Early bird tickets are almost sold out, but in case you miss them, friends of Silicon Beach Marketing get 20% off regular admission until September 6. Register here <— Use promo code LEANSBM

What is Lean Startup Machine? It’s the world’s leading workshop on Lean Startup principles; a metrics-driven startup competition where teams are taught how to identify the key risks in launching or scaling their startup venture. We provide hands-on mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs using our framework of Lean Startup tools and techniques. Those who attend will be the cream of the crop of Lean Startup practitioners so DON’T MISS this awesome workshop!

We’ve hosted workshops in New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, London, Boston, & Chicago, and we’re returning to Los Angeles for a second time. Read success stories from past workshops here.

This is how the program will lay out:

• Friday evening (6pm) you solidify your team and get rolling on documenting your assumptions and creating tests. A couple speakers will present to lay the foundation for the methodologies you’ll be using over the weekend. Ideally, you’ll get out of the building and run your first test before the evening closes.
• Saturday (all day) you’ll likely realize most of your assumptions are WRONG, so you will iterate at a crazy speed creating and validating new assumptions. You will generate a Minimum Viable Product, most likely a landing page to test the market and iterate until you find the right market for your idea.
• At last, Sunday (all day) you will present your learnings to the other teams and to a panel of judges. This is not just a learning exercise, you will compete with the other teams to win additional mentorship and prizes.

Get full details and register here <—– TODAY.

Any questions? Contact: edlin@leanstartupmachine.com
What LSM Alumni have to say…Hope to see you there!

“LSM saved me 6 months of wasted effort and then gave me a way to make the next 6 months of my life the most powerful I’ve ever experienced.”

“…The most valuable time I’ve ever invested into becoming an entrepreneur.”

“This workshop has completely changed the way I will approach vetting ideas, it’s a rigorous scientific method that I never knew existed”

“VERY, VERY informative and hands-on.. far and away the BEST way to learn how to go lean.”

A better approach is to focus on developing a strategic alliance with a company that provides a complimentary product or service. For example, a newly launched pet e-commerce site that features high-end leashes and collars could explore a partnership with an online dog food company that sells premium brands, or with a doggy daycare that caters to upscale clientele. 

An Enormous Upside

Marketing partnerships are not easy, but if done correctly, the potential benefits are enormous and include the following:

• Customer acquisition
• Brand exposure
• New avenues of product distribution
• Higher perceived value
• Cost savings on marketing/advertising

So What Makes a Successful Partnership? 

Here are 5 tips to help you create winning partnerships:

1. Get to know your partner.

Partnerships are like dating – - a quickie marriage to someone you just met in Vegas rarely works out. Start by researching the potential partner’s past relationships, and look on social networks for any red flags. Remember that the right partner can convey credibility, but the wrong partner can ruin your reputation!

2. Like attracts like.

Partnerships can provide exposure to a wider audience of potential customers. When exploring prospects, look for those that not only have a good-sized following, but also similar audience demographics and psychographics.

3. Clarify each party’s responsibilities in writing.

This is the most important tip if you wish to avoid any miscommunication (or “he said, she said”) down the road. It’s critical to clearly spell out in writing what is expected from each partner such as:

• The type and frequency of co-promotions.
• Will you use joint marketing materials, and who will create?
• What about inclusion in the company newsletter? How many times? How many words?
• Do partners get access to each other’s proprietary mailing lists, or will distribution of emails be handled by a third party?

4. Create a special offer. 

Good partnerships normally include some kind of special discount. The perceived value of the offer to your partner’s audience needs to be high, and it should help solve one of their problems, or reduce a pain point.

5. Focus on the benefits.

So why would a bigger, more established company be interested in your unknown startup? One reason is that you may have a highly qualified target audience that represents exciting new sales prospects. The key to attracting a partner’s attention is to highlight anything that can potentially impact their bottom line. And always remember that they don’t care how a partnership may help you. They just want to know “What’s in it for me?”

Bonus tip: Never break a promise.

If you initiated the partnership, you need to prove that your partner made the right decision in aligning their brand with yours. Manage their expectations, pay attention to detail, respond quickly to problems, and demonstrate a strong commitment to a successful outcome for both parties.

What a partnership is not.

A partnership is not a quick fix. It is not a magic pill that will solve all your business problems, or provide entry to the matrix.

But it can get you invited to the party, so put on your best dress and go flirt!

All Silicon Beach Marketing readers get 10% off. Use promo code leansiliconbeachmktg

What is Lean Startup Machine?

