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From Lez Zeppelin to Paradise City: 4 Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Take from Rock Tribute Bands
3/31/2010

Entrepreneurs, bear with me for a moment.

When I was nine years old, I had the honor of playing in a Guns N’ Roses air tribute band.  With my Wilson tennis racquet doubling as an ES-175 Gibson guitar, I would transform into the unconquerable Izzy Stradlin as my brother and friends took on the personas of singer Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, and bassist Duff McKagan. 1

With the aid of a few bad wigs, a boom box, and trampolines, we would turn our basement into a raging mosh pit, treating our imaginary but adoring fans to “Don’t Cry,” “Live and Let Die,” and all of the legendary songs that made Guns N’ Roses—well—Guns N’ Roses.

Now we absolutely sucked as a tribute band, which is downright shameful given that we played imaginary instruments.  But based upon the work of author Chuck Klosterman, it is clear that many tribute bands are extremely successful in building a loyal fan base—so successful, in fact, that I see 4 valuable lessons that entrepreneurs can take away. 2

Lesson #1:  Tribute bands sell an EXPERIENCE with an established record of success – Too many entrepreneurs are obsessed with innovation, even when there is no market for what they’re doing.  Consumers don’t care about innovation per se, they care about the experience.  With tribute bands, fans are already intimately familiar with the experience (i.e. songs, personas, and concert presence) and love it, so why not go after a market/product line that already has raging, loyal fans?  It’s safe to say that slight to zero product differentiation within a large market is better than extreme differentiation and no market opportunity.

Lesson #2:  Tribute bands are able to attract underserved markets – Let’s face it.  Putting aside the fact that the original Guns N’ Roses cast is no longer together, an average person would never find Slash, Izzy, Duff, and Axl jamming at a local bar at a price they can afford.  But the best tribute bands, like Beatallica, Paradise City, and Lez Zeppelin, are able to simulate the real band experience at a fraction of the cost.    

Lez Zeppelin and AC/DShe, which are all-female cover bands, have also drawn incredibly loyal bases among women, many of whom felt alienated by the misogynistic rock culture of the 70s and 80s.  In this sense, entrepreneurial theorist Clay Christensen would probably call tribute bands disruptive and not just because of the loud music they play— these bands are meeting the demand of consumers that were underserved by the original bands.  And that creates value in a way that your beautifully designed but inaccessible technology never will.

Lesson #3: Good tribute bands care about brand positioning - As Klosterman writes, AC/DShe’s rival band Zepparella tries to cover both AC/DC and Led Zeppelin.  Expressing her disagreement with this marketing strategy, a member of AC/DShe points out, “it’s really [expletive] hard when your Angus Young is also Jimmy Page.”  This demonstrates extraordinary marketing prowess on AC/DShe’s part.  It’s hard to build brand loyalty when it’s unclear what you stand for.  Above all, the image of a tribute band is inextricably linked to the band they’re covering.  Adding another band to the mix destroys that image. 

In a company, if you try to bite off too much, it can kill your brand and turn your company into vanilla (i.e. no one loves it, no one hates it, it’s mediocre at best).  While it may seem paradoxical, don’t be afraid to limit your market audience.  Your diehard fans will love you for it.

Lesson #4:  Play because you love what you do, not for the exit – No successful tribute band would ever say that they’re playing gigs to cash out and retire wealthy.  Tribute bands are irrationally obsessed with their craft and the bands they’re covering, so much so that many take on the personas of the original band.  As an entrepreneur, you should be well aware of the low odds of success, so you better LOVE what you do and the market you’re playing in.

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So for all those entrepreneurs that live and die by the sword of innovation, I encourage you to consider a healthy dose of imitation coupled with a slightly unhealthy dose of obsession.  And for those that are just starting companies, welcome to the jungle…

Footnotes:

1. In our Guns N’ Roses air tribute band, we left out drummer Steve Adler strictly because his name did not sound like a beer or automotive part. 

2. Due credit to Chuck Klosterman for his outstanding books Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs  and IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas.  All quotes and stories from the tribute bands are borrowed from these works. 

