Execution

Execution, the key to success in the world of startups. It's been three weeks since my cousin pitched my brother and I on joining the founding team of his new tech startup. Three weeks has flown by, it seems just like yesterday we were in the AIC at Western brainstorming on the whiteboards. In three weeks we have gone from nothing to having wire frames done for our website. So what has happened in three weeks. Well we hired one of the most educated and experiance CTO's a startup could as for. PH.d from Yale, double master to go along with that. Worked directly will bill gates, declined a top developers position from NASA, oh yeah he has over 40 publications and a patent what we get to utilize for our business. Wait, why would this guy decline a job from NASA to work with a bootstrapping startup? Yeah I asked myself the same thing for hours. Turns out he has seen his success and wants to give back to the startup world. Basically, this will be his hobby from now on :).

Not only did we get a stellar CTO, we just brought on a very talented graphics designer as well who is already designing wire frames for the website. Wow this process is going smoothly. Its all about your team, what resources do the individuals bring to the table and how are you going to execute throughout the startup process. 

The power of social media

Here is a great video of how entrepreneurs are changing the world and how we intake news around the world. Enjoy

Clay Shirky: How social media can make history | Video on TED.com

The stress is building

It all starts with the basic idea of wanting to be self employed and wanting to solve a problem that arises in the market. That all fine and dandy but then its crunch time, there are several key components in a successful business. Anyone can dream up the next big thing, but the talent is in the execution of the business. Currently were in a bind and trying to make the decisions to fly to Palo Alto and try and raise VC or bootstrap the entire business. Without funding our business will be entirely operated by the four founders. That means everyone of us is going to be working day in and day out on operations and financing. Right now were are in a pinch try to decide if we should raise VC.

Here is a great article about VC questions and what there looking for in a successful business.
http://techcrunch.com/2009/11/18/good-question-the-eight-best-questions-we-got-while-raising-venture-capital/

CTO interview

Saturday was a very exciting experience for my self and business partners. We have been actively looking to hire a full time CTO for our new media business. We had a gentleman by the name of George reach out and contact us about the available position. I asked for a resume with all previous experiences and a cover letter. Our team was blown away by the previous experience and the credentials of this individual. George had a PhD from Yale in computer sciences and a total of three Masters degrees from Yale as well. George is extremely well educated graduating as the number one student from Yale university. George has founded two business as well which he sold he few years back. George has worked directly with Bill Gates in the development of a very complex mapping system for the Bill and Malinda Gates foundation. George is so advanced in his field, Bill Gates gave George 22 days to complete and implement an algorithm for a mapping system that shows how malaria would spread in a third world country. George solved the problem in 10 minutes, when he had 22 days to do the job.

We are extremely excited to have George as our CTO. Not only is he experienced he holds an international patent for a mapping technology that he created which we plan on utilizing for our business. Hopefully George can help us take our business to the next level with his superb development skills.

HIRING

Today our team had a great experience weeding through resumes of potential CTO's. We came across a very interesting resume that stood out from the rest. What stood out? Maybe the Ph.D. from Yale and the two of the masters he achieved from Yale as well. We have been through a strenuous hiring process trying to find the right for our media business. I am currently working on my third business project and actively looking for a CTO to lead our team of developers. This weekend we have a meeting setup for an in person interview for our Yale Ph.D. candidate. I will keep you updated with the results of our meeting.

Media

I want to share a couple website that I look at on a daily basis for news and information in the entrepreneurial world.

http://techcrunch.com/ is a great website for up to date content the the tech world. TechCrunch is a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news. Founded in 2005, TechCrunch and its network of websites now reach over 10 million unique visitors and draw more than 33 million page views per month.

TechCrunch operates a global network of dedicated properties from Europe to Japan, as well as specialized industry websites and sections, including MobileCrunch, CrunchGear, TechCrunchIT, GreenTech, and TechCrunchTV.

CrunchBase, TechCrunch’s database about start-up companies, people and investors, has become the leading statistical resource for technology companies and transactions.
The company hosts major conferences and events, including The Disrupt series, The Crunchies Awards, and various meet-ups worldwide serving as community platforms for industry conversation and collaboration.

http://mashable.com/ - Founded in 2005, Mashable is the top source for news in social and digital media, technology and web culture. With more than 40 million monthly pageviews, Mashable is the most prolific news site reporting breaking web news, providing analysis of trends, reviewing new websites and services, and offering social media resources and guides. Mashable’s audience includes early adopters, social media enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, influencers, brands and corporations, marketing, PR and advertising agencies, Web 2.0 aficionados and technology journalists. Mashable is also popular with bloggers, Twitter and Facebook users — an increasingly influential demographic

http://startups.com/ -
Stop wasting your time trying to find the right answer for your business questions. You’re not alone.
We know you have business questions that need to be answered right now. That’s why we’ve put together a great team of Hosts composed of successful entrepreneurs, seasoned businesspeople, academics, advisors, and many more willing to give you a hand.
Not only that, our community of users will be available to give you their best answer to any question you might have. With all these people ready to answer all your questions, it would be difficult to not find the answer to the business question that’s eating your brain.
Don’t forget to give those that need help an answer, there’re plenty to go around, and more than likely you know the answer to a couple.At Startups.com you’ll find your business question answered within minutes. Useful answers, fast and free.

Blue Ocean

After reading Blue Ocean Strategy, it has really opened my eyes to potential markets and business decisions. When developing a new business to it critical to enter a blue ocean market and not enter into the bloody read ocean of competition. Some people often get confused about blue ocean entrants and product line extensions. It is important to understand the difference and the meaning between the two. Blue ocean strategies typically remove key components of a market to completely revolutionize the industry and competition. When thinking about business ventures it is key to fully understand who your competitors are how your going to tread in the blue ocean market.