This one is a bit old.  I’m clearing out some of my old content focused on startups.  I’ll revisit this in a few months so I welcome any feedback you have.

Now, while I can’t help you figure out what makes you crazy enough to want to do a startup, I can share a little bit about what I’ve learned over the years.  There is a plethora of content out there on how to raise money.  This document is simply an attempt to capture a few common themes that I’ve encountered on my journey.  Its very much an incomplete work, but some folks that are new to the game might, I stress might, find some helpful nuggets in here…

Enjoy.  And don’t worry, you aren’t the only crazy one out there…

10 million ‘brands’ – how social is leveling the playing field for SMB & Local businesses.

The basic premise here is that small businesses can build stronger brands, relationships and businesses with the aid of the social web in ways that make them much more competitive with the big brands.  The days of purely being outspent are waning.  As are the days of the pay to play models of local advertising.  With the new tools, content and authenticity afforded by the social web, smaller businesses can think like the big guys, but operate like a local.  Game On!

A little background – or ‘who is this guy?’.  You may ask yourself where this comes from.  Its pretty simple in that its a story of confluence.  I’ve helped a lot of smaller businesses devise and manage growth strategies.  And honestly there is very little more gratifying to me than helping someone figure out ways to grow and thrive.  So I’ve turned 100% of my attention to building products that can help scale that passion.  I’ve also had the good fortune of working for (and with) some amazing F500 brands.   I led brand/marketing analytics for IBM (on the team reporting directly into the CMO) where I had the good fortune to dig in deep – and stay away from advertising ; ).  We built award winning quant models and I spoke all over the globe.  I had the good fortune to get very deep into the methods and math of customer experience.  My colleagues and I did a lot to contribute to the thought leadership on ‘Customer Experience based Brand Equity & Management’.  It was a great experience to say the least.

And now, I’m seeing amazing opportunities to take that same energy for ‘brand’ and empowering the small businesses of the world – so they can compete better and not miss the opportunity to engage with the ‘social customer’.  The data, the engagement, the access and the enthusiasm all make it an amazing time for the smaller guys.  No longer do you need an army of MBAs and PhDs to devise a brand plan.  No longer is brand building based on outspending on TV.  No longer is the consumer a passive buyer.  Much is changing, yet the basic principles remain the same.  Listen deeply, tap data, set expectations, over deliver, empower champions, manage diligently, be open, create value, etc.  These are not new tenants – but social tools are impacting how these are derived and delivered.  So, this has me thinking that we are entering an era where more and more brands will grow from the ground up and not from the F500 down.  I see a world of millions and millions of ‘little’ brands delivering amazing customer experiences and building bonds with their fans that are hard to disrupt.  And while it is a tough time for many small business owners it is an opportune time to lay some amazing foundations.  I look forward to talking to my colleagues more about this – and most importantly I look forward to talking to you, the small business owners of the world.  What do you all think?

That is not really me, but I'm sure my smile was bigger...

First – thank you Robert Scoble.

Now a little story.  I can still remember the first time I saw a Molecular Model rendered on a Silicon Graphics work station. It was my sophomore year of college and I was looking for a chemistry lab to work in. I walked into the office of the professor my father  (a chemist himself) had recommended and there it was – an amazing model of a burgi amine. The molecule almost danced to the Grateful Dead bootleg playing in the background (little did I know I was about to get my proper introduction to the Grateful Dead as well). I remember how this model peaked my curiosity (much like model cars/planes had when I was a kid) – I had always had a fascination for ‘how things work’ and this was just too exciting.  I remember thinking how powerful that tool must be – I had little sense for just how powerful.  That day is one of those keystone days in my career, first as a chemistry geek and now as a business geek.  It really did set off a love for understanding structure, data modeling and computational magic.  What a great day, as the dead say -

I had a similar feeling of enthusiasm late last night when I read @scobleizer latest post, “coming soon: the disruptive molecular age of information”.  I’ve been having this conversation about molecules as they apply to the social web for the last 12-18 months – I see a place where molecular modeling (related to my first career), market research/intelligence (related to my second career) and social graphs (all the stuff I’ve been focused on as a startup guy) all intersect on a large touch enabled monitor (like a Perceptive Pixel).  All of this, is part of the central nervous system of any business that cares about serving their customers (and ‘engaging’ is just the tip of the iceberg as anyone who has worked on the inside of a brand).  And while the last few years of social have been interesting in that they have made it easier for people and businesses to “engage in a conversation” I want to go deeper, much deeper – I want to go to a molecular level.  I want to see how these conversations, broadcast messages, complaints, customer request, etc all add up.

• What is that molecule?
• How strong are the bonds?
• What atoms constitute its make up?
• What conditions are required to create the desired molecule?
• How does the molecule change in varying conditions?
• What does it take to break the bonds?
• And one very important question – who really cares? (I have my hypothesis)
• the list goes on…

With the data that exists, the modeling power that exists and the hunger for new insights, this is all doable.  And I’m looking forward to being a part of that movement.  But as many people have pointed out, that is a large effort with some serious limitations right now so I will set that aside for further discussion another day – I’ll come back around to this concept in the future.  For now I just needed to get the thoughts out.  I’d love to get your thoughts on the ‘molecular’ concepts…