As Dan Kennedy says, "Explorers tend to return full of arrows." In other words, good chance of failure trying anything new. Do something old, with a new spin. Tip: Read through Kennedy's books (I could 60+ on my bookshelf) about how to do... business spins... slapping a new face on an old indu...
Look into pitchmen. Joel Bauer started as a pitchman, in which he used his magic act to get attention for his client's booth. He understands that the unexpected and entertainment are big factors of attention. Giveaways...hey, it's possible to give away a lot of things and not get anything in ret...
You really have two forms of payment here given that you can't be paid out of the small sum of money the founder has. The decision as to what to accept depends on the idea the person has and your belief in it. 1. Equity It's called sweat equity for a reason. If the person you've been approac...
First, hat tip to you for being a young entrepreneur. Keep it up! If you have the funds to build out your MVP, hire a developer and possibly a mentor. If your idea is marketable, you don't need to give up equity by bringing in a co-founder. If this is your entrepreneurial venture, I would reco...
A few approaches I'm currently using: 1) StumbleUpon Once you create an account, add in some interests. These can be general (e.g. "Technology") or more specific (e.g. "User Interface"). Then, at the top of the page is a big dropdown that by default says "All Interests." Pop that open then p...
I think Facebook is great for really targeting your audience and you’re on the right track. But I think you can have a better funnel than that. I find, for getting better conversion today, it is better to get your Facebook traffic off of Facebook as fast as you can to your offer and into your fun...
Simple: The right investor is someone who wants to invest on standard terms at a good valuation relative to your current stage. Extra bonus points for someone who has relevant industry connections that could accelerate your business and is willing - at the right time - to make introductions for...
If you want help, I can get Marvin Weinberger (founder of patented tools company InnovationFactory.com) on a call - I won't charge extra, since I'll just be facilitating the conversation. Let me know if you want me to set that up. In terms of prototyping, it depends on the product. If you let ...
This really depends on the idea that you want to test. Remember, a test is just a test, and not a complete depiction of how your actual business will do once it launches as that greatly depends not only on your product, but also on how your business is managed and what value you provide to the cu...
I've discussed ideas with hundreds of startups, I've been involved in about a dozen startups, my business is at $1M+ revenue. The bad news is, there is no good way to protect ideas. The good news is, in the vast majority of cases you don't really need to. If you're talking to people about your ...