Perhaps this might happen to you. An idea for a new web service pops into your head. Dead certain that you have something you begin to get it together in some form of alpha/beta/gamma release and you get an invite to some Tech Crunchy or Bloggy event or, heck, a meal with some rich (super rich) CEO of a small start up company in Redmond, Washington. All of a sudden, you are everywhere. Your name is popping up at this camp or that camp with this talk or that talk and this meeting or that meeting, burning up the red eye flights coast to coast.
In a word: Stop. I can’t think of anything more dangerous for a young start up then this notion that in order to be successful, you have to be at every camp, in every conversation, and on the top of every web whatever dot oh tracking thing around.
Don’t fall into this trap. Put your head down, get a product/service out the door, and spend time working the basic thesis that got you hot to trot in the first place: Will people pay.
I have watched a number of really smart people with really good ideas that should, at a minimum be great businesses, get so caught up in this be everywhere nonsense that they are forgetting what starting a business is all about; the business, not a giant ego stroke.
Focus on the business, not on how many conferences you attend.
Great advice to early-stage entreprenuers! Nothing can derail a young company as quickly as too much attention (and distraction) too early in the life of the company.
There are, however, opportunities on the Rubber-Chicken Circuit that companies may want to *carefully* exploit if they find themselves in the spotlight. The key is to think strategically rather than letting ego lead the way.
I wrote more about this topic in my article "Early Market Development and The Rubber-Chicken Circuit": http://www.bd.handspicker.net/blog/archives/2006/05/14/strategy-early-market-development-and-the-rubber-chicken-circuit
Posted by: BD Handspicker | May 14, 2006 at 14:59
I agree with many of the comments on this post about the dangers of entrepreneurs to strike out on the road and become distracted with building buzz that they forget to build the business.
I'd just offer an alternate perspective -- I see a lot of early stage companies that are very insular and only talk to a small circle of friendlies and like-minded peers during the early stages of their company formation. This is also dangerous -- so there's a delicate balancing act of getting out there to talk to the market and customers and then going home to hunker down and translate that into what customers want to buy. We just have to encourage spending the right kind of time on the road -- in my view, that's the time spent face to face with prospective buyers with cash in their pockets.
Posted by: Wendy Kennedy | May 15, 2006 at 05:17
Heh - Yeah, I know this one from bitter experience....
The problem is that attention begets more attention and more invitations. It feels like progress and success, but it's usually not. I say go to conferences, but have a business reason. And that means customers. Will customers be there? Accept the invitation. Can you afford not to care if customers are there? Accept the invitation. Otherwise, get back to work....
The only exception for me is conferences that require no travel, and that cost nothing for me to be there, like CES. That's just pure fun.....
Posted by: Brian Benz | May 17, 2006 at 10:49