Startup Experiment - Your Thoughts?

Atomico

Hi all,

I'm thinking of kicking off a little startup experiment - a weekly email newsletter introducing subscribers to a variety of founders and entrepreneurs from around the world. The email will be written by a particular founder, and will offer insights from starting up, stories, tips, and maybe the odd offer (but no sales pitches).

The format would be quite open in fact, with an emphasis on providing real value, an interesting read, as well as insights into the entrepreneur's business and daily life (or however they wish to approach it).

However, it has a twist When you subscribe to a newsletter, you usually know who will be emailing you - be it an individual or a company. This would be different in that you won't know who is going to be emailing until you receive it - it could be any founder from around the world. Of course, each email will be reviewed before sending, and it will be invite only for the most part starting off.

The idea behind it is 'people discovery' - discovering new people, their business / startup, and hearing a snippet of their story, their motivations and experiences, etc.

The focus would be on founders and entrepreneurs to start, but it can also be applied to any field or sector - think chefs, actors, architects, singers, etc. You don't have to be a writer or blogger to post - or even a good writer as such. It's all about writing naturally in a format that works for you.

Of course, this will only get traction if it strikes a chord with people, which brings me to my question - what do you think of the idea? Just a note that this is really just a simple side project.

Cheers

P.S. I will also add a poll asking if you would participate / sign-up to this - responses much appreciated

Gloomtastic!

2 thoughts....

What's in it for the poster?

If it's coming from a different email address every week, chances are it will get snared by the receiver's spam filter.

pedroeibar1

I am involved in a number of sectors within one industry. I find it hard enough to keep my reading up to date even after limiting it to quality info from authoritative sources. When I see phrases like ‘people discovery’ and 'motivations' and 'experiences' and other life coach mumbo jumbo I turn off. Same reason that I skip the egotistical s#1te of columns like “My Day” and “How I made it”.
Your idea strikes a chord alright but it is a dissonant one. Most people are bombarded with stuff all day every day. This little project might be your darling but to many it is just more crap in the inbox. The fact that it is from unknown senders and covers a wide variety of sectors will direct it to the junk box.
Ask yourself would I rather read something from McKinsey or the HBR or from one of your contributors/you....... No brainer, nope and ditto to the poll. (No offence, but you probably know by now that I’m blunt.)

Atomico

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

2 thoughts....

What's in it for the poster?

If it's coming from a different email address every week, chances are it will get snared by the receiver's spam filter.

The chance to reach a greater / new audience, potentially make new connections, increase their exposure...plenty of benefits for a very minimal investment of time!

The emails would come from the same email address each time, as there would be a dedicate site for the concept. Just like how you might get mails from Boards and other sites.

Atomico

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

I am involved in a number of sectors within one industry. I find it hard enough to keep my reading up to date even after limiting it to quality info from authoritative sources. When I see phrases like ‘people discovery’ and 'motivations' and 'experiences' and other life coach mumbo jumbo I turn off. Same reason that I skip the egotistical s#1te of columns like “My Day” and “How I made it”.
Your idea strikes a chord alright but it is a dissonant one. Most people are bombarded with stuff all day every day. This little project might be your darling but to many it is just more crap in the inbox. The fact that it is from unknown senders and covers a wide variety of sectors will direct it to the junk box.
Ask yourself would I rather read something from McKinsey or the HBR or from one of your contributors/you....... No brainer, nope and ditto to the poll. (No offence, but you probably know by now that I’m blunt.)

Agree that people are bombarded but this would be high quality content from quality posters - a bit short sighted of you to write it off considering you know nothing about who might be posting. Could even be someone from this forum People get lots of mail but they are also selective about what they allow - it's all about quality in the end. Simple as that.

Cheers for the feedback.

pedroeibar1

Atomico wrote: »

Agree that people are bombarded but this would be high quality content from quality posters - a bit short sighted of you to write it off considering you know nothing about who might be posting. Could even be someone from this forum People get lots of mail but they are also selective about what they allow - it's all about quality in the end. Simple as that.

Cheers for the feedback.

