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EO Entrepreneurs’ Rally 2013 from TECHdotMN

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Check out these videos from this year’s event.

EO Rally Part 1  

EO Rally Part 2

EO Video Part 3

Well, come find out. You’re invited.

Entrepreneur Rally, brought to you by our friends at Entrepreneurs Organization, is coming to Minneapolis March 12th and they are now releasing tickets. This is the conference that 180 MN entrepreneurs came to last year.

Register now before it fills.

If you are an early stage entrepreneur, this will be the most important event you will attend this year. There has never been an event in Minnesota where so many accomplished entrepreneurs have gotten together to help the next generation entrepreneurs. This is your chance to meet the movers and shakers in our community.

Like who?

Learn more about the mentor list and who you will get to meet, learn from, network with, and win with.

Download the event brochure.

Project Skyway want to see you win. Attending this event is a pretty smart step towards that. We hope to see you there!

Almost monthly I meet a startup doing something in social. And usually, as part of their pitch, they slide in “Oh, and ad agencies will want to bring us to their clients or resell us to their clients or pay us to white label.”

Oh really? Just like that?

And it’s at this moment that I know the ugly truth. The truth that they haven’t really talked to an agency. They think they know how an agency thinks and what motivates them to make decisions but they actually don’t have a clue. Thus, they are eagerly rushing down a path that will see them waste precious months chasing down digital directors or VPs of social media, all to pitch them the wrong tool in the wrong way using the wrong value proposition. Time to change that.

For this deep dive I went after a small agency of three scrappy marketers as well as a big agency of several hundred. Why? Because their needs are different, and you need to learn from both. Buckle up.

Enter Bob Molhoek, CMO of Olson with input from his whole team. Olson is a big deal — Minneapolis’ biggest agency, and they have a large and rapidly growing social media practice internally which works with big brands that may not want you to know they’re using Olson. But the good news for you is that they are. Here’s what you need to know about how a big agency like Olson thinks:

Casey: What annoys you the most when a tech startup approaches your company to “partner”?

Bob: A call followed by an IMMEDIATE email saying “did you get my voicemail?” followed by an immediate LinkedIn request.

Second to that is having vaporware. I only want to see things that work and fit a PR budget. “Starts at $25K?” then it’s too much.

Have you done any type of partnerships with any software companies. If so can you give a specific example?

Levee from Loudpixel. Sourcing content that is happening real time in the social space. 

How likely is each of these?:

Scenario 1:You’ll use the company’s platform as an additional tool in a campaign which you can charge the client time and costs for. Like Pinterest and/or MediaSpike.

Does the platform work and make sense for my client? Then yes, if I use it, I will charge for it.

Scenario 2: You’ll use and pay for the service yourself for in-house organization or efficiency. Something the client is never aware of. Like http://pagelever.com or http://postling.com.

Unlikely

Scenario 3: You’ll whitelabel the product as an “Olson tool” and re-sell it to your clients. Like http://hootsuite.com/partner/solution or http://weeverapps.com/reseller-program?

Possible

What would be the best way for an entrepreneur to get a meeting with you your agency if they thought they had something up your alley? Which method of contact is best and what is the right approach?

Typically they pester someone else for a while, then get forwarded to me and then wear me down and I say yes. Of all the demos I’ve seen, only Offerpop showed me something useful that we adopted. I would rather they send in someone to do an in person visit, buy lunch for anyone who wants to come and show it to a room of people. Then we have a lot of people thinking of ways to use the tool if it works.

Conversely, what is a terrible approach that will almost guarantee they won’t get a conversation with the person that they want?

Voicemail + email + linkedin = feels like stalking

Describe a type of company or product that you LOVE to find right now. That would be manna from heaven for your agency or your current client list.

The next Facebook – a solid answer to where the critical mass is heading after they give up on Facebook. Barring that, we need real measurement tools. No more made up numbers and inflated impressions. Connect social media clicks to sales. Prove the sales lift for us.

Any last sage words of advice to those hustler tech entrepreneurs building the next big marketing / sharing / promotions / loyalty tool?

Solve an actual problem – one born out of your own experience working at an agency or with agencies. We aren’t looking for “me too” technologies, but something that offers us an actual solution to a real problem. Be up front with pricing.

