Presentation From Startup Week

Startup Week is a fantastic event that happens each year in many cities — including here in Colorado Springs. This year (2016) Synthesis presented. So, if you missed it, we have now posted the content as an article for entrepreneurs to help navigate the new territory in bringing their new products to market. Product focus new business is different than other types of starts, but if you’re going in the product direction, please read on.

Abstract:

In every new venture there are activities where entrepreneurs can get bogged down. For product based ventures there are some common “sand pits” worth noting. Whether as a new company or a new product offering for an existing company these ideas apply. In this article “Keep Your Startup Out Of The Sand” we speak to some of these common “Sand Pits” and talk about tactics for navigating through them instead of getting stuck.

Presentation Topics:

Topics in the article for avoiding common “Sand Traps” include:

Introduction
Setting The Stage — Preparing for Success.
Hey, That’s My Idea !! — A little on Patents and Intellectual Property.
Google Maps Won’t Get You There — Getting directions to keep moving forward.
Screaming From The Mountain Tops — The role of marketing in the venture.
Who Makes This Stuff? — Notes about Manufacturing for your new product.
Pulling It All Together — A good summary and tie-up.

As new business ventures, we sometimes ignore these areas, or don’t realize what’s coming. Sometimes we just don’t deal with them in healthy ways. Because slogging through issues is exhausting and frustrating, it can drain the life blood of enthusiasm. While it’s best to avoid the sand traps, it’s also really important to identify them and get yourself out, too. Build your resources instead, and plan for success. We must all travel through or past the various “traps” in bringing a new product to market — the question: Will we effectively navigate through?

Even though bringing a new product to market may be entirely new to you, it’s not entirely new. Avoiding some of the common sand traps will streamline your efforts for success — and that’s the goal. This presentation highlights a few common traps for new (physical) product entrepreneurs. While some apply for other goods (like software), our focus is physical new products. The article discusses ways to identify the traps, how to decide if you’re in one, and most important, how to get out — or avoid them all together. Click the link at #1 above for starters.

Startup Week Presentation

There were a lot of great presentations at Startup Week this year (2016). For entrepreneurs, or folks thinking about striking out on their own, this week each year is always worth the time. Tons of great information, so I just wish I could attend them all. Keep your eyes on it, because it will happen again each year.

Hopefully, our Startup Week presentation and this resulting article will help a few entrepreneurs too. It’s a big task to work through the beginnings of a new venture to launch a new and creative product. Since there are always highs and lows on the path, we hope this helps. More highs, and fewer lows, that’s the challenge.

Good luck, and let us know if there are things we can help you with on your journey. While Synthesis does provide services for product based ventures, most of this is for you to do. We’ve been down this road a lot of times with many companies, and we always like to see success. If you need it, we are also willing to give a little advice. Enjoy.

Startup Week in Colorado Springs was presented by Peak Startup, an organization that focuses on assisting entrepreneurs and the Colorado Springs business community growth. Thank you, Peak Startup, for hosting the event. Thanks, also, to the many other organizations and presenters that are a part of making these events happen.