It's All About Leverage!!

We came across this article in Inc. magazine today. Innovation can come from anywhere if you allow it to. The secret is learning how to spot profitable opportunities in the midst of frustrations and/or doubt. The research and development team pulled it off with flying colors. Not only did they solve their problem, they saved a ton of time and money! You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out how valuable this path to innovation can and will be to your company.

Take a few moments to enjoy the article if you haven't read it yet. We're sure it will change the way you grow your business forever.

What is Real Innovation

If you've read through our other posts, you'll notice the repeated use of the term "real entrepreneur". We won't get into the complete definition of what that term means to us today, but we will introduce the only matter of business entrepreneurs should worry themselves with; real innovation.

"Real" Innovation rarely happens accidentally or sporadically throughout the career of a real entrepreneur. http://www.realinnovation.com/content/what_is_innovation.asp

"Real" Innovation is accomplished consistently and systematically, given the true voice of the customer and a process for delivering solutions. Companies that innovate successfully do so using an efficient and repeatable methodology. Success is not dependent upon genius – it emerges from the disciplined application of a proven innovation methodology"

So what is a "proven" methodology? While there are quite a few methods that are generally excepted as a reliable means to real innovation; Breakthrough and Open Source innovations are among our favorites.

Breakthrough innovations occur when a product or service disrupts the current state of a market-think iPhone and Google Docs. Open Source innovations are innovations which also which disrupt the current state of the market but are derived from both internal and external sources; meaning, a company will "open" the innovation process to a group of people and draw on their input to innovate a product or service. Eli Lilly is a great example of a company utilizing an open source platform to solve complex problems involved in the innovation process.

Despite whatever your innovation method of choice might be, accomplishing "real" innovation must at a bare minimum 1) improve the life of your customer 2) have a measurable return on investment and 3) strengthens the brand(s) of the company.

Check out the slide show in our previous post to get your self started. Of course we're always available to answer your questions.


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Business Model Innovation Matters

Check out this SlideShare Presentation....this is a great way to get your business moving down innovation road.

ENJOY!!

Business Model Innovation Matters

View more OpenOffice presentations from Alexander Osterwalder.

Weekly...Monthly...Whatever.

Those are pretty much our thoughts 0n blogging. We started this with the best intentions; we had hoped to keep fresh content flowing every week; excuse...excuse...excuse. To be honest with all of you, we're really not that into the whole blogging thing.

*Gasp* *Shock & Awe*

Before you grab your pitch forks and throwing stones consider this:

So much attention is given to the places information and social technology can take a business, we've seemed to have forgotten the power of simple one on one conversation. As we tell many of our clients, we are a business built on real relationships with real people. Once a firm understanding has been found we weave in technology as it becomes appropriate to the tasks at hand. We won't say that every business should run this way but what should be noted is that the power of a hand shake shouldn't be forgotten.

On the other hand, we need to be more responsible. We are a firm that has a lot to offer and during prime transitional times such as these, we need to be more vocal about the beautiful opportunities intelligent business strategies can bring both of us. For what it's worth, please stay tuned in.

Until next week friends....

Intelligence: The Silent Business Killer

Starting and running a business is the dumbest investment one could ever make. The odds will never be in your favor; especially when customers are as fickle as teething children. How do you safeguard your investment and create the life style you entered the business for? It all starts with your ability to think intelligently about your business. If your mind is on the paycheck your business should provide, you've already failed. The reason you've failed is simply-business is the biggest ego trip you will ever encounter. To play and win its game, you have to consistently and relentlessly outsmart it.

According to Wikipedia, "intelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn." You may be saying to yourself " I'm not really that intelligent. I just know how to survive" In response to that we'd ask that you stay tuned to our blog. It's possible that you're a business owner, not an entrepreneur.

So how do you use intelligence to grow success brands and extravagent business systems? That question is suprisingly easy to answer:

1. Take 3-5 hours per week to THINK and PLAN! Know your next move before the consumers.
let you know you need to.

2. Swim in Blue Oceans. http://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/about/about.php

3. Develop a deep understanding of the emotional triggers that make your consumer buy. Knowing this will allow you to control your ability to generate income in any economy for one reason-demand will create the need for supply rather then supply depending on demand.

Follow these rules and you'll be an intelligent entrepreneur and/or business owner in no time.

Remember-success isn't something you become, it's something you become aware of. Don't waste it!

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So you think you need Venture Capital?

You wake up at 3am with a billion dollar idea. Eyes half opened, you frantically reach fora pen to write out the details. The next morning you review your thoughts, then proceed to write a business plan. Upon completion, you are thoroughly convinced that your seven pages of pure genius will no doubt lead you to fame and riches; however, you also realize you're going to need money, and lots of it. Suddenly you remeber reading an article on venture capital. After a few brief moments of pondering all the ways your idea could get shot down, you reason to yourself that you don't actually need venture capitalists; they need you. In fact, any investor with half a brain would worship at your feet for a chance to invest in your idea. Feeling invincible, you laugh out loud while thinking of how cool it will be to see venture capitalists lining up around the block to throw money at your glorious idea.

