Wize Thoughts

I think they are more of a regional brand then a national brand but we have a chain of stores locally called WaWa. They started out as small convenience stores on small footprints and over the last 10 years have grown both in number of locations as well as footprint.  Most new WaWa’s are large inside (probably double the size of their old ones) and have a zillion gas pumps outside.

Some people are indifferent about WaWa’s but many people I know love them.   I tend to stop in one once a week or every other week to pick up a sandwich, to get gas, or grab a drink.   Other than their lousy tasting soft pretzels everything they do impresses me.   They have computerized kiosks for entering orders, a system that allows clerks to move between locations based on demand (deli counter vs checkout), and just about every food item I buy there I like.

Anyway, there was an article in the Philly paper about how important it was for them to stay open during our snow storms and how much planning they put into staying open.    They do this in part because:

… in major storms like the ones this winter has brought our way, customers see Wawa as “a beacon of light,” Mattera said. To avoid letting them down, Wawa corporate is continuously refining its approach to staying open, he said…

In addition to it being profitable for them I think that this philosophy as well as how else they run their business creates a great deal of customer loyalty.   At a point when you need something in a huge storm, whether it be gas, bread, milk, etc. it is comforting to know they are there and open when so many other stores and shops can’t be.

I have found that over the years you are heavily defined by how you treat your customers and this is one great example of understanding your place in the market and how you need to operate to be successful.

I know there are some folks out there who don’t like sites like 99designs, where you are able to put up a contest to have someone design a logo or home page for you and then you get to pick from the best and award the prize.

But for the 4th time out of 5 trys I’m blown away at how well it works for  me.

A year ago when we went to launch WizeHive I put out a $300 bid for a logo and got 69 entries, and had at least 5 that I thought would have been acceptable.      A month later I put out a  $400 bid for a new DreamIt logo and got 122 submissions of which probably 3 to 5 were also great.

A bit later last year we put a bid up for a new DreamIt homepage and offered $850 and only got 33 submissions.   A few were really good and we selected one.  But it also reinforced a bias that you got many less submissions for a web page then for a logo because quite naturally it takes longer for people to mock up a home page and they are not sure they will win.   (I had formed thatbias from when I only got 5 responses to another web site design a year earlier).

So we are currently working on some specialty applications for WizeHive that will be launching soon and have been using a home grown landing page for the last month or so.    I decided that despite my bias that 99designs was not great for a home page I thought I’d give it a shot since the risk is < $50 to submit a project.     I studied some of the other contests and saw another one where someone indicated “Simple Home Page” layout and had a good response  decided since we already had the elements we wanted I’d try to position the project as being a simple one page design.

I picked a middle ground of about $500 for this; more than logos but less than some other web pages;  but did not guarantee it; meaning if I didn’t like the designs I did not have to pick a winner.    Within a few days I not only had about 15 designs; but more than 1 that I thought was better than our current site.  So I went in and guaranteed the contest.    This provides more incentive for folks to submit designs because they know someone is going to win…and in turn this took me to a final tally of 127 choices!

I also spent considerable time giving feedback on them until the last day or two; even offering specific suggestions to some of them where I liked the design but wanted some things flipped around.

Anyway, I have not yet picked a final design and may actually run a small contest asking WizeHive followers to help us pick after I narrow it down.     But from my perspective the 99designs crowd sourcing concept is a hugely positive value proposition.

This just made me laugh.  This is the exec team of comcast as seen on Philly.com today looking at their new holiday display.   The Chairman, CEO, Chairman Emeritus and Exec Vice President.

Good to know a 46B company is in such good hands…

So business is crazy busy as we grow our web based collaboration tool, WizeHive and I know I need help.   Administrative help, marketing help, sales help, SEO help, etc.     I also know that since I oversee most of the administration and logistics for DreamIt Ventures I’m going to need some help there too as the fall roles around to deal with accounting issues and the like.

So Sunday morning I decided to run an ad on craigslist focused on finding some help.    The focus on the ad was my need for administrative  help but I left the door open for folks with all sorts of different talents to apply since I could use help for WizeHive, DreamIt and a few other things I’m involved in.

The ad worked well, I’ve gotten about 300 emails so far and a great mix of talent.    The range of responses is so great I thought I could share so do’s and don’ts if you are applying for a job or know someone who is.   These are all from the responses I got the last few days.

First, with hundreds of other emails and a 3 page todo list I can’t spend a ton of time going through a first pass on the 300+ applications so my first goal is to quickly sift them into categories.   Categories I’ve made up are essentially good, maybe, probably not and no.     So my first goal is within a very short amount of time, probably about 30 seconds, to categorize each response into one of these categories.   Then I will go through and rank those in the good and contact them first, then go through the maybe’s and contact them second…and if I haven’t found who I’m looking for I may go further.

So what puts things into these categories.   There are some gray areas but here are some real answers based on what i received.

Lets start with what gets moved to the no pile really fast:

Call me:  It is hard for me to believe but I probably have 10 to 20 emails that do not include a resume, include very little info but instead say  ”I reviewed your job posting and I can really help you.  My number is xxx-xxx-xxxx.  Please call.”    Sure, buddy, I’ve got hours to spend talking on the phone to people I know little or nothing about.     Next.

Attach a resume only:  I probably have another 5% to 10% that attach a resume and send it to me.  No cover note or anything to give me the impression that they even read the job description and feel they are qualified.    So my inclination before I even look at the resume is that they are going into the no pile and I don’t think I’ve looked at a resume that convinced me to change my mind.

