Most marketers dream about having oodles of market research to direct their activities, and most of us (probably all of us) get used to not having it -- or at least, not oodles. But one of the best things about blogs and other Web 2.0 communities is that you can get feedback -- directional, for sure -- quickly and easily. A dream come true! So I've been thinking about one of JumpStart's opportunities lately and could really use your help and feedback to shape it.
Last year, JumpStart kicked off a new series of lunch seminars, called Growing Bright Ideas, focused on topics relevant for early-stage technology entrepreneurs leading high growth companies. As a quick recap, here were the topics:
- Technology Marketing: Crossing the Chasm (June 2008)
- New Media: Tricks of the Trade (August 2008)
- Founder Frustrations, CEO Mistakes (November 2008)
- Hiring Smart: Advice for Hiring Top Talent (December 2008)
- Fundraising: What you Must Know (March 2009)
- The Term Sheet: What you Must Know (April 2009)
Sound familiar? I hope so. Some of my personal highlights from the seminars include: enjoying
HBS Professor Noam Wasserman's slides with super-hero characters as the proxy for entrepreneurs (yeah!), laughing at
Bonnie Gwin's stories about interviewing candidates for positions, learning the "real deal" on negotiating term sheets from
Steve Lindseth and
John Saada, and getting to meet new folks joining our Northeast Ohio entrepreneurial community in every seminar.
We are in the process of planning for next fall's seminars, and this is where I start dreaming about getting some feedback on where to take the series.
There are three questions that your answers to would be really helpful:
- What topics would be most interesting to you that we cover next year (and aren't being offered elsewhere?)
- Are you interested in a "101" level program, or something more advanced?
- What else should we be considering? (bigger venue, more podcasting of the seminar topics, having the seminars over breakfast, etc)
If you are an entrepreneur leading, or interested in leading, a high growth early-stage technology company, please let me know how we can evolve this series to meet your needs.
Cathy Belk is the Chief Marketing Officer of JumpStart. She specializes in branding, marketing communications, and business management. She brings 16+ years of experience in a variety of marketing and business roles, but gets her energy from working daily with entrepreneurs and their growing companies.