Patent Thoughts for Startups

Patents are an odd thing… if you might have one, it’s valuable.  If you do have one, it’s of little more value than maybe having one.  Writing one is hard.  Getting one is hard.  Using one is nearly useless.  So what should a startup do?

In my 15 years and 21 patents worth of experience, this is what has worked for me.  As with all such thoughts, this is not legal advice, simply my experience; I am not a lawyer.

First, it is cheap and easy to file a provisional patent.  Just got to http://uspto.gov and file it.   Utility Provisional is what you want, and startups can usually pay even less by selecting small business option.  Less than $200 is all you should need.   Write it in plain English, what it is and does, and include at least 1 figure.  Easy-peasy.  Suddenly you get the MOST value out of a patent you can get, but it expires in 1-year so be careful!   During that year, you can say “patent pending” and that’s crucial for startups (sometimes).

Next, don’t bother filing the real (non-provisional) patent unless a.) you have the money [around $10K, because a patent attorney is a must].   AND  b.) either the product is somewhat successful or the patent seems really good to you.  Remember, you have 1 year to file it, and must reference the provisional… or you lose the date of the provisional filing.

Last, why bother?

Because, saying patent pending is good marketing (usually).  Also because investors like it.   After you are funded, they will like it if you keep building up your actual patent portfolio (of real patents, not provisional patents).

Now, get out there and LAUNCH a real product, stop worrying about patents, just write your own provisional and move on!  It won’t matter unless your product is a success anyway!

Job vs. Career: How much should you like your job?

Every job has fun parts and boring parts.  Some jobs also have really difficult parts, which may be fun or may be boring.  As a manager, I think a lot about my employees and  how much they like their job.  The answer can never be 100%, not even for me.  So how much is enough?  How much should you like your job?

To answer that question, I want to break down life on the job into three parts:  part 1 – the environment of the job, part 2 – the people you work with, and part 3 – the work itself.   The reason to break this down this way is because the work itself is really only a part of the overall aspect of working.

So, how much should you like your job?   Well, let’s look at each part.

Part 1 – The Job Environment:
   You really should like all these things about your job environment: Temperature, Workspace, Bathrooms, Odor/Air Quality.
   Some things you can “not like” because it’s just part of “having a job”: hours, breaks, location (distance from your home)
   Extras: these things you can like, but don’t expect them: perks, comfort
   My count: you should like your Job Environment 4/7 or 57%.   Above 57% and you may have yourself a career!   Below, and you should look for a new job now.

Part 2 – The People:
    You should not dislike more than 50% of your coworkers.  You should respect your boss (not necessarily like him/her). Your boss should have a path for promotion for you in mind and want you to succeed.
    You do not have to like: everyone.  You do not have to be ‘social’ with anyone from your job, if you are consider that a bonus.
    My count: If you dislike more than 50% of  your coworkers or do not respect your boss or your boss does not want you to ever get promoted (no path), then you should look for a new job.  Otherwise, you may have yourself a career!   Read on!

Part 3 – The Work Itself:
    As said before, there are parts you like and parts you don’t.  It’s true for every job, even CEO job (maybe especially!).  Here’s a checklist of should’s:
   1. You should identify with the department you are in “engineering, marketing, sales, production, etc.”.
   2. You should like the ‘main thing’ that your job is responsible to do.  (build stuff, market stuff, sell stuff, etc.).
   3. You should find your work challenging but doable.
   4. You should be able to learn new things constantly in your job.
   5. You should not expect to do only stuff you like all the time.  You may only get to do stuff you like about your job about 25% of the time.
   6. For doing stuff you don’t like, you should not “absolutely hate” more than 25% of the stuff you do.
   7. That leaves about 50% of stuff you don’t like but don’t hate, and that’s okay.
   My Count:  If you like at least 25% of the stuff you do, and don’t hate more than 25%, and you identify with your department and find your work challenging and learn new stuff…. you have yourself a career.  IF not, start looking for a new job… perhaps in a new department.


So, do I like my job?  The picture below should answer that:

Is your product idea good? Top 3 Ways to Know for Sure!

Ever had a product idea and wondered if it was any good?  Whether you are an engineer, an MBA, or a stay-at-home mom, these 5 tips will help you answer definitively whether your idea is good… or not!

Tip #1: 
What is your goal?  Do you want to build it for yourself or friends or sell it as an idea?  Do you want to start a full business or just make some for side-money?
Depending on your answer, good has different meanings… And tip #1 is essential to answer before you go any further.
Three possible answers make your product idea good:
Sell the idea!   Stop.  Nobody buys ideas.
Start a real business.  Yep, step 2.
Make some for side-income?   Okay, but tread carefully to step 2.
If this is a lark, stop now and proceed to hobby lobby!
Tip #2:  
Who cares?
Really, is there anyone who cares about your idea?  Does it solve someone’s problem or is otherwise desirable by some specific kind of customer?
If not, stop.   Someone, some specific demographic, the smaller the better, must care, have the problem, or otherwise desire the product, or else, stop.

Tip #3:
Can you sell one and for how much?

