Rick's Startup Whiteboard
Submitted by Rick Borovoy on September 18, 2009 - 8:53pm.
Welcome to the first video webisode of "Rick's Startup Whiteboard" (it's at http://bit.ly/eqeAX if you don't see it above for some reason)
It's a sharper-than-broken-glass-and-every-bit-as-dangerous look at what's involved in getting a new social technology project started. The first clip is about "Pony Diving" -- the very early stages where you're trying to put together an idea with a technology that can implement it with a group of people who will use it, another group of people who can an build it, and a third group of people will fund it. Here's the feedback so far:
- "Your head is too shiny" -- Totally true
- "It's too long" -- Also true.
- "Good ideas. Loved it" -- Thanks, Mom.
So give me 7 minutes on this one, and give me some feedback, and I'll make the next ones shorter and better.
And if you're wondering what I know about this: I co-founded a startup in 2002 based on my Media Lab Ph.D. work on technology for face-to-face community building (check out http://ntag.com). On top of that, I've gotten many social technology-oriented projects off the ground, and have thought a lot about the process.
Rick Borovoy
Visiting Researcher, Center for Future Civic Media, MIT
The analogy almost works, but...
This presentation was engaging and made sense for me, up until the part were you say any part of the pony can change. At that point my reaction was “what? The pony can never get done, it can get blown apart again just when you’re trying to put it together?”. That freaked me out and I was no longer excited about putting together the pony.
If you had said anything can swap out but the head - the idea - I would have been with you. Especially since I remembered you had given a presentation (based on a tree metaphor, if I remember correctly) on holding firm to your core idea when you are an entrepreneur trying to get sponsors.
Perhaps what you could say is that if after various iterations of the pony, based on the initial idea, if it's not coming together, you should simply abandon it and look for another pile of manure.
Anyone else have a similar reaction?
Paula
Can you really change the head of the pony?
It may be unsettling, but yes -- when Pony Diving, the the idea for the start-up can change along with the team, the technology, the users, and the funders. For example: we're been working with Colab (http://web.mit.edu/colab/) on this project with the Downtown Framingham merchants. We came to them with an initial idea for how technology could be used to bring more people to Downtown that didn't really make sense as we got more embedded. However, at that point, we were feeling really good about working with the Colab and Framingham folks, so we shifted the idea toward a better fit. IE: keep pony body (users) and legs (team), change out head (idea). Of course, the idea was not totally different from the original idea, and that's typical. But you have to put everything up for grabs.
It's true that sometimes you have to give up and start digging in a different pile o' manure. However, that's usually after expending a lot of energy and time shuffling through pony configurations, and not coming up with one that feels right. It's not a sign of failure that every part of the pony has been swapped out at least once.
Mmmm... piles of manure,
Mmmm... piles of manure, filled with detached pony parts. Here's a foot, here's a leg, here's a head. Nice image.
Change makes us better
Every part of the pony can change. I love that idea. Too often we get stuck on one specific part and won't change for anything. Often it is the technology that gets selected and we don't want to go away from it, even if it is unsuitable for what we now want to accomplish.
I think the idea can change but must remain true to the vision. In your case with Framingham, your idea was to use technology to help the merchants. You may have changed how to implement that but did you really change your idea? Or simply change how you defined that idea?
I think vision should be simple and generic. Use technology to help local merchants. The next step is to define those terms. What technology, how do you define help? Who is local?
In your example, Help was probably the term that changed (I don't know as I wasn't involved but guessing :) Help could be bringing more potential customers, creating software to control inventory better, optimizing local advertising, etc.
All business start ups should be filled with Pony Divers!!! If you aren't willing to dive deep into the pooh, you won't be successful when the tough times come.
Scott
http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottlovingood
http://www.twitter.com/scottlovingood
The Right Team
I have found time and time again that unless your team has a full understanding and collective passion of your projected goals and mission you will struggle.
I agree that leaving yoru vision simple and generic will allow for added ventures in yoru project.
www.absoluteplacementtoday.com works directly with teams at different levels and at many venues. Keep your mind open for change.
Tom
Post new comment