—- Says Casey: “Good stuff? Keep reading, because you don’t have the whole picture yet” —

Enter Martha McCarthy, co-founder of TheSocialLights. At 24 years old, she’s as big a tech geek as she is a creative experimenter. In one short year they’ve come out of nowhere to work with some pretty well known brands, 30 of them to-date. Here’s what you need to know about approaching a smaller agency like Martha’s, something you’ll definitely what to do before approaching the big boys:

Casey: What annoys you the most when a tech startup approaches you to “partner”?

Martha: Cold approaches are the most annoying (aka BCC’ing every email address you can find) and having generic copy that is supposed to “speak to me” as a social media consultant. For one thing, the term “Social Media Consultant” is used by some, but the more senior level strategists or agency people can be offended by the term (due to the fact that just about anybody these days can call themselves a “social media consultant”). 

Rather than taking this approach, it’s best to customize the email with the contact’s first name and demonstrate in the body of the email that you’ve done some research about their company/agency. This provides a warm introduction and will have a much higher rate of response. Also, it’s probably best not to use the term “partner/partnership” in email #1, it comes off pretty strong (like saying, “Give me access to your clients! NOW!”) Instead, make it about them. “I thought you’d best interested in this new product/service because of X,Y,Z problems that you likely run into when…” “I’d be happy to set up a 15-min demo or FREE trial to show you…”(Yes, we do like the word FREE). 

You’ve done one partnership to date with a tech company. What specifically does their tool do and what is the nature of that partnership between you two?

We actually use a few different products made by tech companies, but only one is local and is the result of some good ol’ fashioned hustling. It is a tool that automates the twitter following process to efficiently grow twitter followers (more specifically, the right kind of twitter followers, such as geo-specific, industry/interest-specific, or those of a client’s competitor). The partnership is simple – we use the product and when we have a new client that would benefit from it, we implement it in-house (rather than reselling it to the client or trying to explain to them what it does and why we should use it). 

How likely is each of these?: 

Scenario 1.:You’ll use the company’s platform as an additional tool in a campaign which you can charge the client time and costs for. Like Pinterest and/or MediaSpike.

We would typically charge time, but not costs. We don’t like to line item a bunch of different tools they haven’t heard of, instead we test them and if we like them we continue to use them while charging the client time (setup and management of tool). 

Scenario 2: You’ll use and pay for the service yourself for in-house organization or efficiency. Something the client is never aware of. Like http://pagelever.com or http://postling.com.

Not very likely.

Scenario 3: You’ll whitelabel the product as a “SocialLights tool” and re-sell it to your clients. Like http://hootsuite.com/partner/solution or http://weeverapps.com/reseller-program?

Yes for reporting/analytics, but not for management tools. Our bigger clients already have a platform of choice and they provide us a log-in, and for smaller clients we provide them a log-in to our system, but there’s no trickery in what it is or who built it. We say, “We feel that this social software is the best fit” and they say, “Cool, I trust you.”

What would be the best way for an entrepreneur to get a meeting with you if they thought they had something up your alley? Which method of contact is best and what is the right approach?

Email and twitter. Tweet me to tell me you emailed me. (Seems silly, but it will probably pique my interest. Generally works for media people too, they’ll be much more likely to take a look at that email). Make both of them clever. Be sure the product/service actually is something I may need. Be clear about what it is (If it’s too ambiguous I probably don’t want to waste my time, I’ll just assume it’s not that cool because you’re being covert about it). For approach, see Q1.

Conversely, what is a terrible approach that will almost guarantee they won’t get a conversation with you?

See Q1. Overall, don’t be annoying or cocky or long-winded. But you probably already know that. 

Describe a type of company or product that you LOVE to find right now. One that would be manna from heaven for your agency or your current client list.

A source of perfectly proportioned graphics. Almost every FB post needs a great graphic, but the time spent digging up the right one (that we can legally use) and cropping it to the right dimensions takes a ton of time. I need a media gallery to make this easier (something like Photo Pin taken to the next level). Also, additional tools like Pinwords and that can help me feign being a graphic designer would be very helpful. And last but not least, I need a reporting tool that brings in Pinterest + Instagram + Tumblr analytics in additional to the traditional FB/Twitter/YouTube/Google Analytics so everything can be in one report, especially the total number of impressions. 

