Author: spr1333rnassar

Crowd Funding…imperative to global change.

Posted on by spr1333rnassar

Crowd Funding is a fairly new way to raise money from a group of people towards a campaign one is working on. Introduced by the organization Kiva via the micro funding platform to aspiring third world country entrepreneurs and causes. Crowd Funding is really changing the way people view getting investment for their venture. An investment option for entrepreneurs wanting to really grow their business organically via sites like indie gogo and kickstarter. A whole eco system has been created around  crowd funding eco system. Peoples dreams actually can come to fruition, the more creative or social you get the better your chance to rile up a crowd to invest in you. The crowd funding is changing and the article I chose, highlights this ever growing phenomena. Coupled with a good  team and strategy this could really accelerate an idea or companies growth. The numbers in 2012 for crowd funding amounted in nearly 2.7 billion dollars. Major banks in 2013 including the World Band look towards crowd funding to stimulant economic development further into needing environments. This type of fund raising will change how the every day person gives back, as it develops and more innovative techniques within the field develop, we will see a radical change in balancing the negatives in areas that need economic stimulus.

It is a really exciting time to be an entrepreneur and 2013 has much in store. I believe if you want a job you can find one or make one. I believe many college students who are unemployed will have no other choice but to follow a passion and build something from it they can monetize and hopefully flourish from. A first hand experience, I encountered was a new client of ours the 1facewatch.com who put together a viral crowd funding campaign basically pre selling their product allowing them to reach a 1 million dollar revenue mark in their first month of the company. Without crowdfunding this social campaign really could not have happened as organically as it did. It is awesome to have them as a client of mine and I hope to learn from them moving forward with my career. Check them out, they are changing peoples lives.

http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/22/5-ways-the-booming-crowdsourcing-ecosystem-is-changing-in-2013/

Lean StartUp – The Harvard Business Review

Posted on by spr1333rnassar

http://hbr.org/2013/05/why-the-lean-start-up-changes-everything/

As I was thinking of what to write for this blog, I checked the Harvard Business Review and it turns out the methodology I started my company with is being praised. The Lean Startup process of starting any type of company requires the curator to validate what one thinks is correct by actually taking your idea or product to market at its inception. The skeletal theory that one has to create an in depth business plan is no longer what needs to happen in order for a business to come to fruition. In fact, innovative entrepreneurial leaders, teachers, and mentors advise using the the Lean Startup Methodology in order validate your business rather than base it off of assumptions. The Lean Startup is an approach for launching businesses and products, that relies on validated learning, scientific experimentation, and iterative product releases to shorten product development cycles, measure progress, and gain valuable customer feedback. The approach works for both existing and new business ventures. The whole concept revolves around science and testing business ideas before just launching them without consumer feedback. I chose this specific article because it is how I validated a business model based on actual consumer acceptance. My company ThreadMeUp.com went through an intense 20 week incubation with the Lean Startup Methodology and it really provides you with an infrastructure to building and carving out your business model. This type of process allows the entrepreneur an opportunity to pivot or iterate their model based on consumer feedback as opposed to a business plan which is not as adaptable. The framework for what I used in Lean Startup was called a “Lean Canvas” (Attached). My whole company and executive team is sold on Lean Startup and operating lean. We only do what we need and spend when we need it. I cannot praise this model enough because in a little under two months of business my company has reached $40,0000 in sales and rapidly growing. Much of this due to the methodology and train of thought learned in the Lean Startup.