As someone who has been published I know how it works and what is out there professionally: a random newsletter-type mailshot will not cut mustard. While there are several posters here whose opinions I respect, I would not bother to read articles by them unless they were 100% specific to my industry. Many of the others cannot write, spell or come up with original ideas.
What makes you think you have a USP better than all the real quality info out there? Right now I have only started to read this year’s most popular articles from McKinsey Quarterly, (there are ten of them.) How do you compete with that? To use your own words it's all about quality in the end. Simple as that. :P

Atomico

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

As someone who has been published I know how it works and what is out there professionally: a random newsletter-type mailshot will not cut mustard.

You don't know that until it's tried I too have been published :pac:

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

What makes you think you have a USP better than all the real quality info out there? Right now I have only started to read this year’s most popular articles from McKinsey Quarterly, (there are ten of them.) How do you compete with that? To use your own words it's all about quality in the end. Simple as that. :P

I never mentioned having a better USP. It would be a pretty straight-laced, dull world if all anybody ever read was McKinsey and HBR, under the perception that it was the 'best' content. There is tonnes of room out there, and people sign up for newsletters in their millions every day (and lots read them).

They sign up for content from individual writers, and individual writers would feature as part of this service - individual writers with a story to tell. Whether this is something people will feel is worth signing up to and following is entirely subjective - hence the experiment

It is also about variety and the element of surprise, in addition to quality - not knowing who is writing from week to week and perhaps being pleasantly surprised by their content and what they have to say. As I said, it is people discovery - while you may scoff at that, you actually do it every day / week - any time you go to a meeting or event or conference It's no different because it's online.

I like the concept, getting traction I think is going to be very hard! These days theres so many mails, dealing with spam etc it would be a long road I reckon.

A business style podcast might be a better idea with people who might of been writing as guests.

jimmii

A good business podcast would be good just about getting the right host.

Atomico

Deleted User wrote: »

I like the concept, getting traction I think is going to be very hard! These days theres so many mails, dealing with spam etc it would be a long road I reckon.

A business style podcast might be a better idea with people who might of been writing as guests.

Cheers El Rifle! Don't be surprised if you are one of the ones who get invited to write, ha! I wouldn't have any interest in podcasts really, I rarely listen to them myself even. I love the simplicity and focus of email.

Emails will be sent via a very well known and trusted email sending service, so no worries there. Subscribers also have to double opt in, and can unsubscribe any time. In a world swamped with apps and social media, email is still the king of all online 'apps', and has excellent open and conversion rates. I work in this area and it's totally underrated as a channel by the majority.

On traction, I think you could say that applies to about 99% of startups. Also, people aren't being asked to download anything or fill anything out aside from a few text fields - and then they are done and can just 'consume' for as long as they wish. I also think that if I can get some good posters, people will spread the word and it will encourage sign-ups (the idea is that this content will be written specifically for the list).

jimmii

Looking at mail chimp stats business themed emails tend to be towards the lower end of the open rate at just over 20% I for one would open way less than 20% of emails like that in fact I've gone through and unsubscribed to as many as possible in the last few weeks. Podcasts on the other hand are good to listen to whole commuting or running etc.

Atomico

Atomico wrote: »

Cheers El Rifle! Don't be surprised if you are one of the ones who get invited to write, ha! I wouldn't have any interest in podcasts really, I rarely listen to them myself even. I love the simplicity and focus of email.

Emails will be sent via a very well known and trusted email sending service, so no worries there. Subscribers also have to double opt in, and can unsubscribe any time. In a world swamped with apps and social media, email is still the king of all online 'apps', and has excellent open and conversion rates. I work in this area and it's totally underrated as a channel by the majority.

I dont know the stats on any of this stuff, I'll take your word for it on the email. But I did think the trend is podcasts right now is it not? Ive just recently started listening to a couple, and its very easy to get into a routine of listening to a guys podcast every week in the background when doing something else. All the different writers would be your guests talking about their stories in a more natural way.
Delivery of enough quality content in email is going to be tough, possible more sanitised then a live interview. To be honest with you I get maybe 75-100 spam mails a day and I can't remember the last time I read one. What I want is less screen time and more time away from the screen. Could be getting old though

Cianos

I like the idea but I think it would have to have some kind of hook, and I think email newsletters aren't engaging enough (although I assume this is just the MVP).

