People, money, risk, passion, success... What is it REALLY All About
| Category: Net Business Start ups | Date: 2002-10-04 |
Last night I was completely blown away by a documentary about a rise and fall of an Internet company. I was speci-fically recommended this film by a friend months ago, and wish I would have watched it sooner.
An absolute "jaw dropper".
Unlike most Internet entrepreneurs, this company went through a lot of money (60 mil.dollars to be exact), venture capitalists, financial arrangements, TV and press publicity, including meetings with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and other influential politicians and business men.
It started with 2 young people, former high school friends, and their dream to start a company. Each brought in very different skills and expertise. Kaleil was the one with the business and financial background, Tom was the tech guy.
From day one (the day Kaleil left his full-time job to start a new company) they documented their actions, progress, con-flicts, and even personal lives that were deeply effected by this new venture. A camera man was following them to the Sillicon Valley, to their meetings with venture capitalists, to their late night office projects and even to their bedrooms.
(I kept thinking, "darn it! I should have filmed MY start up!" Although most of my start up and the "cooking" of the new ideas was happening in my mind, I think it would've made a great documentary... at least for my friends and family.)
In spite of this Internet venture being very different from mine, I learned some invaluable lessons that I would like to pass on to you.
1. Choosing a company name is very important. The way Kaleil and Tom tested their name options was by going into a busy mall and asking people what company would they rather invest into (and then gave them the choices). At the end, it all came down to making a decision. Since they were going to deal with the government and serious business investors, they chose "govWorks" (their other possibility was "nextTown").
2. Focus is extremely important in business. Unfocused presentations, web site and products will reduce the chance for the business to succeed. One of the strategic mistakes later outlined by Tom Herman was "unfocused business plan".
3. Money comes and goes, but relationships are forever. A big emphasis in this documentary was on relationships. Choosing money over friends doesn't pay off at the end. Sticking by your ethics and morals gives the meaning to your business more than anything else. Despite the conflict between Tom and Kaleil (Tom took the position of being a "Co-CEO" of the company, while Kaleil insisted on being the
ONLY CEO of the company) they both remained close and dear friends.
4. Don't be afraid of competition - find a way to become different and better! At some point during the company development, Kaleil and Tom invited a competitor to visit their facilities. Invitation was accepted, which created a highly intense but interesting situation. Should they be worried? Should they be gracious? No, they did not become friends. But they did learn that they need to be unique to stay at the top. Later govWorks finds out that their competitor immitates their business - in marketing messages, in operation procedures, web site structure, etc. Did this scare Tom and Kaleil? As a good leader, Kaleil's comment was, "Imitation is the best form of flattery".
5. Every business is in the business of risk-taking. It hit close to home when Tom said, "I wake up every morning thinking, I just want to make sure the business survives another day." I, too, wake up every day and thank God that my business is still growing. Why the fear? Because noth-ing in the world is forever. I could be successful today, but fall sick tomorrow and lose my business. Economic conditions could change and my cash flow would drop dramati-cally. You do what you have to do to be successful, but keep thanking God that it works.
6. Testing and research in business are extremely important. govWorks spent $8.5 million dollars on testing and scrutin-izing their web site and software. In any other online venture this implies that coming out with a product that doesn't work or that doesn't have a hot market is a waste of time and energy.
7. Having a business is stressful. Some are more stressful than others. Internet business, thankfully, is one of the least stressful ways to make money simply because it requires smaller investment than other ventures.
8. Always have a plan "B". If a venture doesn't work out, be sure to have a different way of making a living. When Tom and Kaleil had a break-in and worried that this would be the end of their Internet business, Tom said: "It's not the end of the world. We'll just go back to having a good job". Comfort of having a plan "B" always helps you to stay sane during the ups and downs of your new business.
9. You learn the business of building a business. Regardless of the outcome of your Internet venture, you gain an incredible amount of knowledge and skills. I look back
at myself when I just started out in 1999 and remember how I thought I knew everything. Now almost 3 years later I understand that I knew nothing. Whether my business blooms or not, I now have a huge amount of expertise to offer to companies. I am not worried. I am confident.
10. Never give up. Kaleil's most memorable statement was, "I refuse to lose." Even after the company went bankrupt, both Tom and Kaleil moved on to start a new company. With a passion and an incredibly driven personality these two people shared, any idea will turn into gold.
Why didn't it? It did! But in the hands of another company that bought them out. If you visit govWorks.com, you will find out that many different problems prevented this company from growing. One of them was lack of communications with employees, another - hiring too many people without being able to manage and organize them well.
What idea were Tom and Kaleil pursuing in their Internet business? I will have to
leave this out. The documentary is called "Startup.com",watch it to find out :-)
Milana Leshinsky
About the author.
