Reach Out!
Entrepreneurialist Culture
Entrepreneurship Questions and Celebrity Answers
Gary Vaynerchuk, Host of Wine Library TV. Gary has captured attention with his pioneering, multi-faceted approach to personal branding and business. March 2009
Ryan Anderson: If you could tell a room of would-be entrepreneurs one thing, what would it be?
GV: Never listen to anybody outside of your entrepreneurial gut.
Ryan Anderson: What role do you see social media playing in the entrepreneurial success?
GV: It's the new fundamental playground.
Ryan Anderson: How did social media or the web help you build your business?
GV: It changed the scope of communication. It's a tool, and I leverage it.
Ryan Anderson: How has entrepreneurship changed in the past 5 - 10 years?
GV: It hasn't! Entrepreneurship is entrepreneurship.
Ryan Anderson: What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?
GV: To me I'm very happy that it's the one genetic play that I got in spades because fundamentally at the end of the day if you are able to have entrepreneurship in your bones you'll at least be financially successful in life.
Kevin O'Leary is a Canadian entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He joined Genstar Capital LLC, in 2007. Genstar is a private equity firm that focuses on investments in selected segments of life science and healthcare services, industrial technology, business services and software. O’Leary also serves on the executive board of The Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. July 2009.
Saad Rashid: What is some advice you would give to an ecopreneur looking to start a business during an economic recession?
KO: That is an interesting question Saad, for which I hope I can give you the answer you were looking for. As a student it is encouraging to see that you are taking the initiative to ask questions, expand your network of contacts, and that you are looking into the various methods to finance your business. It is the perfect time to gather your thoughts (while you are in school) because when you enter the workforce, you may not have the luxury of having time on your hands. Now back to the question you asked: what is some advice I would give?
As a Finance student, you more than anyone should know how tough the state of the world's economy is on everyone's lives. However, you cannot let fear stand in the way of realizing your dreams; if you do not believe a business will work for you - do not even bother pursuing it. At the end of the day, it is all about believing that you are the right person to launch the business and keep it running.
If you are thinking about a launching an eco-friendly business, keep in mind that you are in a sector of the economy that is experiencing massive growth but that you may also face some stiff competition. Don't let this competition come in your way, it is all about having a distinctive idea that investors will be happy to throw their money at, and consumers will welcome with open arms. Keep yourself aware of what is going on around you; attend tradeshows, and conventions. Something I highly stress is that every entrepreneur (whether they own the neighborhood Quickie or have created a multi-million dollar organization) make use of social media not only in their social lives but to leverage their business and keep in touch with clients.
Richard R. Becker, ABC, Copywrite, Ink. January 2009
Ryan Anderson: If you could tell a room of would-be entrepreneurs one thing, what would it be?
Rich Becker: Given the economic climate, I would tell them to persevere. While there will always be projects and ventures that are best let go, perseverance, even in the face of adversity, tends to distinguish dreamers and managers from true entrepreneurs.
You can see perseverance at work today by looking at how various companies are handling the recession. Most are taking a complacent stance, blending into the herd and waiting for an economic rebound. They do this despite the fact that differentiating companies from the marketplace attracts attention. A few companies, however, are behaving differently. They appreciate that, for all the talk about ROI, the mere possession of a healthy profit margin is less paramount to the long-term bottom line than are achievements gained through innovation and the shared outcomes that come from the creative efforts shared by consumers and companies. New companies are all about this, assuming they can deliver an unmet need to the marketplace. If you can keep perseverance in play long after you are established, all the better.
I recently had another thought as well. Entrepreneurs rarely find themselves on the bottom of the complacency circle, but rather stick to the upper left quarter of the spectrum. http://copywriteink.blogspot.com/2009/01/accepting-temporary-complacency-is.html
Ryan Anderson: What role do you see social media playing in the entrepreneurial success?