Whatever you build, make it pretty. Seriously though, if it’s a dashboard I have to stare at all day – the color scheme, font choice and overall UI/UX better be nice. I’ve passed on some ‘more robust’ tools because they’re ugly. Don’t be ugly. (At least when you’re in the “give me money for this thing” phase). 

Any last sage words of advice to those hustler tech entrepreneurs  building the next big marketing / sharing / promotions / loyalty tool?

Spend significant time on the messaging/marketing piece. If you introduce a half-assed marketing/outreach campaign, that’s only going to hurt you. Also, don’t pay for email lists because people hate unsolicited mass emails. 

Also, ‘social media people’ still like being invited to beta tests. If you make the invite seem fun and exclusive (and your product isn’t in the ugly stage anymore), a beta test brings a teensy bit of “I saw/tried this first,” and people like that. Also, I take tech companies that have major press logos on their site super seriously. It’s like holy shit they were in Tech Crunch? Pepsi is their client?! Ok, ok, so you are just starting out…but, don’t be afraid to pitch to major media when the time is right. It’ll help your credibility and SEO tremendously and then you won’t need to spend a gazillion dollars getting in front of the right people.

</interview>

Casey’s last word: At the end of the day, you’re dealing with humans inside of these agencies. They each have their quirks, preferences, and egos, but internalizing these sentiments from Martha and Bob will certainly make you better off than your competitor who is hustling after the same finite market you are and will probably do so without the empathy you have.

It’s your ability to stand out from the rest that will dictate if you get that first meeting. And it’s that first meeting (not the sale) that should be your goal.

Go forth and hustle.

Of course you are.

So wisen up and talk to some folks that might be able to give you a little guidance and support!

What:

Founders & Funders @CoCo

Jeff Hink, VC of El Dorado Ventures*, Casey Allen of Project Skyway, and YOU. 20 minutes of whatever you want to chat about.

Who it’s for:

Any B2B software startup. Here are some rules to make sure this goes well:

1. You must be B2B. Most of your rev must come from businesses.
2. Your product must be live and in the hands of some users. No wireframes. No ideas. whatever.com or whatever.com/dev must be live and usable. If you haven’t challenged your assumptions with users yet then you’ve got bigger fish to fry than chatting with us.
3. You can feel free to bring as much of your team as you’d like, but the CEO must be there.
4. No, neither of us will fund you. Not here and now, at least. So don’t see this as a “pitch”. See it as a “chat”.

Who it’s not for:

1. B2C startups. Unless you’re quite certain B2B2C will work for you.
2. Hardware. Cleantech. Med device. Consultants.
3. Folks with an just an idea, just some wireframes, or just a letter calling them a broker-dealer.

When:

Friday, October 5, 2 pm to 4 pm

Depending on how it goes we’ll consider having these more regularly.

What you do now:

Sign up for a twenty minute slot. Then think wisely about how you can get to the point and extract as much meaningful value out of twenty short minutes. Hint: Talk less. Show more. Ask short questions.

What you do then:

Bring your laptop. Plan on a 90 second demo to start. And think about the two or three (not eight or twelve) biggest questions you want to cover with us. The more direct and clear your question the more value for you. Hint: “What do you think of my product?” is not a good question.

Both Jeff and I (more he) get more email than we can possibly reply to. This is our combined effort at being available and helpful to local entrepreneurs.

Link here to grab a slot. Act fast. First come, first serve.

Look forward to chatting!

- Casey Allen, cofounder Project Skyway

*In the process of renaming themselves Icon Ventures

Cem Erdem of Project Skyway receives the "2012 Diversity in Business" award from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal

The award recognizes business leaders in the Twin Cities for making a difference in their profession, company and the local community. In addition to his work with Augusoft, Erdem was recognized for his work in founding Project Skyway, Minnesota’s first tech accelerator program, which helps early stage tech companies with mentoring, networking and funding.

Project Skyway's founder Cem Erdem was one of 19 people honored by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal with the 2012 Diversity in Business award.

Cem discussed some of the strengths and weaknesses of the local MN tech scene, along with how Project Skyway, CoCo, MHTA and others are working to build more of a tech ecosystem here in the Twin Cities. Cem also talked a bit about next week’s Demo Day being held on Wednesday, May 30th.

Listen to the full interview here.

