Tag Archive for 'Startups'

Product Launch In Foreign Countries

Published
by
Francis Green
on December 8, 2008
in CRM, Marketing, Small Biz and Startups
. 0 Comments

Case Study - Britney Spears Launch Her Womanizer on X Factor Stage in the UK

Britney physically went to London to promote her new album Womanizer on the album launching day in the UK, and her appearance on the X Factor was one of the most hotly anticipated TV shows. So, why X Factor? It is so well known in the UK music industry and the people watching the TV series are the ones most likely to buy Britney’s album. In another word, X Factor targets the same customer base as Britney does.

Any other reasons? Well, thousands of journalists and reviewers keep an eye on X Factor in the UK, they talk about any X Factor news they could ever found. In such a way, Britney’s new album automatically became a hot topic all over UK, including local magazines, newspapers, other TV programs and even websites. So, the launching news went all over the places without extra work.

Lessons to Be Learned - Hold (preview), Hold (create the buzz), Fire (launch!)

PREVIEW STAGE - It is so important to find the right foreign launching partners, and keep them informed the stuff are you working on. By doing this, your targeted foreign customers will get a preview of your work via the launching partners’ network. Also, tell your partners the official launching day as earlier as you can. So, they can get the message over, and then their customers will help to message fly further as they’ve got something to share with their friends.

BUZZ STAGE - A few days before the launching, ask your foreign partners to work out a VIP list, who will receive exclusive information and resources about your product. Keep in mind, your partners know the foreign market better than you do, so give them the privilege to do the list.

The people on the VIP list are your evangelists, and they extent your potential foreign customer base to the a new level, where the BUZZ is fully loaded and all about your new product.

LAUNCH STAGE - It is the show time! Deliver what you promised and keep all the new customers happy. To achieve this, there are 2 things your partners can help you with: A. Get your foreign supply chain smooth; B. Get a better understanding of the local culture.

Best Places to Launch Your Web2.0 Startups

Published
by
Francis Green
on September 9, 2008
in SEO and Small Biz
. 1 Comment

Are you looking for a place to ……..

  • Get your startup founded and get the snowball rolling;
  • Get yourself a mentor who will see your business from a different perspective;
  • Get significant media attention (VCs, fellow entrepreneurs and press).

TechCrunch50 (once a year)

  1. Number of applicants: 1000+ groups.
  2. Number of accepted groups: 50+.
  3. Founding: ?.

DEMO (3 times a year)

  1. Number of applicants: 1000+ groups.
  2. Number of accepted groups: 70+.
  3. Founding: ?.

Y Combinator (twice a year)

  1. Number of applicants: ?.
  2. Number of accepted groups: 20.
  3. Founding: $5000 + $5000n, where n is the number of participating founders (i.e. 2 founders get $15,000, 3 get $20,000).

SeedCamp (once a year)

  1. Number of applicants: 400+ groups.
  2. Number of accepted groups: 5.
  3. Founding: Up to EURO 50,000.

TechStars (once a year)

  1. Number of applicants: 300+ groups.
  2. Number of accepted groups: 10.
  3. Founding: Up to $15,000.

A post dedicated to small biz owners

Published
by
Francis Green
on June 14, 2008
in Small Biz
. 0 Comments

Understand the people who work with you

As an entrepreneur, you take the full responsibility of any business decisions and the consequent outcomes. Also, for any failure, no matter big or small, you are the person to blame. Unfair? Not if you don’t understand the people who work with you. So, what do you need to know about them then? Here are my opinions:

  1. You want a profitable and scalable business. Do you know what do they want apart from the salary?
  2. You expect them to deliver. But, do you know if they’ve been experiencing problems? Also, do they tell you the problems in detail?
  3. You think you put them onto the most suitable tasks. Have you asked them what they think?
  4. Do you know if they are 100% confident with your business model and roadmap?

Pay serious attention to your financial reports

What is a business? My definition is the accumulated outcomes from the products or services you are offering. So, you will always be looking for new and more valuable ways to organize your available resources. But, how do you know if the new method work? I don’t know the answer, but your financial reports (Cash Flow Account, Balance Sheet) do. ;) Therefore, the paperwork deserve your regular review with respects.