Lean Startup Machine is an intensive, hands-on workshop where entrepreneurs and innovators learn how to build what their customers want. Over the course of the weekend you will do the following…

• Ideate a startup or work on the one you have now
• Practice Customer Discovery
• Research your Target Market
• Practice Customer Development
• Test your Assumptions in Iterations
• Understand your Business Model
• Iterate and Pivot (when necessary)
• Build something you can Launch
• Present your Validated Learnings

Full details can be found here.

Questions? Email: edlin@leanstartupmachine.com –

What LSM Alumni have to say…

“LSM saved me 6 months of wasted effort and then gave me a way to make the next 6 months of my life the most powerful I’ve ever experienced.”

“I’ll never look at a startup the same again.”

“…The most valuable time I’ve ever invested into becoming an entrepreneur.”

For those of you who were either too busy, too apathetic, too hip, or too cheap to attend the Vator Splash LA event last week, I’ve graciously put together some of the evening’s highlights:

Neil Hanch, Partner, Rustic Canyon, talked about LA’s tech advantages in his “State of the Union” speech. He believes that LA is an “entrepreneurial powerhouse” with clear strategic advantages such as digital media, e-commerce, gaming, direct marketing &  clean tech.

• There is a rising tide of social venture funding from both local investors, and Silicon Valley sources.
• Explosive growth in incubators, accelerators, co-working spaces and an entire ecosystem to support startups.
• Whether you love or hate the name “Silicon Beach,” it’s here to stay (good news for my company !).

Matt Coffin, President & Founder of LowerMyBills.com, presented a keynote about “Lessons Learned as an Entrepreneur & Investor.”

Raising money = dating + delivering

• When you meet someone for the first time, nothing serious happens (except maybe a one-night stand!)
• Start creating a rapport, and on the next date, let the investor know that you delivered A, B, and C.
• Dating makes you more attractive so don’t be afraid to mention other offers.
• You always need to be dating, delivering and raising money.

Winning or Bankruptcy, the 10% Rule

• Small 10% movements in the operating levers of your business make the difference between success and failure.

3 R We Goods

• Awful communication is one of the biggest problems in startups.
• When hiring, always go over what the company does, how it does what it does, what is expected, etc.
• In other words, don’t assume they know. Ask them if they understand what you are saying at least 3X.

Now & Not Now –  the #1 opportunity

• The “Now List” is what you need to be working on now.
• The “Not Now List” is for things you may want to do in the future.
• Creating and sticking to these lists prevents “half-assed meetings,” and other time wasters.

Where’s the Bathroom, I Mean What Business Are We In?

• Need to maximize the use of board members by reminding them of the business you are in,  and the current steps that were agreed upon.

You Must Succeed Even in the Face of Reality

• Startups are hard, but you have to overcome and push through even in the bleakest moments.

More than 1 Revenue Stream = Failed Model

• If you have > 1 revenue stream, it usually means that you have failed revenue streams that you didn’t have the guts to kill.
• Commit to stop doing stuff that’s not working (like dating the same type of guy over and over and over…).

If You Think It’s Not Working, It Isn’t And…

• This also relates to people – if they’re not working out, admit you made a mistake and fire them!

JP Morgan is Matt’s Hero – “How did I get rich? I sold too early.”

Scott Painter, Founder & CEO, TrueCar, gave a very honest and introspective keynote about the lessons he learned when his company went from profitable, to not profitable in 60 days (and how the last 6 months “sucked ass!”).

• TrueCar is on a quest to revolutionize how cars are sold, and uses “big data” to level the playing field.
• The automotive industry has a lot of vested stakeholders that are resistant to change (that’s putting it mildly!).
• Car dealers were experiencing significant margin compression, and started pushing back.
• Dealers rallied together, and boycotted TrueCar resulting in a loss of 50% dealers (6,000 to 3,000) in 60 days!
• TrueCar lost almost $10 million in January, and Scott lost 38 lbs (but does not recommend this diet).
• Scott admitted his mistakes, and his investors stuck by him.
• Scott is changing the business model, changing the product, and changing how he relates to dealers.
• He is working on restoring TrueCar’s brand essence of honesty and transparency (as well as his own reputation).

Pitches, Pitches and More Pitches

The pitch that really stood out for both entertainment value and “out-of-the-box” thinking was Blueseed, a proposed startup community of 1,000 entrepreneurs all living on a ship 12 miles off the San Francisco shoreline (international waters = no work visa needed).

I just hope they budgeted big bucks for insurance – - can you say “entrepreneur overboard!”

