Defining Entrepreneurial Success

Just how do you define success for an entrepreneur? Is it a round of funding? Is it certain revenue/earnings? Is is purely product milestone based?

The interesting part is an offshoot from another conversation which identifies the joys of entrepreneurship with just being in it. The adrenaline rush for small daily successes, and the little panics that set off when things don't go your way- these make up for the key moments that you live as an entrepreneur.

If the journey is so beautiful, does the destination matter?

Entrepreneurship chat with Raj Raheja

Sometimes you meet an individual for an half hour and their simple views and insights become so much more valuable than anything else you may experience that day. Today that happened to me- with Raj Raheja, CEO of Heartwood. I know him from a common friend- but then I don't think I ever knew him really. You know, you meet briefly in social settings and have little to learn about what they do at work. But today was different- I was at a conference (which otherwise left me underwhelmed) where I got a chance to talk to him. He had some absolutely brilliant insights from his experience building his company- I wish I could have captured the gems well enough, but then it would take away the opportunity for him to write about it all (which I did encourage him to do!)

In any case, I was reflecting upon how we expect certain things from life, the day, and then something rather unexpected happens when you engage in a conversation which gives everything else a meaning. Today I had that sort of a conversation that made going to that conference worth it. The contents of that conversation will really have to wait till Raj approves of it being published :-) but the core theme was on thinking big; recommendation for and principles from Rob Ryan's Smartups book; and rewarding the right employee that makes an impact- instead of the usual performance crap we've all learned to detest. One thing that stuck well in my mind was how a particular quote inspires Raj- Here is how I remember it- "Earn enough money to afford the time to do the things money can't buy!"

I assure you it was one of the most real entrepreneur stories that matter, the one that inspires you- the one that you can directly apply to your situation.

Wish we could have conferences that just encouraged such real stories and enabled interactions with real entrepreneurs. Thanks for that half hour Raj.

Experiments for Early Adopters

This has been on my mind for a very long time, but today's article in NY Times inspired me to post this. I have often wondered how if at all would we measure the enthusiasm that early adopters bring. True that in some cases it may very well be just the act of convincing someone to try out your product, but that's not the early adopter I'm talking about. I am thinking more of the ones that willingly step up and grab the next product from, oh... say Apple, for a price that they clearly are very elastic about. In other words, if the iPad was another $100 they will still pay, because price is not such a factor when they are buying it. Or maybe it is! An important side effect of my formal education was that it re-enforced my belief and reliance on quantitative analysis. So, just how could we measure what a new iPad is worth to the early adopters.?

I can think of two interesting experiments. They may sound a bit what Prof. Dan Ariely might want to do- and I encourage the opportunity for anyone to try these out. For the purpose of these experiments I will use iPad as an example of a hot new product.

1. Experiment 1. Suppose you were given the opportunity to participate in the "early adopters" of iPad with this condition- You will pay exactly the amount that Apple will charge one year from now; you will always have the latest version (thus reducing if not eliminating any price-differentiation or quality issues that an early adopter may face) The only condition for that one year is that you may not use the product in public, tweet/blog about it or in anyway be seen with it. In other words- no one can find out that you own one! (This takes out the extrinsic "fashionable" joy of owning a hot new product) Who will opt for this?
   
2. Experiment 2. Exactly like above- opportunity to participate in the "early adopters" of iPad. Except that in this case, it's just the reverse- You are required to tweet/blog about your new product. The only condition here is that the product you will get for one year, won't actually be working (In other words, we have taken out any intrinsic "value" of owning it- except maybe for a paperweight) How would you as a user know what to talk about? Suppose that was available in some form (internal reviews from Apple approved for release for such experiment) So who wants to participate in it?
   

There are most certainly a lot more details about this experiment that will need to be thought through- like finding a group that's unbiased, understanding the percentage distribution of participants in both experiments. But I hope this serves as a starting point for a thought experiment at least!

I wonder if these figures would correspond to the percentage of early adopters that do participate early on and help iron out the kinks for the rest of the market.