The Unapologetic Capitalist

The Unapologetic Capitalist relays 2 simple strategies to plant seeds for quick, low risk and profitable ways to generate revenue in your business. As industries, economies and marketplaces emerge and evolve, businesses can stagnate.  Margins get squeezed, the shine of innovation wears off, and economies of scale can turn to dis-economies.  In an attempt to generate revenues, many companies err in seeking strategies that seduce in the short term, but thwart generating revenues and value for the long-term.  This discussion focuses on two cogent strategies that leverage a venture’s core products and assets to quickly, sustainably, and profitably generate revenue.

First, a quick review of last few shows on social media strategy:

* Big take away:

* Social media is here and will just keep growing

* How loud the voice will get is still unknown

* What we do know is that social media strategy is a lot like teenage sex…everybody says they are doing it, but few are actually…and those who are, aren’t doing it very well.

To generate revenue, consider the context.  Let’s take the top 3 most popular times when a company really feels the pinch to generate revenue:

* New businesses well and then stagnate. PR and the honeymoon phase only take you so far…the marriage has to last.

* Products may become commoditized…if product is valuable then entrants come in and margins get squeezed

* Service businesses…feed the beast businesses. If you do well, you get bigger, the beast then grows and needs to be fed more.

So what do we do?

* Consider the metrics that can be used to assess how you generate revenue and how well a firm is doing with respect to its profitability drivers. What are your profitability drivers? Remember, your customer and your P&L need to define the metrics that drive generating revenue.

* Generate revenue by doing one of two things for your company (or for your customers):

* Change your unit of business so it more closely reflects the value created for customers. You will probably also want to change how you measure the effectiveness of your performance.

* As industries emerge and evolve, most players eventually settle on a common unit of offering. Lawyers sell units of time (billable hours), consumer-goods producers sell bars of soap and boxes of cereal, airlines sell passenger trips, and so on. These are all units of business—the fundamental basis for transactions between buyers and sellers.

* Dramatically change your performance on existing key metrics in a way that uniquely favors your company.

What Type of Business is Your Venture?

* Commoditized businesses:

* Changing your unit of business, or radically changing your key metrics, can be a powerful engine for growth, particularly for early movers.

* From a competitive point of view, a change in the unit of business can be difficult for rivals to respond to because it often comes as a surprise.

* Beast Businesses: Service industries…pricing…adding a product that adds value without connecting it to the billable hour. The allure is to go to high price few transactions to make more money, but this strategy is highly susceptible to falling victim to a bad economy.  A better model is actually coming up with a low priced, high volume transaction like a subscription model to generate revenue.

Megalomaniac CEO's overuse their social media so their addicted egos can get the continuous adulations they need from their many manufactured ‘fans.’ Studies show the more time they spend on social media, the more they sink the value of the company they are supposed to lead. Others are so private or fearful of connecting with the users on social media that their scarce presence makes consumers dubious. In times of crisis, these leaders are ineffective because they lack credibility. Is your social media helping or hurting your venture? Join the discussion and learn the red flags and best practices for leveraging social media for adding value to your venture.

Can the media be an effective tool in building value in your company? How does media build your company’s brand and personal reputation?  Can the media be used to proactively or even reactively manage your reputation?  Special Guest: Davidson Goldin founder of Goldin Solutions specializing in corporate communications, public affairs and crisis based in Manhattan shares his insights on how to make media your friend and not your foe.

* Introduction of Show Topic: Can Social Media Be an Effective Tool in Proactively Managing Your Brand? Your Reputation? Can it be Used Reactively?  Special Guest: Davidson Goldin: Goldin Solutions specializing in corporate communications, public affairs and crisis based in Manhattan.

* Brief Recap of Past Couple of Shows

* Pick the right CEO — 4 CEO archetypes:

* Naked Emperor/Megalomaniacs – Sink value of company: golf score, huge mansions, corporate jet for personal use, win awards, write books & sit on many boards while in office – Media whores

* Firefighters: these are the ones who are so busy putting out a bush fire in front of them they neglect the whole forest and they justify their business because they don’t get that they are putting out a modest impediment…they are “too busy” to plan and prepare, and unknowingly they lose sight of the vision of the venture.

* Dinosaurs: who have long since been irrelevant to the company, but aren’t yielding to the next generation of leaders who want to grow and innovate in the company

* Benevolent Dictators: this is what everyone should strive for

* Find the distinction between identities of CEO vs Company. Not mutually exclusive.

* Use the media appropriately. Many are using social media strategy for their companies but few to no one has figured out how to measure its efficacy or use media optimally

* Balance the 2-way communications of social media:

* Push- promotion of products and brand

* Pull- customer/consumer communication/feedback

* Introduction of Davidson Goldin: Goldin Solutions

* Introduction of Goldin Solutions

* Overview of clients main challenges with media in general

* How do you measure the efficacy of media?

