The Entrepreneur’sBootcamp
Jeff HoffmanColorJar
Twitter: @SpeakerJeff
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 ownLeave your job and
leave your industry – learn something from the world around youTake 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 learnedThink 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 businessMake a list of questions, not
answers
Define your marketAre 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
everyoneFocus 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 profileTurn 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 youHire people
smarter than you in every area
Recruit talent by actually caring
Build the best possible team
around youHire people
smarter than you in every area
Recruit talent by actually caring
Now go build something!
Use the “lean startup” and
“MVP” modelsGet 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 bestDon’t try to do everything for
everyone at the start
Amazon = Books
Zappos = Shoes
Deliver the right message to the right customerWhat 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&AJeff Hoffman
ColorJarTwitter: @SpeakerJeff