6 Secrets to Startup Success

256 Pages·2011·1.34 MB·English

by  Bradberry, John.

6 SECRETS TO
STARTUP SUCCESS
How to Turn Your Entrepreneurial
Passion into a Thriving Business
JOHN BRADBERRY
Foreword by Pamela Slim,
author of Escape from Cubicle Nation
AMERICAN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
New York •Atlanta •Brussels •Chicago •Mexico City •San Francisco
Shanghai •Tokyo •Toronto •Washington, D.C.
AmericanManagementAssociation•www.amanet.org
Bulk discounts available. For details visit:
www.amacombooks.org/go/specialsales
Or contact special sales:
Phone: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
View all the AMACOM titles at: www.amacombooks.org
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard
to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not
engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or
other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person
should be sought.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Bradberry, John, 1961–
6 secrets to startup success : how to turn your entrepreneurial passion into a thriving
business / John Bradberry ; foreword by Pamela Slim.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8144-1606-8 (hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-8144-1606-3 (hardcover)
1. New business enterprises—Management. 2. Entrepreneurship. 3. Success in
business. I. Title. II. Title: Six secrets to startup success.
HD62.5.B723 2011
658.1'1—dc22
2010039039
© 2011 John G. Bradberry
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of AMACOM, a division
of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
About AMA
American Management Association (www.amanet.org) is a world leader in talent
development, advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success. Our mission
is to support the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of
products and services, including classroom and virtual seminars, webcasts, webinars,
podcasts, conferences, corporate and government solutions, business books, and
research. AMA’s approach to improving performance combines experiential learning—
learning through doing—with opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every
step of one’s career journey.
Printing Number
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
AmericanManagementAssociation•www.amanet.org
CONTENTS
Foreword by Pamela Slim v
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction xi
PART I Entrepreneurial Passion:
A Double-Edged Sword
Chapter 1: True Believers: Why Founders Fall in Love with
Their Ideas 3
The Sparks of Entrepreneurial Ambition
Fanning the Flames of Commitment
If You Build It, Will They Come?
Chapter 2: The Passion Trap: How Attachment to Your Idea Can
Sabotage Your Startup 23
What Is the Passion Trap?
The Damage Done: Six Negative Impacts of
Entrepreneurial Passion
The Core Pattern: How the Passion Trap Works
Icarus Qualities: Who Is Most Vulnerable to the
Passion Trap?
Early Warning Signs: Are You in Danger of Being Trapped?
Moving Forward: Six Principles for Making the Most of
Entrepreneurial Passion
PART II Your Foundation: Six Principles for Launching a
Can’t-Miss Startup
Chapter 3: Founder Readiness: How to Prepare for the
Entrepreneurial Journey 51
The Fundamentals of Founder Readiness
Purifying Your Entrepreneurial Passion
AmericanManagementAssociation•www.amanet.org
iv Contents
Chapter 4: The Pull of the Market: Attach to Your Customer,
Not to Your Idea 81
Developing a Strong Market Orientation
Antidote to the Passion Trap: Give Your Idea a Market Scrub
Chapter 5: Your Math Story: Charting a Path to Breakeven
and Beyond 103
Planning Is Clear Thinking
Constructing a Compelling Math Story
Securing the Right Funding
Chapter 6: Startup Agility: Executing with Focused Flexibility 125
The Paradox of Strong Execution
The New Venture Learning Curve
Chapter 7: Integrity of Communication: Your Secret
Startup Weapon 149
No One Is Immune to Reality Distortion
Integrity of Communication: The Basics
Four Personal Tools for Bursting the Feel-Good Bubble
Chapter 8: Staying Power: Give Your Venture Time to
Take Flight 169
Venture-Level Strategies: Strengthening and Lengthening
Your Runway
Founder-Level Strategies: Performing and Persevering
over Time
Appendix A: Startup Readiness Tool 191
Appendix B: Resources and Readings 207
Notes 215
Index 227
AmericanManagementAssociation•www.amanet.org
Foreword
Most of us harbor thoughts of starting a business.