If you're a real entrepreneur, stories like this are not as foreign as some would think. We've all had a "billion dollar idea" at some point and like the proverbial you in the story, we have all been mistaken. Venture capitalists can be very fickle people. No two will see an opportunity in the exact same way. Before you commit yourself to the idea of venture capital, ask yourself a few simple questions: Are you sure a VC will want your idea in the first place? If they do, how will you make them aware of your idea? What are their triggers for investment? We'll do our best to answer these questions for you.

What is a Venture Capitalist?

A Venture Capitalist or VC for short, is a person or investment firm that lends large sums of money to entrepreneurs with a dream. Most VC's are searching for business models (notice I didn't say systems) which have the potential for freakish growth in the short term and a management team to sustain that growth over the long term. Most VC's will want to work with a management team ( and in some cases join the board of directors) to ensure the business system will 1) return their investment 2) double, triple, quadruple their investment 3) be built correctly to make sure it sustains long term positive returns on their investment. Some venture capitalits prefer to invest in long-shot start ups, while others like late stage investments where the idea and business system has already been proven successful.

What are VC's looking for?
Venture Capitalist's invest in all kinds of products and serivices. VC's will first read the Executive Summary of your business plan to determine if your idea is worth a second look. For that reason alone, the executive summary is arguably the most important document you will ever produce if your looking to catch the attenture of a venture capitalist. When reading your Executive Summary, Venture Capitalists are looking for the three golden standards; viability, fundability and feasibility. Let us explain:

Viability: Does your idea have the capicty for survival? In other words, can your idea support the top of mind brand recognition it will need to become an absolute cash cow. Also, they want to know if your management team will have the wherewithal to consistantly push boundries and make big things happen.

Fundability: VC's are only interested in ideas that have the potential and viability to produce insane returns on their investment(s). If your idea won't hit the 50-100 million dollar mark in the first 5 years, good luck trying to get some attention. Venture Capital isn't a romance novel and a warm cup of coco by the fire. If you intend on getting in the ring with these guys, you better come with your guns, knives, and laser beams ready to action. In other words, make sure your idea can make money before you approach a VC.

Feasibility: This step is basically for checks and balances. A feasibility review, if done correctly, should measure whether or not your seperate conclusions of viablity and fundability actually make sense once you put them together.

So what is the Executive Summary?
The Excutive Summary is the first sheet after the table of contents in your business plan. A well written Executive Summary will have seven main components. These components should be written out in the following order:

1) Who/what your company is (mission statement)

2) Product/service

3) Target Market

4) Competitive Advantage

5) Goals and Objectives (your vision statement)

6) Yours and your management team qualifications

7) Finances (what will it cost you to complete and launch your idea. How will you pay for it / use their money)

If you complete an air tight Executive Summary, writing the actual business plan should be fairly easy. We would advise you to complete a full plan; especially the Marketing and Financial portions. Something you should consider, that most people overlook, is the educational backgrounds of the VC's your submitting your idea to. The purpose of this is simple-imagine you have a great pick and pack robot idea, and your VC target is a graduate of M.I.T. Wouldn't it make sense to have a stellarTechnology and Financial Plan? How about if your looking to launch a user generated social video site which specializes in short films and your target spent 25 years as a show producer at Time Warner? Wouldn't it make sense to write a bomb proof Marketing Plan? Remember, VC's are fickle people. It's usually the seemingly small and most obvious things that get overlooked, so take your time and be smart about things.

As a true entrepreneurs, we know your hunger to succeed will eventually take you exacty where you want to go. However, if you should happen to need some help along the way, Verge is here to help develop your ideas into the monsterous profit machines you've always dreamt of. Contact us whenever and however you feel comfortable-our team is ready when you are!!

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It's all "Bull" when your wallet's "Bear"

The markets are showing signs of life again but for a large majority of business owners, this depression/recession has put them on the edge of extinction. We say shame on us and shame on them. Why? Because we all got scared, that's why. Some business owners are merely employees without a boss, while others are real entrepreneurs; meaning they embody the resilience, passion, and vision to reach the next level of success no matter what type of obstruction impedes their ability to make progress.

As business owners, the hardest, most stressful step you've had to make was the decision to start your business. Unfortunately for some, it was the last big step as an entrepreneur they ever took. (Please take note of the distinction made between business owners and entrepreneurs. This will be the topic of a later blog)

So at this point we don't blame for asking "what the heck are you guys getting at"? And there in lies our point. You know that annoying feeling you get when things are dragging on too long, and you just want to see some decisive action being taken....well that is exactly what was lost when most of us decided to sit and wait for the economy to make our companys profitable again.

If you think you did all you could possibly do to keep your business alive during the bear market ask yourself these simple questions:


1) What did I learn about the potential of my business?



2) Does the vision of my company match its potential?



3) Did I adjust my business plan to align with my vision and potential?



4) How much will this potential cost me? When will I achieve it?



5) Are my competitors or my industy heading in the same direction? How will I differentiate myself?



These types of questions are what real entrepreneurs are constantly challenging themselves with during periods of feast, famine, drought, flood, recession, depression, bull market, bear market, no market.



Are you a real entrepreneur?

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