Rich Becker: Social media is one of the most underestimated and versatile communication tools available. It's a critical component of any strategic communication plan, provided it is approached as a situational tactic with clear objectives.
The very best social media offers is a low-cost/high engagement communication tool that can be tailored to reach very specific or very general publics by design. Social media will continue to be adopted at an increasingly regular pace (Sony was one of the most recent entrants), but we anticipate that more companies are going to move away from the standard reach-based measures that social media provides and rely much more on customer interaction. For example, as much as some people complain about brands migrating to Twitter, I've seen several companies employ it to answer customer and prospect questions, adding value for those people specifically.
How can it help an entrepreneur? Depending on the objectives of the company, it can be more important than a Web site in connecting to either potential customers or venture capitalists. Something else you might not be aware of, is big business is moving away from the "social media" definition of online communication, preferring to consider social media merely a subset of real-time communication. http://copywriteink.blogspot.com/2009/01/defining-communication-real-time-over.html
Ryan Anderson: How did social media or the web help you build your business?
Rich Becker: Copywrite, Ink. which is a privately held C-corporation, was founded in 1991 as a writing services firm and later evolved to place a greater emphasis on strategic communication. We began studying social media, blogs specifically, as a viable business communication tool in 2003. So, social media didn't help us build our business as much as it helped us prepare for some dramatic changes to the communication landscape related to social media. It has impacted virtually every area of communication, from how people navigate Web sites to how people stay connected.
Since our company is primarily an outsource service (agencies and companies hire us when they need help on challenging or creative projects), we considered social media a logical service skill set to offer because so few recognized its importance on the front end. However, we're still very much engaged in traditional communication, advertising, and marketing as well.
I might add, however, the Web in general helped our company move outside of our marketplace, with about 50 percent of our clients out-of-market. In essence, technology helped us become global in scope. And, considering we staffed writers all over the world for a trade publication we managed (defined below), the Internet, even prior to social media, made that possible.
Ryan Anderson: How has entrepreneurship changed in the past 5 - 10 years?
Rich Becker: True entrepreneurship hasn't changed from my perspective. In a classic definition, entrepreneurs tend to be a unique type of businessperson in that they are not looking to build a company for the long term. They tend to watch trends and then lean toward industries that have greater opportunities and fewer financial barriers. They are almost always open to taking considerably more risk to start a viable venture despite risks. Once operational and demonstrating enough tangible value, they sell it and, often times, immediately look for the next venture (sometimes in a completely different industry).
Jason Goldberg, who founded Jobster, exhibits this classic entrepreneurial style. He built the company with $40 million in start up capital, and then left to start a new venture, which was recently acquired by another European company for $7 million. My guess is he'll stay on long enough with them to look for his next market opportunity.
I might add that there is a slightly different approach being taken by some entrepreneurs online. These entrepreneurs take less risk in terms of capital, are much more hands on (some investing as much as 40-80 percent of their time engaged in a project), and tend to develop ventures around intellectual property and programs that resemble companies despite having minimal staff. Many of them start with a goal of being absorbed by larger companies, but do not necessarily expect that their time at a bigger company will be short-term like Goldberg and other entrepreneurs might.
Ryan Anderson: What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?
Rich Becker: I've never considered myself an entrepreneur in that I generally don't leap from one venture to the next. Instead, I tend to incubate projects within my company that occasionally spin off into other projects or small companies (most notable was Key News * Las Vegas, which was a hospitality professional and concierge trade publication, sold a few years ago. I also have worked with countless startups, primarily because of my proximity. Las Vegas is a high growth market.)
In general however, I see entrepreneurs as being people who develop new markets, market innovations or technologies by infusing capital into their venture, with an intent to develop and sell it. They are not complacent in that they are often less attached to the project as, say, an inventor, mom-pop shop, or other small business might be. Again, using myself as an example as someone to remove from the entrepreneur column, Copywrite, Ink. was founded first with an intent to create a service-based company during a recession, and later modified to become a holding company of sorts for other projects and interests without any intent to ever sell it.