 

Sombit Mishra is a second-year MBA student at the MIT Sloan School of Management and former Managing Director of the MIT $100K Competition.  With 5+ years of startup experience in marketing, strategy, and e-Commerce, Sombit is currently developing a new venture in the fitness & wellness space.  Follow Sombit on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sombit.

 

Entrepreneurship, imitation, Innovation, obsession, startups > 0 Comments
Jersey's cleaning up, well maybe not the Jersey Shore
3/23/2010

Being from Jersey, I often hear the overused "What exit are you?" or "Oh, the armpit of America."  Well, look here people, Jersey is one of the first 10 states to join the fight against global warming through a voluntary emissions cap-and-trade. It has raised over $9.1 Million to fund renewable energy projects to help increase adoption and spur innovation. In fact, even before this, Jersey ranked 2nd in the country in PV installation,  after those tree-huggers in CA. So while the Jersey Shore may be dirty, the air will be clean and we are innovating on new ways to promote clean energy.  There is a lot more to Jersey than meets the Turnpike.

New Jersey has collected around $9.1 million to fund clean energy projects during a quarterly auction of carbon allowances held earlier last week. The auction generated $87,956,944, with most of the proceeds going toward zero interest loans and grants for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects statewide. Additional funds will be given to the Board of Public utilities to provide customer assistance, and will also be used in programs that help lower carbon emissions and protect habitats. New Jersey is one of ten states involved in a voluntary cap-and-trade program which auctions off emissions from power plants, called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The other states are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. To see the full article, click here.

By Christine Ribeiro. Christine is an Associate at MassChallenge. She is also a New Jersey native.

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Stefane Barbeau on 13 Things to Keep in Mind for Entrepreneurial Success
3/18/2010

I've followed these in every move I've made and they're a good reminder that always winds up being true...

1. Do what you did when you were four; you'll regret it if you don't.
2. Spend more on less.
3. Work in customer service. You'll learn to win by losing.
4. Go to dog training classes. You'll learn more about people than dogs.
5. You can keep your eyes shut for three years. After that, you'll start to go blind.
6. Don't create more problems than you solve.
7. Jackpots don't exist.
8. Simple isn't necessarily easy or half-assed.
9. The worst solution is often startlingly close to the best solution.
10. Milk it more than you think appropriate.
11. Tell a true story.
12. Keep the message simple.
13. Only create something you would use yourself.

What about you? What words of wisdom do you follow? Do you have a manifesto? Any abstract formulas for entrepreneurial success? We wanna know.

Stefane Barbeau co-founded and built Vessel, a Boston-based housewares design and distribution company with an award-winning line of lighting, tableware and furniture currently available in over 20 countries. Vessel’s product line includes the well-recognized Candela® brand of rechargeable lights which have received editorial coverage in hundreds of periodicals and books worldwide, won numerous international design awards, and been included in a variety of exhibitions and museum collections. Vessel recently sold their lighting line to a fortune 500 company, and is now focused on helping other companies and individuals formulate new product launches.

advice, entrepreneur, formula, learning, manifesto, success, wisdom > 2 Comments
How Entrepreneurial can a Food Truck be?
3/17/2010

Christine and I are big fans of entrepreneurship and food so naturally when we learned of Clover food truck we were excited! Apologies to those people who already know about this amazing place. Clover food lab as its called by Ayr, the founder, a former MIT student, is using these portable food trucks as test kitchens for eventually opening his restaurant - a great example of entrepreneurship at work. This is a great way to figure out what customers want while still making money and being able to cover your costs. In February, Clover also switched to a  POS system, with a server, an iPod Touch for order-taking which extremely easy and efficient. They are working on accepting email orders, though the bugs are not yet worked out. On their blog, restauranteurs and foodies can follow everything from where Clover gets its ingredients, to when it has a new fangled japanese hot water appliance. They even give daily updates on specials, when they run out of food, and when they'll be back. We really like being kept in the loop as this place as become our go-to for food in Kendall.

