Creators of new products in environments of extreme uncertainty, startups face enormous risks.
In the US, about 50% of small businesses fail in the first five years. Insufficient capital, over investment, and low sales are just some of the reasons leading to this sobering statistic.
As a startup owner, what can you do to “growth hack” your business and improve your chances of success?
What are entrepreneurs and business builders made of? Who should you bring to your team at different stages of growth, and why?
The answers, according to venture capitalists and business leaders Anthony K. Tjan, Richard J. Harrington and Tsun-Yan Hsieh, are contained their book Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck (HSGL). Tackling the human aspect of entrepreneurship, leadership and management, the book surmised that each of us are biased towards one of four traits – namely heart, smarts, guts, or luck – in our decision-making processes.
27 year old Melvin Ong (above) has a vision. And that is to be the king of fries in Singapore.
Together with his partner Steve Tan (also 27), Melvin owns and operates What The Fries! – a snack food outlet located at the basement of J Cube Mall. With the cheeky acronym WTF, the stall has been in operation slightly over a year (it opened on 2 Apr 2012). It serves savoury snacks like Golden Nuggets, Mexicali Wings, Roasted Drumlets, Sunny Hunny Wings, and lots of fries.
Courtesy of Freepik
Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day.
Teach him to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime.
GrabCar and Uber has disrupted taxis in Singapore and around the world (Courtesy of GrabCar)
Have you wondered how innovations can be “disruptive”? Or why entire industries can be wiped out with new entrants?
Last night, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke about the impact of disruptive innovations during the National Day Rally Speech.
Are you a struggling entrepreneur trying to juggle it all, but find it a tremendous challenge?
Well, perhaps it’s time for you to stop, take a step back, critically evaluate where your business is going, and read The E-Myth Revisited.
Image courtesy of Lesgo LEGO Movie
Who are the rulers in the digital and social media age?
By now, you’ve probably heard that content is king. In the age of omnipresent 24/7 media served through ubiquitous smart devices, it is the currency which wins hearts, minds and wallets.
Too many toys to choose from! (Ethan in a shop in Shibuya, Tokyo)
Hit by a flash of inspiration, you decided one day to pursue your dream.
You are all fired up and raring to go. After slaving away for goodness knows how long, you have perfected your recipe for world domination.
Keen to change the world? Want to transform your “caterpillars” into “butterflies”?
Well, former Apple chief evangelist Guy Kawasaki’s Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions may show you a trick or two.
“Policies are organisational scar tissue. They are codified overreactions to situations that are unlikely to happen again. They are collective punishment for the misdeeds of an individual”
With excerpts like that, you can be sure that Rework by founders of 37Signals Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson isn’t an ordinary book on entrepreneurship. Divided into 12 short chapters on various aspects of business – from progress to productivity and competitors to culture – Rework is a compelling read.