If it was 'by SMEs for SMEs' it could be interesting, rather than trying to pretend to offer the most profound and important high end financial stratagem guaranteed to make you $1,000,000 yada yada yada, it was just offering a little insight in to how youngish businesses have gotten to where they are, the main challenges they faced and how they overcame them. It might not offer tonnes of applicable value, but it should be interesting for entrepreneurs just for the sake of being interested in entrepreneurship in general.

Atomico

Cianos wrote: »

I like the idea but I think it would have to have some kind of hook, and I think email newsletters aren't engaging enough (although I assume this is just the MVP).

If it was 'by SMEs for SMEs' it could be interesting, rather than trying to pretend to offer the most profound and important high end financial stratagem guaranteed to make you $1,000,000 yada yada yada, it was just offering a little insight in to how youngish businesses have gotten to where they are, the main challenges they faced and how they overcame them. It might not offer tonnes of applicable value, but it should be interesting for entrepreneurs just for the sake of being interested in entrepreneurship in general.

You are basically describing the exact thinking behind the concept Cianos It may not have come across in the OP, or it may have been easy to jump to the conclusion that the goal was going to be one of those 'hey listen to me I can make it happen for you' type emails - but that's definitely not the idea. It's as you describe - the idea is to focus on the SME / startup angle and all the themes you mention and more. So how you got started, challenges, achievements, what you've learned along the way, etc. When I say 'quality content', I guess I mean just interesting content that people want to read and look forward to reading, as opposed to 'school of business' type stuff.

Yes, correct on the MVP approach too. The idea is to keep the investment absolutely minimal to start with, and see where it goes. Could easily become a fully-fledged website later on, but the email-first is a perfect way of testing and launching certain types of concepts imo.

It could also extend to other areas outside of business / startups, as mentioned.

It may need some tweaking or refinement still, but that could also come from just getting it out there and seeing how it evolves..

Bandara

I think the idea could work, but on a much wider basis

Ie if/when you have a large volume of subscribers then you can focus the content industry/concept specific.

Essentially feed the emails from a centralised hub that also serves as a knowledge resource

The problem is of course getting to that level where such a network of subscribers are on hand

I like the idea though, I just think the delivery via email devalues the content in the eyes of your target users straight away

Atomico

Bandara wrote: »

I think the idea could work, but on a much wider basis

Ie if/when you have a large volume of subscribers then you can focus the content industry/concept specific.

Essentially feed the emails from a centralised hub that also serves as a knowledge resource

The problem is of course getting to that level where such a network of subscribers are on hand

I like the idea though, I just think the delivery via email devalues the content in the eyes of your target users straight away

Hi Bandara,

Yes, I actually originally thought of keeping it much wider and more open, but the problem there is that it can become irrelevant for a lot of people. For example, let's say you have no interest in running and get an email from a notable runner offering insights on his approach to running, insights, tips, etc. You probably won't have much interest and that is obviously counter to achieving growth and word-of-mouth recommendations.

Curious to know why you think email devalues the content. I would say the opposite - that people are quite selective about who they let into their inbox, and are quick to unsubscribe from mailings that don't engage them. In other words, they place a value on the mailings they do allow.

Just a consideration - is Linkedin not the hub for this kind of thing already? Lately Ive noticed loads of my contacts self publishing things in my alerts.

Atomico

Deleted User wrote: »

Just a consideration - is Linkedin not the hub for this kind of thing already? Lately Ive noticed loads of my contacts self publishing things in my alerts.

I would say LinkedIn is a hub for business content, but the idea is that this could cater for any sector or topic. Also, LinkedIn lacks the element of surprise, since you already know your connections or have heard of them if you don't know them personally (since you have already connected with them).

As mentioned, I do think it may need refinement or more of a hook. I have a couple of ideas in mind - one of which was an idea I previously had for another site.

Atomico

Email may not be all that sexy, but as I said, it still works

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/theskimm-an-email-newsletter-draws-fans-like-oprah-winfrey-and-investors/

Axwell

Deleted User wrote: »

Just a consideration - is Linkedin not the hub for this kind of thing already? Lately Ive noticed loads of my contacts self publishing things in my alerts.