Past speakers include Peter Thiel, Mark Pincus (Zynga), Tony Hsieh (Zappos), Tim Westergren (Pandora), Dick Costolo (Twitter). It was sold out last year, and this year’s event to be held at The Fairmont Hotel, is expected to draw an even bigger crowd.

Splash LA will showcase 10 up-and-coming tech startups (who competed with over 100 for this opportunity), prominent VCs and angels, and LA-based high-tech entrepreneurs who will be sharing their advice on what it takes to build a start-up, and the mistakes to avoid.

Splash’s stellar speaker lineup includes keynotes by Scott Painter, founder and CEO of TrueCar, and Matt Coffin, who founded LowerMyBills and sold it to Experian for $330 million.

Also onstage will be Neal Hansch (Rustic Canyon Partners), Bill Woodward (Anthem Venture Partners),Nate Redmond (Rustic Canyon Partners), Sam Teller(Launchpad), Allen Morgan (Idealab), David Carlick (Rho Capital Partners), David Cremin (DFJ Frontier),Howard Marks (Start Engine), Terence Fung (Senior Corp Dev lead at Zynga), Rick Smith (Crosscut Ventures),David Austin (Media Camp), Paul Bricault (Amplify), Michael Jones (co-founder Science, former CEO of MySpace), Adam Huie (Hatch Labs), Erik Rannala (Mucker Labs), Tom McInerney (entrepreneur and angel investor) and Ezra Roizen (Ackrell Capital).

The event runs from 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm at the Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica, and includes an open wine bar, snacks and ample time for power networking.

And good news for Silicon Beachers – - VatorSplash LA has agreed to provide a 15% discount. Just use the code ” siliconbeach ” when you register here: http://vatorsplashla2012.eventbrite.com/

Hope to see you there!

Show Me the Money

If you are going to ask consumers for their attention and/or credit card, you better let them know in no uncertain terms how you plan on making their life better.  Even more importantly, you must be able to clearly articulate what problem you are solving with your product or service, and how is it different than everything else already in the marketplace.

What is a USP, and Why You Need One

USP is not an alternative delivery service, but a marketing acronym that refers to “Unique Selling Proposition.” A USP is your brand’s point of differentiation, the secret ingredient that what sets it apart from the competition. A good USP describes how your product is uniquely “positioned” in the marketplace. Is it faster, more affordable, better designed, easier to use, hipper, or does it employ a breakthrough technology? There are many ways to formulate a USP, but the bottom line is that you must have one!

Who Are You?

A recent article on the KISSmetrics blog contends that USP is really about what “your business stands for,” and gives a few examples of brands that do it well such as Starbucks, Basecamp, and Zappos. The post also points out that companies that try to be all things to all people, will never be known for anything if they take this broad approach to branding.

We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Features

When thinking about positioning, many founders make the mistake of focusing on their product’s “features” such as user-friendly design, customizable dashboards, unlimited reports, seamless integration, and time usage tracking. Huh? The reality is that consumers don’t give a fig about all of the bells & whistles that cause developers to high-five each other. Consumers just want to know the “benefits” of your product (i.e. what’s in it for me!). They want to know how your product or service is going to save them time and money, or make them smarter, thinner, or happier.

We Seem to Have a Communication Problem

Developing a distinctive USP is a process, not an all-nighter, and requires testing and customer validation. Once you think you have a viable option, please don’t just run it by your geeky friends and colleagues. Instead, try your USP out on potential end users, and see if they “get it” without additional explanation. If they look at you like you are speaking Dothraki, then it’s time to go back to the drawing board (or Thesaurus).

I’d love to hear what Silicon Beach companies you think have good USPs.

The Holy Grail for many entrepreneurs is getting press. While this is a worthwhile goal, many startups go about it in the wrong way, and fail miserably. Others may get the desired coverage, but then do not effectively leverage the public relations value for future opportunities.

Here are the 5 top mistakes startups make, and how to avoid them:

Mistake #1: Launching a PR Campaign Too Soon

You’re chomping at the bit to let everyone know how absolutely wonderful your idea/product/service is, and decide that sooner is better. Sound familiar? If so, take a cold shower and rethink your strategy.

Many companies launch in one form, and a few pivots later end up a completely different animal. If you pitched the media on your initial idea, you will not have much luck getting anyone to pay attention a second time (unless you have street cred from a previous startup success).

Key takeaway: Make sure you are ready for primetime, before you court the press.

Mistake #2: The Wrong Pitch

You’ve pivoted once or twice, your customer base is growing, and you’re ready to get some media love. You reach out to the press, and dead silence. What did you do wrong?

