The Entrepreneur’s Bootcamp Jeff Hoffman ColorJar

Entrepreneurship World Tour

What do you need to succeed as an entrepreneur?

The first step is to make sure you really are an entrepreneur

Do you know why you’re doing this? Have you written down your end goals? Are you a risk taker? Are you willing to work hard and make sacrifices?

The best entrepreneurs are not driven by money They are driven by PASSION and PURPOSE What are you passionate about? What purpose do you want your life to achieve?

Find your “Golden Purpose” before you start

OK, so now I just need an idea!

The best entrepreneurs exercise their minds to keep ideas flowing

Explore a broader world than just your own Leave your job and leave your industry – learn something from the world around you Take a few minutes to learn something new every day

Info-Sponging

Just follow your curiosity Open your mind and let it wander Write down one sentence summarizing what you learned Think of each sentence as one piece of a puzzle

Ask yourself this question every day: “What can I do today that I couldn’t do yesterday?”

A day in the life…

Now apply your ideas to solve a real problem in the world

The best way to find real problems is to get engaged in the world around you

Every time you find a problem in your life stop and ask these questions: Do other people have this problem? Is there already a solution? Then maybe YOU should solve it

Next sit down and think through the whole business Make a list of questions, not answers

Define your market Are there enough people out there who care about what you are doing and will pay you for it?

Make sure you have a real VALUE EQUATION Can you sell your product or service for more than it costs you? Walk through the whole food chain

Now you’re ready to create a go-to-market plan

In the beginning, don’t try to sell to everyone Focus on the “early adopters” Find a way to “go viral”

Market in “concentric circles” Find “fans” who love your product Keep your marketing and sales narrowly focused at first

Develop a target customer profile Turn that into a sales scoresheet Ask happy customers to talk about you

So how do I find those inner circle target customers?

Get out of your office!

You can’t build a solution for someone you don’t know Go hang out where your customers hang out

Create a company with core values. Transparency is a good one.

You’re ready to start! But you can’t do this alone! Time to build a team

Build the best possible team around you Hire people smarter than you in every area Recruit talent by actually caring

Build the best possible team around you Hire people smarter than you in every area Recruit talent by actually caring

Now go build something! Use the “lean startup” and “MVP” models Get a product in front of customers and collect feedback

Build a BRAND for your company and products Pick your ONE most distinguishing brand asset

Stay focused on doing the ONE THING you do best Don’t try to do everything for everyone at the start

Amazon = Books

Zappos = Shoes

Deliver the right message to the right customer What are your customers really thinking about?

Selling airline tickets

My sister’s wedding

Go find some money to grow your business

Treat investors like customers Find out what they want, not what you want

Q&A Jeff Hoffman ColorJar