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Let the elephant fly

words of recommendation

if you are an entrepreneur, I believe you must have been hit by these "bullets" ...

where did the start-up golden idea come from? What does a successful entrepreneur look like? What pitfalls are waiting for you in startups? Who should be included in your startup team? What qualities should they have? What does your product do to really be welcomed by users?

I dedicate this book to every book lover who walks on the road of starting a business. Open this book and let the bullets fly slowly!

Author Brief Introduction

Steven Hoffman, godfather of Silicon Valley heavyweight entrepreneurship, angel investor and speaker, founder of Founders Space, the number one business incubator in Forbes magazine, is called "Captain Hoffman". He graduated from the University of Southern California, worked as a script producer in Hollywood, and started mobile entertainment companies, interactive media companies and software development companies. At Founder Space, he is committed to the connection and integration of global resources, and has trained and guided the founders of hundreds of startups around the world for many years, including the well-known Instagram.

the following contents are the essence of "Let Elephants Fly", which is for readers' reference. Welcome to share, and it cannot be used for commercial purposes without permission.

Contents

Introduction: What is the key to "making elephants fly"?

first, find the direction: find the right wave and start again

second, prepare to set sail: how to set up a start-up team

third, build a product: love it, but don't love it too much

fourth, lock in the market: understand the customers thoroughly

fifth, continue to innovate: the secret of lasting success

sixth, run at a high speed: walk in the market.

It's easy to make pigs fly in the tuyere, but how can elephants take off? In fact, every startup has the opportunity to take off in time as long as it finds the direction and masters the method. And the key is innovation. Innovation is the source of most wealth creation. Only by knowing innovative methods and avoiding innovative traps can start-ups stand out. This book can be described as a practical version of "From to 1", and it is also a necessary practical instruction manual for startups of all sizes.

As a practical manual for starting a business, this book has the genes of "insight+operation guidance+risk avoidance reminder". These three levels are embedded in each part of the six modules of Let Elephants Fly, namely, "finding the direction", "building a team", "building products", "locking in the market", "high-speed operation" and "continuous innovation".

the first step

finding the direction: finding the right wave before starting

setting up a start-up enterprise and starting an entrepreneurial project, we should not rush into specific projects, but first find the direction and the right wave. In the process of finding the direction, a cognitive trap that needs to be avoided is: technicalism!

Innovation is a complex system engineering, and technology is only one part of the innovation process. Advanced exclusive technology will bring advantages to innovation, but it does not guarantee inevitable success. Compared with it, it is more important to transform technology into products and complete the transformation process from technology to users. Inventors in history, for example, have created new technologies and new ideas, but few have achieved commercial success. Tesla invented the generator, but he was down and out all his life. The ultimate success is a creative businessman like Edison, who is good at absorbing the inventor's inventions and then transforming them to make them more suitable for the needs of the market and customers, and transforming technology into practical products.

another point that needs to be broken is the disdain for "imitation".

imitation is not absolutely wrong. on the contrary, imitation or copying is a wonderful business strategy with low risk and high return. But true innovators are not limited to imitation, they can transform what they imitate into their own things through their own efforts, and then optimize, enhance and achieve their own success.

Case

BAT, the three Internet giants in China, started from imitation. Baidu imitated Google, the search engine giant. Alibaba mixed the basic elements of American websites such as Amazon, eBay and Paypal. QQ and WeChat, the chat software owned by Tencent, got inspiration from ICQ and Kakao Talk respectively.

New concept in this chapter

Timing: Making the right thing at the right time is the most important factor for the success of start-ups.

Diversity: A diverse combination of talents and cultures can stimulate creativity.

creative businessman: a person who realizes the transformation from technology to products, represented by Edison in history.

Step 2

Prepare to sail: How to form a start-up team

After finding the right direction and keeping up with the tide, you will form a team and prepare to sail! And forming an innovation team is a university question!

1. The bigger the team is, the better. It is necessary to control the members of the start-up team to less than 5 people

Contrary to the common public perception, innovation and entrepreneurship are not "the flames are high when everyone gathers firewood"! According to Parkinson's law (bureaucratic disease), large teams often face the problem of inefficiency. On the contrary, the smaller the team and the fewer team members, the better and easier the cooperation, communication and coordination in the team will be, and the interpersonal relationship between team members will be closer. Bezos, the founder of Amazon, once had a famous "two pizzas theory". He thought that if the start-up team could not be fed with two pizzas, there would be too many people.

