10 Lessons for new media venture founders and advice from those who have launched successful startups.

1. Presented by Ju-Don Marshall Roberts
September 2013
10 Lessons From Startup Land

2. ☞17 years at The Washington Post
☞Restart no. 1: NewsCorp-owned Beliefnet
☞Restart no. 2: Beliefnet was sold; had to
start over, rebuilding and training new
team for the new company
☞Restart no. 3: Everyday Health
☞Various work with startups
About Me (AKA Do I really know
what I’m talking about?)

3. ☞They Might Come
 If they know and trust you
– your personal brand
‒ What have you already
done?
 If you can sell yourself
effectively
‒ Are you believable?
‒ Are you credible?
Lesson 1: If “You” Build It…

4. ☞They Might Come But They Won’t Stay
Without a Fight
 Don’t rest on your laurels
 As fabulous as you/your
idea/your product are, you
will be in a death match for
audience and revenue
Lesson 2: If “You” Build It…

5. ☞Good ideas don’t always make good businesses
 What problem are you solving?
 Do a substantial number of people care about the
problem and need the solution?
 Do you have the skills, time, resources to make it
work?
 And even if all else is true, is it worth your time?
(ROI)
Lesson 3: Have a Plan,
Not Just an Idea

6. ☞Build a team that you trust and that trusts you
 Hire people with passion
 Strive not to be the smartest person in the room
 Encourage independent thinking
 Build a culture, not just a business
Lesson 4: Teamwork Makes
the Dream Work

7. ☞Your passion is your driving force
 Allows you to effectively motivate your team and
yourself
 Provides inspirational leadership
☞Unchecked emotions are dangerous
 Leads you to blind adherence or belief in your
own ideas in spite of indicators or team feedback
 Results in erratic decision-making
Lesson 5: Lose the Emotion;
Keep the Passion

8. ☞Good ideas need time to grow
 Do your due diligence to make
sure your ideas are sound and
then give them time to work
☞Avoid chasing every shiny new
penny
 Distractions will likely be corrosive
and impact the execution of your
actual priorities
Lesson 6: Stay Committed

9. ☞Recognize when a
strategy is flawed
 Wrong assumptions
 Marketplace changes
 Audience shifts
☞Seize the opportunities
you cannot afford to
miss
Lesson 7: Know When to Pivot

10. ☞Build a solid foundation
 Make sure what you create or
sell is replicable and scalable
 Invest in the infrastructure,
teams, technology to
adequately support your
initiatives
Lesson 8: Bigger Is Not Always
Better – at Least Not Immediately

11. ☞ Define your brand or others will define it for
you
 Your Advertisers
 Your Competition
☞ What’s your key differentiator?
Lesson 9: Be True to Yourself

12. ☞Never stop challenging your
assumptions
 Why won’t your product work
“tomorrow”?
☞Figure out the game-changer in your
niche and become it
 Lessons from legacy media
 Gamification
Lesson 10: Don’t Fear the
Disruption; Be the Disruption

13. ☞Stay laser-focused on what
you are trying to accomplish.
 Don't let VCs, funders or staff allow scope
creep to kick in. If you have a great idea,
then don't let anything get in the way of
building or perfecting that.
☞ Avoid growing too fast.
 Quick success doesn't mean long-term
success, so stay cheap until the long-term
path is clearer. No big staff expansion or
fancy real estate.
Jim Brady
President & Editor,
Digital First Media
Founding GM TBD
@jimbradysp
Advice From Founders

14. ☞Turn a competitor into a mentor
 Build a partnership, where you share ideas with
each other, ask questions, and build a mutually
beneficial relationship. Befriending your
competition and developing a pathway to
strengthen both businesses is what some of the
most successful entrepreneurs are doing today.
☞Ask the “dumb” questions
 I see a lot of bright young people miss great
opportunities simply because they were too
embarrassed to ask for clarification. … There's a
big difference between confidence and hubris. It's
easier to be flashy and act cocky. It's a lot harder to
find quiet inner confidence and to be comfortable
asking people for help, or admitting when you
don't know something.
Advice From Founders
Amy Webb
Founder and CEO
Webb Media Group
@webbmedia

15. ☞Dig deep to find your
purpose. It matters for
everything.
☞Don’t underestimate the
work required.Hamet Watt
Cofounder
bLife and MoviePass
@hametwatt
Advice From Founders

16. ☞Establish a terrific group of
advisers.
☞Avoid not having a detailed
and executable Action Plan
 You have to prioritize what is really
important from what is not.
Greg Behrman
Founder & CEO,
NationSwell
@GregBehrman1
Advice From Founders

17. ☞Establish shared values
 Talk openly with your founding team and establish
your shared values. Then hire for them, teach
them and be true to them.
☞Don’t blindly adhere to a model
 Your model helps you understand the levers in
your business, but it's always wrong in ways you
don't expect.
Tom Gerace
Founder & CEO,
Skyword
Founded Gaither
@tomgerace
Advice From Founders

18. ☞Have a partner
 Building a company is hard - it's a big existential
struggle - and nothing improves one's odds of
success more, or makes the process more
enjoyable, than a another person to share the
crusade.
☞ Avoid Editing Yourself
 In the face of bleak prospects or long odds, the
tendency is to second guess and to avoid risk,
i.e. to narrow the vision, and to be quick to
dismiss "crazy" ideas.… This doesn't mean that
you embrace every half-baked idea, but that you
allow ideas to live for a while, before settling on
a course of action. Innovation is a very fragile
process, and it can be so easily killed without
sufficient vigilance.
Oliver Ryan
Founder & CEO,
Social Workout
@eauryan
Advice From Founders

19. Thank You!
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ju-don@ju-don.com
jmrmediaconsulting@gmail.com