The four companies participating in Demo Day include:

• PoliticalHarmony: Online tool that helps voters choose the right candidates and also serves as a marketing platform for campaigns to reach hard-to-poll voters. From: Minnesota.  Entrepreneurs: Kyle Welliver, Tyler Kent.
• QuadROI: WestLaw for the energy space. The only aggregator of data from thousands of fragmented reports into one central database that can be accessed by consultants, agencies, and companies that require current info on regional energy programs. From: Minnesota. Entrepreneur: Mark Brown.
• HypeSpark: Endorse your favorite brands via social media and earn rewards and freebies. From: Wisconsin. Entrepreneurs: Peter Kostka, Matthew Lea, Andre Gagnon .
• YumZing: Yelp for menu items, not just the restaurant. Consumers discover and share the best dishes, coffees, and drinks in town while restaurants can promote the menu items that they want to be best known for. From: Connecticut. Entrepreneur: Jolina Li.

Demo Day is open to investors and supporters from the Minnesota tech community. Click here for more information on event registration and parking.

You can watch the livestream of demo day here: tech.mn/kns0h

An after party will be held from 5-9 p.m. that evening at Vic’s on Main St. (201 Main St. SE, Minneapolis). For more information on the after party, please click here.

Following are comments from members of the five companies that participated in the inaugural Project Skyway Demo Day:

“Project Skyway was an essential part of our “start-up”. In addition to opening doors and introducing us to advisers and mentors in the community, we built valuable, lasting relationships with other start-ups and used the resources to focus on our go-to-market strategy.” – Corey Thompson, CEO, Naiku, Inc.

“Project Skyway and the Pitch Doctor helped us tell our story with conviction.”
– Adisack Nhouyvanisvong, President, Naiku, Inc.

“Project Skyway has been extremely instrumental in creating visibility for CribFrog in the local technology ecosystem.” – Alex Reilly, Founder, CribFrog.

“Demo Day helped us learn how to tell a good story and to relay what is most important about our business.” – Michael Noble, Founder and CEO, Nitch.

We have been super busy these past months and we would like to give you an update on what we have been up to Pinterest style! (Don’t worry, we aren’t going to do an Instagram themed blog post any time soon.)

Over 350 people attended the networking portion of the evening, which was highlighted by Ido Leffler’s keynote speech.  During his entertaining presentation Ido spoke about the many challenges he was able to overcome early on in his life and when launching his company Yes-to-Inc.

Download brochure

Check out photos from the evening’s festivities.

View Cem Erdem’s speech at the rally.

Watch interviews and coverage of the event from Tech{dot}MN

TECHdotMN TV: EO Rally | Segal, Halvorson, Fenner, Nash from TECHdotMN on Vimeo.

TECHdotMN TV: EO Rally | Justin Kaufenberg from TECHdotMN on Vimeo.

TECHdotMN TV: EO Rally | Parag Shah from TECHdotMN on Vimeo.

View the announcement of the Spring 2012 Cycle participants along with Cem and Casey’s interview with Jeff Pesek of Tech.MN

TECHdotMN TV 2.6: Headlines + Project Skyway from TECHdotMN on Vimeo.

Meet The Project Skyway 2012 Spring Cycle Participants:

PoliticalHarmony: (MN) Online tool that helps voters choose the right candidates and also serves as a polling platform for campaigns to reach hard-to-poll voters.From: Minnesota. Entrepreneurs: Kyle Welliver, Kevin Walker, Tyler Kent.

Energy Resource Insights: (MN) WestLaw for the energy space. The only aggregator of data from thousands of fragmented reports into one central database that can be accessed by consultants, agencies, and companies that require current info on regional energy programs. From: Minnesota. Entrepreneur: Mark Brown.

HypeSpark: (WI) Endorse your favorite brands via social media and earn rewards and freebies. From: Wisconsin. Entrepreneurs: Peter Kostka, Matthew Lea, Andre Gagnon.

YumZing: Yelp for menu items, not just the restaurant. Consumers discover and share the best dishes, coffees, and drinks in town while restaurants can promote the menu items that they want to be best known for. From: Connecticut. Entrepreneur: Jolina Lee.

Join us on March 13th for the Entrepreneur’s Rally Presented by Entrepreneurs’ Organization Minnesota.

Check out the flyer here or register now at http://tempotickets.com/entrepreneursrally