Upstarta

The Plan

Arjen Lentz — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:17:14 +0000

In the beginning, there was a Plan.

Then came Arseumptions.
And the Arseumptions were without form.
And the plan was without substance.

And darkness was on the face of the Workers.
And they spoke among themselves, saying
“It is a crock of shit, and it stinks.”

And the Workers went unto their Supervisors and said
“It is a pale of dung, and none may abide the odor thereof.”

And the Supervisors went unto their Managers, saying
“It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none can abide by it.”

And the Managers went unto their Directors saying
“It is a vessel of fertiliser, and none may abide its strength.”

And the Directors spoke among themselves, saying one to another
“It contains that which aids plant growth, and it is very strong.”

And the Directors went unto the Vice Presidents, saying unto them
“It promotes growth, and it is very powerful.”

And the Vice Presidents went unto President saying unto him
“This new Plan will actively promote growth and vigour of this company, with powerful effects.”

And the President looked upon the Plan, and said that it was good.
And the Plan became Policy.

And this, my friends, is how shit happens.

Business Plan

Arjen Lentz — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 03:21:47 +0000

At Upstarta meetings we’ve explored the concept of business plans.

In a “traditional” business, you need a business plan because a bank will require you to present one. Since an Upstarta doesn’t go to the bank for a loan or credit, we can re-assess what a business plan should look like to work for us, or even whether to have one at all.

What we concluded is that it’s useful to define your general direction, but the level of detail that a bank would require in certain aspects is not something you need to waste time on. You need to, as always, consider the possible consequences of decisions and structures you set up.

We also know that markets tend to find products, so an early plan (before entering the market) to market/sell a particular product will quickly be obsolete or look like total nonsense. So you plan to explore in a low-cost manner, maintaining flexibility. Make failing steps cheap and fast, to focus on avenues that are promising/viable.

Do you have examples of this from your own experience? We’d like to hear!

Pigs Don’t Fly – Things Learnt from Unsuccessful Crowd-Funding

Arjen Lentz — Tue, 28 May 2013 02:42:40 +0000

http://www.pigsdontfly.com/2013/05/7-things-i-learned-from-unsuccessful.html

Zac Martin writes: “So my half court shot for a product I was crowd-funding on Pozible missed. Not by much, but certainly no swish. And over the last 30 days of campaigning, here are seven things I’ve picked up along the way.”

Remission Advice

Arjen Lentz — Thu, 23 May 2013 01:15:47 +0000

Australian companies have this strange habit, they issue “remission advice” notifications when they’ve paid an invoice. I suppose the practise comes from back when a cheque would be in the mail for at least a few days before arriving, and after that, paper bank statements issued once a week. But does it make sense today? I don’t think so, and here is why:

credit card and some Paypal payments are instant.
bank transfers only take 1-2 days.
any self-respecting business has electronic banking and will view it almost daily.
cheques are sometimes still issued by companies, but from my experience it’s mainly abusively for cash flow reasons.
similarly, companies issue remission advice to say they’ve paid, and then it still takes over a week to see anything show up. This is because the advice notice is often created by their own accounting system. Essentially it’s as a good as “made up”. There again it’s just a cash-flow trick.

You know what’s unequivocal proof of payment? The recipient actually seeing the money in their online banking. It’s the only proof any of my businesses accept, and that’s explicitly stated policy. Some clients still send remission advice notices. It can be entertaining to see the discrepancy between notices and the actual arrival date of the money. Basically the accounts payable people of those businesses go out of their way to prove that they’re lying. I don’t understand why they would bother doing a silly thing like that, but perhaps they deal with more gillible accounts-receivable departments, and hey it’s accepted practise! How do you handle accounts receivable?

Class of 2013: Four Things You Must Unlearn Immediately

Arjen Lentz — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:29:23 +0000

Original article at: https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130521093557-314058-class-of-2013-four-things-you-must-unlearn-immediately (copied in full here as the url doesn’t look like a permalink) Daniel Shapiro wrotes: “I learned a lot in college, not all of it right. Here are some things you learn in college that I had to unlearn to be successful at work.”

1. The longer the paper, the more you know

I was assigned many long papers in college. Six pages on natural selection. Eight pages on Plato’s Republic. Ten pages on the rise of the gold standard. For each paper, I’d reach a point where I’d run out of real content and needed filler to hit the page target. I’d spend hours finding those pages. I’d even change the fonts and page margins (it’s embarrassing to think about). At work, no one has time to read 6-10 pages. It’s all about the summary. As a manager at Bain & Company, I’d write, re-write and re-write 1-page executive summaries until I’d boiled them down to the crux of the issue and only the essential supporting points. Those long hours were some of the most valuable, and hardest, of my job. My advice: Write clear and concise summaries and supporting points. The shorter the better.