Milana Leshinsky publishes FREE Web Design Tutorials, Articles and Tips Every Month! Sign Up Now: http://www.webexpertornot.com
milana@helpingfoot.com
http://www.firstbusinesswebsite.com
An absolute "jaw dropper".
Unlike most Internet entrepreneurs, this company went through a lot of money (60 mil.dollars to be exact), venture capitalists, financial arrangements, TV and press publicity, including meetings with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and other influential politicians and business men.
It started with 2 young people, former high school friends, and their dream to start a company. Each brought in very different skills and expertise. Kaleil was the one with the business and financial background, Tom was the tech guy.
From day one (the day Kaleil left his full-time job to start a new company) they documented their actions, progress, con-flicts, and even personal lives that were deeply effected by this new venture. A camera man was following them to the Sillicon Valley, to their meetings with venture capitalists, to their late night office projects and even to their bedrooms.
(I kept thinking, "darn it! I should have filmed MY start up!" Although most of my start up and the "cooking" of the new ideas was happening in my mind, I think it would've made a great documentary... at least for my friends and family.)
In spite of this Internet venture being very different from mine, I learned some invaluable lessons that I would like to pass on to you.
1. Choosing a company name is very important. The way Kaleil and Tom tested their name options was by going into a busy mall and asking people what company would they rather invest into (and then gave them the choices). At the end, it all came down to making a decision. Since they were going to deal with the government and serious business investors, they chose "govWorks" (their other possibility was "nextTown").
2. Focus is extremely important in business. Unfocused presentations, web site and products will reduce the chance for the business to succeed. One of the strategic mistakes later outlined by Tom Herman was "unfocused business plan".
3. Money comes and goes, but relationships are forever. A big emphasis in this documentary was on relationships. Choosing money over friends doesn't pay off at the end. Sticking by your ethics and morals gives the meaning to your business more than anything else. Despite the conflict between Tom and Kaleil (Tom took the position of being a "Co-CEO" of the company, while Kaleil insisted on being the
ONLY CEO of the company) they both remained close and dear friends.
4. Don't be afraid of competition - find a way to become different and better! At some point during the company development, Kaleil and Tom invited a competitor to visit their facilities. Invitation was accepted, which created a highly intense but interesting situation. Should they be worried? Should they be gracious? No, they did not become friends. But they did learn that they need to be unique to stay at the top. Later govWorks finds out that their competitor immitates their business - in marketing messages, in operation procedures, web site structure, etc. Did this scare Tom and Kaleil? As a good leader, Kaleil's comment was, "Imitation is the best form of flattery".
5. Every business is in the business of risk-taking. It hit close to home when Tom said, "I wake up every morning thinking, I just want to make sure the business survives another day." I, too, wake up every day and thank God that my business is still growing. Why the fear? Because noth-ing in the world is forever. I could be successful today, but fall sick tomorrow and lose my business. Economic conditions could change and my cash flow would drop dramati-cally. You do what you have to do to be successful, but keep thanking God that it works.
6. Testing and research in business are extremely important. govWorks spent $8.5 million dollars on testing and scrutin-izing their web site and software. In any other online venture this implies that coming out with a product that doesn't work or that doesn't have a hot market is a waste of time and energy.
7. Having a business is stressful. Some are more stressful than others. Internet business, thankfully, is one of the least stressful ways to make money simply because it requires smaller investment than other ventures.
8. Always have a plan "B". If a venture doesn't work out, be sure to have a different way of making a living. When Tom and Kaleil had a break-in and worried that this would be the end of their Internet business, Tom said: "It's not the end of the world. We'll just go back to having a good job". Comfort of having a plan "B" always helps you to stay sane during the ups and downs of your new business.
9. You learn the business of building a business. Regardless of the outcome of your Internet venture, you gain an incredible amount of knowledge and skills. I look back
at myself when I just started out in 1999 and remember how I thought I knew everything. Now almost 3 years later I understand that I knew nothing. Whether my business blooms or not, I now have a huge amount of expertise to offer to companies. I am not worried. I am confident.
10. Never give up. Kaleil's most memorable statement was, "I refuse to lose." Even after the company went bankrupt, both Tom and Kaleil moved on to start a new company. With a passion and an incredibly driven personality these two people shared, any idea will turn into gold.
Why didn't it? It did! But in the hands of another company that bought them out. If you visit govWorks.com, you will find out that many different problems prevented this company from growing. One of them was lack of communications with employees, another - hiring too many people without being able to manage and organize them well.
What idea were Tom and Kaleil pursuing in their Internet business? I will have to
leave this out. The documentary is called "Startup.com",watch it to find out :-)
Milana Leshinsky
About the author.
Milana Leshinsky publishes FREE Web Design Tutorials, Articles and Tips Every Month! Sign Up Now: http://www.webexpertornot.com
milana@helpingfoot.com
http://www.firstbusinesswebsite.com
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