* How do you advise clients in the use of social media?

* How do you recommend finding the balance between media for the CEO relative to the media for the company and its products?

* Social media has made and sunk leaders. How would you advise CEOs to use social media professionally as it relates to their own career?

* How can social media be used to manage reputation? Proactively? Reactively?

* Wrap Up

You, your venture, and the social media world is a perplexing threesome.  Where does the CEO as an individual separate from the vision and value of the company on social media? How do you find the balance between the two-way dialogue between your company and your customers that social media provides? How do you balance the promotional branding of your product that you put out there on social media with the unsolicited customer feedback and conversations that comes back into your company? Most importantly, how can you leverage and measure the impact of social media to build company value?

* CEO archetypes

* Naked Emperor/Megalomaniacs – Sink value of company: golf score, huge mansions, corporate jet for personal use, win awards, write books & sit on many boards while in office – Media whores

* Firefighters: these are the ones who are so busy putting out a bush fire in front of them they neglect the whole forest and they justify their business because they don’t get that they are putting out a modest impediment…they are “too busy” to plan and prepare, and unknowingly they lose sight of the vision of the venture …..

* Dinosaurs: who have long since been irrelevant to the company, but aren’t yielding to the next generation of leaders who want to grow and innovate in the company

* Benevolent Dictators: this is what everyone should strive for

* Social media

* Company

* Strategy offers marketing channel to push products to customers

* Customers on social media can communicate directly with company. Before social media, one disgruntled customer might tell 10 people. With the reach of social media, they could tell millions. Add to that our society of reality TV and micro blogging that indulges, inspires and rewards unfiltered judgmental complaining. This means even when you haven’t done anything wrong or even know if someone is pissed off, a customer can denigrate the value of your company through the reach of social media

* The CEO

* Social media strategy offers a forum to espouse vision of the company

* Social media is also offers a place to humanize leadership of company

* However, leadership must be careful to separate their personal social media from their company related social media. They can bleed over and cause detriment to company value.

Are you a good CEO? What kind of leader are you? Many CEOs sink the value of their company by getting distracted by their own media. A good leader and CEO will prioritize the needs of the venture over their personal wants. It is important to learn what outlets and assets to properly leverage to build value in the venture rather than unwittingly destroying the company’s value by indulging in their personal megalomania.

* The 4 archetypes of CEOs:

* Naked Emperor/Megalomaniac CEO: Typically rule by fear, and need ‘yes men’ around them. Fear change and innovation and highly vulnerable to ‘scoundrels’ or competitive opportunists. CEOs with excellent golf games, huge mansions, corporate jet for personal use, win awards, write books & sit on many boards while in office will sink value of company. These CEOs are also media whores who emphasize their personal want for attention over promoting important core business of the company.

* Firefighter CEO: Put forth an inordinate amount of effort on tactical ‘fires’ in front of them and often neglect the greater forest. These CEOs are the ones who are so busy putting out a bush fire in front of them they neglect the whole forest and they justify their business because they don’t see that they are thwarting company progress by putting out a modest impediment. These CEOs are “too busy” to plan and prepare, and unknowingly they lose sight of the vision of the venture.

* Dinosaur CEO: Older CEOs who have been content with their earlier successes and haven’t seen any value in staying on the forefront of their industry or investing in innovation. They have long since become ‘extinct’/obsolete in their industry and excuse their lack of current results or leadership with their ‘good intentions.’ These CEOs have long since been irrelevant to the company, but aren’t yielding to the next generation of leaders who want to grow and innovate in the company.

* Benevolent Dictator: What every good CEO and leader should strive to be. An effective leader who prioritizes the long term value and needs of the venture above any short term or individual want. Benevolent Dictator

* Key CEO questions:

* Are you making excuses or taking responsibility?

* How much does experience matter?

* How much does management skill matter?

* Key to a good CEO is prior assessment as whether or not they are the right person to be at the helm. A good hire must be more than a short term PR move.

* How are you using the assets and media available to grow the company?

* Are you using media to promote the company? Or are you just promoting yourself?

* Are you prioritizing the needs of your venture above your own personal wants?

A CEO’s job is to build long term value in their company. Yet many CEOs fail. Having the right CEO to lead a company is critical to a venture’s success. The wrong CEO can be disastrous. Learn to spot the red flags, and ask the right questions to understand who the best CEO is to lead your venture towards exceptional long term value.

* CEO case example: American Apparel CEO ousting overview

* The 4 archetypes of CEOs:

* Naked Emperor CEO: Typically rule by fear, and need ‘yes men’ around them. Tend to rest on their laurels. Fear change and innovation and highly vulnerable to ‘scoundrels’ or competitive opportunists

* Firefighter CEO: Put forth an inordinate amount of effort on tactical ‘fires’ in front of them and often neglect the greater forest.

