entrepreneur's perspective: identifying opportunities & telling big stories

OPPORTUNITIES & BIG STORIESKurt Uhlir

ENTREPRENEUR'S PERSPECTIVE:

CEO & Co-founder, Sideqik

September 28, 2014

Who is an Entrepreneur?

ENTREPRENEURone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise

@KurtUhlir

Who is an Entrepreneur?

ENTREPRENEURone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise

@KurtUhlir

Who is an Entrepreneur?

ENTREPRENEURone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise

@KurtUhlir

Who is an Entrepreneur?

ENTREPRENEURone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise

@KurtUhlir

Can Everyone be an Entrepreneur?

No!

CAN EVERYONE BE AN ENTREPRENEUR?

No!

IS BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR THE ONLY PATH TO SUCCESS?

@KurtUhlir

Kurt’s versionWho is an Innovator?

A person that has an insatiable need to 1) figure things out 2) put things in order 3) step out when no one else will 4) desire to serve others and help them grow to their potential

INNOVATOR

STORYTELLER NEEDY

UNIQUE

SMART

EFFICIENT

PERSISTENT

ELASTIC

NIMBLE

TALENTED@KurtUhlir

Exercise: 30 Circles

When we say GO! Transform each circle into something recognizable, such as a ball, a planet, bike wheels, etc

YOU HAVE A SHEET WITH 30 CIRCLES

It’s OK to draw outside the lines

The goal: transform all 30 circles in FOUR minutes

@KurtUhlir

Exercise: 30 Circles Examples

Exercise: 30 Circles

IF < 30, WHY?Not clear about the rules

Could the circles be combined?

How different should they be?

Not a fan of deadlines

Couldn’t draw fast enough

Not sure how much you wanted to get into this

@KurtUhlir

Path to Innovation

Connect all dots with 4 lines without lifting pen/pencil.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!

@KurtUhlir

Path to Innovation

Connect all dots with 4 lines without lifting pen/pencil.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!

@KurtUhlir

Path to Innovation

Path to Innovation

PATH A PATH B

@KurtUhlir

Path to Innovation

INNOVATION IS A PROCESS

EXPERIMENTS

ASSOCIATION

NETWORKING

RISKOBSERVATION

QUESTIONING

@KurtUhlir

FINDING AN OPPORTUNITYWhat’s causing people pain?

Gaps, pains & impossibilitiesIDENTIFY

Define the opportunity as narrowly & specifically as possible

NARROW

Talk to those that will use it, pay for it & could stop it

FIND STAKEHOLDERS

@KurtUhlir

FINDING AN OPPORTUNITYIs it big enough?

Phase 1? Phase 2?

Total Addressable Market?

FINDING AN OPPORTUNITYAssessing the opportunity fit?

Campaign

Mobile

Sales

NEEDED

DEFENDABLE

POSSIBLE

@KurtUhlir

Finding an opportunity

MOST STARTUPS FAIL

GOOD IDEAS ARE NOT ENOUGH

@KurtUhlir

Business plan, investor pitch and marketing strategy

WHO CARES ABOUT YOUR STORY?

STORYTELLING

HOW WILL THIS IMPACT YOUR CUSTOMERS STORY?

WHAT’S YOUR STORY ARC?

WHAT QUESTIONS WILL THEY HAVE?@KurtUhlir

The story will lead you

YOUR AUDIENCE

STORYTELLING: SPREADING THE WORD

ADVERTISING

MARKETING PARTNERSHIPS

@KurtUhlir

The story will lead you

PAINT A BIG PICTURE

STORYTELLING: MARKETING TIPS

SHOW SHORT-TERM BENEFITS

BE ABLE TO ANSWER HOW A CROSS-PROMOTION COULD HELP MARKETING PARTNERS

KISS PRINCIPLE

@KurtUhlir

You are better together

DEFINE INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITIES

TEAM: CULTURE TIPS

HELP OTHERS

REMEMBER THAT CREATIVE TENSION IS NORMAL AND HEALTHY

LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO ENCOURAGE

ENDURE & EXECUTE

@KurtUhlir

Summary

INNOVATION IS A PROCESS

TELL A GOOD STORY

If you were sleeping - just remember the following.

THINK BIG

YOU CAN DO THIS

FAIL OFTEN & FAIL FAST

@KurtUhlir

@KurtUhlir

sideqik.com/blog

EtherealInnovations.com