Journalists are always on the lookout for fresh content, but sending them a generic press release without a specific angle is going to fall flat. A much better approach is to craft a pitch that is targeted to the writer’s publication, and clearly explains how your product can benefit their readers. And make sure you’ve actually read some of the writer’s articles and blog posts!

Key takeaway: Spend time coming up with a unique angle that provides value to a specific audience.

Mistake #3: Playing Hide and Seek With Important Information

So you’ve caught a journalist’s attention with a well-timed, well-crafted pitch, and now they want to know more. The first thing they are going to do is go to your website for additional information, and you don’t want to disappoint. If they have to dig around for what they need, they will leave and never come back.

Makes their job easier by providing a digital press kit that contains a company fact sheet, the founder’s bio, and high res photos of the product. Also include any previous press coverage, and customer testimonials.

Key takeaway: You’ll win friends in the media by making information accessible on your website.

Mistake #4: Not Taking Advantage Of Media Coverage

Congratulations! You’ve received some press coverage including the ultimate TechCrunch profile. Your website received a huge surge in traffic, and you’ve been asked to sit on a panel at the next startup event. Stop gloating! Do you have any idea how many companies were in the same position, and then blew it?

One of the biggest mistakes you can now make is being complacent. You may have been the big news yesterday, but someone else has already taken your place.  Unless you make a concerted effort to stay top of mind, you will soon be forgotten.

The good news is that there are many ways to leverage press coverage including the following:

• Post the article on your website, and include it in your press kit
• Tweet about it to your audience and ask them to spread the good cheer
• Post a snippet on your Facebook fan page with a link back to the article on your website.
• Write an educational blog post about a common problem in your industry, and link back to the article as an example of one of the solutions
• Use quotes from the article in your sales and marketing materials

Mistake #5: Not Following Up

It’s amazing how many people forget to make the simple yet powerful gesture of personally thanking a journalist for writing about their startup. Try sending a personal email, a DM tweet, or just pick up the phone and say thank you. You’ll not only stand out from the crowd, but will also make a good impression that will provide the foundation for a long-term relationship.

I’d love to hear about any PR mistakes you’ve made and what you learned.

For those of you that were not able to attend, I’ve summarized my notes on the “10 Strategies” below:

#1 Ideation

Jason discussed “The Entrepreneur’s Dilemma,” which he described as the hard decision of whether to stay steadfast on your startup’s current path, or to pivot. His advice was, “to stay attached to the problem, but be flexible in the solution,” and to “not let your ego get in the way.”

#2 Pitching Investors

There are 4 P’s to keep in mind when pitching investors:

1. People – you first have to sell yourself, and your team.
2. Product – they want to see what you’ve done, so build a product. If the product is good is will speak for itself.
3. Progress – the secret formula for overcoming investor’s inertia is to build trust and rapport. Start developing relationships with investors before you need them by continuously providing measurable results on your progress.
4. Passion – the “X” factor. The thing that can push the investor off the fence.

#3 Building a Team

Every company needs a set of values. Jason’s “3 Golden Rules” are “Smarts, Ethics, and Drive,” which can be translated into:

• Docstoc employees are the best at what they do
• No Assholes allowed
• They work harder than anybody else

#4 Getting Customers or “Put the Rocks in First”  

This is where you should be spending at least 75% of your time, because it will make the biggest difference in the success of your company. Jason was obsessed with driving customers the first few years, and you should be too.

#5 Online Traffic (or so eloquently articulated by Jason, “How are you going to get people to show up and use your shit?”)    

Docstoc utilizes a matrix that leverages seven ways to drive traffic including:

1. Search engines
2. Press
3. Social Media
4. Partnerships & Deals
5. Refreshing Content
6. Solve a Compelling need
7. Create a Viral loop

Warning, shameless plug ahead: Silicon Beach Marketing specializes in all of these traffic drivers!

#6 Monetization (Show Me the Money!)

Startups need to grow & track online revenue. Docstoc’s business model illustrates how to get a lot of people to give you a little bit of money. And because it is an Internet company, there is no incremental cost of goods, or distribution costs.

Jason also suggests start charging as soon as possible, and to charge for everything (no freebies!). In addition, focus on what’s working and then go deeper. This is similar to the Heath Brothers philosophy about focusing on the “bright spots.”

#7 Business Development (BD) – Listen, Don’t Talk

According to Jason, the single biggest mistake that BD people make is “not knowing when to shut the f— up!” The best salespeople first listen to find out a potential customer’s issues, needs and wants, before pitching an idea that may have zero relevance.

