I was asked to do a talk for Christian Macy’s birthday celebration, “The Alchemy of Finding Your Bliss.” I agreed, because I’m generally an agreeable guy, and then wondered what the heck I was going to talk about. What follows is a slightly NSFW talk (dropping f-bombs) about why I shouldn’t be giving you advice and why you shouldn’t listen to it anyway. Enjoy! Read More
Last week I happened to be in New York City while the second annual NY Tech Day was taking place. It was an expo of hundreds of NYC-based startups showing off their companies and products. For my fellow Boulderites, think of BoulderBeta, but 50 times larger, and without beer. And in New York. So I guess it was nothing like BoulderBeta, except that it had tech companies showcasing their products.
It ended up being very productive for me on a number of fronts. However, the biggest takeaway for me was not any one particular company, but an observation of how the exhibitors set up their tables and worked the crowd.
I’ve been to big, flashy, expensive trade shows all over the world, where every exhibitor been doing tradeshows for years, or has been attending for years before their first time exhibiting. In those environments, everyone has the basics down, so the exhibitors go to great lengths to stand out from the crowd. NY Tech Day was very different; it seemed few of the companies had experience at trade shows, and did not have an understand of the basics for exhibiting. If I ever end up showcasing a company at an expo such as that, I’ll follow these guidelines:
1. Use your tagline on your banner
Your logo is great. Really, it is. I love it. But unless your logo spells out what your company does in one succinct sentence, then you need to add your tagline to your banners. Unless of course your tagline doesn’t spell out what your company does in one succinct sentence, in which case, you need to take a day to rework your tagline until it does. And then add it to your banner.
2. Put your tagline at eyelevel or above
Now that you have your tagline on your banner and promotional materials, don’t just hang it off the front edge of your table where it’s blocked by everyone’s legs and completely unreadable. Buy a pop-up banner, or hang your banner up above your table, do something–anything–that gets your logo (because you love your logo) and tagline where everyone can see it.
3. Have more than one person
Working a booth at an expo is a long, tiring job. And it’s far, far worse when you have to work it yourself. But more importantly, you can only talk to one or two people at a time in a crowded, noisy convention hall. Realistically, each person you talk to about your company has a different need, and you need to tailor your pitch to each of them individually. So while you’re talking to the one guy with a small use-case that’s not exactly the right product fit, the woman who is your ideal client just grabbed a flyer from your table, probably never to call you again.
Have your partner there. Have your staff there. Have as many people there as you can fit, and rotate shifts so no one person gets exhausted. If you’re flying solo—which every book on entrepreneurship will tell you is a bad idea—then ask friends to come and help you. Even if it’s you and your partner, still ask a few friends to come and help, you’ll be glad you have the support.
4. ABP – Always Be Pimpin
You know that logo we all love so much? Wear it! You know those friends you invited to come and help you out? Get them wearing it. Get t-shirts for every single person at your table. Everyone at your booth should be branded. Also, make sure you have some sort of takeaway, either business cards or flyers. And make sure they are not glossy on one side, so your booth visitors can jot down notes about how incredible your company is. Before it gets lost in their bag of other flyers.
5. Stand up & engage (but don’t harass)
You’d think this would be Expo 101. You’d think that, and you’d be wrong. I saw at least a dozen tables where the exhibitors were sitting down, behind the table, staring at their phone. Being an entrepreneur is hard, and you’re constantly pulled in a million directions. I get it. But if you’ve paid to be at an expo, then you best be expo-ing. Stand up, come around in front of your table, put your phone away, and engage people.
Of course, don’t take it to the opposite extreme. There was one booth with guys using aggressive sales tactics, trying everything from guilt to shame to false flattery to get people to listen to their pitch and sign up for whatever it was they were schlepping. That doesn’t fly in the startup world, not even in the NYC startup scene.
Advice for the attendees
Lastly, I have one bit of advice for attendees, stop and talk to as many people as your schedule allows. My friend, Eric Schwertzel of Booshaka, broke all of these rules, except #5. Yet despite his poor showing (sorry Eric, I got nothing but love for ya!) you wouldn’t know he’s one of the best in the biz at signing major media contracts for startups all over the world.
If you’re wandering the floor, stop and talk because you never know what you might discover. In startups, as in NYC, “you gotta be willing to be lucky.” (quote from Al Pacino’s character in City Hall.)
This list ends up being a lot shorter than my series review, because, as it turns out, most successful sci-fi books end up becoming just the first in an all-too-often too long series. But what happens when everything that needs to be accomplished can be accomplished in just one book? These four books answer that question. And answer it with vigor.
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline
Where to begin? Do you like video games?
If you answered no, please stop reading and start gaming.
For those of you who have chosen… wisely, you should read RP1, RIGHT THE F— NOW. This is, hands-down, the greatest sci-fi book ever written. It takes place in a near-term dystopian society where a multi-billionaire gives away his fortune to the first person to solve a series of puzzles. Not just any puzzle, but multi-stage puzzles the answers to which require an incredible knowledge of video games and pop culture.
The good news is, as a casual reader, you don’t have to possess said knowledge, you just have to sit back and enjoy as the main character solves these challenges, takes on an evil corporation, and grows, both an avatar and as a human being, in the process.
I’m an RP1 pusher, yet every single person I’ve pushed this book on has thanked me for it.
You’re welcome.
House of Suns, by Alastair Reynolds
House of Suns is the quintessential deep space sci-fi novel. Imagine following a journey of hundreds of thousands of years, spanning the entire galaxy, encountering dozens of civilizations, and yet all the while being immersed in an intensely character-driven story. Alastair Reynolds is the king of space opera, and House of Suns is his masterwork.
If you want your mind expanded by the vastness of the galaxy, and then completely blown out by the intricacies of character interaction, all while traversing spacetime like it ain’t no thang, then pick up House of Sun. Immediately.
Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
I consider Ender’s Game to be the single greatest leadership book ever written. Yet it’s sci-fi. And about children. WTF?
Let’s step away from the Harvard Business School aspects of this book for a moment, and just evaluate it along a pure sci-fi angle: it’s still damn good. This is a book about a space-faring humankind encountering a deadly enemy across all fronts of its planetary colonies. It’s about how our galactic government plans to deal with it.
How? By creating the perfect leader. It just so happens that the perfect leader is, intentionally, a child. That child is Ender, and if I could have even one tenth the people-skills, instincts, and leadership ability he does, then I’d be the next POTUS.
Any time I want to enjoy both a business book and a sci-fi novel, I fire up Ender’s Game.
The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
Candy. Pure candy compared to the others here–but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. RP1 satisfies my inner gaming geek; House of Suns, the dreamer in me; and Ender’s Game the leader I want to be. What does that leave? It leaves room for a pure sci-fi book for the sake of sci-fi, and Neil Stephenson nails it.
If you’ve read and enjoyed any William Gibson novels (which is a redundant statement) then you must pick up The Diamond Age. This book not only explores the possibilities of how technology in the hands of the right person can affect the lives of millions (or billions) of people, but it’s a story of hope and serendipity in a semi-distopian future. And, as far as stand-alone sci-fi books go, it’s a must-read.
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I often catch myself saying, “that’s one of my top five, all-time favorite beers.” Note the “often” at the beginning of that sentence. How many top-five beers can one beer lover have?
Apparently, seven.
I sat down tonight to make a comprehensive list of my top five favorite beers, and came up with seven. These are the beers that I could drink forever without getting sick of them. As much as I wanted to make it a Top Five list, I just couldn’t narrow it down any further.