A few months ago we felt the need for a change. We felt that our image couldn’t possibly reflect the dynamism, the adrenaline rush, the risk and the unpredictability that is working with startups.
After some careful thought, we made a choice, a choice that every entrepreneur makes when they decide to build their own business, and that is to embrace the unexpected (in this case, go for the rebrand)… Luckily for us, we bumped into Ogilvy, who guided us through the whole process, who took the guts to take our wildest ideas and put it into practice.
The result? A whole new brand that truly represents who we are and what we do.
So, when last night, our own President, Pedro Rocha Vieira, sends a whatsapp to the whole team saying that our rebranding and new logo won the prize of the year in advertising in Portugal, we kind of felt like our friend Conan right here…
Thanks to the brilliant design of Ogilvy, at the Meios & Publicidade Award Ceremony last night, Beta-i was awarded with Best Rebranding, Best Logo and Best Piece (our squiggle cards).
We couldn’t have felt more proud… Thank you to all those at Ogilvy who contributed to this design and new concept, and to all those entrepreneurs who have inspired us along the way.
Customer Development can help you take the right steps.
Have you ever had this great idea that can make you barely sleep at night with all the excitement?
“It’s a great idea but what if I’m not thinking clearly?” Hmm.. Well, if all your friends loved the idea too probably it will work out, right? And if your mom also thinks it’s a “cute” project, now that’s the final proof it really is the time to quit your job and start working night and day on your way up to success, right?
Wrong. Probably you’re not asking the right questions.
You’re secretly looking for accomplices that share your enthusiasm, and when people unconsciously notice what are you looking for with those questions, they have a natural tendency to agree. They want to see you happy, but that momentary happiness can lead you to follow the wrong direction and come to an end where you’ve built something just for your own use.
Rob Fitzpatrick is the author of “The Mom Test”, a book on Customer Development and how to ask the right questions to your potential customers. He has also been an entrepreneur for the past 10 years, a Y-Combinator Alumni and developed different products, some of them used by major brands like MTV and Sony.
Rob is coming to Lisbon (April 11) to give a Masterclass on “How to talk to your customers” at Beta-i, so make sure you don’t miss the chance to learn the right steps to take when you finally have that amazing idea (or if you’re already struggling with customer feedback).
Ticket Includes Rob’s book On Customer Development
Even though there are inspiring stories about successful entrepreneurs that pivoted that persevered on their startup’s mission while nobody else believed them, listening to your users feedback, iterate and test is a basic cycle to achieve the so desired product/market fit.
Nowadays, we can see and hear the word “pivot” on everything that is startup-related, maybe a little too much. The word coined by Eric Ries represents a necessary attitude towards building something that users really want, however it should be done carefully and strategically: You should neither be scared of letting go your initial idea nor run to change everything at the first negative feedback. Test, measure, rethink and plan your iterations.
The fact the word “Pivot” is so easily pronounced kind of gives us the wrong perception of a quick and painless step on a Startup’s normal routine. Far from it:
“I love the result of our pivot. I also love the idea of pivoting. But I have a problem with the word “pivot.” The action sounds surgical, near-instant, and tidy. The actual experience is nothing like that.
Instead, our pivot was more like a weeks-long trudge through a fog of confusion that took lots of hard work and hard choices to emerge from.”
Continue to read Eric Larson’s “What It’s Really Like to Pivot a Startup” experience, also take a look on Eden’s struggle (initially an “Uber for Tech Support”) after being funded, and tell us your point of view or share other stories about pivoting you might know about.
Yesterday was the first day of the Lisbon Challenge Spring’16 edition which is testing out a smaller batch number in the quest to concentrate on quality. As all the founders sat in the auditorium listening to Pedro Rocha Vieira welcoming them to the 6th edition of the main accelerator of Beta-I, one would hope that most were internalizing their plan for the 10 weeks they will get to work hard, play hard and relax – the benefits of being in Lisboa.
You Are in Control
Accelerator programs don’t guarantee any kind of success instead provide the platform and tools for your startup to evolve – how much is really up to you. That’s why it’s essential that as a CEO you clearly define your path, create milestones and aggressively pursue them to ensure the final outcome is superior to what you initially envisaged.
