Startup Revolution

Netflix-ification
While we wont all become a digital media download artist we will all go through four stages of growth hacking:

* Disruptive Technology - used to consolidate a market (i.e. Blockbuster) and map a future.

* Online Community - learning to curate instead of create.

* Engine Phase - putting in less to get more out.

* Return as Creator - informed by Big Data and able to make "community based" bets.

Want to learn your future? Take a look at Netflix's immediate past.  

Warren Buffet's Haiku Deck Lesson
One of the hardest web marketing lessons my former Direct Marketing bosses taught was to think Darwinian thoughts. I wanted to improve laggards.

Don't waste your time, came the advice and important digital marketing lesson, double down on winners. This wise lesson was just taught again by Warren Buffett.

Warren's Tips For Startups Haiku Deck has been on top of the 36 decks I've created. I started watching views by deck several months ago and my DM bosses lesson holds true.

Warren Buffett's Startup Tips (http://shar.es/10AbWU )
Buffett Gains: 878
Total Views: 8,100
% Gain: 12%

Social Media: It's A Conversation Stupid (http://shar.es/10AHlZ )
Gains: 1,915
Total Views: 6,297
% Gain: 44%

Once again Buffett proves the rich get richer.

This truth doesn't mean Social Media: Its A Conversation is unimportant. Knowing what is trending is a CSF (Critical Success Factor) for any web marketing team, but Buffett does prove Darwin was a web marketing pro long before there was a web. Double down on winners and leave laggards stands as one of the most important "laws" of our web marketing ecosystem :). M

Popping Startup Bubble
As we create our Triangle Startup Factory funded startup called Curagami (http://www.curagami.com) we operate largely in self imposed bubble. Books such as The Lean Startup explain the need to get OUT THERE working with customers to create validated learning as soon as possible.

We can see why. Problem solving can be solipsistic. Problems can create more problems on into infinity. Since our tool is about know what content matters and why the irony of falling into the problem black hole would be crippling. Here are a few ideas for how to break out of the startup bubble:

* Work with "beta customers" who are almost part of your team but running businesses your tool can help (such as Moon-Audio and Vestique for Curagami).

* Start forming community ASAP. We stumbled a little on this when our Curator Contest got swamped with my need to have chemo again. We ill get back on the horse because forming community is a CSF (Critical Success Factor).

* Create Key Performance Indicators for EXTERNAL validation metrics such as whitepaper downloads, unique visitors, time on site and email list growth.

* Curate content from a wide range of experts and sources because curation is easier and cheaper than content creation, more relevant to what is happening now and it helps your brand because you gain in authority by curating content from authorities.

* Define your "competitive space" BROADLY. Don't just look directly across the table discover who and what is competing for your customers mindshare and then steal the good stuff and lead with asynchronous marketing.

* Find a universal topic such as seasonality (locally "universal" and others can easily empathize with HOT and COLD) and the weather.

* Create asynchronous marketing and if that sounds disruptive and as if you should blow shit up you are getting the idea. Sometimes you should do some strange things JUST TO SEE how they blow up. Try not to blow up the good stuff :).

When startups do any two of those ideas they are less likely to fall into the talking to themselves about themselves black hole that can easily swallow a startup whole.

The link to Google Plus shares more information about how to use universal signals to create empathy and community:
https://plus.google.com/102639884404823294558/posts/JzD6DmrPWWa

Startups & Paper.li
This is a great interview with a knowledgeable curator - Judy Gombita. Startups are in a constant state of frenzy. They must create content, but they are creating other things too like a product or a company.

Most startups abandon content marketing until after they launch. That is a mistake. Start sharing content NOW and Paper.li is a great way to share because it uses your Twitter feed to create one of the most powerful, "Get more done with less effort," content curation tools around.

Your Paper.li helps build community, inform your content marketing and create feedback loops and it can be as "plug and play" as you want. Highly recommend all startups have a Paper.li since this great tool is like putting your Twitter on steroids. .

CrowdFunde Accepted Triangle Startup (TSF) Factory
Thanks to friends who wrote cards and letters and thanks to the team at Triangle Startup Factory, our Durham, NC based startup incubator, who are willing to take a risk on CrowdFUnde as we smash content marketing and crowdfunding together to see what happens.

Our TSF session starts March 10th and we hope you will join us as we share this great startup adventure.

CrowdFunde
http://www.crowdfunde.com

Haiku Deck Pitch to TSF
http://shar.es/QFOzU

Triangle Startup Factory
http://thestartupfactory.co/

Free Genius Lunches in Columbus Ohio
I'm living in Columbus, Ohio at the Blackwell Inn on the Ohio State University's campus from now until December 3rd (being treated by Dr. Byrd at the James Cancer Center). I love meeting, discussing and learning from fellow startups, entrepreneurs, artists and cool smart people.

