Tech Startup Market Hot Again? |  |
- Tech Startup Market Hot Again?
- If You Shed Legacy Industry Practices What Could You Become?
- Technology Resources For Small Businesses Answers Your Cloud and Tech Decisions
| Tech Startup Market Hot Again? Posted: 08 Apr 2012 06:26 PM PDT We’ve gotten used to hearing bad economic news, to the point that most of us just tune it out now. After all, you can only take so much bad news without it wearing you down. But could the good times be back again? Judging from reports about Y Combinator’s recent Demo Day, it may be boom times again for Web and mobile tech startups. Jason Freedman, co-founder of 42 Floors wrote a piece enticingly titled, “Did everybody see what just happened? The pendulum has swung.” In it he outlines that investors are hungry to invest in tech startups, even without business plans — and very different from his experience in 2009. He writes:
He goes on to offer advice to startup entrepreneurs who get seed round funding: “Shut up and get back to work.” You’ll quickly run through your money, and all the hype won’t matter if you’re not satisfying users and customers. Y Combinator has been described as an incubator. On its website it says it provides seed funding to startups, and works with founders to develop their ideas and help them deal with investors. It holds an annual Demo Day where startup founders present their ideas. So what types of businesses were hot at Y Combinator’s Demo Day in 2012? According to Eric Eldon writing in Techcrunch: mobile.
More coverage of Y Combinator’s Demo Day is at GigaOm: 10 Startups to Watch. And at the New York Post: Tech Incubator Heating Up Investors. Be careful not to draw too strong a conclusion from just one event. But it is a sign of a promising trend. From Small Business Trends |
| If You Shed Legacy Industry Practices What Could You Become? Posted: 08 Apr 2012 11:30 AM PDT Customer experiences are delivered year after year in many industries without challenging or changing process, policy or approach in what they do. And when questioned the answer is "this how we always do this." And then they wonder why they don't stand out in the marketplace.
Perhaps the answer is that they never took the time to determine how they would stand out. The banking industry is one of those perennially steadfast industries. Standing firm on legacy practices and policies, there is real opportunity for those who grasp that customers will respond to an experience delivered from their point of view. Umpqua Bank Decided to Get Rid of the Ropes. We've all stood in that bank line. Walking between two ropes that force us into a single-file lane, we shuffle slowly, waiting our turn, with nothing to do but watch the person at the counter, look at our watches, and wait for it all to be over. And if there's a request that the teller can't handle, there's another line, and more shuffling. Well, they got rid of those ropes and the lines at Umpqua Bank. As part of Umpqua's metamorphosis from "bank" to "store," led by CEO Ray Davis, they shed the ropes and most standard banking practices to get rid of the feeling that banking was a chore. CEO Ray Davis Explains His Decision to Change Umpqua's Purpose: Umpqua Bank has a quirky, lighthearted nature for a financial services company, perhaps because they started with the simple goal to help loggers and farmers with their banking. But despite their heartfelt purpose of being "the loggers' bank," customer experiences prior to 1994 were not consistently strong. Service levels varied from one day to the next, from one teller to the next. I call this "biorhythmic" service, in which customer experiences vary by service provider and by what kind of day he or she is having. Observing Umpqua's lack of a clear customer-service approach, CEO Ray Davis decided to make a change. In a move away from traditional banking, he renamed Umpqua locations "stores." In redesigned "stores," "shoppers" could browse products and services, stay as long as they wanted, sit a spell with their legs up on a comfy chair, and sip a cup of coffee. And when they were ready, they could tap an Umpqua associate to help them with their banking needs—all without the red ropes. At Umpqua, customers are not herded into a line for service, and they don't have to stand in separate lines to get different services. Dedicated associates assist each customer from start to finish. Decide with Clarity to Shed Old Industry Practices
By shedding old industry practices and warming up and humanizing the experience of banking, Umpqua draws customers to them. Through transforming banking into an enjoyable shopping experience, its original five branches from 1994 are now part of a bank network of over 184"stores," across four states with more than $11.6 billion in assets Do you have your own version of banking lines that you make customers shuffle through to get help from you? Can you find a way to get rid of your version of the "red ropes"?
From Small Business Trends |
| Technology Resources For Small Businesses Answers Your Cloud and Tech Decisions Posted: 08 Apr 2012 05:30 AM PDT
As Founder and Editor of Small Biz Technology, a media company dedicated to informing small businesses on its technological decisions, Ramon shepherds business owners across the gap between prolific computer offerings and right-fit solutions. For business owners seeking a printed consolidation of technology tips, Ramon (@RamonRay) has authored a terrific guide, Technology Resources for Growing Businesses. This book is perfect for the small business owner baffled by tech questions and needing answers for next-level operations. I received a review copy from the author. In a similar approach that he takes in his presentation series, Ramon applied his experience in networks and software to make each word valuable and the overall advice substantial. Jump Into the Technological Waters With A Big Splash Technology Resources for Growing Businesses offers great utility for the computer ludite who thinks about a St. Louis linebacker or a Dodge pickup first when someone says "RAM." The book is compact in size and digs to the heart of each section with well-reasoned explanations for technological choices. Three rules for using technology starts the book, with subsequent chapters examining business tech essentials, from printer selection to mobile devices. Each of the opening three rules are powerful overviews of the book theme:
These are meant to help organize your approach to selection solutions. The following quote is a great example.
Ramon's awareness of technology in the face of business structure is what keeps the book at an Aston Martin level of first class advice. The chapter on data security notes that "your employees are the first line of defense." It also notes how data is your business operations:
Ramon’s years of experience as a technology consultant showcases how to cut through any jargon clutter. Thus an overview of an Intrusion Detection System is given with a helpful "so here’s why we use it" logic fitting the experience behind the words.
Experiences That Reveal the Right Touchstones for Success The book does not delve into deep strategy, so businesses with special needs, such as industry-specific software, should best seek an industry specialist. But the basics here would serve enough information to start such a conversation, which is what Ramon is aiming for – and succeeds. Basic coverage of social media and website design are enhanced with further resources listed at the end. Customer Relationship Management is also noted among the business essentials, explaining the difference between traditional and social CRM (A section for this chapter was provided courtesy of Brent Leary). If cost is your biggest concern, the ending segment on money saving tips showcases an understanding of how to tie all the ends – and Bluetooth signals – together. The writing is on the wall. Small business is not so small anymore, and Technology Resources for Growing Businesses reflects a wisdom that matches such times. Given the tech trend in consumerization, the book is a solid match for those who don't have an appreciation for coding or specifications. And considering the scale of cloud services introduced – and an even larger scale of people talking about technology, not everyone understands the payoff that a new service or device is expected to bring. That payoff is best answered with this book in hand. Read it or give it to that football or truck-imagining ludite you know. More importantly, live Ramon Ray's mantra for selecting the best tech:
From Small Business Trends |
Ramon Ray! Business leaders online and off know the name and know what to expect from this well informed tech evangelist – informative dialogue on small business technology mixed with a passionate presentation style and an overall dedicated energy for life.| You are subscribed to email updates from Small Business News, Tips, Advice - Small Business Trends To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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