I read a great blog the other day related to a subject that I am a fan of -- the notion that Internet-based, consumer focused offerings need to be lightweight, cost efficient and prove themselves prior to seeking investment. You may see a particular bent regarding VCs in this blog posting, which I am less inclined to agree with, but the major takeaways are still valid.
This site, meebo.com, was a true garage startup and has really taken off, as you see from the graph below (4 million unique visitors -- and this is only ~1/3 of their traffic)! They allow you to log onto multiple instant messaging accounts in one place from a browser -- no clients to download and it allows you to stay connected on multiple fronts.
You could say
Seth's approach is "extreme" but I do believe he makes some very valid points regarding focus early on and putting the right mix of folks together. He seems to have used a bit of Andy Grove's "only the paranoid survive" in this statement:
"One of the things I do as a founder of a later-stage startup is to meet with early-stage entrepreneurs to help them get their companies going. Nine times out of ten, the meeting ends with them asking me for introductions to VCs. Little do they know that, even if they could raise VC, it'd start them down the wrong path. So, this is what I tell them:
At the exact moment you had your idea, ten other people had the exact same idea. There was just something in the environment that made it the right time for folks to think that one up. The race has already begun! Who's going to execute first? Who's going to execute best? If you want to waste nine months trying to raise VC money for that idea, great. But six months in, you're gonna cry when you see someone else put out that same product you're pitching me right now. Like I said, forget everything else and just get your product out the door. Now."
So, while not every idea is going to be "lightweight" enough to be able to get to market validation without any funding, Seth gives some valid advice on what to focus on in terms of team, product and mentors. Give it a read, I'm sure you'll enjoy it and I can assure you that it's timely advice!
John Dearborn is the Chief Development Officer of JumpStart and brings experience as an entrepreneur, founder and CEO at companies across the US and Europe over the last 25 years to the pursuit of economic transformation in Northeast Ohio.