I don’t mean build one then sell one.. I mean sell one!

The best way to know if your product idea is good, and the TOP TIP to know for sure if your idea is good is to PRE-SELL it!

Literally, setup a 2 page website where page 1 introduces the product, page 2 accepts a pre-order.  If you can get a few pre-orders, go ahead a build *a few*…
You could also do this with Kickstarter or Indiegogo, but those services expect bigger ideas and a real budget for video/marketing/etc.  Instead take the money you make on the first few orders to build some…. then build a few more… once you’ve sold 100, go ahead, do your kickstarter!

Good luck!

Go out and SELL!  Sales is the only way to know if your product ideas is good or not.

Now, back to my Smart Watch idea….

CES 2015 Marketing Fails (World’s Best!)

I greatly enjoyed CES 2015… Perhaps most of all, the startup corridore (some of which was sponsored by indiegogo.com ).  However startups, big and small, seemed to fail at several key marketing elements.  Here are some of my favorite marketing fails from CES 2015.

1.) Worlds First:   Several startups made this claim proudly on banners, some of which not more than 100 feet from a similar product, also the worlds first.
Why a marketing fail?  Not what you think… Its not the claim itself that fails (maybe its true, maybe not). The problem is WHO CARES!  Marketers must train themselves to think from the customer point of view….   And tell them the benefit of your product, from their perspective, not a useless claim!
2.). World’s “whatever” (smartest, best, smallest, whatever).
Why a marketing fail?   This one is the reason you think…  How can you verify this claim?  Unless it is self-evident, you cannot back it up.   And anyways, its not from the customers perspective… so again, who cares!
  Can you find the claim?
3.) No Idea What You Do…   Too much clutter!
Why a marketing fail?  This is the most common problem.   I just want to scan your booth and see what you do or make or your product… If I cant figure that out in 5 secs, i am gone.

   What is this selling exactly?

4.) No Goal! No point to even be there!
Why a marketing fail?   If you don’t have a “MEASURABLE GOAL” how can you know if you achieved it (or anything).  I’m not picking on my UT friends, but I’m not sure what it is they are trying to do… maybe looking for partners?  How will they know how many they met?  If I go to a show like this, I would have a specific goal and agenda, and a way to measure it.  Give-aways/raffles are a great way to do this.
What fails did you see at CES this year?

If you build it, they will come. Bad advice? Or maybe good!

The old adage that “if you build it, they will come” is usually considered very bad marketing advice.  In recent times, however, I actually think it has become Good advice, especially if reworded just slightly…

“If you build it, they MIGHT come” is probably some of the best marketing advice I can give.
In this world if lean startup, minimum viable product (MVP) and bootstrapping entrepreneurship, one of the most important things to do is to”ship it” and see if customers come and like it, and iterate quickly based on that feedback.
At Key Ingredient we recently formalized these concepts and declared ourselves an “Agile Company”.
What will you ship this year?
My thought?   See photo I took at CES 2015 below!

Stopping Time in Crucial & Special Moments

Recently on Facebook I had a great reminder of the importance of time in our lives  (SEE BELOW).
I thought it was worth sharing here a few more thoughts I have had about “time slowing”, why do it, and how to do it (with examples).
You see, there is a great movie (Star Trek Insurrection) which really illustrates two excellent uses for “time slowing”.  In the film, Captain Picard’s girlfriend can ‘slow time’ to experience certain “perfect moments” and extend them for greater enjoyment.   Later, Picard himself “slows time” to save that girlfriend’s life.  Interestingly, in this second case, time actually passed more quickly from Picard, but it seemed like less time had passed…. this is the key to the trick, and let me explain now how this can ACTUALLY BE DONE!

Why Slow Time?

  1. To extend the good time you are currently having (extend that perfect moment)
  2. To get past a bad time more quickly (really this is speeding up time).

How to Slow Time  (or speed it up).

  1. First realize that time is ‘relative’.  Relativity is the well-known idea that time passes for people differently based on how fast they are moving!
  2. Now, realize that when we say “slow time” what we mean is either Speeding it up or Slowing it down relative to you..
  3. SO…. to “Speed Up Time” relative to you, and make time pass by faster on the outside, and make it seem like less time to you…. based on the theory of relativity, you must simply SLOW your own mind.   E.g. Think thoughts much more slowly, move more slowly, and generally take longer to think something… and suddenly, when you wake from this trance-like state, time will have passed by ‘outside your awareness’ and it will be later than you think!  (e.g. time sped up outside your zone of awareness)
  4. NOW… the hard part, how to “Slow Time Down” relative to you…. this is way harder, because you must INCREASE YOUR MINDS SPEED!  you must think thoughts much much more rapidly… I find it helps to take pictures, really fast mental snapshots of all that is happening around you.  If you have a camera, take real pictures.  Try to SPEED UP your minds analysis of all it sees.  Speed up any thoughts you are having, have them faster….   Now, look up, and see almost NO TIME has passed.  For you, relativity-wise, you’ve had a lot of time pass, but in the real world, almost no time has passed.  that’s the trick and it really works.
So, which do you do when?
I think Speeding up Time, you should do when you are bored, or in pain.  Actively try to SLOW your mind and your thoughts and next thing you know it will have passed.
Conversely, and counter-intuitively, to “preserve a moment” you must SPEED UP your awareness of it, and try to capture more of it into your brain… more snapshots of the scene into your head.   Rapid Eye scanning of all you see and the scene around you and real picture if you can.  This will let you experience MORE OF the moment.
I remember in High School I hated Study Hall…  it was SO BORING.  But instead of watching the clock, i tried to ‘not think’ and entered a meditative state.. next thing I knew, the bell rung!  
Here’s a moment I preserved.  10-minutes before pitching for an $8Million fundraising for my company (Bigfoot Networks), I found myself sitting in a waiting room, waiting to pitch a final pitch to a room full of VCs.  I grabbed my camera and started snapping photos, I walked and paced around the room, looking everywhere, highly excited and full of wonder…. I sped my thoughts actively trying to capture all of the moment and all that was happening and all that was on the line.  I went through the whole pitch and what might happen, and all this in 10-minutes….  I looked up and only 5-minutes had passed!  WOW!  time slowed! 

