virksomhedsopstart
Skrevet af Femi og Michael
Pelle Braendgaard has on his blog Stakes Ventures just made a blog post about Danish Entrepreneurship and some of the challenges the Scandinavian mindset poses to us Scandinavians.
“The entrepreneurial tradition thing is a sad thing. In 1988 when various business associations in Denmark needed young Danish entrepreneurs to send to various EU conferences, I was the only person they could find. Yes I knew several others, but it really was not a common thing to be an entrepreneur in the 80s in Denmark. I can see people of my generation are really scared of the idea of entrepreneurship.
However as I mentioned at the talk, I think computers, games, mobiles and the Internet has had a big impact of the generations coming after mine. Dane’s in the 20s are a lot more open to the idea of setting up shop than my generation. I can only assume this trend will grow. From the Copenhagen.rb meetings I can see that there is a definite change in the mindset of people.”
- Stakes Ventures: Silicon Vikings talk on Danish Entrepreneurship
I think Pelle is right that Danes in our generation (people in their 20s) are more willing to try for themselves as opposed to solely being an employee. When Femi came to Denmark from UK he said he was surprised to see that there was a lot of my friends and people in general who at some point had their own small company. We do however still have a lot to learn from the Americans on being bold and thinking bigger.
Where Pelle mentions some of the constraints of setting up and operating a company in Denmark as a stumbling block – I would emphasis the flexibility of the Danish system as a contributing factor to why I created astartup instead of becoming an employee.
- I could get unemployment benefits straight out of university while I was growing my company. (The paperwork is a hassle, but at least I got some money for rent)
- Starting a personal partnership (I/S) is super easy. One (1) paper form and you are in business. The disadvantage is that you are fully liable for the company but starting a software company does not involve any big investments so the risk is not big in my case.
- The economy is strong and there is a shortage of people in IT. Even though this might change for now it has been an assurance for me that if everything fails in my business it is easy to go out and get a job.
- There are a number of governmental institutions and non-profit networks emerging focused on startups and entrepreneurship.
To me the threshold to get started in Denmark is very low. It is when the company is starting to mature and money is starting to roll in that the problems occur. Changing to a limited company and the huge taxation that follows will then be a major issue. My perspective on this mater is further enhanced from Femi’s experience in the UK, where his perception is that the threshold of starting a small company requires significantly more work, whereas the benefits outshine those of the danish equivalent once established and money begins to flow.
2. juli 2007 kl. 10:00
Skrevet af Femi og Michael
Today I was talking a lot with a new client of ours about how to go about doing a business plan for the company he is about to start. And then I realized that I hadn’t seen our plan since we made it.
I still believe that it is a good idea to write a business plan because the most valuable aspect is the proces you go think and talk about before you start. The best advice we were given back then was:
Make your business plan, go through the process and file it
That was also my advice today. Because we might have had some hopes, expectations and ideas of were would be a year from we started but we have ended up in a very different place and with very different clients. Not to say that it is not good to plan – we have a lot of plans – but the business plan is staying in the files.
On the same note I just watched a very inspiring panel talk called No Plan, No Capital, No Model… No Problem moderated by Guy Kawasaki. Here are five different people from businesses that started out from scratch, didn’t get external funding and ended up being successful. A key in all these companies is that they stay like micro-companies for a long time and only at a very late stage start to grow their teams.
26. juni 2007 kl. 22:05
Skrevet af Femi og Michael
If a high school kid asked me for an advice today for how to get through university, it would be to start a company while studying.
While Danish universities provide some hands on experience and real-life collaboration there is a lot of things that can’t be taught in school.
During my studies in computer science and communication I think about 10-20% of my year started their own company (mostly as sole proprietors). It was easy to start and pretty easy to find costumers who wanted something done with IT. I started two companies while studying one by myself and another one with 4 of my friends. None of the companies were a huge success but I learned how to do the books and the experience I gained made me confident that starting a company for a living would be doable.
Most of the people who started companies shut them down when they graduated and got ‘real jobs’ but as far as I know there are now four people living the life as entrepreneurs from my year.
My years in university have taught me a lot and I don’t regret it. But you shouldn’t go to college just to get a degree. Mike Glanz wrote a post about how all he learned in college was how to ‘work the system’.
“If I had taken Guy’s advice and learned how to make money instead of being an employee. If I had just found Seth’s blog when he started it… I’m not saying all college is a total waste. I am saying that my university was a total waste for me.
Let me break that down.
I went to college to get a degree. My parents told me a degree was “something to fall back on”, it was “security”, and it would “prepare me for the real world”. In reality it took away my preparedness. I’m a surviving kinda guy. I needed to pass college so I did it the best way possible: find out what the teachers wanted and gave it to them. Within a year I wasn’t trying… I graduated top 10 in my class because I was the best at giving the teachers what they wanted… not because I paid attention to anything they said.”
[tags]startingcompany, college, university, entrepreneur, advice, [/tags]
17. maj 2007 kl. 14:50
Skrevet af Femi og Michael
After recently speaking to another two man partnership company based in Copenhagen, I was (and still am) very intrigued by their business model, because unlike a micro company like us, they have solicited financial backing funding from Angels, Venture Capitalists and Sponsors. They pointed me to a video documentary they had used as a source of inspiration, which I finally acquired and settled down to watch in the early hours of last night.