But streamlining the number of people doesn't mean "less is better". The construction of start-up teams has its requirements and skills, and the combination and division of labor of team members have clear requirements. Among them, four key talents are needed, namely:

CEO: as the leader and communicator in the team, taking overall responsibility for the team;

technical officer: CTO, the person in charge of the technical field, responsible for implementing the innovation plan at the technical level;

Designers: team members with design concepts, who optimize the user experience design of products and plans;

Expert: It may be a scholar with a doctor's degree or an experienced member in a certain field, who has his strong points.

It should be noted that in such a team structure, it is not necessarily that one person corresponds to a role. The same person may have several skills at the same time, but each skill is indispensable in the whole team.

Case

Zuckerberg, who founded Facebook, is a compound talent. He is a talented programmer, an excellent product manager and knows how to operate and structure a team. But in the process of creating and developing Facebook, Zuckerberg is not alone, he also has a very good team!

2. Make good use of the innovation sprint and deadline

① Innovation sprint

Take the "hackathon" as the representative, and let the innovation team carry out short-term and high-intensity innovation activities. Start-up teams are required to complete continuous work in a short time (such as 48 hours), explore new ideas and solve new problems with maximum potential, and complete tasks with the highest efficiency. Practice has proved that this kind of innovation sprint activity can often achieve miraculous results, and many teams' innovation potential is quickly stimulated, and they have achieved results that surprise themselves.

② deadline

Human beings are inherently inert. Since the advent of Deadline, everyone has suffered from procrastination. A good deadline should increase the pressure on team members, but it is not a mechanical rule, but let the other party know the meaning of the deadline, so as to arrange the work reasonably and complete the set goals.

3. The more money, the better. Too much money may be poison.

Financial support is a strong driving force to send elephants to the sky. Start-up teams must have sufficient financial support if they want to practice specific innovation and entrepreneurship plans. There are several types of capital investment that need to be understood when financing:

① Venture capital: large investment amount, high requirements for the size of start-ups, chasing unicorns and not making small investments;

② Angels and seeds: you don't need unicorns, and you invest and quit early;

③ Enterprise investment: paying attention to strategic value, not caring about short-term return and being conservative;

④ self-realization: providing investors with self-satisfied capital;

⑤ internal innovation: new ideas and new ideas for internal investment of enterprises.

In investment, there are five criteria for identifying opportunities and discovering opportunities, which are the key objects of investors' investigation, and also several considerations for whether an entrepreneurial project can really succeed:

① The team needs to be excellent and the founder should be dedicated

The fighting spirit and direction of the whole team should be consistent, which is not only the need of team development, but also the test of the founder's organizational ability and management ability;

② customers should love the product

Brian Ceschi, co-founder of Airbnb, said, "You only need 1 people to really love what you have made, instead of 1 million people saying they like it a little." People will say "not bad" and "a little like it" because of their feelings, only "great!" "Great!" Such feedback can prove that customers have real recognition of products;

③ Have a secret recipe

Coca-Cola, McDonald's and other food industries have specific "secret recipes", which is a great advantage in competition. Non-food industry can also have its own secret formula, which is the unique gene and core advantage of the enterprise.

in addition, the product should provide excellent customer experience, and the market should be focused and special, but it has the potential to expand.

finally, investment can help innovation and entrepreneurship take off, but the more the better. Limited budget can really encourage innovative thinking, on the contrary, high investment in research and development may not really complete substantive innovation. Once there is too much money, the start-up team must complete the stage tasks step by step according to the established business plan, and conduct business activities according to the fixed rhythm and ideas, which will lead to the team losing flexibility and unable to adjust and turn in time.

the new concept of this chapter

innovation sprint: represented by "hackathon", let the innovation team carry out short-term and high-intensity innovation activities.

innovation rest period: organically combine quick and slow thinking, and reasonably arrange innovation sprint and shutdown rest.

MVP: the simplest feasible product, which only provides core value. Meet with customers as soon as possible, get feedback and start iteration.