Things are going so well that the city of Boston actually invested in Clover's second truck in Feb. In return, Clover plans to create 20 new jobs in under 9 months. An amazing entrepreneurial start for a great restaurant. For everyone out there looking for a delicious and still nutritious breakfast or lunch, let's hope Clover grows beyond projections!

FYI: This delicious food truck is located on Carleton St at the far end of the deadend street located directly across from the MIT Coop on main street. It has fresh juices, delicious rosemary fries, a number of sandwiches (my favorite being the chickpea fritters) and lines down the street. They're definitely worth the wait though!

What do you think of 'Food Lab' concept? Would you be willing to try it as an entrepreneur? What are other industries where you can create a 'lab' concept?

 

By Christine Ribeiro and Salimah Nooruddin. Christine and Salimah are Associates at MassChallenge.

 

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Mike Troiano on How to Build a Basic Content Hub
3/16/2010



Using the Web to build your brand is less and less about creating destinations, and more and more about creating content useful to the people you want to reach, then empowering them to access that content wherever and however they like.

 The key to this is creating something we call a “content hub.” A content hub is more than just a standalone site or application, it’s both the heart of a distributed network of information, and a destination for those that share the interest it supports.

Rather than explain the theory of a content hub in detail, it’s best to just build a quick-and-dirty one, and use it. Here’s the process I’d recommend to do exactly that:

  1. If you don’t have a GMail account, create one, say acme@gmail.com. You’ll need this e-mail for all the logins, might as well use the same one.
  2. Associate your logo with that e-mail in Gravatar.com; this will also come in handy later.
  3. Create a YouTube account associated with the same Google ID.
  4. Create a Flickr account. You may need a Yahoo e-mail account for this. Just create one.
  5. Create a Twitter account, and customize the profile page to reflect your brand identity. Add an image, and a short bio line, for God’s sake.
  6. Create a Facebook Page. You can do this from your personal Facebook account. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to create one.
  7. Create a Posterous account, and activate the Group Profile feature to make it easier for others to post to the account. Connect your YouTube, Flickr, and Facebook pages to Posterous so that any content you send to Posterous bounces into the other accounts automagically.
  8. Create a simple listening station in Google Reader. You’ll have access to Google Reader automatically having set up the GMail account above. Lots of smart people have described how to do this; just do what they say. Once you get the basics down, you’ll be able to pull any RSS feed into Reader, which I promise will come in handy at some point.
  9. Click the Reader “Settings” at upper right, then the rightmost tab, which is “Send To.” Configure Reader to send content to the destination sites you created above.
  10. Use the damn thing.

The “hub” of the system is your new GMail account. If you log into that each morning, you’ll have access to everything you need.

To distribute original content through the system, just use the Posterous account. This is dirt-simple straightforward… You can post everywhere by sending e-mail to post@posterous.com from your GMail address. Send images and they’ll go to Flickr as well. Send video and they’ll post to YouTube automatically, etc. Links to everything you create will appear on your new Posterous blog, and go out to your Twitter followers and Facebook fans, automatically.

“Curating” content is even easier. Whatever is in Reader can be sent through the system by clicking the “Send To” button. When you do that a drop-down appears with Twitter, Facebook, and Posterous as options (remember, choosing “Posterous” sends it everywhere). Begin to poke around in the local blogs and start raising your visibility. Leave short comments on others’ blogs to draw traffic to your own, and create the personal connection you need to deliver on the brand promise. (Gravatar is already set up if you followed the above, so wherever you log in to comment on someone else’s blog and use your GMail address, your icon will also appear and give you some exposure.)

You can also access your brand “listening station” in Google Reader. Just click “Reader” at the upper left of Gmail, and you’ll pretty much be able monitor any appearance of the brand online. You should add some influential local bloggers to the feeds there as well, and create folders for whatever else you like to read on the web.

So what happens now?

Start posting. Share the content you find interesting in Reader. Build some relationships. Get to know folks. Help people, and watch them help you back.