I would say thats LinkedIn Pulse as its called that you are coming across, been noticing it myself lately. Lots of people posting articles on topics related to their industry etc.

Atomico

Axwell wrote: »

I would say thats LinkedIn Pulse as its called that you are coming across, been noticing it myself lately. Lots of people posting articles on topics related to their industry etc.

Pulse is actually a separate feature - more general writers whereas what el Rifle is talking about is when one of your connections publishes a post and you get notified.

Axwell

I would tend to agree that podcasts might be a better option for this. personally speaking i dont have time to sit and read an email with a sort of interview with someone asking them how they got started, the pitfalls etc etc. I am more likely to stick on a podcast when working on something and have it playing in the background or when I am at home in the evening I will stick them on when I am making dinner or whatever else. During work hours i focus on work emails and then a small amount of whatever else comes through. In the evening I try avoid going to my inbox be it on the laptop or phone, I am self employed so its important for me to be able to switch off and not be still at the laptop at all hours of the morning which is an easy trap when you open emails at 8pm and see something and decide to deal with it there and then.

pedronomix

unless you have serious resources to promote this and obtain sponsorship/advertising it will end up like kesht.co, assuming the concept has appeal in the first place!

Atomico

pedronomix wrote: »

unless you have serious resources to promote this and obtain sponsorship/advertising it will end up like kesht.co, assuming the concept has appeal in the first place!

Interesting that you went through my past posts - who knows what's in the pipeline for kesht?!

Disagree - if that was the case then only people with deep pockets could get a venture off the ground, which of course isn't the case. The whole point of 'email-first' is that you keep it to a minimal investment (like with kesht), test and see what works. You can do a lot with a simple landing page and getting the site out there on various sites like this one.

I do agree it has to have appeal in the first place though!

pedronomix

I actually remembered it, as I did not get the business concept at the time. This struck me as similar in some ways with the correspondents doing all the work!! Neither end would appeal to me!

Atomico

pedronomix wrote: »

I actually remembered it, as I did not get the business concept at the time. This struck me as similar in some ways with the correspondents doing all the work!! Neither end would appeal to me!

These are simple side projects / experiments, not business concepts. They might have the potential to grow into businesses, but that is not the primary aim. In a nutshell, it's really all about 'testing for traction'.

It likely doesn't appeal as you are probably an established business owner or someone who doesn't need to hustle and get themselves out there. To someone passionate about their business / venture and looking for exposure and new users or customers, I can't see how writing a simple email about a facet of their business and how they got started sounds like work at all.

pedronomix

Atomico wrote: »

These are simple side projects / experiments, not business concepts. They might have the potential to grow into businesses, but that is not the primary aim. In a nutshell, it's really all about 'testing for traction'.

It likely doesn't appeal as you are probably an established business owner or someone who doesn't need to hustle and get themselves out there. To someone passionate about their business / venture and looking for exposure and new users or customers, I can't see how writing a simple email about a facet of their business and how they got started sounds like work at all.

The cynicism ( reality!) of experience eventually wins out over the enthusiasm of youth!

Atomico

pedronomix wrote: »

The cynicism ( reality!) of experience eventually wins out over the enthusiasm of youth!

Haha guess so. Long may it last says you!!

On a serious note, the feedback is a huge help - funny how the harsher feedback helps the most Not that it is really, but you know what I mean.

Cianos

I think this'd be good as an app actually.

When a new article comes out you get a push notification, and the piece is there to be read, or, as others have said you could have a podcast version and still have a transcription of the piece so those who prefer reading can still do so.

It could be released on a set day, once a week.

Could be difficult to monetise - sponsorship isn't that great for podcasts...the popular Serial (highly recommended by the way) ask for donations now because their sponsorship doesn't cover production costs.

pedroeibar1

pedronomix wrote: »

The cynicism ( reality!) of experience eventually wins out over the enthusiasm of youth!

Ya nearly nailed it Pedro,
It's
Old age and guile will always beat youth and exuberance.

pedronomix

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

Ya nearly nailed it Pedro,
It's
Old age and guile will always beat youth and exuberance.

I only recite dogma of my own issue!!