The power of connecting

Being net

Frieda Brioschi

[email protected]

IEDLesson 7

Course program1. Italian Startups2. Set up a startup in Italy3. I've got an idea. And now? 4. Value analysis5. Business model6. Communicate, communicate, communicate7. Being net 8. Find your market9. Funding: venture capital, business angel and other ways of financing 10. Pitch

Today's table of content

1.Community2.Networking3.Coworking4.Incubators

Communicate3: quick recap

During last lesson we discussed what are my needs in term of communication and how I can satisfy them.

To reach this goal we investigated the landscape, starting from Cluetrain Manifesto and going through some definitions (Social media, in comparison with industrial media, social networks, networked publics).


Analyzing the social media timeline, we arrived to outline how to create an effective message: my benefits, why customize and fix, usefulness of groups and habits, the importance of immediacy and schedule, the use of different communication techniques.


Finally we decided that having rules is important and we try to outline which rules are essential:• Conversational and listening rules• Blurring of public and private• Storytelling• Objectivesand how everything is summarized in the editorial plan.

The launch

Robert Scoble’s recipe /1

“The best launch is if you have a product that other people like using so much that they tell other people about it.”

http://www.quora.com/Whats-the-best-launch-strategy-for-a-web-startup


“What you want to do is have a story that travels to the people who are most likely to need your product.

It all starts with a story.

So, the right way to launch is to have a story. Then try that story out on some early adopters. Do they go "no way!" Or do they look bored?”



Start asking the right question:• How can I get Oprah Winfrey to see my product within a year? • How can I get to be a featured app in the Apple app store? • How do I make a product so strategically important that Steve Jobs buys it within a month. • How do I make a product that's so sticky and viral that it gets people to tell at least five other people about it.



Things you need to do to launch a company:1. Make a blog.2. Make a YouTube video channel.3. Start Tweeting.4. Get a Facebook Page.5. Get a LaunchRock or KickoffLabs site.6. List your company on Angel List (and StartupLi.st, CrunchBase, etc).7. Figure out the 10 journalists you want to have see your product before you launch.



So, what's your story?

A sizeable part of having a great story is also hitting the market at the right time.


DisseminationPublish something about you on as many interesting website as possibile:• startup directories• tech magazines•magazines in your field/market

Have a look to Giuliano Iacobelli's list:

http://www.giulianoiacobelli.com/startup/pianificando-il-lancio-della-vostra-startup-le-basi

Resources

Useful on/off line resources

• Hangouts and events• Co-working, Fablabs, Makerspace, social incubators• Community leaders• Media• Business Plan competition, startup events• Incubators and accelerators• Investors, etc.

http://www.chefuturo.it/2013/01/i-primi-100-contatti-e-anche-di-piu-per-chi-vuole-fare-startup-in-italia/

IncubatorsBusiness incubators are programs designed to support the successful development of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services, developed and orchestrated by incubator management and offered both in the incubator and through its network of contacts. Incubators vary in the way they deliver their services, in their organizational structure, and in the types of clients they serve.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_incubator

Incubator services• Help with business basics• Networking activities• Marketing assistance• High-speed Internet access• Help with accounting/financial management• Access to bank loansHelp with presentation skills• Links to higher education resources• Links to strategic partners• Access to angel investors or venture capital• Advisory boards and mentors• Management team identification

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_incubator

Certified incubatorsStartup Regulation introduces “certified incubators for innovative startups”.

The startup incubator or accelerator must verify if specific requirements concerning the startup’s physical structures, management, facilities and, above all, its track record, are fulfilled. In this way, the law aims to identify the structures that are able to offer efficient incubation services in Italy. Certified incubators can benefit from some instruments provided for by the law.

http://bit.ly/11f2mtq

Public incubatorsAre supported by public sponsors and are non-profit. Usually public authorities are the major stakeholders and play an important part in the definition of the legal status of the incubators and in their management, frequently supported by a broadly-based partnership of public authorities and institutions such as a Chamber of Commerce, Municipality, Province, Region, Banking Institutions, and various business associations.Typically, they are multi-purpose and the activities of their occupants span all the traditional-economy business sectors as well as some hi-tech ones.

http://www.rivistapolitecnico.polimi.it/rivista/politecnico_rivista_9.18.pdf

University incubators

They usually concentrate on promoting hi-tech start-ups developed by their students, researchers and professors. Their objectiveis to foster the industrial applications of the knowledge generated through academic research activities.

They have a strong connection with research labs and are often focused on the area in which the founder university specializes.


Private incubators

Are usually profit-making.The number and type of organizations making up private incubator partnerships varies from individuals to groups consisting of several private companies and organizations. Most of these incubators invest almost exclusively in one business sector. They contribute to the success of the start-ups in several ways, including the availability of specialized professionals who work with the start-ups own staff.


Italian incubators

http://wiki.startupbusiness.it/Incubatori_d%27impresa_e_parchi_scientifici_e_tecnologici_italiani

Coworking

CoworkingCoworking is a style of work that involves a shared working environment, often an office, and independent activity. Unlike in a typical office environment, those coworking are usually not employed by the same organization.

Coworking is also the social gathering of a group of people who are still working independently, but who share values, and who are interested in the synergy that can happen from working with like-minded talented people in the same space.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coworking

Coworking principles

Coworking is not only about the physical space, but about establishing the coworking community first. Its benefits can already be experienced outside of its spaces, and it is recommended to start with building a coworking community first before considering opening a Coworking space. However, some coworking spaces don't build a community: they just get a part of an existing one by combining their opening with an event which attracts their target group.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coworking

Coworking in Italy

http://coworkingproject.com/

http://360.steelcase.com/articles/the-same-but-different-mapping-the-patterns-of-work-cultures/

The Hub

http://www.the-hub.net/

Fab Lab

A fab lab (fabrication laboratory) is a small-scale workshop offering (personal) digital fabrication.A fab lab is generally equipped with an array of flexible computer controlled tools that cover several different length scales and various materials, with the aim to make "almost anything". This includes technology-enabled products generally perceived as limited to mass production.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fab_lab

Networking

Many opportunities:

• Workshop • Elevator Pitch Competition• Idea Jam Session• Speed Pitch Date• Startup Outing• Job Posting

http://www.startupsaturday.it/

Startup Saturday

Italian Startup Scene (ISS)

Facebook group for italian startupper, entrepreneurs, investors, bloggers, developers and anyone interested in startups and venture capital.

http://it.startupscene.org/

Fab Lab

A fab lab (fabrication laboratory) is a small-scale workshop offering (personal) digital fabrication.A fab lab is generally equipped with an array of flexible computer controlled tools that cover several different length scales and various materials, with the aim to make "almost anything". This includes technology-enabled products generally perceived as limited to mass production.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fab_lab

TechGarage

It’s an italian association which aims to connect• Grassroot innovation• business angel, seed funds and independent venture capital • companies

http://techgarage.eu/

Next week

Find your market.