It’s also a good strategy to provide as little information upfront as possible. If they are interested, they will ask for more. And, if you get a live prospect, you should handhold them through the whole sales process, like “a kid in a summer camp.”

#8 Strategy – 4 Factors to Factor

All that matters is results, and strategy is really just a means to an end.

An entrepreneur’s most precious resource is time, so each decision you make should be put through some sort of matrix that looks at; potential upside, likelihood of success, effort involved, and strategic value.

#9 Managing the Board

The sales process doesn’t end when you get funding – - it begins. If you constantly set expectations, and then over-deliver, you will quickly build trust and value.

#10 Finding Balance

If you’re set on being an entrepreneur, it’s time to face the fact that you are not going to have a life. The “unintended consequences of startups” is that you are going to have to give up a lot – - your relationship, your health, your friendships, and maybe even your sanity.

The good news, according to Jason, is that it is all worth it. Because once you build something, no one can ever take that away from you!

I recently hosted a video on docstoc.com, the premier online business site, about “Creating and Selling Sponsorships,” a subject in which I have a great deal of expertise.

Since the video has already been viewed more than 550+ times, I thought I’d expand on the information I originally presented to help you better understand the process of approaching, and securing sponsors.

Step 1: Get clear on your reasons for seeking sponsors. Is it to decrease costs of hosting an event, create a new revenue stream for your company, raise money for a charity, etc.?

Step 2. Determine the total amount of sponsorship dollars you NEED to secure, and how much you WANT to secure.  Also consider in-kind donations. For example, a print sponsor can reduce or eliminate your costs for line items such as invitations and onsite signage.

Step 3. Create a Sponsor Hit List. It’s critical to thoroughly research potential sponsors. First find out a company’s sponsorship history (i.e. what types of programs have they sponsored, how much did they spend). Then make sure that their target market is closely aligned with the audience for your event, campaign or cause. For example, if the company you plan on approaching sells snowboards, and your audience is mostly women 50+, your proposal will get thrown in the trash. Even worse, you may lose any chance of approaching this sponsor with a different opportunity in the future.

Step 4. Creating the Sponsorship Package

Now that you have a sponsor hit list, you need to create a sponsorship deck that is easy to understand, solves a sponsor’s problem, and has a perceived value that is far greater than the sponsorship fee.

Years ago, you could just throw a company’s product in a goody bag, slap their logo on some signage, and everyone was happy. Now, not so much! Sponsors expect to get everything they ask for and more, so be prepared to be creative, and manage expectations.

Important Tip: Customize, customize, customize. No one wants a sponsorship package that has been shopped around.

Step 5: Selling the Sponsorship. Very often, the person you are dealing with will have to sell up the sponsorship package to his or her boss. Make their job easier by providing a list of specific benefits, as well as a few exciting marketing ideas that can help them leverage their sponsorship. By providing this added value, you create a partnership instead of a transaction.

Important Tip: Try to start the sales/relationship building process a full year in advance, especially if you are approaching a large corporation.

Step 6: Taking Care of Your Sponsors. This step is where most partnerships fall apart. Just because you sold the sponsorship, does not mean your job is over. Far from it! Execution and implementation are the keys to success. You MUST deliver on everything you promised the sponsor if you want to keep them happy.

Step 7: Follow-up. Once the event or opportunity is over, do not adopt a “See ya!” attitude. To create a positive lasting impression, provide a wrap-up report including a summary of the event including photos, deliverables met, and any non-quantifiable results (i.e. attendees loved you new product, and asked where they could buy it).

And remember, it’s not about you! It all about the sponsor.

Would love to hear your tips, as well as examples of a successful sponsors relationship.

According to Avesta, the plan for Coloft was always to become the center for entrepreneurial activity in Los Angeles. Initially motivated by the need to get out of the house, and by the desire to be around like-minded people, the couple launched Coloft in February 2010. Having the right idea, in the right place, and at the right time, allowed Coloft to break even in only four months!

Avesta clearly understood how the workplace had changed, and recognized the shift from the solopreneur to a more collaborative approach. He was also savvy enough to realize that human interaction and socializing are just as important as the newest technology. From the beginning, Avesta’s philosophy was, “If I help the community, the community will give back.” Not surprisingly, a recent survey of Coloft members showed that 65% joined for the people and the community, while 35% joined for the workspace.

The future is bright for Coloft. A recent expansion into the adjoining space was just completed, and membership continues to grow, as do the friendships.