Dot.com to Dot.bomb

Our professor gave a very interesting historical rendition of “Dot.com to Dot.bomb, by the use of dinosaur figures. The dot.com bubble was an interesting time period where people were trying to get on the new technology advancement of the “world wide web”. Many venture capitalists started dumping huge amounts of money into companies and ideas that did not even have the stability of an actual company. It was a crazy time period where everyone wanted to get on the action trying to “strike it rich.” There were even moments in the stock market where people valued companies that had been established for many years to be lower than these sudden new companies with no history. In hindsight, you wonder why no one noticed this problem before it had occurred. However, if this had not occurred, there wouldn’t be precautions in the market as there are currently. It was a valuable learning experience, though many people were affected very negatively on that.

I also enjoyed the lecture in the idea that it gave a perspective of how there are companies that were during the Dot.com rush, that still somehow made it out today. Amazon for example is a huge company that exists today, that went through the “.com” ‘gold rush’. It is an interesting perspective to hear from someone who has actually witnessed this moment in history. In some ways it also reflects the recent “bubble” that occurred with the housing market. Perhaps in future people will be able to predict these issues in advance, but I personally find it very unlikely.

Jim Kastama

Unfortunately I was not present during Jim’s talk; it appears he had many interesting concepts and information that would have been very useful in the entrepreneurship lifestyle. A main focus of his talk was apparently the concept of “Innovation”. How innovation is a key source in how entrepreneurship develops. There was also something that Jim brought up, and that was “Innovation Partnership Zones (IPZs).” Which allow companies to create a unity of business and government, and help them work together to create a region of innovation. It appears that Jim had a lot of experience in working with these partnerships; I wish I could have been there to ask questions. I would likely have asked how the political side worked with these IPZs. I know from first hand just inside University of Washington’s Tacoma campus, that politics can sometimes get in the way of new creative ideas.

 

Brian Forth

Brian Forth was an interesting guest speaker in the idea that he discussed how to start a business and keeping it going. Brian is currently the CEO of Site Crafting, which happens to be a service business that makes websites and apps for local businesses. When he first stated it was his idea to create a company that would be sustainable and continue to grow. His company Site Crafting had also survived the dot.com bubble burst. It was moreover a redeemable quality that his company did a great deal of its clients based on “word-of-mouth” marketing.
            I found Brian Forth’s presentation to be one of my favorites. I was curious to hear about businesses who continue on beyond an “exit strategy.” It was also interesting to hear the marketing side of a “free app.” How there were surprisingly different strategies regarding that media source. It appears there are more things to keeping a company running, especially in times of crisis, then I had ever considered.

Graham Evans

Graham Evans introduced himself as our next guest speaker. His presentation consisted of the marketing and strategies of other countries overseas, especially the British market and the shipping industry in Britain. Evans discussed how a company that was interested in breaking into the U.S. market, and how the company didn’t test the market in advance. They assumed that their company was already well known because it was well known in another country. They should have tested the market in advance, which they had some information, but they “assumed” that the market was interested. The market was not interested in their current strategy, and therefore it didn’t succeed.
            Graham Evans also brought up an interesting concept of how to change your perspective when you are in the middle of an idea. It is ‘key’ to be open to other thoughts and suggestions, and be able to reevaluate your idea. You might be able to see a new concept or see how your idea is taking the wrong path. It is important to look back and reevaluate what you are proposing and doing with a company.

Mission Statement and Vision Statement

Mission Statement:

FaceLifts2Go’s mission is to provide small-medium sized businesses the opportunity to acquire the expertise and resources to market their company and create an online presence through social media.   

 

Vision Statement:

In the next few years FaceLifts2Go will be the next best service provider for online social media marketing. In the Pacific Northwest, FaceLifts2Go will develop a brand of service that will be known to have a company’s marketing strategy in mind. We want to take at least 20% of the social media marketing “market” from our competitors by year 4.

Kickstarter Tiers

Kickstarter


Tier 1: Concepts

For the first tier on Kickstarter, I tried to consider it to be the tier where people would just donate a small amount just for the cause of seeing it get done. This range would be anywhere from $1-$5. However, I still question if this should be considered, because people are known to spend immediately if they get something in return. I still would likely implement some sort of "thank you" message or emailed letter confirming the donation at this stage.

Tier 2: Something but not the product.

On the second tier, I would offer something around $20 and it wouldn't be the actual product, yet. It would be something that pertained to the product, but not the complete item. Maybe perhaps a blue print or something like a guide/ advert about the product or even better a 15-30% coupon off of the product once it had been released.

Tier 3: The product

My third tier would be the actual product itself. Which could range anywhere from 40-$60 to even a higher market of over a 100$ depending which strategy I wish to pursue.

Tier 4: The product +

The fourth tier would may be then the product + an additional coupon or extra special manual that would be as a bonus gift.

Tier 5: Realse of Product

There would likely be a fifth tier that would be the collective tier plus an invitation to the actual release of the product for the donators. Which would be likely something around 200-$250.

John Dimmer - Speaker

John Dimmer

Guest Speaker

John Dimmer, a University of Oregon graduate, spoke for last Tuesday’s entrepreneurship class as a guest speaker. He had offered the class an enlightening lecture of how his business ventures progressed through all stages of the financial/ business cycle. Mr. Dimmer did discuss some of his past work and ventures which included: Puget Sound Bank (Key Bank) for 9 years, Reliance S. & Bonding, Honda car dealership, and Air Stream.

One of the key notes that Mr. Dimmer provided, was advice taken from his own experiences to start a new company or venture. He discussed in detail many of the ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ an individual faces when trying to pursue any venture. It was also remarked that an individual should acquire the needed skills sets and capabilities to indeed go into a venture. If the entrepreneur did not have any of these capabilities, it would make any pursuit extremely difficult.  

The three “C”’s that John Dimmer discussed had been: Character, Capacity, and Capital. He stated that these three were essential in evaluation of a company venture. Character being the character of the company, Capacity is the capabilities of what that company is or can progress to, and the Capital that is required to sustain or grow the business.

John Dimmer also discussed the concept of what “angels” are; angels being the term for investors at a certain stage in the financing life cycle. When was the necessary time to approach an Angel, if the Angel was truly needed, and where to network to find such investors for your starting business. He also mentioned two of the ‘upsides’ to entrepreneurship: 1.) To run my own business 2.) To make a boat load of money.

I found that throughout the lecture, I became very intrigued with the entrepreneurship lifestyle, and how Mr. Dimmer was able to make decisions based on his life experiences and skills sets. I am looking forward to the next guest speaker.