I have a confession to make. Thanks to having worked for only customer revenue funded startups, I have become somewhat of a frugal nut. I love free stuff and I cringe at paying asking or retail price for anything. Anytime I pay MSRP, I feel like I have committed a sin. Whenever I would run operations in a startup, my most common response to many purchase requests was:” and with what revenue are we going to pay for that?” To me (and many others) cash is king, queen, emperor, and the whole darn extended dynasty. The only way I like cashflow in our books is incoming.
Category Archives: Startups
How Freecycle helped me bootstrap
Random lessons from 12 years in startups
I wrote a post several weeks ago about the many lessons I’ve learned from my entrepreneurial father. Now I would like to share some tips from experience I have gained working in a startup world for 12+ years. These are things you definitely learn from rolling up your sleeves and working, not from a classroom or a textbook.
- Even one word in a 40-page contract can land you in a very bad situation. It does not matter how experienced or expensive your attorney is – learn how to read contracts yourself.
How to build your startup core team
Let’s start by debunking one common analogy – building a team is not like putting a puzzle together. The number one rule I’ve learned from the best startup teams is that one trick ponies need not apply. In the early to mid-stage startups, generalists should compose the majority of your team. There are two kinds of generalists: those who are Jacks-of-All-Trades and masters of one or two areas, and those who are masters of none (general management, which you don’t want).
Customers, not shareholders, pay your bills
I had to get several insurance quotes last week, since my current agent was not living up to my customer service expectations (especially considering the amount of commission they receive).
I’m sure of one thing, archaic strategy of 9-5 customer phone-only support from agents who can not deviate from their scripts is live and well, but the companies practicing this strategy are on their way out. Why? We focus on maximizing the “shareholder value” and forget who pays the bills – the customer.
About THE FOUNDER
Apolinaras is a business operations leader with 12-year track record of helping companies manage growth, build diverse teams, harness technology, and get a lot more profitable.Read More About Us »
The Operations Guy Blog