Tim Ferriss, Author, The Four Hour Work Week, Janaury 2009
Ryan Anderson: If you could tell a room of would-be entrepreneurs one thing, what would it be?
Tim Ferriss: Take advice from people who've done big things or what you're hoping to do; don't take advice from armchair executives or older people who just refer to "experience" in vague terms.
Ryan Anderson: What role do you see social media playing in entrepreneurial success?
Tim Ferriss: It's a tool set and optional. It neither guarantees or prevents success.
Ryan Anderson: How has entrepreneurship changed in the past 5 - 10 years?
Tim Ferriss: World-class tools and infrastructure is now either cheap or free for a huge spectrum of business models. Students can now do in 6 months what funded senior execs used to require millions for.
Ryan Anderson: What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?
Tim Ferriss: Creating something from nothing and doing things on your own terms.
Guy Kawasaki, VC and Founder of Alltop.com, Janaury 2009
Ryan Anderson: If you could tell a room of would-be entrepreneurs one thing, what would it be?
GK: Under promise and over deliver to your customers, investors, employees, and yourselves.
Ryan Anderson: What role do you see social media playing in entrepreneurial success?
GK: For startups, it's now crucial-it has never been cheaper and easier to reach one's customers. Entrepreneurs should thank God for Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.
Ryan Anderson: How has entrepreneurship changed in the past 5 - 10 years?
GK: Startup costs have gone down, but overall, not much has changed. It still comes down to people creating cool stuff and taking a shot.
Ryan Anderson: What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?
GK: Defying naysayers and grinding it out. There is no such thing as "instant success."
Geoff Livingston, CEO, Livingston (Communications))), January 2009
Ryan Anderson: If you could tell a room full of would-be entrepreneurs one thing, what would it be?
Geoff Livingston: Don't kid yourself. It's an absolutely brutal lifestyle that will demand everything you think you've got to give and more. Make sure you and your family are ready for the sacrifice before you begin, and if you find yourself wishing for less demanding work do not feel ashamed about bailing out. Entrepreneurialism will teach you a lot about yourself and your character, and whatever that may be is OK.
At the same time, if you have the bug, you have the bug. Just accept it. I am already plotting my next start-up, though it is likely three to ten years away.
Ryan Anderson: What role do you see social media playing for entrepreneurs?
Geoff Livingston: Not much, actually. I know, sacrilege. For me social media is my product or service so it is everything, but at the same time I realize each venture is different.
What social media offers is a way to engage people in your process, whether that's customers, investors, vendors or employees. However, that does not make it your product or service, just a way of harnessing maximum potential for that product and service. Therefore your focus should be on making the best market offering possible and using social media as one of a few or many ways to ensure that goal.
Make no bones about it, social media will either help you make a better product and sell it quicker, or make your bad product fail faster. That's true of any communications form, though.
Ryan Anderson: In your perspective, how has entrepreneurship changed in the past 5 - 10 years?
Geoff Livingston: It's so much easier now than it was before. The web has leveled the playing field making the cost of entry simplistic, and making a living is now as simple as carving out a piece of your particular Long Tail (see Chris Andersen's book on this topic).
The economic situation will also make entrepreneurialism more competitive. Many unemployed people will be forced to start their own companies simply to survive. So innovation and competitiveness will naturally increase, some amongst ourselves, more against big companies. As a result, in the long term, there will be some fantastic economic impacts from innovation, a by-product of the Darwinist fight for survival.
Ryan Anderson: What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?
Geoff Livingston: Boy, it used to mean freedom. Now, I don't think so. In fact, in some ways, it's the opposite. Yeah, you don't have someone barking at you, but you do have much more responsibility and, guess what, no one else really cares like you do. Get used to OT, pal!
