How to Start and Grow a Business

Jul 11, 2024

How to Start and Grow a Business

Introduction

  • Speaker: Founder of 19 companies, investor in 78 startups.
  • Purpose: Sharing knowledge on starting, growing, maintaining, and selling a business.
  • Advice: Stay focused and committed.

Topics Covered

  1. Starting a Business with No Money
  2. Winning in Business
  3. Losing in Business
  4. Creating a Mind Map
  5. Finding Purpose
  6. Finding a Co-founder
  7. Selling
  8. Marketing
  9. Public Relations (PR)
  10. Getting an Investor
  11. Getting Sponsors
  12. Building a Company Brand
  13. Building a Personal Brand
  14. Hiring and Firing
  15. Going Global
  16. Getting a Mentor
  17. Equity Structure
  18. Selling Your Business

Detailed Breakdown

Starting a Business with No Money

  • Misconception: You need an original idea.
  • Reality: Start with what you love doing; combine skills with a co-founder if needed.
  • Execution: Simple, actionable steps like starting a blog, podcast, etc.
  • Revenue Models: Experiment and be flexible.
  • Purpose: Ensure a strong purpose to motivate you and your team.
  • Example: Early days of Fluid, a marketing agency, evolved by exploring new marketing technologies.

Winning in Business

  • Delayed Gratification: Build value before monetizing.
  • Client Centric Culture: Show value and care for customers.
  • Luck and Persistence: Outlast competitors, know your destination, take risks.
  • Avoid Hard Work Fallacy: Take smart risks instead.

Losing in Business

  • Accept Failure: Learn and bounce back from failures.
  • Lower Ego: Don’t let material things or ego dictate terms.
  • Underestimation: Use it to your advantage.

Creating a Mind Map

  • Alternative to Business Plan: More flexible, covers multiple pathways.
  • Components: Hobby, business idea, actionable steps, future projections.
  • Fluid Mind Map: Started with a podcast, evolved into free help via an app.

Finding Purpose

  • Think Deeply: Identify what matters to you and the problems you care about solving.
  • Match Your Life: Align your life and business with your purpose.
  • Collaborate: Find like-minded individuals to support your purpose.
  • Don’t Overthink: Purpose can often be close to your current life.

Finding a Co-founder

  • Opposite Skills: Find someone who complements your skillset.
  • Same Moral Code: Ensure alignment in ethics and values.
  • Equity Considerations: Fair and motivating equity structure.
  • Post it Everywhere: LinkedIn, social media, etc.

Selling

  • Sell the Sizzle: Focus on outcomes and emotional connection.
  • Understand Buyer: Research and establish genuine connections.
  • Long-term Relationships: Follow up persistently but politely.

Marketing

  • Experimental: Expect 50% of spend to be wasted.
  • Target Audience: Focus on niches first and expand gradually.
  • Innovative Methods: E.g., buying and leveraging a staircase for PR.
  • Systems: Build structured approaches for consistency.
  • Fun: Enjoy the marketing process.

Public Relations (PR)

  • Targeted Efforts: Focus on relevant journalism outlets.
  • Lazy Journalists: Make their job easy by providing full stories.
  • Referral Importance: Establish connections through engaged commenting.
  • Personal Discipline: Maintain a disciplined public profile.

Getting an Investor

  • Family and Friends: First potential investors who know and trust you.
  • Team Members: Look for potential investments within your company.
  • Angel Investors: Ask for advice rather than money initially.
  • Venture Capitalists: Research their investment cycles and historical investments.
  • Client Sponsorship: Turn clients into investors.
  • Crowdfunding: Utilize different types of crowdfunding methods.

Getting Sponsors

  • Understand Value: Provide tangible ROI or emotional connection.
  • Research Brands: Make sure your goals align with brand values.
  • Engage Relevant Platforms: Use existing relationships and agents.

Building a Company Brand

  • Foundation on Purpose: Align personal and company values.
  • Reference Model: Use other brands to elevate your own.
  • Leadership Model: Strong leadership reflects brand values.
  • Consistency: Avoid aligning with conflicting brands or individuals.

Building a Personal Brand

  • Self-Awareness: Reflect on and document your personal values.
  • Scalability Issues: Challenges of maintaining a personal brand at scale.
  • Complementing Business: Align your personal brand with your business ethos.

Hiring and Firing

  • Hiring: Align hires with business purpose and give them equity.
  • Growing: Different stages from generalist to specialist roles.
  • Firing: Use 7 and 8 rule–identify and either improve or let go of mediocre employees.

Going Global

  • Risk Diversification: Enter multiple markets to mitigate risk.
  • Research and Franchising: Identify potential markets and consider franchising.
  • Large Business Benefits: Easier to manage at scale.

Getting a Mentor

  • Misconception: More about getting the right advice than a long-term mentorship.
  • Targeted Questions: Ask specific questions rather than seeking a mentor.
  • Add Value: Start by adding value to the mentor.

Equity Structure

  • Control Misconception: Equity ownership does not equal control.
  • Planning Ahead: Do not sell too much equity too early.
  • Reverse Engineering: Know the end goal and work backward.

Selling Your Business

  • Accidental Sales: Often best offers come when not actively selling.
  • Partnership Path: Work with potential buyers as partners first.
  • Agents and Mergers: Use agents or merge with competitors.
  • Management Buyout: Allowing your team to take over.

Conclusion

  • Purpose: Build a business you love with a strong purpose.
  • Flexibility: Be prepared to adapt and evolve.
  • Long-term View: Focus on building something sustainable and meaningful.