“He is the best programmer who doesn’t care about our vision.”

Courtesy of Rolling Stone Magazine (2011)

The title quote is from the biographical film, Jobs (2013). It’s a statement that was made by Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher) when one of his team members failed to see/share the vision that he had for the fonts on the Lisa Project and the programmer was subsequently fired.

This past week has been pretty interesting.

The business has taken the turn for the better- for the first time in I don’t know how many months– and with that, came a myriad of lessons. I learnt about what perseverance really means to skeptics, critics, investors and consumers alike.

It’s that look in the founder’s eye that says:

 “Really, this project is going to happen. And it WILL be a breakthrough success. I am here, to rule the world.”

This is what my next feat is: being able to express to future investors our intentions and our ability as a team to make good on all our deliverables. Many would think that a couple of years of experience (where it matters), some great ideas and a well thought-through plan of execution is enough to woe any potential “buyer”. But I think that the above is actually secondary. What the buyer wants to see is more than mere ability but a combination of ability and passion/drive/zest. That is, how badly do YOU want to see this succeed?

When the going gets tough, it is the belief and dedication of every member of the team that determines whether you crumble under the pressure or you rise-up to the occasion. Forget, for a moment, the list of qualifications which accompany the various organs of the company. Yes, organs.

The company as a whole is like the human body with every team member being a different yet vital organ…Vital to the performance and wellbeing of the overall body. And believe me, the going really does get tough. There are times when nothing seems to be going your way and every attempt to move forward seems like a leap towards the back. It is in these times where tensions rise and with them comes a googolplex of overwhelming frustrations that sadly can not be remedied by anything but success. A programmer that believes that he deserves to get paid according to his contribution and his expertise will fail you at this point because you are unable to fulfill these needs. You’re still a startup. Which by definition is:

“…a human institution designed to deliver a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty.”- Eric Ries, The Lean Startup

So you need people that will be willing to endure these conditions because they possess a clear understanding and belief in the vision of the startup. And they are determined to do all that they can to achieve this vision because they know- that their efforts will yield success and this success will be worth all the time and money sacrificed for this team of revolutionaries.

That’s what you want: dedication throttled by belief; not mere action driven by compensation.

So, look amongst your crew members and ask yourself whether these are the right people to be the custodians of your vision of a better tomorrow.

Learn how to: Delegate and Relegate.

Picture credit: http://www.clipartof.com

 

 

Sometimes as entrepreneurs we try too hard.

We are hard on ourselves and we believe that for people to validate us as “proper entrepreneurs” we have to always take the hardest way and try create a smarter way even when the most obvious solution is the only solution.

Yes, it is pretty cool to have a story to share with people where you talk about how hard shit was for you and how you got through all the odds to finally make it. Pretty poetic huh?
But the thing is: there are already so many odds against you as an entrepreneur. Why would you want to add to that burden? It only wastes a lot of valuable time.

Instead of trying to crack your brain about a new way to access your app by adding a specific new button on every cellphone; you could just accept that this idea will never scale and move on to the next problem (hopefully this time with a less ridiculous strategy). This week I’m looking to make another employment. I’m employing a “Route Manager” to help me out with getting some information that will prove too time-consuming and costly for me to do by my own. Of course, I suffer the same “superman-condition” so initially I wanted to get all of this done myself and truly “grind hard”. Then it occurred to me that this would really just be pointless and too much.

I chose to delegate.

On the flip side, however: this is YOUR company, YOUR creation, YOUR initiative- you need to make sure that things are done. That’s the difficulty in being at the head of a certain project. At the end of the day, it’s your vision that you are trying to build and thus getting more people to aid you in achieving this vision. No matter how many people you employ, if you startup fails- it’s all on you. It’s your fault because it is your responsibility as the dreamer to ensure that your dream is secured and realized. So when a team member is not performing or when you feel that he/she is not as passionate about the project as they ought to be: you need to make the executive decision to relegate the team member (drop the team member from the league that is- your dream).

Delegate where you can but always be prepared and willing to relegate where you should.

#ProjectZooloo

@ZooLooConcepts

@AudioSkillz

Weirdos Welcome

Eyes are magnetically inclined to attract towards his presence. Necks break as they try to propel themselves towards every glistening beam of his aura. He is not beautiful, neither is he handsome. He isn’t necessarily dressed well either… in fact, his outfit is rather odd to say the least. We are all looking at him because He. Is. Weird.

We were ‘that guy’ this weekend at Primi Piatto, Maponya Mall. We were co-hosting an event with another group of striders, Collected Effort. The event was set to be a sophisticated gathering of some rather dapper individuals who seek to amass themselves within the spirit of ZooLoo. The crowd that Collected Effort and ZooLoo generated was mixed- but the same. In that, even though many personalities were on display at the event: they were still just a bunch of hip/young kids having a good time at a premium venue. Everything was kosher.

Till #TheZooLooCamp finally decided to show-up donning their symbolically leopard printed vests. Because of this, entry into the venue (of our own event) was a challenge. The dress code was Smart/Casual and the atmosphere at the time was rather- ‘mellow’. We, however, looked like this!

Yes, we are weird- and so are many other people around us. Even you, yes YOU reading this! The only difference is that we embrace this authentic separation from the norm(pop culture). It is our creative prerogative to do so. So why would any young company want to resemble what has been deemed “proper”, “normal” and “business-like”? Well, that’s easy:

        to be accepted as business “worthy” and to be taken seriously with every single syllable thy mouth ought to utter. You want to represent a “company”. A corporate structure. Pertaining to the feeble trail layed down by “the pioneers” of last. Everyone wants to become a “Donald Trump” of their own so as to be treated like Donald Trump (an important/superior figure)…. Fuck that.