* Dinosaur CEO: Older CEOs who have been content with their earlier successes and haven’t seen any value in staying on the forefront of their industry or investing in innovation. They have long since become ‘extinct’/obsolete in their industry and excuse their lack of current results or leadership with their ‘good intentions.’

* Benevolent Dictator: What every good CEO and leader should strive to be. An effective leader who prioritizes the long term value and needs of the venture above any short term or individual want. Benevolent Dictator

* CEO founders — These CEO’s have a passion for product, but to what end? Good business decisions must be made devoid of passion. Young ones lack experience, and can be hindered by their own hubris.

* CEO hires — Leading a public company is a fundamentally different type of company to run than a private one.

* Key CEO questions:

* Are you making excuses or taking responsibility?

* How much does experience matter?

* How much does management skill matter?

* Company needs are different at different times: A public company is a different beast and generally best run by a different person than when it was a private one. The average company that goes public is on its 3rd CEO by the time they go public.

* Many CEOs fail at their core job of adding long term value to their venture. Most people think their bosses suck, so when staring a company, they think they can do it better. And, why not? You might think you are pretty smart, and what the hell do those older folks know anyway. They are old and out of touch, but experience still counts, and it is the smart person who knows what they don’t know so that they can hire it.

Key to a good CEO is prior assessment as whether or not they are the right person to be at the helm. A good hire must be more than a short term PR move.

CEO John Kawola of Harvest Automation discusses the challenges of selling innovation to a traditional marketplace that is generally slow to adopt new technologies. John Kawola talks about the need to invest in building face-to-face relationships with the customer and utilizing ‘old school’ sales techniques such as product education and trials to convert sales. Selling innovation is key to generating long term venture value.

* Introduction of Show Topic: How High Growth Ventures Can Bridge the Chasm from Today to The Next Major Milestone Toward Building A Venture of Significant Long Term Value – Highlighting Harvest Automation with John Kawola and Discussing Selling Innovation

* Brief Recap of Venture Series

* Making Prudent and Informed Decisions Given Time & Resources…Knowing True Costs (hard costs and opportunity costs)

* Key Challenges for Ventures:

* Gaining Critical Mass of Customers…the Right Customers

* Getting Adoption of New Innovation from Notoriously Slow Industries (e.g. Health Care and Agriculture)

* Inventory Management…Balance of Investment in Inventory & Operations versus Investment in Sales and Business Development

* Brief Review of Previous Shows & Lead into Harvest Automation – CEO John Kawola and Selling Innovation

* Introduction of Harvest Automation

* Overview of Opportunity…Give market size & growth potential of the pie that Harvest Automation is looking to take a slice

* Story of how/why Harvest Automation was founded

* Story John Kawola’s role in company

* Current Status of Harvest Automation…Give metrics (if willing) to indicate current status such as revenue size, number of consumers, funding history

* Next Major Milestone for Harvest Automation

* Key Challenge(s) for Growing Harvest Automation

* Selling Innovation in an Industry that is Generally Reticent to Innovation

* Balancing Product Evolution with Building Long Term Consumers

* Early stage customers who are willing to be part of the product evolution process

* Mass market customers who aren’t generally tolerant of any tweaks or changes to the product and user experience…Who are these customers for Harvest Automation?

* Measuring Success

* Metrics…what are they and are they aligned with investor’s expectations?

* Timing…what are the expectations? How realistic are these expectations?

Building Product and Brand Awareness with Cheryl Rosner, CEO Stayful.com

Building brand awareness is key to venture success. Stayful CEO Cheryl Rosner discusses the challenges of building product and brand awareness amongst multiple customer groups.  The show includes an in-depth conversation exploring the evolution of creating brand awareness with early adopting customers who are integrally involved in product development to mass market customers who want a perfect product at a low cost.

* Introduction of Show Topic: How High Growth Ventures Can Bridge the Chasm from Today to The Next Major Milestone Toward Building A Venture of Significant Long Term Value – Highlighting Building Brand Awareness with Stayful CEO Cheryl Rosner

* Brief Recap of Venture Series

* Making Prudent and Informed Decisions Given Time & Resources…Knowing True Costs (hard costs and opportunity costs)

* Key Challenges for Ventures:

* Gaining Critical Mass of Customers…the Right Customers

* Getting Adoption of New Innovation from Notoriously Slow Industries (e.g. Health Care and Agriculture)Inventory Management…Balance of Investment in Inventory & Operations versus Investment in Sales and Business Development

* Brief Review of Firelight & Lead into Stayful

* Introduction of Stayful

* Overview of Opportunity…Give market size & growth potential of the pie that Stayful is looking to take a slice