It is a delicious fantasy while staring at gray cubicle walls, or toil-
ing outside for an hourly wage under the command of someone who
is profiting from the fruits of your labor.
“I can do this,” you say, “How hard could it be?”
Some, emboldened by the desire to take charge of their own des-
tiny, actually take the leap.
Things can go well for a while, until the moment when they real-
ize that there are a whole lot of things that can go wrong.
And that if they had known then what they knew now, they may not
have been so quick to give notice at their job, or to invest precious money,
time, and energy in an idea that was not quite ready for prime time.
The greatest heartbreak, popular success publications tout, is failing
to do something about your burning passion for a world-changing idea.
A greater heartbreak, in reality, is placing this idea onto a shaky
foundation, and watching it fall apart.
What is really driving your desire to start a business? If you are
like most people:
9 You want to make an impact in the world.
9 You want to create wealth for yourself and your family.
9 You want to translate your idea into a tangible product or
service.
9 You want to have flexibility to spend time with your family.
9 You want to feel fully alive.
9 You want to use your strengths in a way that leads to deep
value.
These desires are not fantasies. There are thousands of entrepre-
neurs who have built successful businesses on a solid foundation and
accomplish these goals every day.
AmericanManagementAssociation•www.amanet.org
vi Foreword
The difference between them and others who end up in the
“failed” pile of startup statistics is that they cared enough about their
ideas to give them the very best chance to succeed.
Caring means researching. Caring means testing ideas before
committing too many resources. Caring means not brushing off peo-
ple who challenge your idea. Caring means getting the very best ad-
vice from people who have successfully guided companies through
the startup phase and beyond.
In 6 Secrets to Startup Success, John Bradberry, a calm, steady hand
and seasoned mentor, brings an invaluable voice of reason that will
guide you every step of the way without preaching or dampening your
enthusiasm. He celebrates entrepreneurial passion while giving it the
structure it needs to result in business success:
The solution lies not in ratcheting down passion, but in elevating
awareness. By pausing early in your startup process to take an ob-
jective look at yourself and what you bring to the table—your pur-
pose, goals, skills, resources, and needs—you can develop a highly
valuable kind of optimism, one that rests on the rock of clear, hon-
est assessment and willful preparation. I call it earned optimism.
It is such a relief to know that sustained energy to grow your busi-
ness is not based on manufactured enthusiasm or pep talks from mo-
tivational speakers. It is based on executing a well-defined yet flexible
plan in tiny steps, leaning into the market and adjusting your business
model as you go.
If you want to mitigate and reduce risk to your career, your fi-
nances, your relationships, and your health before starting your busi-
ness, read this book.
You will breathe easier.
Most important, you will increase the likelihood that your busi-
ness will be a raging success.
—Pamela Slim, author, Escape from Cubicle Nation: From
Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur
AmericanManagementAssociation•www.amanet.org
Acknowledgments
Writing a book is similar to launching a business. Each requires more
time and effort than expected, and most of the sacrifice comes from
people other than the author (or founder). Looking back, I’m amazed
at how many talented people generously contributed to this project.
I cannot name them all here, so I will hit the high notes.
The only thing harder than being married to an entrepreneur is
being married to a first-time author. My wife, Kristin, has endured
both. She advised and supported me throughout the writing process,
providing invaluable feedback on chapter drafts and all kinds of emo-
tional and tactical support. She took on more than her share of re-
sponsibility for our family life while continuing to inspire me in her
own professional career. Thanks, Kristin, for being my best friend
and most trusted editor.
Thanks to Phoebe and Isabelle, for cheering me on while putting
up with the strange hours and obsessive habits of a book-writing dad.
Phoebe consistently motivated me with her own quiet determination,
and Isabelle single-handedly risked life and limb to save thirty pages
of a chapter draft that had blown into the street from the roof of my
car. Thanks, girls, for encouraging me and for keeping me going.
