Mix and Focus

On Monday I talked about what you can achieve in just 48 hours. What I observed during StartupWeekend was that you need a few things in order to achieve the best results.

1. You need the right mix. Of people that is. The team must cover every aspect of business. Marketers, business people, designers, developers, all need to work together as a team to come up with ideas and implement them.
2. You need to focus. During the ideation process you can get lost in features and added value. This can easily end up diluting the real offering. Decide what problem you are solving and do that.
3. You need to do the work. Coming up with big ideas is just the beginning. If you cannot implement them, you haven't really achieved anything.
4. You need to find a reason. Just building something is not enough. In order for people to connect with you and buy into your product/service you need to find reason in what you are doing. Why are you doing this? Search within your team to find your reason.
5. Optional: Do some research. If you have the time, do some research. But don't take into account all comments. If you just listen to what people want you won't be trully innovative.

Now that you have everything, get ready to launch!

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

What Does Your Team Think?

Since the people in your team is one of the most important elements of your brand, then it is critical that you all share the same view about your brand.

You need to make sure that everyone in your team/company shares the same values, ethos, mission and vision. You all need to agree why you are doing this and how you will go about doing it.

The best way to do this, is with a whiteboard session. Gather your team and have everyone write on the whiteboard what they believe about your brand. If everyone is honest, you will soon realise that not everyone has the same view. Continue working on what you have written on the whiteboard until you are left with your core elements, which everyone agrees to and believes in.

Sharing the same view is essential to your brand, especially if you are starting up and haven't been established yet. Take the time and do this exercise, the results will pay off for the day's work.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

What are Your Team's Colours?

Whatever sports event you attend, it's easy to tell who the members of each team are. Different colours, different mascots and different "logos".

Are you doing enough to stand out from your competition? Is your team and brand consistent and distinctively different from others?

You need to always be consistent and reinforce your brand's image at all level's of interaction with your customer. I'm not suggesting that you should go out and buy uniforms for your team, but having a similar "look" can reinforce you image. You can also try to use the colours and shapes of your brand, in your teams "look" to provide more consistency. Just a few subtle hints of these are enough to add to the whole image.

Don't be afraid to be different and stand out, that's what makes you unique.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Why Collaboration Matters

It's in our nature to form groups and work together in order to achieve things.

By collaborating with individuals and companies you will be able to expand your knowledge, look at things differently and achieve better results than doing something on your own.

Choosing the people you collaborate with is important. They need to share the same values and goals as you, otherwise the relationship will struggle. Remember that this is a two-way relationship, so everyone involved needs to gain value from it.

Finally, don't stick to working with people that are exactly like you. Seek people and companies that work differently. It will help you evolve how you work and improve your end result.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis