“The only way you’re going to win is if you move quickly with the market,” serial entrepreneur Bill Reichert said at a recent Kauffman Founders School Live event. For startups, this means keeping up with the fast pace of the ever-changing business world.
Reichert, Managing Director of Silicon Valley’s Garage Technology Ventures, shared his ideas about startup development at the Kauffman Foundation last week, with team-building, market-testing, and value-setting placed at the forefront.
New Rules of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
During his presentation, Reichert discussed 10 new rules for entrepreneurship and innovation. Here are five of the most essential rules, along with some advice for new ventures looking to lay a strong foundation:
Rule #1:
- Old Rule: startups should seek money
- New Rule: startups should seek value
Founders often imagine where their startup can be years down the road. Many envision the big company with lots of power and influence, and they often get caught up in the payoff of their final result, and not the result itself. Making money is great for the company, but creating value is great for the consumer. That’s why Reichert stresses the creation of value, as it sustains success and builds strong relationships all around. Plus, if a startup is able to create value that customers believe in, big bucks can also be part of the equation.
Rule #2:
- Old Rule: the founder is most important
- New Rule: the team is most important
Sure, leadership is important in a startup, but that doesn’t mean the power should rest on the shoulders of one person entirely. Reichert feels that sharing responsibility allows for a range of perspectives on creating and selling a product. A team with diverse personalities can be very effective – even if they butt heads every once in a while. Team members with a range of skills end up complementing one another in the end.
Rule #3:
- Old Rule: planning comes first, followed by working
- New Rule shipping comes first, followed by testing
It’s often thought that having a good idea and a good plan to implement that idea is the trickiest part of being a successful entrepreneur. And yes, that’s true, but the bigger question that Reichert tackles is when and how exactly it should be executed. His answer: experiment as much as possible, and do it near the beginning. By going out into the field and trying out a product or service, a business can learn more about their market and customer needs than sitting in an office concocting blueprints. By using this roaming method, they can script their plan and pivot whenever necessary.
Rule #4:
- Old Rule: the first mover prevails
- New Rule: the fast adaptor prevails
“Evolve or die” is a phrase that reflects the human condition well: adapting is a part of our DNA. So it makes sense that Reichert focuses on it, as the best companies flourish because of their ability to spot the newest trends and take advantage of the current opportunities. While being the first mover in a market, one that sees the greatness in fresh, inventive ideas, is fine, those ideas may stop selling once the market changes. And with the world economy moving as fast as it does, adapting is a must.
Rule #5:
- Old Rule: technology drives innovation
- New Rule: people trump technology
As someone who works in Silicon Valley, an area with high technological influence, Reichert often feels businesses place their sights too high on new advances and forget about the ones who drive these advances. People are the buyers, and ultimately, they are the ones who decide whether new technology is cool or not, and most of all, they’re the ones who decide, through their buying choices, whether a company will live or die. At the end of the day, they keep the world turning.
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