Steven Cox - Founder of TakeLessons. Build Something You're Proud Of

Hug Nation: People of the Web

Just wanted to send a shout out to a past co-worker, John Styn. We worked together at CollegeClub.com back in the bubble days and he was always on the cutting edge of web development and creativity. John and his 94 year old grandpa, Caleb, was featured recently on Yahoo's People of the Web show.

John started Hug Nation with Grandpa Caleb and brought good to the many people who watched the live web cast each week. The whole premise was remembering how fortunate we are to have people around us we love, and to give them a hug while we could. I had a chance to catch a couple episodes last year and it was cool to see how they were using the web to broadcast emotion (what I call "emo-cast").

Anyway, never think you're too old or your idea is too off-the-wall. Use the web. Express yourself. Get better at being you.

Focusing on Getting It Right For the Few

This was posted by Dharmesh Shah on the On StartUps blog (which I recommend you check out). It echoes much of what was written by Steven Blank in the Four Steps to the Epiphany. Focus on making a product good enough that a core group of people will buy it. If it's useful for the few, you have a better chance of making it useful for many.

"Why A Real Market of A Few Is Better Than A Mythical Market of Millions

1. If you build a product that serves the needs of a few *real* customers, it's unlikely your opportunity will be limited to just these few. You'll likely find a way to extrapolate and address larger markets later.

2. By focusing in on a smaller market of real potential customers, you'll actually stand a chance of selling them something. If you're going after a market of millions, it's easy to fall into the complacent thinking of "I'm investing for the long-term and building something that will appeal to the masses later…". I think your chances are much better of you have something to sell to a few people *today* than a hypothetical product that will theoreticaly appeal to millions later.

3. The cost of acquiring customers seems to be proportional to the broadness of the market you're going after. This should not be too surprising. It's more expensive to reach a broad market with a meaningful message that will sell them than a small, contained market. The smaller market is easier to get data on, easier to address, easier to convince and easier to delight (hence resulting in referral business).

Now, here's the one big risk to going after the smaller, more contained market of a few: If you're not careful, you can fall into the "custom solutions" trap. This is where you are so focused on meeting the needs of the few that you have a hard-time making the eventual leap to the market of millions. This is one of the reasons why I refer to the "market of a few" rather than the "market of one". A market of one is dangerous -- as there's a high chance that you fall into the custom solutions trap. But, as soon as you try and serve the needs of two or more real customers, your odds of falling into this trap go down. The trick is finding the right balance: Enough of a market so you build something that is relevant for many, but not so broad that the market becomes hypothetical."

San Diego Fires and Google

First, as a resident of San Diego, our hearts and thoughts go out to all of our friends and fellow Southern California families who are experiencing losses with the four blazing fires that have swept through the San Diego county.

It was also really cool to see how the community was able to use Google Maps to help update the public on tracking the fire and showing where the evacuation centers are. In all honesty, I had no idea that the API could be used for such a useful, detailed map. Hats off to Google.

(photo by Eduardo Contreras/San Diego Union-Tribune/Zuma Press. copyright 2007 San Diego Union-Tribune)

28 Speaking Tips from Public Speaking Pros

I have been on a hiatus for a week or so - my apologies. Very busy with the new site design.

I ran across a quick, light read from Forbes on ways to improve your public speaking persona. As a speech and communications major in college, I always loved to give speeches. It's such a rush! Not everyone feels the way I do, however. I've read that most people would rather have their finger cut off than to give a presentation.

For those with a little stage fright, perhaps these 28 tips will help you out. Here are a couple of my favorites:

"The dumbest thing you can do is chastise an audience when you've tried humor that's failed." - Jim Gill, Bryan Cave law firm

"Self-deprecation is always part of my speech. It helps the audience know we're all in the same boat." - Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President

"I've found that when speakers talk about what they know, it's arrogant. But when they talk about what they've learned, it's humble and a format of great story-telling" - Roy Spence, GSD&M Advertising

"Layoff the numbers and facts as much as possible. Attract with emotion. Lead with the heart." - M. Steven Cox

 

Lesson from Vegas: Details Count

Ah, we made it back from Vegas - and we returned with more money than we left with! That's always a good feeling. My strategy in Sin City is to try and win enough to pay for the trip, and then quit.

We stayed at the Wynn, owned by legendary businessman (and one of our first investors at PPRO) Steve Wynn. I've met Mr. Wynn a couple times in the past and three things that always resonated with me about Wynn was: a) he has a great speaking voice  b) he seems very confident, but never arrogant  c) he painstakingly focuses on the intricacies and details of his properties more than anyone I've ever heard of.

The Wynn is no exception. This was our second visit, and I am absolutely blown away by the quality of the product and the sensitivity of the staff, and the detail throughout the resort. Everything from the blinds that open with a push of a button, to very thick cloth seating on poolside lounges, to the crown molding in even the most basic deli. Everything is clean, thought-through, and impeccable.

It made me think about our site, and wonder what else we could do NOW to improve the detail, and give our users a better experience. Here is the list I came up with:

1. Improve the design. As a start-up, we have skimped somewhat on the design due to cost. I rationalized it because it seemed more important to keep reserves and focus on building the product. Design has always been our weak point. No one on the team is proficient in design, so we decided to work with a small team of professionals on our new design. We are scheduled to launch it this coming Friday, and it is SO better than before. We are moving to a look that says we know what we're doing.
2. Focus on "Check In". At the Wynn, there are always enough people to help you very quickly check in, and even more people to help you spend money. This is something we can improve on. During October, we'll be working on getting our new customers through the sign-up process quickly and painlessly.
3. Build a Resort. At the Wynn, we found ourselves rarely feeling a need to venture past the resort. They had deli's and 5-star restaurants. They had $10 tables and $500 tables (I was more on the $10 side). They had beds so comfortable that you wanted to sleep till noon. They had a pool that you could read Jim Cramer's new book by. And, they had lots of people (community) that you could associate with, meet, and share some good times. This is what we're seeking to build with our site - a place you can go, hang out, feel comforatable, meet like-minded people, and spend money to your heart's content.

Q3 was a building quarter for us. We are poised to start seeing some rewards for our Q3 efforts during Q4. As always, we're excited about the opportunity, and we'll be paying attention to every last detail.