This morning our second mentor, Craig Tuffnell, came to share his knowledge with us. He is a "Start Up" businessman, specialising in technology or products.
Craig talked about the importance of having a problem to solve in order to get buy in from other people. Getting people on board to raise capital (money) is crucial. You may need investors. Making a personal connection is so important.
Ezra worked out that buying shares in a future successful company would be a great way to make money!
You need different skills in your team to be successful.
You need customers to buy your product or service so that you can make money. You need to know your customers well. Sometimes the customers don't know what they need or want until you create it!
Make sure you are solving the right problem. If someone doesn't like your product they won't buy it and they may also tell others not to buy it. We discussed the possibilities or creating an effective laundry chute! Usability is really important. Getting people to use your product before selling it is an important step. "Don't listen to what people say, watch what they do."
How do you know if your idea is going to work in the market?? You really need to sell it to see if people buy it. If not, you may need to create a new idea. You need to keep the problem that you are trying to sell in mind. MVP - mini viable product - is an important term. It is different from a prototype. MVPs need to be of a quality that can do the job and sell.
This is easier with software products that can be made cheaply and put on the App Store. It is more difficult with hardware products.
If you listen to the early adopters you may only make a product that is right for them. Think about the segway, this is mostly in a 'niche market' now.
Trends are critical. For example fidget spinners. For some products these trends don't last long. MP3 players are a great example. These were not initially made by Apple. Apple often waits until technologies are advanced enough to work well for their customers.
We don't have to come up with a completely original idea - we could adapt. Kathmandu and MacPac compete directly with many of the same products. How do we know which products are good quality?
Plans are great but also useless! You need to be flexible with your planning - stick to it until your plan stops working - then you change your plan.
Marketing is very important - a great product can fail with poor marketing. Advertising, market analysis, promotion are all important aspects. Promotion is how you make people aware of your product - where are you going to advertise? Taste testing in supermarkets are part of promotions.
A business owner is a person or people invest in your company - the majority share holder/s.
Governance ensures that good decisions are made and the company are following regulations. This may be a board of directors who help guide a company. Our mentors will be our governors - people who you go to for advice.
Sometimes start ups just don't work!
Edie said that she needs to make sure that her product is actually usable.
Braydon needs to use a prototype wisely.
Ben talked about the need for effective advertising.
Thank you Craig for bringing your ideas and expertise to S'Mart Tank.