If you need something more industrial strength, please give us a call. But for 90% of the businesses out there, the truth is this is enough to get started building the relationships that will help build your business.

Michael Troiano is a Principal of Holland-Mark, a leading independent advertising agency in Boston.
Mike serves on the boards of several VC-funded technology companies, including that of Cambridge-based Crimson Hexagon. His blog, Scalable Intimacy, is listed on both the AdAge Power150 and Alltop, and he is ranked in the top 5% of the most influential people on Twitter.

This post is a re-post from the Holland-Mark Blog and has been re-posted with permission of the author.

blogging, company branding, creating content, posting, social media > 1 Comments
Becoming the Jetsons
3/12/2010

I remember on new years this year, I sat back and thought, we are in 2010, that is the future. Growing up, the transition into the 2000's was such a big deal and anything past 2000, seemed like the distant future, now more than a decade in, life is not exactly how I imagined. Perhaps it was the influence of shows like the Jetsons, but I thought we would all be driving flying cars by now and have robot maids. We are not there yet, but Terrafugia might make that a reality soon. They claim that by next year they will be able to start selling personal flying cars and already have buyers. My major question is, how do these integrate into our current transportation system? do they fly above the roads and follow regular traffic rules or have to be given permission from airports to fly? Will this technology transform our transportation system and policies, or merely be a passing fad? I for one, always liked the Jetsons and would like to see some flying cars around, assuming they have low CO2 emissions of course. Is that too much to ask for?

Terrafugia, the Woburn, MA-based company out to produce the first practical flying car—or street legal airplane, to use the company’s term— said today it plans to build its first commercial vehicle next year in the Bay State. But CEO Carl Dietrich also said that while the company hopes to stay in Massachusetts and create hundreds of new jobs, it is considering moving production to other states like Ohio, Kentucky, or Michigan.

The skies were mostly clear, the weather unseasonably warm, and the crowd upbeat as the MIT spinoff, which was a runner-up in the school’s $100K business plan competition in 2006, hosted about 20 politicians, press, and other guests at its headquarters for a much-sought-after update on its plans. Dietrich used the occasion to deliver an optimistic picture of Terrafugia’s future, while also issuing what sounded like part warning, part plea to the politicians present, who included state Senators Steven Baddour (D-Methuen) and Ken Donnelly (D-Arlington).

Here are some highlights from the afternoon:

—Terrafugia will deliver its first commercial car, called Transition, by the end of 2011.

—About 70 customers, mostly private persons, have already reserved Transitions.

—The vehicles will sell for a base price of $194,000.

—Dietrich told the crowd that Terrafugia plans to ramp up production gradually over the next five years, with plans to eventually churn out between 300 and 400 craft annually.

—That level of output has the potential to support in excess of 400 skilled manufacturing jobs and high-tech engineering positions while passing approximately $150 million through to its workforce and suppliers each year, Dietrich said. To read more of this Xconomy article, click here.

 

 Christine Ribeiro is an Associate at MassChallenge, click here to learn more about Christine.

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Jason Evanish on Why There’s Never Been a Better Time to be a Young Entrepreneur in Boston
3/10/2010

 

As a young entrepreneur in the Boston community for the past half year, I have witnessed first hand a transformation; there is an incredible build up of momentum behind many initiatives and a growing buzz in the community.  New organizations are forming, old ones are evolving and there has been a dramatic increase in collaboration across the ecosystem. Innovative ideas, better ways of doing things and many new opportunities are the product of these efforts and it’s why John Harthorne is bullish about the community and I share his sentiments. 

In my opinion, the most underrated aspect of the revitalization of the community is the renaissance for young entrepreneurs.  I’d like to highlight some of the reasons I think…there’s never been a better time to be a young entrepreneur in Boston.

1) Many Great Organizations 

In just the short time we’ve been managing an entrepreneur calendar at Greenhorn Connect, we’ve watched as the events have gone from about 20 per week to over 40.  Having attended many of them, I have found them all to be of very high quality and filled with hard working, passionate people very open to new connections. 

