Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup

Finally started tackling the reading list for my upcoming MIT Bootcamp. I started with listening to the Disciplined Entrepreneurship on Audible. The book was a good choice because it covered a lot of basics, including terminology I was not familiar with or had forgotten. I am not going to do a full review; there are plenty of those on the web. Instead, I want to highlight three points that stood out to me.

Firstly, the book exists because the writer, Bill Aulet, believes that you can learn to be an entrepreneur. The idea that you can learn to be an entrepreneur is not something universally acknowledged. We, humans, are prone to mythologisation and so naturally, successful entrepreneurs a turned into myths. You also have people in the entrepreneurial space who talk about entrepreneurs as a people apart. Now I am not saying that some people don't have the personality to be more inclined to go down the entrepreneurial path. The truth remains that anyone can learn to the skills to be an entrepreneur and often, it is circumstance, and not personality, that dictates who does and does not become an entrepreneur. But personality might indicate who becomes a serial entrepreneur.

Secondly, the author expressed the belief that you don't have a business unless someone pays you something for your goods or services. E.g. he didn't consider Instagram a business until Facebook bought it. While this might seem a bit extreme in the age of platforms and apps, I have to agree with him. Take for example something like Tumblr. It was a very successful microblogging platform that attracted people active on various fandoms and as well as people making original content. However, they didn't have a monetisation strategy and Yahoo, which bought Tumblr, has had a rough time trying to monetise it. The reason being that "fandom" isn't always advertiser-friendly, and fans can be very entitled. Trust me on this; I would be sending DC comics hate mail on a regular basis if I wasn't so easily Googlable. So it is a fair point to say that you don't have a business until someone is willing to pay you.

Lastly, I was intrigued by what the book had to say about the competition. The author suggested that while we should be aware of the competition, focusing on them, especially trying to crush others in the market is not the way to go. The suggestion was that if you create a new market or industry through your innovation, both you and your competition can thrive. But if you focus too much on the competition, you end up losing to the bigger enemy: the status quo! I support this idea wholeheartedly. A lot of things in life is not a zero-sum game. For you to win, someone else doesn't have to lose. You can win together.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and learnt a lot. I am looking forward to completing the other books on the reading list.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, Brisbane, Australia

Happy New Year!

2018 was a big year for me, what with launching Start with Tinni among other things. 2019 will hopefully be an even bigger year with me. I am currently gearing up for the imminent release of Your Happy Place App on the Google Play Store. I also recently joined JOSARI to help them launch their app on the iOS store. But the biggest thing I am looking forward to in 2019, is the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, that’s set to take place in QUT from February 2-8, 2019.

The Bootcamp gives attendees the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of starting a new venture. Problem specification, customer, solution, business model, pitching, all supported by hands-on coaching. So in that respect, it is similar to the Startup Weekends I have attended previously. But with a more formal and academic component, given it is run by MIT.

The founder and CEO of one of the startups I am currently working with attended the boot camp in 2018 and spoke very highly of the experience. So, although the tuition of the program is about USD 6,500, I decided that the price tag was worth it.

There is a pre-boot camp checklist. The list includes reading,

1. Disciplined Entrepreneurship by Bill Aulet

2. Made to Stick by Dan & Chip Heath

3. Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink

4. Talking to Humans by Gliff Constable

I intend to write and publish a short post here as I finish the books, so look forward to that in the coming month. I also have to complete a few online modules from Edge Edx. I am going to have to get started on that, and I have already started the “deep dive” courses offered by MIT as part of the Bootcamp.

I am excited. A bit scared because of my issues with low iron, which leads to energy issues. But I am going to work on it during January, along with the reading list and the online modules!

Business Cards: I think I finally got it right!

So business cards are still a thing. We do exchange them at networking events. A lot of people are going v-card or LinkedIn app based connection, but the pieces of cardboard still have a place in our society. So as part of launching Start with Tinni, had designed a new business card. Took me three goes but I think I finally got it right!

