Timing is critical
If you pull out the yams 30 minutes before the Turkey is ready you have cold yams. If your stuffing sits for an hour before you stuff the turkey, its not going to sink into the turkey and add the flavor you’re looking for. Basically, without proper timing you can really screw up a Thanksgiving day meal, even if the original cooking was phenom! So, make sure that as you develop your product your communication and marketing strategies are aligned accordingly. Don’t launch a huge traffic generating Facebook campaign for your startup if you don’t have a product ready for users to sign-up. Essentially, don’t let your timing screw up the value that your product brings to the table. The decision to communicate and release your product is a strategic one so plan well and understand that the timing of your release is critical.
Also, understand the seasonality of the startup/venture ecosystem. Make sure to fund raise at the right time and product release at the right time.
Presentation is worthless, content is king
I don’t care if you pull the finest China, light all the candles, and have pilgrim napkin rings, if the food sucks, you’re over before you started. There is a certain order that your priorities should be in for a startup to work. If the design of your site is a higher priority than the functionality of your product, you might as well leave now. People will ALWAYS forgive square buttons versus round ones or forgive a bad color scheme for a solid working, no bugs, piece of software. People like easy and useful over pretty, every time.
Hi. I'm Ryan Graves and this is my personal blog. I'm an entrepreneur living in Chicago, working in San Francisco, but from San Diego. My wife blogs too, and I <3 my family.