We don’t live in a world where keeping up with the Jones’s is in the best interest of any organisation attempting to instill positive change within their own ‘market’. In fact, it actually hinders on the whole move towards change. The fact that your business exists means that you’ve identified a gap within that area of industry. A room for change.

Remember, when we once mentioned how your business should not only flow with the natural transition of things but innovate these transitions? So, BE that change. Let what your business is all about resonate throughout every move you make as a business/team.

Unique-ness sets the expectation that the same quality will be reverberated throughout your products. This is what everyone is thinking about right now. Who/what is the next big thing. In the same way that the “weirdo” turned heads. That’s what your company has to do. There needs to be something about you that is left behind after that presentation. Something that is so special that it emerges as a light of: potential. So that even if someone walked in right after you and did that exact same presentation- yours would still be highlighted by whatever it is that sets you apart (the Difference)

Being young is all about being against authority and structure. Why abandon that in order to please some ‘Uncle Toms’ when we’re really just trying to please ourselves? Why not amplify this inherent quality so as to re-create the norm. Making it what we want it to be… authentic; reflective- relevant. This whole “In your face” approach has brought about a lot of success to “organizations” such as Young Money, the legendary Wu-Tang Clan, and the ever controversial Odd Future. All of which are musically orientated groups that have metamorphosed into lucrative businesses.

Odd Future has based its whole “business model” on being so different, so authentic and so reflective of the punk/rebel teenager who just wants to scream out “Fuck You” at every “white lady riding around in a Volvo”. Because of this, many teenagers have responded by creating this massive cult following that has spread across shores. Odd Future hardly makes profits from record sales. Their profits are derived (for the most part) from their concerts and “merch” (merchandise). No one ever really thinks of Odd Future as these “great Hip Hop artists”. People buy their weird shirts and come to their overly eccentric-energy filled-drugged out shows simply because: OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All) is weird. They are reflective of change. Of a Difference

We live in a world where being unique is rewarded with Twitter followers, Facebook Likes, Retweets, Reblogs, YouTube views and a bunch of “WOWs”. All of which drive sales of any sort.

So how does your business/startup stick out like a sore thumb?

Next week we’ll be posting up various businesses that attempt to push the envelope.

So just go to our Facebook page, Like the page then write on our wall. Tell us what it is that you are doing to instill positive change towards our generation.

@ZooLooConcepts

@TheCalm101

@HlengiKing

@AudioSkillz

Startup Advice from Mark Zuckerburg

This is an interview in 2011 that Mark had at Startup School. He explains the “early days” section of the interview very well, dispelling many rumours about the beginning stages of Facebook- mostly caused by the 2010 motion picture ‘The Social Network’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB95KLmpLR4).

He talks about an issue that I’ve been covering during the course of this week. Finding the team: what organisational elements should exist, who should your team consist of and the importance of a common vision within the team and knowing how and what to do to achieve the vision.

These above points are validly addressed in the attached clip.
Hope this helps you.

Follow us @ZooLooConcepts

How To Find Your First Employees

 

As I mentioned earlier, this week will be dedicated to finding enough resources from the web in order for us to determine how to construct the perfect team for our various startups, right? I find it quite interesting that Jay Adelson mentioned that the team members at first need to be “Jack of all traits and Master none”.

This view mad me think about how, as entrepreneurs, we often try to over think who we should get on the various projects. We ask: is he qualified enough to give me the right advice? Can I trust this person or will they just end up stealing my ideas and making them better? Although leading towards paranoia; these concerns are justified by the fact that our startups are essentially our lives. If we want the start up to work- we ave to eat and live our startup. If, like me, you have an entrepreneurial state of mind- you begin to make certain projections that excite you and make the Idea/Concept that much more valuable in your life.

 

I had a meeting on Monday with a couple of partners that I have for another startup I’m involved in and one that I plan on investing greatly on. Before me, I saw a group of very ambitious and intelligent set of young men. This for me is all you need from a team. A bit of hunger and some natural ability. These two traits ensure that your team can put in the long hours where their needed and also be able think on their feet when things go slightly out of plan (as they normally do with young startups). I use the term “a bit of hunger” because I’ve realised that no one’s going to want your startup to be successful as much you do. As entrepreneurs, our lives revolve around the idea that this new business, is our key to economic emancipation, recognition etc. So we have to compensate this lack of natural commitment to our startup  by using our basic understanding of certain existing human dynamics.

Jay Adelson mentioned one of the human dynamics: incentive. By offering the early members of your team parts of the company as opposed to just the usual underpaid salary, you create a need/ incentive for their hard work. They feel more like a part of the startup then just being the “help” thus increasing their propensity to deliver great work.

The Team

Unlike with most of my ideas, Zooloo is one that i came up with in solitude. I had been at home wondering why nothing had been done to solve this problem. I turned to the web and realised that indeed no one had gone out to solve this problem. Some tried but didn’t have the bigger picture in mind. Some were too far off. 

Zooloo is spot on.

Now, having this great idea be entirely mine and  living the life that I live which is mostly one of solitude and a sometimes very absent social life, means that I need to get other people as excited as I am (which is totally impossible) in order to assemble the perfect Team. 

Where do you find these people? Who are they? Do they have to be so old? Does experience out-weigh talent? How do you create the best environment to hone-in on such talent?

Throughout the next week, I’ll be posting up as many of the resoures that I’ll be using to answer these questions. Hopefully, by the end of the week I will be able to write a piece that sums up everything that I’ve received- clearly. 

Here’s to another weekend gone, and another week started.