One thing leads to another one #12

Investors are fond of saying they’d rather bet on an “A” team with a “B” idea rather than a “B” team with an “A” idea. They know that business models change, technologies evolve, and customer tastes are in a constant state of flux. Those same investors will tell you that most business plans are obsolete the second they come off the printer.

 There’s tremendous value in simply getting started and learning as you go. Accept that the first or first 10 version of whatever you’re selling won’t be perfect. The process of trying, fixing, and trying again is how entrepreneurs figure out what their customers really want and what it will take to deliver against those expectations.

Netflix is an online entertainment company. It began life when CEO Reid Hastings mailed some DVDs to himself to see whether it would actually work. The simple act of doing something triggers a reaction sometimes good, sometimes not so much. But the difference between a dreamer and an entrepreneur is that only one of them takes action. Businesses can’t grow if they never start in the first place. Wish I had more time to continue developing my product, because the more time you give it the better it will become.

My business needs a team #11

The way I look at it is that two brains are better than one. For my business venture I need a partner who is also passionate about my niche and an employee who is going to do the job that I don't want to do because I might not be as good at making graphic-design decisions.

I've had trouble designing my website and choosing what colors to pick according to the subcategory. The one thing I'm trying to avoid is making it overwhelming to navigate or even to look at. So hiring someone to remake my logo, website, and app look more professional is definitely a must. On the other hand, I also need a partner that would bring ideas to the table. There is only so much I can come up with but if I had a different approach or idea on how to move more efficiently then bingo. If I can have an employee and a partner then I would consider that a perfect team. However, the question is how can I afford to have an employee since I haven't generated any revenue from my business yet? This is the only thing that makes me go ummm.

Startup school radio #40

Just because your current business isn’t necessarily technology centric, it doesn’t mean that you can’t adopt new technologies, or even branch out into another business that does focus on technology. Keeping an eye on the trends in technology is your first line of sight into new or additional revenue opportunities, or new ideas and products. This is one of the most important things I have learned from listening to this startup school radio. A lot of businesses nowadays, wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for technology and its improvements as it was mentioned in the radio. Adapting to these new technologies is a must in order to succeed in today's world. 

Customers are spending their time online somewhere. The thing is, it could be anywhere. It might be on a specific social media site or just scrolling through a ton of blogs every day. But we all spend time online. Tech trends can help you figure out specifically where your customers are spending their time. They can tell you if a new social media platform has opened that matches your marketing plan perfectly. It can even let them know how you need to connect with your audience: through television, the Internet, a mobile device, or plain old mail.

9- Designing

I have tried different layouts and backgrounds for my website but I don't happen to find the one yet. The ones I have chosen are either too dark making it overwhelming to look at or too simple making it boring. Today I put a background with all the brands that would sponsor these extreme sports. I thought it would be a good idea since it's related. I have uploaded new content from this week and going to continue uploading more content not just of me but of all my friends so they can see themselves and use the website for their enjoyment. What I need to work on is uploading content for the other categories that I have labeled. Finding it and putting it in the website is easy but finding fresh content might be somewhat difficult since I don't know much people that do the other sports. I'm going to have to do some brainstorming here and rearrange my business canvas, because I MIGHT just do it all about skateboarding...

8- Feedback

So yesterday I went to scalzi skatepark located in Stamford and then Norwalk Skatepark, with the objective of getting feedback about my business venture. As I walked around analyzing everybody in the park, I came to realized that most of them were on the their phones filming their friends. Some of them had professional cameras and some of them were just watching. Since I'm friends with most of them I approached to the ones with smart phones that were filming and asked "wouldn't be nice to have a website and app that focuses only on a certain community like our skateboarding community?". They replied confused asking what I meant. I started talking about imagining having an app where you could share your clips in an instant with everybody else but in a format like Instagram. Then I started talking about the app and all these cool features you could have and do with it if it existed. Some of them loved the idea without any feedback and some said that I should do a mix instead of only doing videos. However, I wouldn't want to make it about pictures and videos because then it wouldn't be original. Just videos!

When I got to Norwalk Skatepark, I was given a different perspective. They liked the idea however, they would want a subcategory page where you could be able to find the nearest skateparks and skate-shops around your current location. I did research on that to see if people came up with apps to find skateparks and skate-shops around your current location, and yes its already out there. However, what is not out there is combining these 3.


This is a clip from Norwalk Skatepark which I have put on my website.

7

Key Partners: Facebook, Youtube, Angel Investors

Key Activities: Grow user base, design, market content

Value Proposition: Take great videos and share instantly with your friends and the entire world.
Access to other videos for entertainment.

Customer Relationships: Extreme sports social network

Customer Segments: Android or iPhone users that like extreme sports videos

Key Resources: InstaXtreme platform, everyday new content

Channels: Website and App

Cost Structure: Marketing, Maintenance

Revenue Streams: Ad revenues, Free

Digging (Module 2)

I have spoken to multiple people about the idea but their feedback wasn't very helpful. I've been working on the website uploading existent content and trying to make it look more attractive. After finishing module one, I asked myself how would I able to make money off this.