Here’s one of my favorite moments, hanging out with my girlfriend (now wife) and we even got a picture!  I really extended that moment, you can see the alertness in both our eyes…
<<<_from Facebook__>>>
January 3 at 1:08pm ·

True awesomeness can be found in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Star Trek
“I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment because they’ll never come again.” – Jean-Luc Picard
Like ·  · 

Startup Life: When to tell your team… we’re almost out of cash!

Is your startup nearing $0 cash? When do you tell the team?

You are not alone!

Doing a startup is hard.  Whether you are bootstrapping, VC funded, or even backed as an internal skunkworks, you may find that your bank account is getting awfully close to zero.  You are not alone.  Nearly ever startup I’ve ever been a part of has hit this point.  It is scary.  It is stressful.  And what do you do about the team?  Some of them, you know, depend on that regular startup paycheck!

Here’s what you need to know!

  1. Fiduciary Duty: First, you have a duty to your shareholders which is actually very simple: if you are nearing “insufficient cash” to pay your debts (defined as non-investment capital), then you must inform your shareholders (and/or board of directors) very soon.  They may be able to help.  My advice: have a plan in place that shows how much you need, or how you will come through anyways.  Even better: don’t get here… raise more funds before this point.
  2. Duty to Employees:  If there is ANY doubt that you might miss a paycheck… you need to tell people as soon as you have that doubt.  Personally, I like the 1-month left rule… if you will be able to make 1 more months of paychecks, and then no more… it’s time to share the news… REMEMBER TO ALSO share your plan.  Employees will want to know how they can help!  Let them.  Let them help with the fundraising… make slides… etc.  Let them help with sales (the whole company can do sales!).
  3. If it get’s dire… like down to 2 weeks… one thing you might do is ask if any employees can take partial deferred salary.  This is salary, you are asking them to risk, on the hope that you’ll make it through.  100% is not a great idea (unless you are the founder), but I’ve gotten nearly 100% participation in a 50% program in the past… and we made it through!
I hope this helps you know what to do (this time or next time).  Remember, it’s normal, it’s stressful, but you DO need to tell your people.  The best employees will only respect you more for your transparency.  The worst, who quit on you, you don’t need anyways.
Good luck!

7-Step Results-based Marketing for Startups Harlan’s 2014 Captivate Conference Slides

I hope you enjoyed my talk this year at the Captivate Conference on Marketing for Start-ups (and specifically game startups).

Here are my slides from the talk, and as always feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn (see sidebar) or Twitter ( @harlanbeverly ).

Comments, email, and feedback welcome.

Slides Follow:

7-Step Results-based Marketing for Startups by Harlan T Beverly from Harlan Beverly

All of marketing should be about results! When you are a startup this is even more important, because you have no money to waste on “brand”… you certainly don’t have the time to waste. Harlan T. Beverly, 3-time Start-up Founder & CEO, will present a 7-Step process to create an effective Results-based “marketing engine” that will drive results for your startup. Harlan will give specific examples from marketing campaigns he has created from: Bigfoot Networks, Harlan’s video game hardware company, Night Owl Games, where Harlan developed marketing that attracted more than 1,000,000 players, INGZ games, where Harlan created marketing campaigns to drive users to install mobile games, and Key Ingredient, where Harlan is currently CEO and drives 3,000,000+ visitors/month to http://www.keyingredient.com

How to do Facebook Marketing – a Primer for Engineers

Dear Engineers and Other People who Think Logically,

Here is how to “do” Facebook Marketing.  It’s pretty simple, and it also explains the fundamentals of Marketing.

The analogy I use in the presentation is that of a Fair or Carnival…  it’s a good analogy, use it forever to explain marketing.  Imagine yourself selling a product or service (cotton candy or a carnival game) on the streets of a Fair!  How can you be successful?

See the presentation to learn:  How to DO Marketing on Facebook.  How to use Facebook Insights (e.g. Facebook Analytics).

Enjoy!