Step 3

Create a product: Love it, but don't love it too much

The product is the foothold and practical sustenance to test the success of innovation. Compared with large companies, start-ups are lighter, the conversion cost after failure is lower, and more attempts can be made. This "strength" of "no loss" is actually the advantage of start-ups!

1. Breaking three common business myths

Business beliefs are not only wrong, but also time-sensitive and limited. It is necessary to test the business idea in many ways, make a list, put forward the possibility of all aspects, and compare it with technology and reality. At the same time, all members are invited to participate, and external opinions are absorbed as much as possible to conduct in-depth analysis with critical thinking.

there are three generally accepted business beliefs, which are actually fundamentally wrong. They are:

① In low-profit business, cost reduction is the key to success

Wrong! Taking the aviation industry as an example, United Airlines, which is trying to reduce the cost of employees' wages, is being surpassed by the low-cost airline Southwest Airlines, which is the aviation enterprise with the highest wage expenditure. Reducing costs, especially reducing employees' wages, often causes employees' dissatisfaction, which in turn leads to customers' dissatisfaction.

② Offering bonuses can make employees work better

Wrong! Paying bonuses can indeed promote the short-term improvement of production efficiency, but it is followed by an overall decline in production efficiency. Because bonuses and performance appraisal make employees pay more attention to external financial returns, rather than the work value itself;

③ Investigating the responsibility of staff can reduce human errors

mistakes! In Southwest Airlines, employees will not be held accountable for their mistakes, because once they are held accountable, it may cause employees to cover up their mistakes later, which will lead to greater losses. A better way is to encourage everyone to discuss the mistakes made openly and make overall improvements to reduce the possibility of mistakes happening again.

2. design innovation: solving real problems for customers

to build a good product, we must solve a real problem for customers. This requires design thinking in product building. Good design should produce "painkillers" instead of "vitamins" for customers, that is, meet the most urgent and urgent needs of customers, rather than icing on the cake or gilding the lily. Good products can directly hit the pain points of users and perfectly solve the real problems of customers.

Case

Apple's music player iPod, according to the needs of users, has built a complete music purchase and appreciation system, which stands out from the contemporary music players. In addition to the exquisite design and page layout, the iPod is also aimed at the needs of users who want to experience new products eagerly. The products are fully charged when they leave the factory. This has also become the industry practice in the future.

Parents who want to be sober about products, make more drafts and face the market in time

Products often fall into the "manufacturer's trap", that is, they can't objectively evaluate products, so they can only get deeper and deeper. In China's old saying, this is called "taking care of yourself"; In foreigners' words, it is called "IKEA effect", which gives people two sets of IKEA furniture with the same appearance. One set is assembled by themselves and the other is assembled by IKEA professionals. People will think that the one assembled by themselves is more professional. In other words, people will prefer their own products, even if it is obviously not professional enough.

this phenomenon is also a trap that needs attention in the development of enterprises, and we can't just look at our own products from our own eyes, so we often can't see the defects and can only stand still. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to push the products of enterprises to the market in time and get the feedback from users in time for adjustment and correction. Even if the product is still simple and immature, it should show its core content to customers, so that customers can pay, reward, hear their voices and adjust in time.

The new concept in this chapter

The manufacturer's trap: the manufacturer will have feelings for the product, and cannot objectively evaluate it, so he can only get deeper and deeper.

IKEA effect: people will prefer their own products, even if it is obviously unprofessional.

Step 4

Lock in the market: Know your customers well

Creating a perfect product is not enough to guarantee 1% success. Besides products, you need to consider the market. If a startup wants to succeed, it must learn to lock in the market and understand its customers well.

1. User suggestions are the source of inspiration for innovation

User suggestions are the direct feedback to products, and also the starting point and motive force of innovation. We should go to users, listen to customers, understand customers, know what customers think and react in time. "Observation" is located at the core of the innovation process, and it is necessary to observe problems, observe customers, record and reflect. In this process, it is important to ask the right questions to the right customers to avoid getting caught up in your own thinking.

Case

Kawasaki Motorcycle invented a standing jet ski, which was all the rage. In order to improve the user's satisfaction, it solicited improvement suggestions from users, and some users suggested that it should be in motorcycle.