The principle of entrepreneurial success in the eyes of an angel investor

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The writer is founder of Liang Venture Consulting Co., Ltd Cheiong

My first time since the University of entrepreneurship, then with the entrepreneurial edge, 20 years to four degrees of entrepreneurship, experienced failure has been successful. Since 2011, he has entered the field of venture capital, engaged in angel investment and incubation, and has communicated with various parties in the investment circle, contacted a large number of entrepreneurs, and invested and tutored a group of start-up enterprises.

In the process of engaging in angel investment and entrepreneurial incubation, occasionally find some exciting entrepreneurial projects, most of the time, see the founders although enthusiastic, but its entrepreneurial thinking from the "reliable" two words far, away from financing success and entrepreneurial success is farther away. As for the mistakes that entrepreneurs often make, combined with the characteristics of technology and the Internet industry, I summarize the following entrepreneurial experience, calling it "the rule of entrepreneurial success in the eyes of an angel investor".

I know that there is no formula for success, but also convinced that these commonalities are at least suitable for grassroots entrepreneurs, can help entrepreneurs reduce the cost of groping, less detours.

One, the platform is to refine out not to put out

Zhou once said, "Who says I do platform, your whole family is platform". Platform is refining, not put out, the user is not a platform is platform, no user called platform is not platform. For example, QQ and 360, the first is a chat tool, a system inspection and protection tools, with more people, who can say that they are not platform? Those who are prone to the nominal platform of entrepreneurial projects are not easy to be optimistic by angel investors.

In any field, the platform needs only one, not even one. If we all come to the stage, who is troupe? The person who takes the stage is often a overlord or government project. Entrepreneurs should be more positioning themselves is a troupe, or even an actor, is to perform a good show, is to face the audience. The play sang well, where did you go?

A good application product, itself will have the ability to quickly spread, users continue to grow. With the user base, and then based on the core function of this product to develop some related applications, naturally created a platform. Start-ups, focusing on the application, based on the product, to the platform of the matter behind the head.

Second, entrepreneurs can not only be engineers

Some entrepreneur's business plan is just like a product manager's product proposal, it is not enough to talk about the content only in the project construction period. It's not easy to build a project, but it's harder to run a project. Entrepreneurship is not so much about creating or developing a product as it is about promoting and operating a product. It takes only a few seconds to produce an idea, and it may take six months to develop a product, but it may take a lifetime to successfully run it and get rewarded.

Operations, plainly, is how to obtain users and how to achieve the process of profitability. People with operational awareness build projects with a longer-term focus that will not be tied to the technical details of the product, but more focused on the value and product value created for the user. A team with no operational awareness and operational experience is a bit like a corps of Engineers, builders, powerful, productive, but hard to get back from output. Operations-oriented teams, hands-on ability may be a challenge to them, but they can choose to outsource the product to the professional firms to do, focus on business operations and to obtain profits.

Some entrepreneurs think that operation is a late thing, to first develop things to think about operations, this is not the best way of thinking. If you have not thought how to sell the product, how to contact the user, there is no need to rush to make things out. To put their focus on the operation of the entrepreneur, its clear operational thinking will often make early start work such as product function planning, development phase division, product form and experience design more effective. Entrepreneurial success is interlocking, reliable entrepreneurial projects, can not just stay in the construction projects.

Iii. "realization" not "discovery"

The basic needs of human beings have existed since ancient times, and some advanced needs and derivative requirements are generally known to all. Some of the industry research information as a driving force for entrepreneurship, feel that they will do a great and a sense of mission, is a lot of the first time a friend of the business easy to make. The media articles and research reports, which many entrepreneurs regard as entrepreneurial baton, are regarded as a point of discovery, is not desirable. These things are just information not to wait, the entrepreneur learns later, is not what innovation discovers, and most passes the artificial processing.

It is not because of the discovery of a hidden and latent demand, but rather of the creation of a new product, or of a new scheme to meet the very natural and widespread unmet needs of the people, that they have discovered. Focus on products and meet the needs of the solution on the entrepreneurial action will appear pragmatic and sound, stay in the discovery of demand for entrepreneurial action, will appear empty and weak, can not determine the direction of the start-up companies and survival.

Everyone can be a discovery, but the person who can grasp the opportunity to solve the problem found, meet the needs of the found people will become a successful entrepreneur.

Four, vertical must have a unique scene experience and product logic to support

In "A single big, winner takes all" of the internet era, any industry's comprehensive portal must face the "remnant of the King" Situation, and "the remainder" is often only one or two, each "King" into the king's process is unusually fierce competition process.

Based on the strength of the start-up enterprises, not positioning themselves as a comprehensive portal, but from a subdivision of the vertical field to start looking for entrepreneurial opportunities, it is wise. However, many entrepreneurs simply think that doing vertical business is to do a business of fine molecular class, but the problem of product concentration. In fact, doing vertical business is to find a unique experience of the subdivision direction, in such a direction, the comprehensive portal can not change its overall process and experience for this direction, thus giving this vertical business growth opportunities. Otherwise, all classification subdivisions will only die under the strong user community of the integrated portal.

58 under the city there are too many classified information, Jingdong Mall above there are too many product categories, potatoes have been very convenient for people to share video ... Instead of splitting these sites into categories, there are a number of startups with vertical operations. Someone wants to do a dedicated baby video sharing community and I asked him what are the different functional requirements and product logic for infant video sharing and mass video sharing? The answer will not be the investment. Some people want to do a health care products E-commerce site, I asked him the health care products E-commerce and consumer goods e-commerce have different functional requirements and product logic? The answer is not to get the investment. The ability to subdivide the unique functional requirements and product logic that the integrated portal does not care for, that is, unique experience and user scenarios. For example, professional recruitment, such as professional home electric business, such as beauty Salon mobile Internet entrepreneurship, need to have a unique experience.