2. Partial credit for half-baked answers

I was a math major and often came across questions I couldn’t answer. Rather than leaving the space blank, I’d fake it. I’d write down something that looked reasonable, but I knew was wrong, hoping that my teacher would give me partial credit – perhaps 5 points out of 10, which was definitely better than 0 out of 10. At work, acting like you know something you don’t is perhaps one of the worst mistakes you can make. In my first two years out of university, when clients would ask me for an answer I didn’t know, but I believed I should, rather than saying “I don’t know” I would fake an answer. That got me into more trouble than you can imagine… it nearly got me fired once. Partial credit for being partially right doesn’t exist in the workplace. In fact, leading others to believe you know the answer when you don’t, is far worse than no answer. My advice: Say what you know and admit what you don’t.

3. Getting help = cheating

Giving or getting help from someone in school can get you kicked out. At work, it’s just the opposite. It’s essential. When I was a manager at Bain, I would ask recent university graduates to build a financial model. When they showed me their work, I’d ask if anyone helped them. Some would respond, proudly, “no, I did it myself”, not realizing that was a bad answer. The right answer was, “Yes, and I made a few changes based on the feedback I got.” If you’re not learning from your colleagues and teaching them what you know, then you’re not doing your job! Advice: Give and get help liberally.

4. Work, work, work, work… turn in assignment

(Perhaps I should have written. Wait, wait, wait, work, work, work, turn in assignment) The work process in school is:

Get an assignment
Complete assignment in set period of time
Turn in assignment and
Receive grade.

That process is designed to assess your capabilities more than create great work product. First, getting feedback early and often is key, particularly when you’re new to the job. You’re not being tested to see how much you can do alone (like school). Your manager should expect you will need help. I remember several “proud” moments when I showed my manager my fantastic piece of analysis which I did “all by myself” … to which my manager replied “Great. But you would have been done a week earlier if you’d asked me for a few tips.” Oops. Second, the more involved your manager is in your work process, the more likely he will have confidence in your outcome. Also, if the assignment provides harder than expected, your manager will understand why, and help redirect your efforts earlier. The longer it takes to identify a problem, the more challenging it is to change direction. By the way, believe it or not: Asking for help is not a sign of failure at work — it’s a sign of confidence. Really. My advice: Get your boss’ feedback early and often.

Low Volume and Custom Made – Opportunities

Arjen Lentz — Sun, 12 May 2013 23:30:56 +0000

I’ve mentioned 3D printing before as an example of enabling technology. Tools that used to cost tens of thousands of dollars are now in reach of anyone with sufficient interest and from prices of less than a thousand dollars. That’s a huge change. What fewer people pick up on is that such a change shifts what’s possible in the market, and essentially changes the rules. Things that were essentially impossible before are suddenly doable. Big companies won’t pick that up as their cost structure demands big clients. But for a correctly structured startup, it’s exactly the kind of thing you want! A Dutch/American company called Shapeways appears to “get it” and has stepped into this market. The BBC has done an item on it (see video below) featuring a custom made shoe with an iPhone holder. The exact product is perhaps a bit tacky to some, but it makes the underlying point quite well and the guy who explains it notes exactly what it’s about. There isn’t a huge market for many of these things, but that’s fine. People often think only in terms of scaling up, and they’re missing the opportunities of essentially scaling things down. At high volumes, you can’t serve the individual. So, it’s an enabler. When you have an idea, you can now get one or two items made – even when done commercially, with this technology that can be economical. It’s printed (additive) or cut (subtractive), rather than moulded – configuring a production line for a moulded product is expensive and the moulds themselves are actually also very costly (so it’s uneconomical for small production runs). But none of that matters with 3D printing. 3D printing is a disruptive technology in both commonly known senses:

it provides a “good enough” cheaper manufacturing solution for people and companies who are already producing. Existing production methods have essentially overshot the needs of that part of the market, so their pricing is relatively high in that market segment.
Things that were previously not viable now are, and that opens whole new markets. Typically clients find products, not the other way round – so it’s very important to observe and match the need, rather than come up with some static idea of what you think the market needs and go out and try to sell that. Even if you get the product right, you don’t know what the market is yet. Market research really won’t help you.

It’s good to see that Shapeways and companies like Makerbot Industries (there are many more) are exploring these new opportunities. And if you’re interested, check it out – there is plenty of space for more on the local level. These companies do things quite big, but it can also be done on a very small scale. I’m still waiting for a local “copyshop” offering a 3D printing service. That’s where it’s going – but if the local copyshops and printers don’t get it, someone else can pick it up. It could be you. This stuff can be done with minimal investment, part online, low volume, low cost per item, quick local delivery, opportunities for assistance with design, and so on. The software tools and online resources are available, just check out OpenSCAD and Thingiverse. If you start something like this and specifically aim local and small, the big existing companies cannot compete with you: they would not be able to do what you do at a sane price. They might not even notice you at first. If they do, they’ll laugh and dismiss – your “small fry” activity is just not of interest to them. That’s a good thing. But you can do good business and also grow. Think about it… take the initiative. And if you do need some help developing your strategy, we’re here.

New Zealand: IT Professionals support removal of Software Patents

Arjen Lentz — Thu, 09 May 2013 02:02:54 +0000

http://www.iitp.org.nz/news/archives/4547-IT_Professionals_support_removal_of_Software_Patents

The Institute of IT Professionals, New Zealand’s largest IT representative body, strongly supports the Government’s announcement today clarifying that software will not be patentable in New Zealand, removing a major barrier to software-led innovation.