It also means an opportunity to innovate and do business differently. What's the purpose otherwise? To make money? Meh. Doesn't work for me. But doing business differently, impacting society, changing paradigms, well, that is exciting. That means my efforts can mean something, and I have found that for me, giving back to society in some way is what really makes me tick. That's what entrepreneurialism has done for me.
Adrian Salumnovic, CEO of DNA11, Janaury 2009
Ryan Anderson: If you could tell a room of would-be entrepreneurs one thing, what would it be?
Think big- it costs nothing to "think big". It's easy to want to reach for "low hanging fruit" but thinking big forces you to push your own boundaries. Think big from the beginning.
Ryan Anderson: What role do you see social media playing in entrepreneurial success?
AS: Social media to me is like networking on steroids. Networking has been an important part of business since the dawn of business- the only difference is that now our networks can be global and reach further through the power of networking tools like Facebook, linked in and of course blogs. The flipside of course is that you need to be more careful than ever from a reputation management perspective. What you say and what is said about you or your business can spread faster than ever- whether it is positive or negative.
Ryan Anderson: How did social media or the web help you build your business?
AS: Blogs were the first to pick up on DNA 11 but it was no accident- I reached out to three of the most influential blogs I could find because I knew they would help spread the word about our idea. From those blogs we got picked up by Playboy and WIRED..and the media snowball just grew from there.
DNA 11 could not exist without the web. Here we are in sleepy Ottawa – with thousands of clients around the world (52 countries) and millions in revenue- selling of all things DNA Art. Crazy!
Ryan Anderson: How has entrepreneurship changed in the past 5 - 10 years?
AS: The fundamentals are still the same- you need a good product/idea/service, you need to create VALUE, and you need customers that eventually exchange that VALUE for MONEY. The biggest change I've seen is that it's now cool to be "small". Small businesses can now compete on many levels with much larger companies because of the amazing technical advances that are all around us. The web of course is at the center of this paradigm shift – now almost anyone can become a global business and someone with a really good viral video can out stage a multimillion dollar super bowl ad.
Never before has so much power been at the hands of the entrepreneur- from being able to set up a CRM system that used to cost $100,000.00 for a few hundred dollars a month (salesforce.com), a PBX phone system for less than the cost of what long distance calls used to cost (onebox.com), a global store front (web site) for the cost of making a paper brochure, the lost goes on and on…
Ryan Anderson: What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?
AS: Freedom.
Dr. Bruce M. Firestone, Founder, Ottawa Senators, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Telfer School of Management, Univeristy of Ottawa, Broker, Partners Advantage GMAC Real Estate, Brokerage, February 2002
Trevor Grant: When do you know you're at a turning point in your life?
BMF: There are obvious turning points in life-- high school graduation, university graduation, your wedding day, your first child, your first real J.O.B., slowing down athletically at 30 to 32, turning 40, losing your hair (Males), turning 50, turning 65, the passing of your grandparents, the passing of your parents, becoming a grandparent.
There are others in your career: starting your first business, your first business failure, your second startup, your first lawsuit, your first good press, your first bad press, your first cashflow crisis, your first big sale, your first big cheque from a major client, your first big financing (debt and equity), your first partnership, your first partnership breakup.
There are other less obvious ones-- you secure some kind of pixie dust (eg., control over an important factor of production-- i.e., you get a franchise for Tim Hortons, the NHL, etc.), you develop some kind of proprietary IP that you can make money from, you realize almost without noticing that you have leverage in negotiations because you have gained asymmetric, non obvious knowledge, respect amongst your peers, information and wisdom-- you realize that you have underestimated your position simply because after years of focused effort and discipline, you are your own best asset-- what you carry between your ears is more important and valuable than anything else you own and if you were thrown penniless into a foreign city, you have the confidence that you can WIN anyway.
Frank Holmes, January 2009
Penelope Talbot Kelly: What is your HR philosophy?
FH: Surround yourself with good people and good things will happen to you. The important thought is surrounding yourself with other highly motivated
people. Not just people focused on money because money is just one form of "scoring" or measuring results.
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