I'm stealing @Phil Buckley Genius Lunch idea to see what is happening in Columbus. Team Curagami stands ready to answer Internet marketing questions and learn new tips, tricks and ideas. If you would like to have a Genius Lunch in Columbus check the calendar and email when you would like to meet. 

Lear More Here
http://bit.ly/Free-Genius-Lunch-Columbus  

Great Daniel Ek +Spotify Founder Interview On Utilities As Experiences
Great conversation with Spotify's Swedish founder on +The Charlie Rose Show… - Martin W. Smith - Google+

Lunch With Smart Dogs at Triangle Startup Factory
Kip Frey (www.linkedin.com/pub/kip-frey/36/b09/384 pictured in middle above) is a smart entrepreneur who one might say has "gone to the dogs". Kip spoke at Free Lunch Friday at +Triangle StartUp Factory today about Dognition (https://www.dognition.com/ ).

Dognition is a Myers/Briggs personality test for dogs. During an hour long fascinating conversation Kip made several points we've heard consistently from Chris and Dave at TSF such as:

* Ideas that "seem true" create their own momentum.
* Look for ideas that "create a new category".
* Ideas with great partnership hooks work best since partners help create scale with OPL (Other Poeple's Lists) and OPC (Other People's Content).

Dognition is a cool idea since we humans are always anthropomorphizing our animals. Now you can do a test AT HOME with your dog to figure out which one of 9 classifications your dog's personality falls within. You can compare your dog to dogs in your area, across the country or possibly the world (soon Kip mentioned they are already speaking to interested parties in China).

I found Kip and Dognition's #brandingstrategy fascinating. Kip and the team at Dognition spent a year working on the #DIY version of their test. They needed enough data shared by "citizen scientists" after taking their test that the hard work created in the lab held up even in the DIY home version.

"I think people are more interested in their dogs than in their DNA," Kip said at one point and I agree. There are 70M dog owning families in America (so one in three roughly) and each year brings 7M new dogs to market.

_____________________________________
Branding            vs                   Scale

The tension between creating a brand with meaning and the scale necessary to support that meaning was interesting. Kip decided to do a deal with Purina One to gain scale. Sounds like he had to defend the sizable deal with his board because they were worried about "brand purity".

#branding is tricky. Too much scale too fast could marginalize the brand. The science at the core of the test is something that could be seen as goofy in the wrong context. By doing an exclusive with Purina One for 2014 Dognition gets millions in partner ad dollars - the test is a freebie if dog owners complete a 28 day "Purina One 28 Day Challenge" (http://www.purinaone.com/dogs/28-Day-Challenge/main-page ).

Cool promo and great legitimacy for Dognition and possibly just the right amount of scale. Partnerships bring interesting challenges. Dognition can get swallowed whole by Purina, and can anyone spot the BIG #socialmarketing error on the Purina One challenge page? http://www.purinaone.com/dogs/28-Day-Challenge/main-page

ERROR - Love that Purina is using Tweets, but seeing 46 day old Tweets HURTS the social legitimacy of their campaign. A 46 day old tweet from a customer is fine IN ROTATION, but what if the only representation I see has old content?

When curating old and new social content from Purina and users always have something in the roll that is current, only several hours hold max. Using customer Tweets is brave, but stale in its current implementation. Even if the Purina staff creates Tweets today that related to something that happened 46 days ago have something current on social.

Building  a #story off of #UGC is what +CrowdFunde is all about. Conversations require different #contentcuration and #contentcreation than promotional push. Purina One's misuse of #SMM is a perfect validation for a tool like CrowdFunde that helps create, curate and converse with the most valuable content on earth - User Generated Content (UGC).

By isolating old tweets without a clear understanding about why they are there, other than being self congratulatory, Purina destroys what they hope to build - active, alive conversations.

We think Dognition will have great conversations since learning your dog's personality feels like something MADE for social shares, but HOW you share social conversations is tricky as a big brand like Purina proves. Turning conversations into #engagemn and #loyalty is trickier still.

Cool talk today with many lessons for #startups and #Internetmarketers . Dognition is going to be on 60 Minutes in April and they will have a reality TV show on Nat Geo Wild so conversations will happen. Team at CrowdFunde wishes our fellow Durham #startup   luck and a free CrowdFunde installation if they want to discover how to build community on a scale hard to knock down or duplicate...because building ongoing engagement after initial novelty is based on the quality, frequency and value of Dognition's (and any brand's) CONVERSATIONS!

Thanks to Kip for speaking with TSF startups today! Marty

PS. Kip asked for feedback on the Dognition site and since I know there are a lot of ecommerce conversion experts that follow me send me your thoughts and I will pull together 5 to 10 "would be better if" kinds of feedback for https://www.dognition.com/ .