* Story of how/why Stayful was founded

* Story of CEO…include background that brought Cheryl to found Stayful and take role as the CEO

* Current Status of Stayful…discuss metrics to indicate current status and brand awareness of Stayful, number of consumers, number of participating boutique hotels, funding history

* Next Major Milestone for Stayful: Tackling Brand Awareness

* Key Challenge(s) for Growing Stayful

* Gaining Key Brand Awareness

* Leveraging brand awareness & adoption of boutique hotel customer w/ consumer who is going to bid for the booking

* Balancing Product Evolution with Building Loyal Consumer Brand Awareness

* Early stage customers who are willing to be part of the product evolution process

* Mass market customers who aren’t generally tolerant of any tweaks or changes to the product and user experience

* Measuring Success of Brand Awareness

* Metrics…how do you measure successful brand awareness? How do you aligned brand awareness with investor’s expectations?

* Timing…how quickly can you realistically build meaningful brand awareness?

* Wrap Up

An excellent product launch is critical for venture success. Robert Frisch, CEO of Firelight Camps, discusses the key challenges of preparing for a product launch. Firelight is bringing ‘glamping’ (a high end camping experience) to unique hotel properties and vineyards. The UC and Robert discuss the product launch of an innovative product in the traditional hospitality market space. Key product launch challenges include identifying valuable core customers, gaining market traction, and finding economies of scale in a capital intensive product.

* Introduction of Show Topic: How High Growth Ventures Can Bridge the Chasm from Today to The Next Major Milestone Toward Building A Venture of High Growth – Highlighting Firelight Camps with CEO Robert Frisch

* Brief Recap of Venture Series

* Discussion of 3 Key Impediments Toward Achieving Key Milestones in a Growing Venture

* Setting the Right Milestones

* Having Clarity of the Ventures Current Status

* Setting the Appropriate Next Milestone Given Status

* Being Disciplined Not to Skip Steps

* Understanding Realistic Resources and Timing

* Making Prudent and Informed Decisions…Knowing True Costs (hard costs and opportunity costs)

* Key Challenges for Ventures:

* Gaining Critical Mass of Customers During Product Launch

* Getting Adoption of New Innovation from Notoriously Slow Industries (e.g. Hospitality,Health Care, and Agriculture)

* Inventory Management…Balance of Investment in Inventory & Operations versus Investment in Sales and Business Development for Optimal Product Launch

* Introduction & Profile of Firelight Camps

* Overview of Opportunity

* Story of Firelight Camps

* Story of CEO

* Current Status of Firelight Camps and Their Product Launch

* Key Challenge for Growing Firelight Camps Post Product Launch

* Discussion of Strategy to Balance Investment in Capacity & Business Development & Brand Building…Growing Business While Ensuring Economies of Scale

* Wrap Up

 

CEO Jordan Schindler of Nüfabrx discusses bringing his venture to the next major milestone by balancing investment in sales and inventory management. The discussion hits the 3 key impediments towards achieving the critical milestones in a high growth venture and discusses solutions for building a venture of significant value.

Nufabrx Overview: This venture has created a new way to administer essential oils, medications, vitamins and cosmeceuticals. Their approach embeds medications into any fabric, which releases actives into the skin on contact—yet not into the wash during laundering of the fabric. The first product, the Nufabrx pillowcase, is made of bamboo and infused with clinically proven natural remedies to treat acne.

* Introduction of Show Topic: How High Growth Ventures Can Bridge the Gap from Today to The Next Major Milestone Toward Building A Venture of Great Value – Highlighting Nüfabrx with CEO Jordan Schindler

* Brief Recap of Last Show

* Discussion of 3 Key Impediments Toward Achieving Key Milestones in a Growing Venture

* Setting the Right Milestones

* Having Clarity of the Ventures Current Status

* Setting the Appropriate Next Milestone Given Status

* Being Disciplined Not to Skip Steps

* Understanding Realistic Resources and Timing

* Making Prudent and Informed Decisions…Knowing True Costs (hard costs and opportunity costs)

* Key Challenges for Ventures:

* Gaining Critical Mass of Customers

* Getting Adoption of New Innovation from Notoriously Slow Industries (e.g. Health Care and Agriculture)

* Inventory Management…Balance of Investment in Inventory & Operations versus Investment in Sales and Business Development

* Introduction & Profile of Venture Nüfabrx

* Overview of Opportunity

* Story of Venture

* Story of CEO

* Current Status of Venture

* Key Challenge for Growing Venture Nüfabrx

* Discussion of Venture Strategy to Balance Investment in Inventory & Business Development

* Transitioning Venture from Smaller Customers to Large Ones

* Wrap Up