I have been spending a lot of time over the last few weeks and months on our new Internet business iStopOver. www.istopover.com
What a nice change! It has been an incredibly creative experience.
I will post other blog entries regarding the business itself, and why we are so excited about the opportunity, but this is all about reliving in a startup.
As I described in a tweet last week, it sometimes feels like being a sculptor molding clay. Everything is immediate – you make a decision, and then you implement it, and then you see the result. It is all so “right-now”.
I have been reminded by what we always describe as the difference between a startup and an established company. In a startup, you have the luxury of immediate reaction and implementation. And in a later stage company, you don’t wonder how you can possibly do everything that has to be done.
We slipstreamed the launch of the site last week, and already we have modified the home page based on feedback. If you have a chance, please go to www.istopover.com and give us any input you can. In the near future, we will have a full launch.
This is the time to put all of our experience to work. For us, it is like second nature to do everything that has to be done – we have done it so many times in the past. Build, test, launch, market, legals, business dev, sales, customers, graphics, PR, marketing, SEO, listen carefully to all input, zig, zag; and then do it all a second time build, test, launch, market. Focus on details. Adapt, learn, experiment…
A lot has changed since the 90’s when we launched retail software. Take QA for example – in those days, you tested and then sent the product to manufacture. “OK – build and dupe 10,000 copies of WinFax. Copy 50,000 diskettes”. And if there was a small bug, it meant recalls, tech support headaches (and cost) – after we shipped, we sometimes never heard from our customers. What a nice change this is – launch a product on the Internet – make a change – and everyone sees the change next time they log in! Whew, some things do get better.
The marketing terminology has changed – now, it is all about social networks and social media, SEO and analytics. But fundamentally, marketing is still all about understanding market needs and offering value that people really need.
It has been awesome providing a product that is so right for these market conditions. It is so amazing focusing on a world-class service rather than bitching about the pathetic state of the market.
I wouldn’t swap this job for anything! And, please just do me a favour – tell 10 people about iStopoOver so that they can each tell 10 more…
nice looking site, Mark, and a very clever idea. Good on you.
Posted by: Alec Saunders | April 12, 2009 at 01:46 PM