The bane of hiring for a startup..

To start with, the junior rung of prospective employees don't comprehend what startups are. They don't understand that they'll need to work for a small-name company AND take a cut in salary (assuming they've worked before) AND do more than what their profiles require (read move offices, pay bills, carry out some random admin work). I think they also don't understand the wealth of experience that comes with working in smaller companies and ofcourse the stock! (If you hang around long enough to avail them ofcourse!) and so the job to convince and recruit the good ones is almost uphill.

My biggest problem has been choosing between a candidate with people skills against one with technical skills. Good, smart guy with communication skills. Doesn't know MS office or Internet. Whizkid at Excel and Google search. Dud at going out there and talking to people.

Ah well, its just another day...

Online Marketing audio guides

Nick Osborne has been writing and talking about effective Internet Marketing techniques for a while now. Here's a list of his audio-presentations, from increasing subscriptions to good copy for landing (squeeze) pages. Some are paid, but I reckon they're worth it.

So what's your networth?

Search engines like Spock, pipl and PeekYou are clear indications that people searches are becoming BIG. Not the lost-touch-with-my-fifth-cousin-or-schoolmate-from-grade-2 kind of searches. But searches for people. People you might work with. People you might consult for your business. People you might fund. People who've been referred to you.

If you're in the Internet space - developing internet technologies, or marketing them, then your resume is not a standard 2 pager. Its what shows up when you type John Doe in Google, and soon all the beta-people search engines. And what you discover there.

Online Community Management

Seth touched upon something of immediate relevance in this blog.

In India specially, this is a relatively new and still evolving concept and career opportunity. But it ranks pretty damn high on the exciting-and-dynamic-work quotient! Here's my two cents:

the Internet functions differently than more traditional markets. Lets say, when I go to buy soap, I'd pick it up and smell it first. With furniture, I want to run my hands across it. When opening an account with a bank, I want to look into the representative eyes and 'feel' if he really believes what he's saying himself. There's something tangible that aids my decision to buy. I use my senses (sometimes one, sometimes all) to finally go ahead.

The Internet wipes out all of that. Sorry, no touching, no feeling, seeing, smelling, sensing . Faceless sellers sell to faceless buyers.

In this case, the work of the Online Community Manager is firstly, to be as human and humane as possible. Develop (systematically and regularly) the image of a 'real' person(s) dealing with customer communication. And here's where his know-how of technology (as Seth points out) will come in handy.. how to personalize as much as possible while still handling large numbers? Design an 'About Us' section with loads of information about the people behind the product/service: What do they look like, what do they do? How do they spend their free time? How many kids do they have? Establish again and again (and through as many channels/points of contact) that these people are ordinary, human beings like you and me.

The other important responsibility of such a person is: communicate in ways that makes users feel they have an emotional stake in the product/service's life. This is the only way things get viral: when people are emotionally connected to something/someone. Then they talk. Involve your users and don't do lip-service to that. Let their be evidence that their opinion counts. (Eg. someone makes a suggestion which is not implementable right away. Shoot an email, acknowledging the suggestion, saying thank you, where you're at wrt to engg/tech and why its not possible right away. And when you DO implement the change, mail again saying 'hey we put it up. What do you think?')

Its a new and exciting place to be, there's a lot to learn. And by gosh, its fun!

Two companies I know are looking for Online Community Managers are Pinstorm and MangoSpring

My first BarCamp

Other than a mostly male turnout, I didn't know what else to expect. Barcamps are unconferences with a lot of geek talk, so I surely had my apprehensions. Fortunately this one covered a range of non-techie discussions, from human resource management to legal information for startups, from open source education to an online TV guide.

Here's what I walked out thinking:
Engineers, geeks, programmers are brilliant creations of god - talented and driven. Whats more, the more experienced ones know intuitively what the market needs, what gap will be filled their new software product/services idea. And usually they are bang-on.

The problem?

They know their stuff. They KNOW they're sitting on a brilliant concept and can translate that into a workable prototype. Its what they do, what they're passionate about. But a business (a successful one anyway!) needs much more... expertise about the market dynamics (where is your target audience?), legalities (entity, incorporation, IP) communication-programs (how will you talk to your target audience?), recruitment(who will carry out these functions?), business intelligence (what is the revenue-model, how will you raise money, how will you best use it?)....

I'd like to be involved with bringing together this expertise to BarCamp like events, where geeks can find opportunities to evolve their engineering ideas into workable, monetizable businesses.

The big word on buzz

From the Messaging Times. Strong clear message there: offer real value and involve people in creating that value. Word of mouth, is then, your friend-by-default. Thanks Tom!

3 Tips to Get Your Hive Buzzing

For something to be exciting, to become viral or sought out by others; it has to be unleashed by a positive and sincere enthusiasm from the creator and her internal community who give life to it. When you ask someone who reluctantly organized a party how the party was, their response is most likely going to be one of disappointment or indifference. “Ah, it was fine. I mean, the food wasn’t great and the music was too loud; and I told them that it would have been better at the Plaza.” Such a testimonial certainly won’t encourage others to participate. Enthusiasm can’t be faked. You can’t expect your team to create buzz about your new project, product or service simply because you held a staff meeting and told them that it is something that matters to you or the business. It has to matter to them. So how do you create an environment of enthusiasm about your projects, products and services so that your entire hive is buzzing with a contagious desire to share it with customers, family, friends and people they meet at the market on Saturday mornings.

1. Create real value. You can’t fake value. There are measuring sticks available to everyone. A service that truly makes someone’s life easier, a great bargain (value for money) or a product that saves lives or heightens the life experience and responds to emotional needs are all perceived as valuable to people. Clever marketing can’t compensate for true value.

2. Create that value together. If your entire team isn’t part of the creation of that value, they will not feel attached to it or compelled to communicate it effectively to others. Every member of your team should have a stake in the creative process - responsible for an essential ingredient in the pie.

3. Celebrate the value created. Show appreciation for value creation by regularly expressing how important each ingredient is - how instrumental every individual effort was in creating and continually improving the recipe. Celebration should occur before, during and after the process.

I was at the 8th grade graduation of my daughter’s school this Saturday (she just finished kindergarten.) During the graduation ceremony, the teacher talked about each individual at length; and each graduating student then talked about their individual experiences. The parents, teachers, students and all grades were involved in planning, organizing and participating in the day - and we all celebrated the accomplishment afterwards. The entire teaching staff sang a song for the graduating class. The parents sang a song to the graduating class - and the graduating class sang a song for the entire community. It was touching, and we all felt very much part of the excitement, not just of the day, but for the milestone for each unique individual sitting on the stage. Interestingly, each student talked about how the others in the class, the teacher, parents and community contributed to their own experience and made it richer. The value was shared at every level and the buzz from the day filled the air as a result of this shared experience of creating that value.

My father always told me not to communicate something when angry - to think about it and let my emotions settle before writing to someone who upset or disappointed me. When we communicate, our attitudes and emotions are conveyed in our language, even subtly. Even if we are consciously trying to be objective or positive, it is difficult to mask our true emotional language. When communicating in person, our body language reveals our true thoughts, often contrasting the words that come out of our mouth. If your receptionist, copywriter, sales team, engineers or management team are not truly engaged in and affected by the value of your project, products or services; their communication will not effectively convey it. And if they aren’t buzzing about it, you can rest assured that the people they are communicating with won’t be buzzing about it either.

Buzz is an inside job. How is your hive?