Comments on: How do you actually DO a startup?

By: Alan

Alan — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:43:49 +0000

We have a list of some cash saving tools and services at BPlans.co.uk – http://www.bplans.co.uk/write_a_business_plan/article.cfm/297

Boot strapping is definitely an important element to starting up – lots of certain costs matched with uncertain income is a recipe for disaster if cash flow is not managed carefully.

By: james

james — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:39:00 +0000

Jason’s right on the money when he talks about getting an espresso machine for your office. Fiat thought of it first though; they commissioned Achille Gaggia to install his spring system espresso machines into their fabulous new factory in Turin – you know, the one with a racing track on the roof. They wanted to reduce the amount of time their workforce spend having coffee breaks while still packing them full of caffeine to increase productivity.

Massively caffeinated beverages and a racing circuit on the roof, now that’s what I call a work/life balance!

By: Michele

Michele — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:51:32 +0000

While one or two of the suggestions may make sense a lot of them strike me as incredibly dumb and more likely to cost you money and staff in the long run.

By: David Petherick

David Petherick — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:48:08 +0000

Good point @Jof.

My 7-year old bought an iMac for £16 with money she made at a car boot sale – and she sold old toys and then bought that the Apple at the same sale – and paid her share of the pot to get the car in. She’s a happenpreneur.

There were some great startups pitching at startupcamp – impossible to choose, but Nik’s managed to get RSS to working so that his Mum can use it – literally. That’s why he won the startup contest.

By: baah-baah-the-black-sheep

baah-baah-the-black-sheep — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:31:44 +0000

Get them all to work from home. Get together few times a week in a shared office. That will save you heaps of time and money.
Gotta be double careful with choosing the right people, tho. Self-discipline is hard.

By: Jo Potts

Jo Potts — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:31:10 +0000

@LocalHand – totally agree too. The secret to a good startup is the idea. The implementation has to be fast and light. Get it out there ASAP then build on it whilst using it and listening to feedback.

Some of the startups I hear about that have millions funding and take months to get out the door would have benefited from no funding and a one week deadline!

By: Hash

Hash — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:02:43 +0000

I think some decent 130 bpm minimal techno BGM should probably help too… but watch out for people with crap taste in music :0

By: Manoj Ranaweera

Manoj Ranaweera — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:59:50 +0000

As a startup, you also need to know when to give up or hand over. This is not something that anyone can prescribe, you, yourself will know that you have reached the end. I am yet to attend a session where someone has the balls to say this! All I keep hearing is “never give up”.

My second point is about getting your product out to market as quickly as possible. As we heard at StartUp Camp, according to Steve Garnett of Salesforce.com quoting Larry Ellison, “if it compiles, get it out!”. I demonstrated this with http://www.edocr.com and have since influenced other startups to do the same.

The second point applies mostly to startups with limited or almost no funding. If you are well funded, my advice would be to make sure it works before letting others play. Most startups do not have this luxury.

By: Jof Arnold

Jof Arnold — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:46:35 +0000

@mike – I think I’d better continue this conversation offline in order to avoid starting a flame war!

@LocalHand – totally agree. No matter how much polish you put into it prior to showing it to your customers, you can pretty much guarantee your customers will cause you to rip up some of your code. However, it is sometimes valuable to lead customers otherwise they’ll “design by committee” for you.

By: LocalHand

LocalHand — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:37:39 +0000

My rule #1: don’t spend too much time building your application:

build quickly -> test with your customers -> LISTEN to feedback -> implement customers’ suggestions.

Repeat again and again.

By: Mike Butcher

Mike Butcher — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:37:04 +0000

I’d agree on the not spending too much cash on hardware. But no-one said you had to buy brand new Macs! I think Jason’s point is that Macs are generally easier to fix if they go wrong (says he, standing back, about to take storm of protest…).

By: Jof Arnold

Jof Arnold — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:26:37 +0000

Actually, that wasn’t perhaps the most useful comment from me. What I will add is that my granny runs Linux on a £89 computer she bought second-hand from a school. Now *that* is saving money. And if my granny has no probs learning Linux in order to save a few quid, I’d seriously have questions about hiring someone who couldn’t learn it.

It’s a great computer too: it’s more than adequate for dev’ing on. Ok, so I can’t run too many Firefox tabs on it, but then it’s probably best not to be twittering when writing code, right?

Oh… and congrats to Nick (1st) and Antonio (2nd – graffywall/webcanvas)

By: David Petherick

David Petherick — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:19:29 +0000

But a Mac and a Ferrari. That will keep your people happy – and the rest, as you say, follows, and you figure it out as you go.

Steve Garnett of salesforce did have ten top tips that he shared with everyone at StartupCamp – and they will be featuring soon at http://thenextweb.org

I’d say that reading Michael E Gerber’s E-Myth revisited is sensible, and I’d also point you to “Sh*t Every Web 2.0 Guy or Girl needs to know” by Callum Garvey and David Petherick, currently in production.

By: Jof Arnold

Jof Arnold — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:04:35 +0000

Buy a Mac to save money? LMAO. In a similar spirit I’d suggest also buying a Ferrari and a chauffeur so you could save on train fares.