Brett’s blog, Lucky7
In my last post, I wrote about a very important question I often get asked by entrepreneurs, "how do I win my first clients?". My answer to this isn't just "how" but critically includes "who". I suggest you start with that post before continuing. In this post, I'll cover how you win over what I call the 'cool kids' - the people that are the most respected in whatever industry you are trying to win.
I haven't written a post in awhile because I've had the flu. It has been the first time I've gotten it since I was a teenager, and it was rough to say the least. I'm still recovering. I would recommend for you to take your flu shots, but I did that - just as I have every year - and they failed to work this time.
I often get asked by entrepreneurs, "what is the most important thing that I can do to build a great culture?". My answer, "recruiting". Recruiting has to be a top-three priority for any CEO, for any size organization. But as a startup, it is the difference between life and death.
When Brant and I started Bazaarvoice, we wanted to get the team right from the beginning. We were obessive about that, and it paid huge dividends later on. If there was ever a secret to Bazaarvoice's success in those early days, both culturally and performance wise, it was that we obsessed about recruiting and also constantly debated how we would create a great culture (more on this second point in a later post). Brant and I came up with a process for recruiting that was so obvious in hindsight but yet is so rarely done.
I just ran into my friend Rip Esselstyn, who had a major impact on me at Bazaarvoice. Seeing him today made me want to share my story and also the breakfast I have every morning (my recipe below) for the past two years. After all, it is the first week of the new year and if you are like most people, you are thinking about carrying out your new year's resolutions and health is probably near the top of your list.
Reading Abundance is like going to TED - the main TED, in Long Beach, CA. I first went in February of 2011, and I cannot wait to go again in February of 2013 (only my second time to go). Later in 2013, I'm also going to TED Global in Edinburgh for the first time. Going to TED is a life-changing experience. It was especially moving in 2011 because my wife, Debra, and I had just visited Africa - also for the first time. Africa was life-changing too, but in a very different way. Going to Africa gives you incredible perspective on humanity and what really matters in life. Debra and I went to see the high school we helped build, via the Pipkins, the incredible leaders at The Nobelity Project. Seeing how we had directly helped a small village in Kenya was a game-changer for us. In Africa, you see some of the most beautiful landscape and animals of your life, coupled with the depths of the most pressing problems for humanity. It is overwhelming and when you return there is a thought of, "the problems are too big for humanity to overcome". Going to both - Africa and TED, side-by-side - was especially thought provoking. TED, and the brilliant book Abundance, address this unproductive "too big to try" thought head-on, and that stokes my optimistic entrepreneurial energy in a big way. I think it will do the same for you.
I'm going to greatly expand on this topic, so I'll keep this post as short as possible. I could write a book on this post alone. For now, I want to quickly get down my thoughts on the five most critical ingredients to build a big company - one that changes the world and creates a lot of jobs and economic impact. Here are the ingredients:
Last night I ate at Sway - the new restaurant from Delfo Trombetta, the entrepreneur behind La Condesa. Delfo asked me to invest in Sway, and I passed. I'm regretting that decision now (just like I regret passing on investing in Uchiko and Uchi Houston when Tyson Cole asked me). Restaurants are tough investments, but when they hit - they can really hit big. La Condesa is a favorite in Austin - located conveniently downtown just a block from the W Hotel. La Condesa has amazing and progressive Interior Mexican food. Sway, on the other hand, has amazing and progressive Thai food. It was quite a treat, and I highly recommend it. It has only been open a few weeks, and it was already the second time my Bazaarvoice co-founder, Brant, had been! Brant is a foodie - I turn to him first for new restaurants to try.
I remember working on the label design with my father. There were no printers back then - this was in the early 1980s. This label was handdrawn by my dad. I remember his joy in selling and shipping these all over the world. I remember his many conversations with fellow fishermen about it, and retailers. I remember his anger when competitors infringed on his patent. I saw the ups and downs (mostly ups, fortunately). He was Tim Ferriss - but the real deal. Tim Ferriss isn't even "Tim Terriss" (I'm sure that the real Tim Ferriss is one of busiest people in the world, traveling and speaking all of the time). My dad wanted the lifestyle that would afford him the time to spend with us and go fishing 2-3 days each week. He achieved that. He lived his whole life like he was "on vacation". He pursued his passion from the beginning. I did the same with Bazaarvoice and Coremetrics. And, of course, I'm still very involved with and love Bazaarvoice. And I'll never forget the incredible experience at Coremetrics either (I'm not involved there today but still have a love for it; IBM acquired it two and a half years ago).
Yesterday's post on why I named my blog Lucky7 in honor of my mom and my resulting Twitter batter on our company's name with Sam Decker reminded me of a few stories about how I came up with the name Bazaarvoice.
I remember the day I came up with the name Bazaarvoice like it was yesterday. Rachel was just six months old and we were in Cabo San Lucas in April 2005 using our last few weeks of vacation at Coremetrics before I left to take the plunge to start Bazaarvoice with Brant Barton. I was reading Chapter 4 of The Cluetrain Manifestoand it hit me - big time. That chapter moved me more than almost anything I had ever read. The "voice of the marketplace" - it was perfect. Like the name Coremetrics, it described exactly what the company did. It was a bit of an irreverant name, likely to be confused with Bizarrevoice but that was actually a good thing in this case. There was meaning in that - the voice of customers would indeed sound "bizarre" to all of the corporate types that had been locked away in their towers instead of walking their store aisles like Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, used to do to "keep it real" and then taught his children in his book Made In America.
