This post will be the first of 10 rants. Things I see that really drive me nuts.
So many companies spent a lot of time and money designing and developing products and a few of them, like Vyew, are actually pretty cool. But after busting your ass for 24 months trying to get a tough product shipped, why would you make me go blind with this “helpful” screenshot page?? Is this supposed to give me a quick snapshot of the product so I can easily understand what the point is? Or is this supposed to give me a raging migraine? Break your screenshots out into separate pages? Be careful with that red text. Think more and write less. Please. I beg you.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about new business idea just because I find it fun to do so. I’ve started to develop a list of new concepts or sectors that I think have some potential. Here’s a few ideas:
1) Nothing new has been done in the world of online dating for quite sometime. Let’s face it. Match.com and eHarmony are the same thing. Enter in a bunch of data about yourself and they do a simple database match and deliver a bunch of results. Great. But is there a new paradigm for this? Is there an easier way to navigate millions of other people? Is there a way to automate the quality of results I get delivered? Now, I’m already married so this isn’t a target market for me but I DO KNOW that there are better ways to do some of this stuff. All my single friends would appreciate it.
2) Online shopping has gotten much better. But is there a way to do something new here? Can I get ads that I really care about? Can I see products I really care about without stumbling over a website to learn about it? Can I get better help about product information or support without waiting for customer service to return my email?
3) Be honest. You know more about that digital camera you want to buy than you will ever know about your landscaper. Or that guy you want to take guitar lessons from. And, if you are a guitar teacher how can you use the web to deliver better lessons? And be scored on your performance? Same thing goes for that Spanish teacher. Same thing goes for anybody that wants to teach you something. Fitness coaches. Cooking instructors. What is the best web based system for knowledge transfer from one person to another?
4) Can I trade a set of new Audi tires for a laptop? Or an iPod? Or guitar lesson? Where? And don’t say Craigslist. I thought of that one already.
What new business sectors or ideas do you think are ripe for innovation?
Email me at kelly@curiousoffice.com and lets discuss it!
The Netscape co-founder was a bit late to the blog scene but his relatively new blog is worth a bookmark. In particular is the series called The Truth about Venture Capitalists. This read is useful material for anyone who thinks they need to raise money for their venture primarily because it requires the reader understand what the VC wants and needs. In a previous venture I had a very warm introduction to a VC who was anxious to hear what I was working on. I was greeted promptly and warmly at their offices and little time was wasted as we got right into the business proposition. I spent a great deal of time talking about how much progress we were able to make with an extremely limited budget. That’s great. But I never showed interest or sensitivity as to the size of the return I thought the business could produce or the time span in which I thought an exit could be achieved. The measure of success for a VC and your own personal interests may very well not be the same at all. Imagine that you were presented with a guarantee whereby you can invest $1 million and sell the company in 5 years for $5 million. Each year you’d be returning 100% investment on your first million. Most people (not all) would probably take that deal. Most VC’s, on the other hand, can’t do that kind of deal. For starters, they aren’t deploying enough of their fund. That $1 million investment takes one of their partners out of rotation for several calls and board meetings that would otherwise be spent on a much larger cash deployment. Even in this “do more with less money” world of Web2.0, the $5 million return just doesn’t move the needle all that much for a venture investor.
Marc’s article reminds entrepreneurs to get inside the head of your investor before you spend huge amounts of time on those powerpoint color schemes.