Business is not a public good

There are many entrepreneurs in the world, anyone who does not work and intends to make a living by himself can say that he is an entrepreneur. Some inexperienced entrepreneurs, especially internet entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial often out of interest, only know what to do is interesting, for how to profit lack of consideration, do things big and empty, such as "apparel industry Alibaba", "commercial platform for designers" These look very beautiful slogans, but can not afford "I sell to whom how how to make money" Repeated. There is another kind of large and empty project to solve the social problems for the term.

Reliable entrepreneurial projects, perhaps the slogan is not loud, but also can not solve the big social problems, but must be based on a lucrative business, rather than a subsidy to the community's public service behavior. Business is the money relationship of the red naked naked, do not need to put on the cloak of commonweal and morals at all. Not illegal, can seize the user pain point, someone willing to pay to buy, is a good entrepreneurial project.

Public welfare is the responsibility of institutions and government agencies, in China's current social governance environment, too many places do not complete, too many places worthy of care and support. However, this is a social problem, it is not the beginning of entrepreneurs in the start-up period as the starting point for entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs take some public welfare areas of inadequacy, vacancy and morbid as their own entrepreneurial opportunities, is another beautiful trap. It is impossible to expect a return on public welfare activities. Capital from beginning to end is full of blood of the sin is difficult to avoid the truth. Engage in nursing homes, if not settled the profit inside, but just want to meet the needs of the aging society, not suitable for entrepreneurship, school skills, if not settled the profit, but just want to change the morbid phenomenon of Chinese education, not suitable for entrepreneurship ...

The famous "Long Tail theory" author Anderson wrote a book called Free: The future of business, so many entrepreneurs have free products and services as a magic weapon, and finally became cannon fodder. Free in the acquisition of fees before, is tantamount to doing public goods, a mention of charges will be "see the light die." Every day around to eat free users, not only to form a free habit, see fees to leave, but also complain. Business is the most direct value expression, entrepreneurial project should try to show users the most red naked point and value proposition.

Some successful people take public welfare cause to package their own image, only the privilege of the rich, but also the emperor's new clothes, entrepreneurs generally can not afford to play.

VI. strategic positioning leading product differentiation then

The first task of entrepreneurship is to establish its own position according to its own advantages and industry conditions. The same is to do automation equipment, positioning for the "Automation equipment research and development enterprise", "automation equipment manufacturing, Sales Enterprise" and "small household electrical appliances industry automation manufacturing equipment research and development enterprises", these three enterprises in the construction and management direction is completely different. Enterprises should be strategically positioned to be different from their opponents, that is, in the industry to find unique and meaningful difference points. Working hard means you may run faster in the same game, but strategically positioned to help you choose a game that is good for you.

Strategic positioning is actually the beacon of enterprise development, positioning clear, to do things are clear, enterprises can focus on the selected areas and investment resources (operating capital). Startups often make a mistake is want to do too much, do not want to give up, without giving up there is no positioning, there is no growth, bigger and stronger.

On a strategic basis, entrepreneurs are looking for differentiated products and business models, and "bandwagon" is devastating for entrepreneurs. With 2012 years income of 2 billion yuan donkey mother, for example, the original Ctrip and art in hotels and air ticket business has done very well, the donkey mother chose them did not involve self-help tour, this is differentiated products, but also an important factor to attract investment. Another case comes from the beverage market, the beverage market competition is extremely brutal, dozens of brands fight each other. A chain brand called "Fresh Fruit Time" has the advantage of "differentiated strategy", which is rapidly rising in a short time.

In addition, the product established differentiation does not mean that the business from this automatic door-to-door, even if the product quality is not necessarily immediately win, a better understanding to become a winner. Only a maverick concept or product is not enough, you have to let the spread of all aspects reflect your differences, including advertising, brochures, websites and sales demos.

Don't tell me you're building a brand

Entrepreneurs often like to paste a variety of eye-catching labels for their projects, such as the "National only", "the First in China", "the preferred brand", or in the case of nothing, talk about how to create a well-known "brand" through viral marketing programs.

As everyone knows, the brand is not affixed to the label, is through a lot of money to burn out the popularity and excellent product quality to win the reputation of the spread of reputation, is not what brand packaging and operation out.

There is no brand, the use of more people, it became a brand. Any brand to build, must first focus on quality products to build, with the user can not be separated from the products, will have a loud brand.

I see some entrepreneurs, not even say what their products are, let alone clearly know their products can bring to the user what value, it is already in the planning of the road of the brand.

Ask yourself, "What is my product?", "Why do users have to use my product?" Define the two issues first, and then do it, and when the market verifies that it is really a user favorite product, your brand image naturally builds up in the user's heart.

Viii. entrepreneurs don't be sit media people

Entrepreneurs are industry observers and practitioners. A lot of thinking divergent views of the media, industry analysts to their own entrepreneurship, it will appear to be insufficient action, in the actual work to solve problems. From this point of view, the most important thing for entrepreneurs is executive power, often for entrepreneurs, all planning and design ideas, must be put into action.

Only "commentators point of view" type of entrepreneurial plan and ideas, often can only say that is to recognize a demand, or see a market, has not found to meet the needs of the market to meet the way, a bit of a mouse bite hedgehog feeling. This is why some high-profile entrepreneurs in the angel investment Market, but not low-key and pragmatic entrepreneurs more popular reasons.