IPitch Articles Archive
How to Get Your First Customer to Say “Yes”!
By Rachel Youens on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Sydney-based business consultant John Haining is a guest writer at IPitch. You can read more from this seasoned pro on his website.
Three, two, one, bungee!
As you jump off the ledge your mind is screaming at you about risk. About what can go wrong, about the negative consequences, and about how crazy you are. No matter how much you’ve thought about it you know at the back of your mind that things can go wrong.
Yet something has convinced you that jumping off a ledge with only a bungee to stop you is safe enough.
Welcome to the mind of your first customer.
Like it or not, your first customer feels like they are about to go and do a bungee jump. No matter how much you know that risks are not there, the customer always has that voice screaming at them about what can go wrong. About the risks involved in what they are about to do.
So, in addition to demonstrating that your product works and will address their needs, you need to overcome the risks involved in that first sale, and convince them that buying your product or service is safe enough for them. In order to do this you need to address the risks your customer anticipates.
Expert Advice: Shareholders Agreements
By Rachel Youens on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
A strong shareholders agreement early on can prevent strife later and help keep investment prospects strong later on. Consulting a lawyer can help make sure both parties interests are protected, and we’ve tapped Sydney-based lawyer Jonathan Harris of the Harris Freidman Hyde Page law firm for some of his tips on this important document. Jonathan is a business law specialist and with experience with internet and IT business, he’s no stranger in aiding tech startups.
What are some of the key elements of a Shareholders Agreement that a start up should look at?
A Shareholders Agreement can be a complex document. The more Shareholders the morepotential complexity. I believe the following points are key:
- Control – the Directors have to be able to make decisions and progress the Company.There should be enough Directors (3 or 4 max) to enable a reasonable cross section ofdiscussion. The majority Shareholders should control the Board but not to the detriment ofthe minority investors.
- Dilution – no investor wants to be diluted without having an opportunity of maintaining theirpercentage shareholding.
- Drag and Tag Along Clauses - If the management of the Company is harmonious and allShareholders are happy and if the Company’s business is successful, then eventually youwill sell (or receive an offer). Tax wise it is best for the Shareholders to sell their shares inthe Company. The majority need to be able to ‘drag’ the minority Shareholders along if thereis a sale to a third party buyer proposed. Most buyers do not wish to buy a majority only andthen have to deal with an unhappy group of minority Shareholders.
Expert Advice: Online Marketing Channels
By Rachel Youens on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
So you’ve invented the next big thing, now how to you tell people about it? With so many destinations to post, advertise and promote, it’s easy to make a whole job out of digging, tweeting, stumbling, blogging and commenting. Sales and marketing specialist Paul Reeves has spent the past few years helping major brands like Samsung, Motorola and LG run marketing campaigns that not only raised brand awareness, but turned real profits. We asked Paul, who now owns his own Sydney-based firm Octane Marketing, about marketing online.
What are the most valuable online marketing channels?
Online Marketing is constantly changing and can be extremely challenging. Marketing your business online brings with it many benefits that are not available with traditional and offline marketing. Firstly it allows you to track real-time results using online analytics to make a determination on how your marketing campaign is performing. Secondly you can target specific demographics in your advertising. There are so many options when marketing online. You can use audio, video, blogging, email, social media and ongoing newsletters. If you were to do the same thing in traditional marketing you would need to select several media outlets to cover your bases which would cost a lot more and take a lot longer to implement. So which are the most valuable online marketing channels at the moment?