Firstly, let’s have a look at the first business card I ever designed — my card for Virgo 19 that I also use as a personal introduction card. I am proud of the TC in a binary motif that’s the header for this website.

Of course, I also slapped the banner I created for the Virgo 19 page on the back. Because technically, the card is supposed to be for Virgo 19, my app making business. It’s still technically going! I am not doing much with it at the moment, but it is still active.

Looking back at the card, I can say that I don’t much care for it. It’s okay but not memorable and isn’t great for branding. I am not saying my new cards are better at branding. But they are prettier.

Draft 01: Start with Tinni

However, I almost didn’t go for a pretty card because the first draft of my Start with Tinni business cards was a bit drab.

I went with a spaceship because that’s common imagery in startup land. Since my foundation clients were going to be from startup land, my brain fixed on motifs common among entrepreneurs. That includes the chalkboard.

So I thought I was being clever with the chalkboard drawing of a spaceship with the quirky title of “Start Consultant”. Thankfully, I asked for comments, and it didn’t play well with actual people. They didn’t get, and while I am beginning with startups, I do eventually want to work with small businesses. So I started rethinking the startup-heavy imagery as well.

Draft 01: Start with Tinni

So for the next draft, I want with more vibrant colour, and a picture that I thought was abstract enough to be open to interpretation. But still conveying what I am offering. Namely, a digital future or networks, data in the palm of our hands and greener pastures to be had past the digital horizon. People loved it!

I had 50 square cards printed through Moo.com. Both the shape and the colours seem to make the cards a little bit more memorable than your average business card. But that’s not to say that I am getting increased callbacks, although that might have something to do with the fact that the first print of my new cards had two flaws!

Final: Start with Tinni

Firstly, I left out my business mobile. Secondly, once printed, the black lettering proved a bit difficult to read. Both these I fixed for the second print. My new cards have arrived, and I look forward to using them more in 2019!

On that topic, I didn’t attend the anymore social gathering this month. So I doubly glad I went to the Silicon Beach Brisbane: Startup Christmas Party.

I am glad for the break, however, because big things are happening for me in January and February that I am looking forward to sharing. So watch this space!

Silicon Beach Brisbane: Startup Christmas Party

Last Tuesday, I attended the first of the couple of holiday-themed meetups I have scheduled for this month. I was a bit apprehensive about this one because there was supposed to be 300 guests, and I don’t handle crowds very well. But fortunately, Cloudland is an amazing venue, so while there was a lot of people, you could still move and mingle easily.

The party was more about being celebrating the connections I made this year, as opposed to making new ones. I did meet a few new people and did hand out my cards to both new connections and old connections. I also got a chance to get updates on what some people I haven’t seen for a few months are doing now. But overall, it was about the food!

The food was delicious. I don’t drink. So all I can say on that front is that soft drink selection was good. It was a very well organised event, and I am very thankful that Silicon Beach Australia took the time to host the party!

Now, I was supposed to attend the Brisbane Tech Christmas Drinks, but family commitments got in the way so while I have plans to attend at least The Festive Season Startup Spectacular. But given my track record, I can’t say for sure I’ll make it. But if this ends up being my only Christmas themed meet-up, it would have been worth it!

River City Labs Friday Open House In The Open!

Happy Holiday Month! I kicked off December the same way I kicked of November, attending the River City Labs Friday Open House pitch evening! For December, River City Labs hosted the event in the atrium of the Precinct. The space was clearly designed for this type of things because it had raise audience seating and seemed to have a projection capabilities. But the acoustics weren’t great. It’s great for advertising and drawing in foot traffic, but not so much for information exchange.

As a result, I saw the opportunity to get up and do a plug for Your Happy Place when the pitching floor was opened up. I got some interesting but not too much. But sometimes, you just have to get the idea out there! I have a few Christmas parties I have RSVPed for, let’s hope my energy stays up. Because I am very tempted to go into a cheese coma for all of December!