“Business development is like the bullet — and you’re like the barrel, the contraption that delivers it.”
Starting up is a nasty business. For every story of success and riches, lies dreams broken by the wayside. For every Facebook lies a Friendster. Every iPod, an mp3 player. Every killer hit, a forgotten miss.
So how then do we ensure success, we of the entrepreneurial ilk? How do we ensure that our startups can grow, compete, and thrive in the cut-throat world of business?
Last Wicked Wednesday, we invited four guests who play business development roles in their startups to share with us some of their experiences. We had KK, who does business development at real-estate portal 99.co, and who produced this article’s fantastic opening quote; Claire, who plays the role of lead technologist at intellectual property database PatSnap; Lotus, the head of merchant development at e-commerce rebate platform ShopBack; and JJ, who does partnerships and marketing at online marketplace Carousell.
What do you do at work, and what’s one interesting thing about it?
KK: Part of my job is really to try to change the mindset of real estate agents, because real estate is a very old-fashioned industry. Part of how I went about it was to spend a lot of time around Toa Payoh HDB Hub (a popular haunt for real estate agents) treating agents to coffee and talking to them about their troubles. One interesting thing I would say is that real estate agents are a special breed of people; you can take a photo out the window, post it online, and an experienced agent can see it, do a few finger calculations, and go “Ah, so the unit from block 20, level 4, number 7 is on sale — time to find the seller!”
JJ: That my title doesn’t mean much! When I started out in a sales role, I pretty much had to do everything — now that the team has expanded, and my responsibilities have grown, things have changed a bit. I get to do more of what my job title says now (ha-ha). Some of the interesting things I’ve come across are the stuff that users have tried to sell — leg hair (crowd: ew!), friends (crowd: ha-ha!).
A voice from the crowd interjects: “Hi, I’ve something to ask — what’s Carousell’s revenue model?”
JJ: Someone will never fail to ask me this question! We’re not monetising yet — that’s right everyone, we’re still in the pre-revenue phase, and our focus is still on building up our community. We actually have many options to monetise, but one of them won’t be to start charging users, because we don’t want to change the basis of Carousell, which is to make it easy for everyone to sell their wares —we still have many options that we are still exploring :)
The voice seemed appeased with JJ’s answer. We moved on.
Lotus: One thing I can say for sure is that ShopBack is already making revenue! (crowd: ha-ha-ha!). I guess one interesting thing about my job is that I’m even working in BD! Nearly everyone I talked to would go like “why are you working in BD?!” — it’s the hardest job. My experience is similar to KK’s, in that it’s really hard sometimes to change the mindset of incumbent companies — over here, companies generally still don’t understand the business model of a cash-back system. Worse, some are genuinely shocked when they’re asked to pay for it! Of course, there are also some very forward-thinking companies, such as Uber. Our partnership with them was sealed in a flash — one call, one meeting, one signed contract.
Claire: Hi everyone, it’s finally my turn (crowd: ha-ha). Like KK, I also started out in a sales role before growing into my current role as lead technologist. One interesting thing was that I didn’t join the startup line immediately; I was actually finding my job at the Intellectual Property Office rather boring when I noticed that one of the vendors was this interesting company called PatSnap — and so I joined them! Working at PatSnap has allowed me to see the latest innovations that’s being developed around the world (some interesting examples were given that made the crowd go “ooo!”).
Questions soon arrived in rapid fashion: How does one deal with competition?
Claire: It’s important not to distract from your own vision. So, one should treat competitors as people to learn from, but ultimately you should focus on the value of your product.
Lotus: I agree. It’s important to differentiate from your competitors — and not only that, but to be alert and protect yourself from competitors that try to ride on your coat-tails.
JJ: There will always be people copying your product, especially when it starts gaining traction. The only way to get ahead of them is to focus on the core service of your product.
KK: From my perspective of a startup that’s entering an industry filled with incumbents, I’d say that first you have to go with the flow — just go along with the competition. Then, as you’re riding along the wave, start finding the chinks in the armour of the big boys, and you go right into those chinks and dig, and you dig, and you find your niche.
A pattern emerges; one can always count on KK to come up with vivid imagery describing the vicissitudes of life and business.
On the topic of vicissitudes, a more interesting question stood out on the night.
(guy from the crowd): I’d like to ask all the speakers a question — do you know about Paul Graham’s startup curve?
(speakers): No…
(emcees): (rush to bring up Paul Graham’s The Startup Curve onto the projector screen)
(guy from the crowd): I have a concern with the rosy picture that startups are always painting; that they will always eventually succeed — that their trajectory would always be up and up. My question for the speakers is: do you ever consider the possibility that your startup would crash and burn? That you won’t ever reach heaven — that at some stage, your startup would go straight to hell?
After a stunned silence, some nervous laughs, and confusion among the speakers, JJ gamely picked up the microphone.
JJ: How can you be so pessimistic?! Like that how to be entrepreneur?? (crowd: ha-ha-ha!) Ok, seriously though; it depends on the industry that you’re in. It’s also about doing things right, such as treating your customers well, and listening carefully to their feedback — it’s never good if you’re too far away from your users. I can share this story: there were times when it was really hard for us, and the founders felt like quitting. But at that juncture, they discovered a group of users that really liked Carousell, and they listened to those users, and improved the product with their advice. Look — even on the startup curve, in the end it goes up right? It will work out if you do things right!
The Startup Curve does go up in the end. An interesting episode in a night of learning.
As we approached the nigh of the night, we asked the speakers for some parting advice.
KK: Learn to look for win-win situations. Be hard-working, and learn to handle uncertainty.
JJ: Practice empathy; sincerity and understanding goes a long way. Be willing to take on a multitude of roles, and keep your attitude and mind open.
Lotus: Learn to set the tone for the conversation; you’d be surprised at how people respond when you’ve set the right tone. Also, learn to not let your mood affect your dealings with customers — it goes a long way in having good communication.
Claire: What’s there left for me to say? (crowd: ha-ha). Be flexible, and keep a positive attitude.
Starting up can be a nasty business. But keeping an open mind, nurturing a positive attitude, and listening to your customers will go a long way in ensuring that starting up won’t end in tears.
A big thank-you to our speakers for an evening of learning and sharing.
And that’s a wrap! Stay tuned for future updates of N-house’s goings-on.
