Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know

Bit hit from the mid-80s, this song from the Clash (ed note: it's not from London Calling, but I think this is the number one album cover of all time) asks a question that is increasingly relevant for startup executives.  Asked more generally,

"What is the most efficient and best use of my time during startup days -- on the road or with the team?"

Here's a pretty common scenario -- you're busier than a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest when the phone rings on a late Friday afternoon.  You check the caller ID and it's an associate at VC firm who got a 2-pager from you a few weeks ago --and given a choice, these are the guys you want to work with.   So you pick it up, chat for a while about your mutual contacts, then you go through your business plan for about 45 minutes.  He says he's "interested in learning more" and wants to meet on Thursday in Menlo Park. 

You know you're in Chicago, LA and SF early next week and you think that you have a critical all day exec team meeting on Thursday that has been put off several times -- the product plan is at a fork in the road, the team is evenly divided on direction and you need to step up, help the team make the right decision -- in other words, lead.  Thinking quickly, you say you call back to confirm -- but he lets you know that if the meeting can't be on Thursday, the lead partner won't be available for weeks.

As you hang up the phone, your palms get pretty sweaty as you pull up your Outlook calendar, your travel itinerary and the meeting agenda.  And in the back of your mind, the ragged song begins...

"Darlin you gotta let me know..."

The question seems trivial when asked of a technical founder/CEO  or CTO -- the task is clear and obvious:  Build a great product as soon as possible -- and that typically means "stay".  But unless the team is building a better version of something that is already market-proven (not a good idea in most cases), spending time with users/customers, partners and suppliers is absolutely fundamental to success. 

For many (e.g. web-based) startups, "spending time with users...", doesn't necessarily mean travel -- it could be fielding customer questions and problems (chat, I/M, e-mail and phone).

But for the large majority of founders and early stage executives, it's Sophie's Choice: 

Hit the road, get a much better sense for what's really going on in your market, meet the right people, present and demo at the key trade shows, pitch lots of investors.  That's gotta be the right answer.  But if I go there will be trouble.

OR

Stay at home, make sure your vision is clearly articulated, focus is maintained, the home fires keep singing,  perfect hires are made, momentum continues unabated and that the right stuff is really getting done and is getting done right.  What could be more important?  And if I stay it will be double.

So, who is going to let you know?  And is it easy enough to answer, "it depends on the circumstances?"

In my own experience, I've made the right choices and the wrong choices on this question -- and it's easy enough to see in hindsight where those choices led.  Seeing beforehand would have been invaluable.

And, in case you're thinking this is an easy answer, I disagree that it's completely circumstantial.  The team should answer the following questions for the next six months, which will then provide at least a framework for figuring out, for each team member, at least nominally, who would travel, how often, when and where.

1. Do we have a very clear understanding of our market?
2. Do we have one or more active and engaged customers?
3. Is our brand, company or founding team well known, or is word of the company spreading like wildfire?
4. Does the technical team have recent and intimate knowledge of  key technologies, platforms and techniques required for success?
5. Will the team dither and wither without day to day leadership?
6. Do we have enough cash to carry us through?
7. Are we confident that all our critical suppliers are capable?

I phrased these questions so that a NO answer means someone better get good at using  Farecast, Hotwire and Priceline!

I'm very interested in hearing from startup executives on this point  -- how you have you  answered this question?  In an ad hoc way, or more stategically?  What phase were you in?  What role did you have?  What were the deciding factors?  And did you make the right decisions?

PR for Startups

I've seen a number of references to the recent Calacanis article on PR tips for startups. Here's one from a blog I follow that does a good job summarizing the lengthy original post:

OnStartups

I share the viewpoint about PR firms in general, and particularly for web-based consumer-oriented startups, where grass roots branding (combined with blogging) has replaced big bang, major and industry media branding almost completely.

But I wouldn't go as far as summarily stating that PR firms are not valuable -- even in consumer applications, they can provide some insights that inexperienced founding teams may lack in terms of the basic PR etiquette.

I would say, in my experience, that PR firms are pretty awful in terms of thinking out of the box and going above and beyond for their customers. They follow a tried and (no longer) true formula that is now growing more than a bit tired -- and for the amount of coverage they generate, they are extremely expensive when viewed in terms of cost per customer acquisition.

Let's say your PR firm costs $10K/month plus expenses (which is table stakes) and they get you one placement each month in an industry publication that purportedly reaches 100,000 readers. If 10% of the subscription base see the (let's be generous and say) two page write up, and you convert 2% of those, your customer acquisition cost is $50, at a minimum. Great, if you're selling enterprise software. Not so great if that customer buys one $50 item and your margin is 30% (although a lot depends on the stickiness of your service). Much less great if you're counting CPMs.

The socializing CEO model suggested and embodied by Jason is demonstrably effective -- but is appropriate for some, not all. If the CEO is weak in that capacity, s/he should be complemented by an aggressive Co-Founder/Marketing VP or co-founder that loves to mix it up, on-line and off-line. But that's not nearly as interesting an interview as the CEO would be, in most cases.

My own company, Tradavo, services small format retailers and service businesses (hotels, parks, drug stores). Reaching these individual, independent units is extremely difficult -- and a traditional PR firm could be helpful. We're not quite ready for a major PR blast/launch, which we're scheduling for October. Sometime between now and then, we'll work out our strategy, which may include many recommendations from the Calacanis post.

A Breath of Sunshine

I've always loved mixed metaphors.

While people who employ them they are often criticized as schizo or not having a clear mind, it's always very obvious what they're trying to say!


Plus, metaphor mixing (mashup?) brings out aspects of both metaphors, as in --

A Breath of Sunshine = 1/2 a breath of fresh air + 1/2 a ray of sunshine.


So, my hope is that this blog will be a Breath of Sunshine (and a ray of fresh air) to anyone who comes across it. I'll be blogging about my company,Tradavo, my views on business, entrepreneurship, life, irony and of course, mixed metaphors.

I welcome comments and participation from all --