Startup.com is an exciting and frank document about the “rise and fall of the American dream”. It chronicles the tribulations of an Internet startup company in era of the dot com bubble, when a lot of money was being shelved out by various source to companies, with the lure of making big money in return on the virtually untapped Internet market. Having writhed, winced and wriggled through the 1 hour 43 min documentary, I must say it confirmed my worst nightmares with regard business ventures of that scale and solidifies my belief in the benefits of the micro company model. However, I have the utmost respect for the entreupenuers that have the ability and desire to take on responsibilies and pressure of that magnitude.
I would encourage anyone who hasnt already seen this documentary to dig it out.
29. marts 2007 kl. 07:24
Skrevet af Femi og Michael
Den anden dag blev jeg spurgt, hvordan vi markedsførte vores firma og uden at tænke over det, sagde jeg, “det gør vi egentlig ikke”.
Det passer ikke helt, for vi har jo vores hjemmeside, og så bruger vi meget vores netværk til at skaffe jobs, men vi har indtil nu ikke lavet egentlig markedsføring eller opsøgende salg. Samtalen fik mig til at tænke på et interview med chefen for en af de største internetsider i USA, som sagde “We don’t have any sales people – at all.”
Jim Buckmaster CEO fra Craigslist lavede sidste forår et videointerview med Fortune’s tekniske redaktør. Videoklippet herunder viser dele af interviewet med spørgsmål fra salen. Jeg synes klippet er et meget godt billede på mødet mellem den traditionelle, salgsorienterede virksomhedsopfattelse og så til den hippieagtige, kundeorienterede programmør, som Buckmaster repræsenterer.
Det er sjovt at se og høre reaktionerne når Buckmaster fortæller, at de ikke tror på profitmaksimering, og det eneste tidspunkt folk havde forladt firmaet var for at tage ud og rejse.
Klik på billedet for at se interviewet
Historien er den at Craigslist.com startede i San Francisco tilbage i 1995 med at lave en website, hvor man gratis kunne indrykke rubrikannoncer. Siden blev meget populær i USA, og i ‘99 blev der etableret et firma omkring siden. De begyndte at tage penge for job- og boligannoncer, imens resten forblev gratis, og dermed var deres succes grundlagt.
I dag har de ifølge wikipedia 5 milliarder sidevisninger om måneden, en årlig omsætning i omegnen af $10 millioner, og det gør de med bare 24 ansatte (heraf ingen sælgere).
Mikrovirksomheder som vores har ikke alverdens ressourcer eller tid at smide efter markedsføring. I hvert fald ikke på den traditionelle måde med brochure, reklamer, sælgere og opsøgende telefonsalg. Og det er heller ikke noget vi har særligt meget lyst til. Derfor har vores udgangspunkt også været, at vi vil benytte vores produkter, resultater og glade kunder til at skaffe nye opgaver.
Et produkt vi har produceret i den ånd er Rotaboard, som er en gratis, online arbejdskalender. Vi vil måske på et tidspunkt tilbyde ekstra funktioner, som man skal betalte for, men i første omgang er det bare noget vi har lavet for at vise, hvad vi kan og gøre opmærksom på os selv. Der ligger en del arbejdstimer bag, men ellers har det ikke kostet os noget. Da vi lancerede Rotaboard i beta gik tingene af sig selv, og vi har nu efter 1½ måned haft 35.000 besøg. Jeg tror vi har fået denne eksponering, fordi vi har fokuseret på brugeren og ikke på profitten – og ligegyldig om der kan tjenes på det, har vi lært en masse og er nået ud til folk, vi aldrig ville have været i kontakt med ellers.
[tags] craigslist, Jim Buckmaster, markedsføring, sælger, mikrovirksomhed, microbusiness[/tags]
28. marts 2007 kl. 22:28
Skrevet af Femi og Michael
I eftermiddags var jeg til et arrangement, der hed Det Gode Partnerskab (pdf) hos Startup Company. Der blev snakket om fordele og ulemper ved det at have en forretningspartner, og processen til at skabe de rigtige rammer for det gode partnerskab. Der blev fortalt og snakket meget om, hvordan man kan gribe det an for at undgå problemer senere. Det store mantra var få afklaret jeres forskellige forventninger til forretningen.
Det var et ganske interessant møde, og der kom et par ting op, som vi ihvertfald ikke havde snakket om, da vi lavede vores hensigtserklæring og forretningsplan. Nu er vi stadig ret nye som forretningspartnere, og har ikke oplevet de store problemer, men jeg håber og tror vi er rimeligt rustet til de situationer, vi kan komme ud for.
En del mikrovirksomheder er soloforetagener og klarer sig godt sådan, men der er en række fordele ved at være to:
- At drive en virksomhed kræver at en række opgaver bliver udført. Det tager tid og ressourcer at bygge en virksomhed op, med flere hænder er det lettere at komme omkring.
- Man kan bakke op om hinanden, når ting går sløvt eller når noget skal fejres.
- Synergi-effekten ved at kunne ’spille bold’ med en partner gør at der skabes bedre løsninger.
At vælge hvem man skal starte firma kan være en svær beslutning, og nogle er af den opfattelse, at man ikke skal starte firma med sine venner eller familie. Jeg har hørt udtalelser som, “There are no friends in business and there is no business among friends“, men jeg tror i bund og grund at venskaber, som grundlag for virksomheder er et godt udgangspunkt.
Justin Kownacki har nogle interessante betragtninger omkring hvorfor man ikke skal lave forretning med sine venner – og hvorfor han alligevel altid gør det.
22. marts 2007 kl. 09:39