It’s all about setting realistic expectations and understanding that the Lisbon Challenge accelerator provides you with mentorship, expert advice, networking and a structured program but it’s in the quality of questions that you’ll find the quality answers and solutions. Ask smart questions, chase people up and use their expertise to help you progress.
Though you will have access to investors at several stages of the accelerator, culminating in the demo days, you need to ensure that your product, team and pitch is first class – obsess over the details but don’t forget your product.
Your Product
Do you have customers that love your product? Airbnb’s co-founder and CEO, Brian Chesky recalls the advice Paul Graham gave him whilst at Y-Combinator – if you have people that love your product, you don’t have to worry about the viral growth thing – it will take care of itself.
Some startups focus too much on the investment and even though we realize how important that is when your runway is short, overly focusing on this can become a distraction for the founders taking too much time away from further developing your product.
For every main aspect of building your startup, there will be a mentor or expert on hand to help you in finding solutions. Though access to these professionals is extremely valuable, don’t underestimate the relationships that you will be able to develop with your program peers and Beta-I team. The capacity to bounce ideas off other founders that have as many similar as diverse experiences as you, is invaluable – a network that will outlive the time you spend in Lisboa.
Accelerator Advice
You will be exposed to many people who share their views openly, often giving you conflicting advice but despite all the support and great advice you get, you are still expected to think for yourselves. This is your startup and it’s your future. Lisbon Challenge will provide you access to data and informed opinions but you need to process them with caution. Part of the learning process is handling conflicting feedback from the many mentors and experts. They are not wrong, just in context to each and everyone’s experience and vision of business. Be courteous and above all check your egos at the door – be open minded and respectful then take the decision that is right for you.
“Plan. Think. Study. Test. Validate data. Validate firmly held positions. Know your planned sources of differentiation and adjust as you learn. Read plenty of “what went wrong” eulogies by founders and see what you can learn. But also understand that the lens from which they tell you the answer is both imperfect and has a narrative bias.“
There’s also that old saying “the harder I work the luckier I get.” Those who tend to outperform when they graduate from Lisbon Challenge accelerator program really made the most out of the program and probably had a little luck too. So good luck and stay tuned to our blog as we follow your progress and post useful insights to help you along the way.
There’s no doubt a Mentor can have a crucial role on a Startup’s way to success. Within the strong Lisbon Challenge network, there are three Core Mentors that will help and guide every single team from day one to the final pitch, covering these main areas: growth, product, tech and investment.
“It’s tempting to be focusing only on building your product/company during the program, but you should also focus on learning as much as possible, and try new things. Also, accept that many of the things you hold for true are actually hypothesis that you need to validate, and LC is the best place to do it. Lastly, be focus, be constant and show up, keep the involvement high.
My role is to push the teams to break the ice with their users and potential users, to help them go and talk with people, and build their own lean process for prototyping, testing and learning as efficiently as possible.” – Nicholas Mandelbaum.
Nicholas Mandelbaum – Former Entrepreneur and Development and Design Manager, Nicholas has more than 8 years in product design and management. He gathers a deep experience and a strong intuition into the right approach to deconstruct a problem and work on an effective user-centred strategy to solve it, always with a focus on UX/UI, innovative thinking and effective design.
Pedro Falcão – Currently Managing Partner of LC Ventures, the first global hands-on, accelerator investment vehicle based in Portugal. He counts with a solid background on managing funds and analyzing investment opportunities, that make him an expert in funding, pitching to investors and to what it takes for a startup to be investment-ready.
Fred Oliveira – Full Stack developer and UX designer, he was the first TechCrunch employee, a former 500 Startups mentor, Entrepreneur and now working at 1776, a global incubator based in Washington. As a Startup Advisor his focus areas are User Experience, Design, Development and Scaling.
“Mentors can help startups in many ways. On one hand many of the problems and struggles are common to many startups and mentors can surely help the startups address them in a better way.On the other hand, startups can lookup to mentors as someone with whom they can be totally open, being never afraid to say the wrong thing or to expose their weaknesses.” – Pedro Falcão
