Archive for June, 2009
June 29th, 2009
Early Bird Rates ($100 + $2.50) end June 30 for the Green Software Unconference.
While many of the opportunities in the Green / Cleantech space can be very hard to bootstrap because of the need for considerable startup capital, software for green and cleantech applications remains an opportunity for bootstrapping startups. It’s an unconference so it will be what you want to make of it. The unconference will be held August 19 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View.
Agenda:
8:30am - Breakfast and Registration 9:00am - Welcome and Introductions
9:45am - Unconference Session Proposals
10:30am - 11:15 - Session One
11:30-12:30 - Lunch
1:00 - 1:45 - Session Two
2:00 - 2:45 - Session Three
3:00 - 3:45 - Session Four
4:00 - 4:45 - Summary
4:45 - 5:45 - Happy Hour Networking and Giveaways
Register by June 30 to take advantage of Early Bird rates.
Update July 1: looks like Early Bird has been extended to July 31
June 28th, 2009
I answered a question on Hacker News that comes up in different variations at many breakfasts. I thought I would post my answer here as well. See the full question at “Can I continue to be a freelancer for life?”
Q: I am a freelancer full time. Is it a good plan to continue as an independent coder, learning new skills as I go, for life?
It’s a significant challenge as a solo consultant to build a sustainable business: you have only your hours to sell, it’s difficult to stockpile them, and jobs arrive unpredictably. When you are busy it’s hard to look for additional work, so that porpoising (alternating periods of work and idleness) is hard to avoid.
I would look to join up with another two to four like minded consultants. This gives you an opportunity to spread out your marketing and sales efforts across the group, take on larger assignments, and have backup in case of illness or other temporary inability to complete the job.
Partners also give you time to renew and enhance your skill set–obsolescence of expertise is another business level risk–and others to compare notes with in new or challenging situations.
When it comes to selecting who would be a good partner, shared values and work ethic are the more important criteria in my experience.
Also, having tried it several different ways, I would develop a business partnership based on shared business successes (vs. friendship, desperation, or other non-business experiences) by dividing the income stream–and managing expense–from a series of projects. This is a reliable way to judge what it will be like to manage a business jointly.
June 24th, 2009
“Bootstrappers Breakfast” was registered June 23, 2009.
For education services, namely providing live and on-line seminars, workshops, and mentoring sessions in the field of entrepreneurship.
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “breakfast” apart from “Bootstrappers Breakfast.”
So we’ve updated all the Bootstrappers Breakfast™ to Bootstrappers Breakfast® on the site, if we missed one, please let us know.
Update Jul-1-09: we wanted to thank Athol Foden of Brighter Naming for his advice on trademark strategy and assistance in navigating the registration process. We were pleased to retain him and would encourage other startups to do likewise. We filed our application November 7, 2008.
June 20th, 2009
Rich Collins started the Lean Startup Circle Google Group about a month ago and it’s proving to be a useful resource for bootstrappers. Here is the group overview
Welcome to the Lean Startup Circle.
- Lean: Accomplish your objectives wasting a minimum of resources, especially time.
- Startup: One or more people working to deliver a product to yet to be established market.
We are here to learn, not solicit anything of any kind.
Please focus the discussion on actual results, not speculation and dogma.
Update June 29: Rich is also hosting Lean Startup Circle Meetups starting July 21 at Slideshare, 739 Bryant St, San Francisco, CA 94107 / 813-391-1080.
June 14th, 2009
Mark your calendars on Friday June 19, 2009, San Francisco’s Boudin Bakery will host a Bootstrappers BreakfastTM event.
Location: Boudin Bakery (415) 362-3330
4 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, 94111
Time: Friday, June 19th at 7-9 am.
We start at 7, but it’s a casual setting if you are running late.
The facilitator of San Francisco’s Bootstrappers Breakfast is Brendon Farrell. Brendon has been advising business owners and C-level execs on reducing operations cost and smart outsourcing since 2001. Brendon has a background including being a successful entrepreneur, a manager and a senior consultant to companies with an innovative focus. He has a unique ability to understand the business issues and translate them into actionable cost savings and profit generating programs. Please join Brendon on this quest to support other entrepreneurs, deliver valuable insight and resource opportunities.
You will find this group to include a seasoned venue of serial entrepreneurs, C-level execs and passionate innovation people for coffee and good conversation. The format involves a table, introductions and solving business issues as a group. Think of it as sort of an “informal board” to run ideas off of and get insight on a variety of topics. We have been operating this for years in the Silicon Valley and have been asked to offer in San Francisco. Register at https://www.123signup.com/register?id=jqqhh
Share a Cup of Coffee with Entrepreneurs Who Eat Problems for Breakfast!
Brendon can be reached at 650-740-3974
June 13th, 2009
Craig Shirley, VP of Sales at Apache Design Solutions is attending Tuesday’s breakfast to lead a discussion on “Planning and Managing the Negotiation Process with Key Accounts.” Craig brings more than two decades of high technology sales and support experience to the conversation: he started as an application engineer, transferring to sales full time and working his way up to VP of Sales, a role he has held for the last ten years at Apache Design Solutions, Jasper Design Automation and Verisity Design (subsequently acquired by Cadence).
Craig will outline an approach to negotiating with major accounts that focuses on maximizing both revenue and profit over the lifetime of the relationship. His focus will be less on tactics and more on how to differentiate your product on features other than price.
Craig estimates he has negotiated more than 100 major deals in the last decade and he brings that perspective to our roundtable conversation Tuesday morning. If you are contemplating or starting a negotiation with a larger firm bring your questions, register here.
Update July 2: Craig’s slides are available here
June 12th, 2009
Attendees of the Bootstrapper Breakfast qualify for O’Reilly User Group discounts, which means you can save 40% on Eric Ries‘ “The Lean Startup” workshop by signing up at http://theleanstartupjune.eventbrite.com/ (please contact us for the special offer code).
This will bring the price of the one day workshop down to $1200 (from $2000, neither are exactly bootstrapper friendly prices but Eric’s visit to the February 6th Bootstrapper Breakfast–documented in “Eric Ries Stresses Value of Metrics and Continual Experimentation“–was very well received.
Eric also announced a scholarship program today: E-mail him an explanation of why you want to be there and he “will provide extremely discounted pricing for entrepreneurs who demonstrate that they would contribute positively to the discussion in the room…not for people who are casually interested.”
Some key topics addressed in the workshop
- How to scorecard the health of your startup
- How to radically improve cycle time — from ideas to implementation to assessment — and focus on the cycle times that matter.
- How to build actionable metrics (and how to ignore vanity metrics).
- Techniques to mitigate the biggest risk for startups: that no customers will buy its products.
- Continuously discover what customers want to buy before building or making follow-on investments in new features.
- Ship products as fast as multiple times a day while improving quality and lowering costs.
- Build a company-wide culture of decision-making based on real facts, not opinion.
June 1st, 2009
Robert Dang, partner and attorney at Fortis General Counsel, http://www.fortisgc.com returns to our Bootstrappers Breakfast™ this Friday, June 5 at Hobee’s Palo Alto (4224 El Camino Real) at 7;30 am. Robert will answer questions and discuss the legal issues facing entrepreneurs in today’s economy. Fortis is a startup friendly firm and endorsed by attendees.
Rob’s practice focuses on providing general counsel services to technology startups, with an emphasis on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, technology licensing, corporate governance and general business counseling. Rob currently serves on the Executive Committee of the MIT/Stanford Venture Lab (VLAB). Have your questions ready for a great discussion.
Join Other Entrepreneurs Who Eat Problems For Breakfast. RSVP now – this location fills up.