The last thing I want is for people to visit the website/App and never return. Collecting emails will help "InstaXtreme"grow much faster because I simply email my subscribers whenever we post new content. I'm hoping to approve at least 30 videos per day to keep people coming back and sharing their experiences. It is 7 times harder to acquire a new visitor than to market to an existing one. I'm going to place a simple signup form on the website and app to collect visitor's emails. You can also use the subscriber list to generate revenue from advertisers and sponsors in the future. Also, I could buy a video sharing CMS script that will allow users to do the following:

• Upload a large amount of videos
• Easily scalable to handle millions of visitors
• Loads the site fast in both mobile and desktop browsers
• Good search engine optimization (SEO) factors along with SEO friendly page titles
• Social media friendly

I believe the best way to drive traffic to the website and App is by:

• SEO
• Social media
• Adwords/PPC
• Email marketing

Once I have decent traffic, then it’s time to think about monetization. Monetization should always add value to the user, not take away from the browsing experience. Here are some revenue sources as mentioned before:

• Advertising
• Sponsorships
• Product - Hoodies, T-shirts, etc..
• Adsense
• CPM networks
• Subscriptions
  I believe that for the website, the main source of revenue generators will be banner ads, sponsorships, product, and subscriptions.

I’ve chosen to get into extreme sports because I’m passionate about it. I’ve skated for over ten years, and even though I stopped, I still hop on my board once in a while. One thing I always found frustrating was waiting to get home to upload your skateboard videos on youtube. With my platform, you don’t have to wait. You will be able to upload your video immediately through an App.  I’ve created a website on “Wix” with the layout and way how I would want it to look if it was in an App form. Looking at it gives me enough motivation to get into the hot spot which is developing the App.
At first I thought I wanted to do a Real Estate App because I’m also passionate about it but suddenly changed my mind . Instead, I chose to create something I had more knowledge about. I liked the idea of creating the Real Estate App but didn’t know much about. Didn’t know if my idea was going to work since I didn’t have much developed yet. However, I feel more confident about the idea I have chosen and going to continue to work on it.

InstaXtreme

As mentioned before I'm planning on making my venture about extreme sports. I have looked at sport platforms and none of them offer what I'm trying to create. I want to put together youtube and instagram. The whole idea of this, is to be able to upload your favorite tricks in an instant without having to go home and upload it on youtube. I was thinking about doing pictures as well like instagram but decided to eliminate that. So the website and app will only focus on videos. I have been working on the website to get   an idea of how it will look in an app form. Now my only concern is how do i develop an app. I have looked at different websites on how to create one but no success. I tried to sign up on that website Professor Noble recommended but couldn't have access to it.


    

New Idea

So I thought of making something less complex because of how much stake I have on my plate right now. I'm going to create a platform like Instagram, however this will be completely different. My platform is going to be called "InstaXtreme", this will be only for people who are into extreme sports that would like to share their experiences through an app. It will have different subcategories like BMX, SKATEBOARDING, SURFING, SKIIN, SNOWBOARDING, HIKING, MOTOCROSS etc.. So if you are only interested in looking at a specific category then you will have that choice without having to go over every single video and picture others post. What makes this better than Instagram is that videos will play up to 25 seconds instead of 10 seconds. You will be able to comment and like pictures and videos. You will be able to follow other users and be followed. This could be a great opportunity for those with great talent that want to be considered for sponsorship by big brands like DC shoes, Nike SB, Lakai and others.

I'm thinking about creating a real estate platform where people would be able to sell, buy, and rent. I have taken the blueprints of Zillow and Trulia which are websites where people look at listings of homes for sale. Both Zillow and Trulia show prospective homebuyers the estimated montly mortgage payments for the listings they look at. The two sites estimate mortgage payments differently, however. For example, for a California home listed at $469,900, Zillow provided a monthly payment of $1,691 based on a 20% down payment and 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. It pointed out that estimated taxes and insurance of $309 per month were not included, which would bring the total to $2,000 a month. Zillow doesn't display the interest rate assumed to calculate the principal and interest payment. It only links to another page where you can get lender interest rate quotes based on your credit score.

For the same property, Trulia provided a monthly payment of $2,233, also based on a 20% down payment and 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which the site broke down as $1,723 in principal and interest at 3.67%, $391 in property taxes and $117 homeowner's insurance. Truly will also take you to a page like Zillow's where you can see lenders' advertised rates.

The monthly payment estimates assume great credit, 20% down and don't take into account monthly homeowner's association or condo fees. Neither website explains this to the consumer. So I would like to create a platform with more reliable and accurate information. Also I would like to add information for first time buyers; FHA loan minimum downpayment 3.5%. Also, I would like to provide the blueprints of the house which none of these two websites provide. And lastly this would also be provided in an App so you could be anywhere looking up accurate information on your future home. The worst feeling is when you see an estimation based on 20%downpayment and other fees associated with the purchase, and when you contact the agent the number is COMPLETELY different! I thought of this because of how frustrated I get when looking up properties!

Take the Basic Steps

1. Get ORGANIZED

Keep track of all your important documents by labeling and keeping them in a safe place.

2. Buy a calendar

Write down your responsibilities. (We tend to forget sometimes)

It will keep you on track of what you need to get done everyday.

3. Keep track of your money

How much you spend and save per week .

If you are spending more than saving then changes are needed ASAP.

Disciplined yourself!

4. Be realistic  

Stop buying flashy and unnecessary things.

Stop trying to fit in! Do you really want to drive a Mercedes and have no money in your pocket? wouldn't you rather stand out?

5. Pay off your debt

Priorities first!

6. Create a savings/ emergency fund

Nothing is promised!

You never know what might happen tomorrow.

7. Create short and long term goals

Make sure you write them down on your calendar with a due date.

8. Create and maintain great relationships

Specially with the bank.

9. Create different sources of revenue

Never rely on one source of income.

Often times, there are many routes you can take to achieve financial goals and it’s difficult to determine which will be the most effective. Do you start with the easiest way, the most feasible, or the one with the most potential gains?