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[jennaodonnell-blog]

What we’ve learned from successful startups

Tons, it turns out.

As I prepare a Skillshare on this subject to present to my classmates next week, I’m amazed by all the advice we’ve heard from startup land this spring.

Since I’m a little overwhelmed by my outline right now, I’ll step back and write some of the common themes we’ve heard from the all the entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs who have so kindly made time for us.

1) Believe it -The most important thing (according to almost everyone) was to truly believe in and feel passionate about a startup project. That’s the feeling that drives you when you’re not getting paid and nobody is looking over your shoulder. 2) Find your people - Whether its a team, advisors or even investors, a big reiterated tip is to surround yourself with smart, dedicated people who care about/will take ownership in what you’re building.

3) Be Nimble - It’s all about occupying the white space, finding that niche that no one else has occupied, and then evolving. The most successful entrepreneurs we’ve met have found their niche, but instead of getting stuck in it they’ve used it as a starting point to grow, expand and follow their audiences to new heights.

And that’s what I’ve got for now. I’m sure I’ll look at this later and realize that I should have added five more bullet points, but alas, I need to finish outlines.

[jennaodonnell-blog]

What’s in a name?

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about names and how important they are to a project. My name should be friendly and approachable while also clear about what the site is and what the goals are. I toyed with some variations of “Green (Insert Object Here)” types, but don’t want to come off as just another website extolling the virtues of green lifestyles -- though I do plan to do a little of that.

Greenhouse was an early contender in the name category, but it has been taken as long as the Internet has been around (probably). Also, it’s a little too much pressure on the user to put together that the greenhouse here is the planet, not your local florist.

Names are a lot easier to change than content and business plans, it’s true. But when you’re building a Launchrock or a Strikingly page, those big bold letters at the top are your best chance to make an impression and maybe encourage a casual visitor to sign on for a newsletter or email update.

While mulling names to use (even if I change my mind next week or next month) I’ve been writing up newsletters and outlining future ones. The newsletter is a preview of what I hope to go more in-depth with and includes topics like “Quick Stops: Three ways to cut emissions right now”, “Talking Points for Climate Deniers” and “Green Up Your Home”. 

I’m going for a tone that’s helpful and positive with a goal of helping people to rethink their lifestyles and cool down their emissions.  So in sticking with that plan I’ve figured out a new and available name for my project: Cool Your Carbons.

Email newsletter coming soon.

[jennaodonnell-blog]

End of January

And one week into the Entrepreneurial Journalism program at CUNY. Already, this is a complete departure from the graduate program, where we learn how to report and concentrated on creating stories that we might publish somewhere. Now we try to figure out how to become the platform that hosts this content, and do it in a way that can make money.

I think my favorite part of our two week orientation was learning about all the different start-ups that are trying different things and succeeding. Hearing from the founders and producers of Narrative.ly, Beacon and Quartz gave me some great perspective on how to find and cultivate a specific audience in order to succeed. These are all companies that have tried something new and different and persevered to create unique and very cool platforms.

I think perhaps the most challenging part for me involves the project management. How does an idea become a full fledged, fully populated platform? As we move from orientation to week two of the EJ15 program, thinking about business models, value propositions and customer relationships is already helping me to think differently about how to plan a project.

My project is still just an idea, but I'm excited to find out what it might become by May.