In the last year, I’ve seen the emergence of  quite a few new organizations with some of the best events in the community: Mass Innovation Nights, DartBoston, IdeaStorm, and UltraLightStartups. When you combine this with established events like WebInno, Open Coffee, Mobile Mondays and Tech Tuesdays, you have a robust networking environment and many great avenues for getting connected to the community.   

2) Renewed academic commitments to entrepreneurship

It’s easy to look at Boston and think it’s a two horse race (Harvard and MIT), but in recent years, many of the other schools in the region have refocused their efforts on promoting entrepreneurship.  From Northeastern’s IDEA program to Babson’s E Tower, to UMass Boston’s Venture Development Center, there are programs emerging everywhere to make students have more entrepreneurial opportunities.

3) Office Hours

Starting in November, local members of the community started hosting office hours to break down barriers to meeting investors and influential members of the community.  Since then, the movement has exploded with many organizations having weekly hours.  You can see all of them on our calendar; just search “office hours” to filter the other events. Because of these office hours, it has never been easier for a young entrepreneur to get connected to key members in the community. 

4) Workspace options

In the past, you may have been left with either paying an exorbitant amount of money for an office or working out of your bedroom or a coffee shop.  Today, companies are sharing their workspace, new coworking options are emerging and hybrid incubator-office space programs are opening.  There has never been an easier time to find a place to work.   

5) State Government that’s in it for the Long Term. 

The commitment level of our local elected officials and government staff is very impressive. While there are obviously budget constraints due to the recession, they’re making the most of the resources they can provide; whether it’s the Mass It’s All Here program, helping support MassChallenge or Governor Deval Patrick coming to recognize the significance of the expansion of the Cambridge Innovation Center, their commitment is unquestionable.   

On Monday I saw Secretary Bialecki’s presentation at the Rappaport Institute and was amazed at the depth of his understanding of the challenges the state faces in trying to improve the entrepreneur ecosystem from health care questions, to property issues to improving collaboration amongst companies and organizations in the community.  Most encouraging was his strong assertion that they’re thinking long term; they have a vision for 10 years out; not an election in less than 4 years. With a strong understanding of the immediate challenges and the patience to avoid quick fixes, Massachusetts is poised to be an even better environment for entrepreneurs in the years to come.

6) The Career Combine

One of the biggest challenges facing the community is keeping the locally educated talent in the region.  Currently, only 26% of Massachusetts college graduates who go on to start companies actually start them in Massachusetts.  Silicon Valley’s retention rate is more than two and half times better than ours at 69%.  Obviously, there is great room for improvement here and as Secretary Bialecki said on Monday, “if even 5 or 10% more graduates stay here, it would do wonders.”

I’m proud to announce that Greenhorn Connect is teaming up with MITX to address this issue with our event, the Career Combine.  The Career Combine was created as a collaborative effort with the goal of connecting job seekers with open positions in the Internet marketing, technology and entrepreneur community.  The Combine will also educate students, recent grads and entry-level talent on the innovative companies in New England and on the skills needed to find their next job.  We hope this event will help infuse the community with new talent and provide aspiring entrepreneurs with opportunities to join and learn from our local companies. 

As a young entrepreneur I see so many amazing opportunities and hope you’ll join me in taking full advantage of all there is available to us in this great community.   I’m very excited for the future of Massachusetts entrepreneurship and hope you are too.

Jason Evanish is co-founder of GreenhornConnect.com, which connects Boston startups and enthusiasts with the many resources and events in the region as well as educational and informational content. The MITX-Greenhorn Connect Career Combine is April 13th 2010 at the Back Bay Events Center.

 

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Cultural Changes in Boston
3/8/2010

As we’ve mentioned before, there’s been a lot of reassuring activity going on in Massachusetts lately. Some of it has been in Kendall close to MIT and some has been on the other side of the river, in Boston. Particularly, South Boston. Mayor Menino has some interesting plans for the Seaport District in South Boston with an aim of turning it into a downtown Geekville.