Finding a new Accountant

Arjen Lentz — Wed, 08 May 2013 23:43:21 +0000

Most accountants “get” small business, but what is commonly regarded as small business is probably rather larger than what you have in mind. Most likely you’re a micro-business, but that terminology is not generally well known outside our tech sphere. Anyway, asking an accountant whether they’re familiar with small business is likely to get you an answer in the affirmative, but you’re not actually talking about the same thing. I don’t have a magic solution for this, I think it’s important you speak to a prospective accountant in person and essentially interview them as if they were applying for a job (in essense they are). For our bookkeeping/accounting, my company actually moved to Xero.com which -apart from many other advantages- enables admin people to work from home (I might do a separate post on Xero some time). It also enables a Xero-aware accountant to have better access to your books for tax reporting but also practical questions. Which brings me to the accountant him/herself. I recommend looking for someone really local, as in within your suburb or the next one over. Grabbing the phone is one thing, or enabling easy access to your books, but seeing them face-to-face every once in a while can be a great benefit. It also tends to keep people better tuned in “out of sight, out of mind”. I’ve worked with an accountant in other town, and although they’re good with email and such, it’s really not optimal. So, I’d suggest to make a little checklist of specific things you’d like your accountant to be, do or know about (be way more specific than “understand small business” – for instance, if you are fully self-funded, that might be a relevant topic). Pick a couple of accountants in your local area and go and interview them. Even if you meet one you really like, meet at least one other so you have something to compare with.

Most economical purchases: Printers

Arjen Lentz — Thu, 02 May 2013 03:12:44 +0000

When setting up an (home) office or maintaining an existing one, there are always bits that can cost a little more. A printer is a key example. You can get an inkjet for almost nothing, but the replacement ink cartridges cost more than their weight in gold, so the effective cost-per-page becomes rather high. Years ago already I concluded that as long as I didn’t need colour printing on a regular basis, a B&W laser was much more cost effective – and it has been. You can always walk into a local copyshop with a USB stick to get a few colour pages done, which of course works out more expensive for those few pages, but cheaper overall. When replacing that first laser printer, I actually went to a B&W laser multi-function with a document feeder. Copying becomes easier, and scanning possible. With the document feeder the amount of manual effort required goes down, so that saves time = money. In addition it allowed me to send faxes. I despise faxes but sometimes they’re essential for some interactions. My company has a virtual fax number that just makes a PDF show up in email, but sending is separate matter. Having the printer on the network (wired or wireless) tends to be a great advantage also – it saves hassle and time when using it as it doesn’t rely on any particular machine being on. Now with that device aging too, and the increased need for colour, I once again did the maths. You can now get a reasonable colour laser (not multifunction) for less than $100 (for instance the Konika Minolta 1600W) and the running cost (toner and even electricity) is such that it works out well below that of an inkjet. Now there’s an important lesson: do not buy an inkjet any more, people! But given the particular needs of my home office, I’m going for a colour laser multi-function this time. In additional to the document feeding, it now scans to PDF and emails it to you. That’s nice. That might actually negate the need for connecting up the fax to a phoneline (which is a VoIP port anyway) as generally I can then scan a document and email it. Easy and again time-saving. And duplexing (double-sided printing) is now affordable, which of course saves paper with multi-page documents. For most multi-function lasers, the cost-per-page for colour is still a bit higher than that of the cheapest print-only colour lasers, but since you don’t use colour all the time, it works out ok. It’s cheaper than a colour copy at the local shop, and saves time/hassle. I think it’s a winner. Note that if you have a home office, you may find that your kids also can also make great use of the colour printing capabilities for school work. I dread to think what that would cost if you were to use ink. Time moves on! It’s been an interesting evolution, and all the above has happened within say the last 10 years. So that means that I only buy a new printer about every 3-5 years, which is actually very moderate for technology. I probably keep using a model well until it’s become annoying in terms of extra effort, in relation to the cost of the then-available new technology – difficult to easily identify such work-changes over time, but it’s still relevant. So there’s a lesson for me too. As for prediction of future needs/development: I think the next step after this will be A3. of course, not needed by all. Perhaps the tech has reached its natural feature peak and will focus back on other aspects such as speed or quality. We’ll see.

Seventh Annual Future of Open Source Survey Results Show Culture, Quality and Growth Driving an Open Revolution | Black Duck

Arjen Lentz — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:43:27 +0000

http://www.blackducksoftware.com/news/releases/seventh-annual-future-open-source-survey-results-show-culture-quality-and-growth

Black Duck Software today announced the results of the seventh annual Future of Open Source Survey. The 2013 survey represents the insights of more than 800 respondents – the largest in the survey’s history – from both non-vendor and vendor communities. Survey results reveal the cultural impact of open source software and its influence on everything from innovation, to collaboration among competitors, to hiring practices, is revolutionizing the way organizations work and do business.