This book couldn’t exist without its central characters. I’m in-
debted to founders Lynn Ivey (The Ivey), J.C. Faulkner (Decision
One Mortgage), Mark Williams (Modality), and Mark Kahn (TRAF-
FIQ), for their courage, expertise, and openness—and for allowing
their founding stories to be shared with the world at large. One of
the themes of this book is that launching a business is a highly per-
sonal, emotional process. I have not taken it for granted that these
founders were willing to be so generous with their lessons learned,
and I know readers will benefit greatly from this generosity. I owe a
special thanks to J.C., who has been a favorite client, trusted friend,
business partner, and mentor for many years now.
Thanks also to other colleagues and experts who lent their voices
to the narrative by allowing material from their interviews to be in-
cluded, especially Chris Holden, Robert (Bob) Tucker, Ken Macher,
Shaun Cassidy, John Davenport, Doug Crisp, and Jerry Schiano.
AmericanManagementAssociation•www.amanet.org
viii Acknowledgments
Dawn Ballenger, who came to this book project just as the writing
of the manuscript was beginning, has been the person most indispens -
able to the quality and integrity of the finished product. Dawn spear-
headed the book’s research, was a close partner in developing the
ideas and structure of each chapter, and brought a gifted editorial
eye to all drafts. She has also become the rock of Ready Founder
Services and ReadyFounder.com, driving our most vital research and
product development efforts.
I owe a great debt to David Fugate, founder of LaunchBooks Lit-
erary Agency and a thriving entrepreneur himself, who was willing
to back a first-time author and provided expert coaching throughout
the process. Lori Spangard, of Terrace Blue Marketing, was vital dur-
ing the project’s earliest days, helping me shape first proposals and
connecting me with David Fugate (thanks also to entrepreneur ex-
traordinaire Louis Foreman, founder of Enventys and creator of
Everyday Edisons, for the assist here).
It’s been a pleasure working with the publishing professionals at
AMACOM Books, especially Robert Nirkind, who believed in this
book and invested more than his share of energy and ideas in making
it a reality, and Erika Spelman, who did most of the heavy lifting to
bring it past the finish line.
Adam Ortiz, of Executive Development Consulting, has provided
tremendous thought partnership and friendship throughout the proj-
ect. Thanks, Adam, for reading early drafts, for codeveloping the En-
trepreneur Core Characteristics Profile (thanks also here to S. Bart
Craig of North Carolina State University), and for being a rock-solid
business partner.
Thanks also to Mary Bruce, a pro’s pro when it comes to business
and management consulting, an early believer in the concept of as-
sessing entrepreneurial readiness, and a trusted colleague and busi-
ness partner.
To Pamela Slim: Thanks for your generosity, leadership, and sup-
port for me and for Charlotte’s (and the planet’s) entrepreneurial
community.
In no particular order, for a range of contributions without which
this book would not exist, thanks also to: Matt Spangard and the team
AmericanManagementAssociation•www.amanet.org
Acknowledgments ix
at Enventys, Daniel Isenberg, Barbara Spradling, Mark Peres, Colleen
Gentry, Ted Zoller, Jill Olmstead, Ken Murrah, Bruce Nofsinger,
Julie Nance, David Schroeder, Carol Ham, Ben Williams, Suzanne
Fetscher, David Dotlich, Peter Cairo, Stephen Rhinesmith, Fletcher
Fairey, George McAllister, Ron Meeks, Paul Wetenhall, Phil Hajek,
Gary James, Karen Hills, Nancy Owens, Julie Negrin, Richard Good-
man, and Jeffrey Kane.
Finally, I am grateful to my parents, Mary and George Bradberry,
for instilling in me a curiosity and a love of learning, and to brothers
George and Jim and sister Julee. Your teaching and spirit are deeply
imprinted throughout this book.
AmericanManagementAssociation•www.amanet.org