What does that mean?

Menino wants to create a “vibrant innovation district” in South Boston. Basically creating a home for well-educated workers who work long hours in start-ups for short money. Sounds pretty good to us. To learn more, click here.

Another project of Mayor Menino’s, Boston World Partnerships, is turning 1 years old. For those of you unfamiliar with Boston World Partnerships, we think it’s an organization definitely worth checking out. Mayor Menino created BWP to help business leaders worldwide understand and access Boston’s competitive advantages.

What does BWP do?

BWP is creating a global community of people who have ties to the Boston economy, similar to an alumni organization. Their most invested members are their Connectors, whom anyone can find through the website. Their role is to inform the world about Boston’s strengths, and they help connect businesses to the resources that Boston’s economy offers.

Where can you meet them?

Boston World Partnerships is celebrating their one-year anniversary March 16th 2010 from 5:30-8:30pm at the Liberty Hotel. Registration is here. 

What else will be going on that night?

BWP is hosting their first Odd Pairing Experiment, which will pair up two high-impact leaders from totally different industries. The goal is to identify and explore areas of overlap and commonality.

How can you get free tickets? 

As a partner of BWP, MassChallenge has been invited to host a contest for free tickets to the event.

We are inviting you to name your favorite odd pairing. Examples include: the Trinity Church and the Hancock Tower or Priscilla of Boston and Second Time Around in Back Bay. Feel free to think outside of the box. The most innovative idea will get the free tickets. Looking forward to reading your responses! Share them here or on Twitter just make sure to include @masschallenge in your tweets!

Competition ends Friday.

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Hustle. Sleep. Repeat.
3/3/2010

 

Last Thursday, I had the distinct honor of acting as emcee for the NEXT event, celebrating emerging entrepreneurs in Massachusetts. The event was organized by the MA Office of Small Business & Entrepreneurship and hosted at the UMass Venture Development Center, both of whom did an amazing job.

Around 125 people came to celebrate four startup teams from Massachusetts that Businessweek identified as among the 25 best entrepreneurs under 25 years old. FTR, this is the second year in a row that Massachusetts produced more promising young entrepreneurs than any other state, including California which has almost 6 times more people than Massachusetts. Pretty amazing.

 

  • Emergent, Jesse Gossett, Jayson Uppal, Chris Jacobs
  • IdeaPaint, John Goscha, Jeff Avallon, Morgen Newman
  • SCVNGR, Seth Priebatsch, John Valentine
  • Wistia, Christopher Savage and Brendan Schwartz

Diane Hessan of Communispace was the keynote. She is an awesome role model for aspiring entrepreneurs: smart, funny, collaborative and highly successful – another incredible female entrepreneur in Massachusetts. Next time you see Diane, ask her to tell you about the hobo entrepreneur ….

My favorite part of the event, though, was John Goscha’s anecdote about a fellow entrepreneur who had experienced a spate of recent successes. When asked how he did it, the entrepreneur replied simply “I get up. I hustle. I sleep. Then I do it again.

I think that really sums it up. Entrepreneurship is hard work. Nothing comes easy when you’re forging new territory. There’s no time for self-pity. You just have to commit yourself to your vision and then hustle like mad to get there. That’s also why it’s so important to care about the business you’re launching. There’s just no way you can keep up the pace necessary to succeed if you don’t love what you’re doing.

I know the MassChallenge team and I are having a blast. We’re especially excited to shift our focus from planning to actually supporting entrepreneurs. They are the reason why we are working so hard to make MassChallenge a huge success. It’s a nice reminder to meet people like Diane Hessan, John Goscha and the other entrepreneurs in attendance at NEXT – all of them have taken significant risks and have hustled relentlessly to achieve their vision and improve their community. Made me proud to be around them.

So, to all you entrepreneurs out there:

                                 stop reading and get back to hustling

 

Author: John Harthorne is the CEO and Founder of MassChallenge.

Entrepreneurship, Massachusetts, office of small business and entrepreneurship, venture development center, young innovators > 1 Comments