Spouse’s email: OK..maybe there is a legit reason for this but why do I get an email from Joe Smith from Mary Smith’s email address.   I’m in a tech business and I want tech savvy people.    What does it say about them if it comes from their spouse’s email address?  Actually I had a funny exchange today because I sent a quick “Thanks I”m looking at the resumes and I’ll get back to you” blast to all the people I received resumes from and I got copied in on an email between the spouses accidentally forwarding the emails around.   I knew it wasn’t for me when there was a big “I LOVE YOU XXX” at the bottom of the note (or is that how some people try to get jobs?)

AOL email address:  OK…this isn’t an absolute no but come on.  I’ve probably gone from AOL to something to comcast to Gmail over the last 10 years.    How tech savvy do I feel about someone still using an AOL email address.  Not a definite “no” but a bad first impression.  Sorry AOL.

So…what gets me excited?  Who has done a good job and is in my top category?

When I posted the jobs I did not use my name and I also used an anonomous (craigslist) email address, but I did mention WizeHive and DreamIt.   There were 2 out of 300 that spent enough time to check the sites to see who was posting and then wrote a personalized email to me by name.    Do they get the job?   Don’t know…but they are in my top category almost out of the shoot.   All other skill sets being equal I am looking for someone who shows creativity and initiative and it doesn’t get much better then that.

There are another batch, maybe 20 or 25, where the people did almost as well.  They checked into DreamIt and WizeHive sites, took the time to learn a little about the businesses, and shared with me in one way or the other that they took the time to check things out.    This does not automatically get them the prize, but it sure puts them ahead of generic responses.

So in general, if you really want that job take your time to sell yourself.  Do your homework and tell them how you are going to help THEM, not what you are looking for…  It certainly would have a much higher chance of success then the other way around.

Well, enough blogging time, back to the resumes…

WizeHive just completed an amazing project where our platform was picked to allow the folks at TechCrunch to manage, rate and review the thousands of TechCrunch applications they received for the TechCrunch50 conference.

While the majority of the activity revolved around our standard product, we did create and refine a ratings applet and a scheduling applet for them that allowed them to easily rate and review applications.   We had originally created them for managing applications for DreamIt but added considerable functionality for TechCrunch.   I found out during the process that this application would generally be known as an Applicant Tracking Process (ATS).

We are in the process of putting together a nice case study but bottom line it worked great for them and saved them a ton of time.    A link to the press release is here.

Since I started my blog i’ve only posted from time to time for two reasons.  First, many of the better bloggers I enjoy reading post once a day or once every few days and their blog posts tend to be long and thoughtful.   Second, since i participate in a number of blogs (regular, DreamIt, WizeHive) it has been hard to keep them all up, plus of couse doing some twitter posts.

Now that one of our DreamIt 09 companies, Postling, has released a tool to make this all easy to do in one place I’m going to consider a new approach.   While I may post longer more involved posts now and then I’m going to try to post various smaller posts and links as they occur to me and/or I find them on the web.   My topics will be a bit more broad ranging too…putting up short posts on a variety of topics that I read about and enjoy:  DreamIt, WizeHive, our many DreamIt companies, startups, creative business stuff, the stock market, sports, and of course my family.

Lets see how it goes!

Working with DreamIt Ventures companies and other high tech entrepreneurs on their business models and how they can best monetize their business has me constantly thinking about the alternative sources of revenue.

One thing that I have been thinking about recently due to both our DreamIt companies and my work with WizeHive is that people seem to have different mentalities when it  comes to paying for work related items vs paying for entertainment.

As we conceptualize different monetization models for WizeHive, for instance, I take notice of people posting on forums and asking others if they know of a free version of  this or that, rather than paying just $20 or $30 for a productivity or work tool.    Yet, Zynga and many other online gaming companies get people to pay tons of money to buy virtual goods that have no real economic value, just so they can entertain themselves.

That is one reason why this story about Swoopo caught my attention.

Swoopo lets you come in and bid pennies for very high end items.  And if someone out bids you, you can increase your bid…but only in twelve cent increments.     So, for instance, with only seconds to go I’m looking at a screen for a new high end laptop that is currently bid at $87 and a Wii that is currently bid for $1.56.

But the beauty of what they have done comes next.    Since you can only bid in 12 cent increments, the prices rise very slowly as people bid against each other…which is OK…except every time you bid they charge you .60 cents. And, if the clock is ticking down with just seconds to go…and a new bid comes in…the auction gets extended.

So, while you may end up winning that $1500 TV for only $300, there had to have been 2500 bids to get to that $300, meaning they collected $1500 in bid fees plus the $300 winning bid to sell a $1500 TV!   I’ll take that model anytime!

And what is interesting is that once you have spent an amount – say  $12  - bidding (20 bids),  I think there is a natural inclination to not give up until you have to…so you don’t end up wasting that $12.

In some ways this reminds me of the games that you see at Carnivals or fairs.    You pay $3 for 3 balls to knock down the cans, or for 3 darts to puncture the balloons.   Meanwhile, if you win, the prize probably cost them .50 cents … so if you win they win and if you lose they win.

I think the beauty of both models is that at the core level it is entertainment.    As the article describes I’m sure it is easy to sit there and keep bidding something up for the excitement and thrill of it, even if in the end you wind up with a good deal not a great deal because of the fees.

I am very fascinated to see where this goes and how long before others copy the model and instead of charging .60 cents, charge .30 cents, and instead of .12 cent increments, allow .20 cent increments.     But either way this is an incredibly creative revenue generating model and something to keep in mind while you build out your own site.

Its not that often I can share 2 lessons based on a visit to a fast food restaurant for lunch but in fact I can do that today.

One is that in the startup world those that succeed usually need a good or great idea bundled together with good or great execution and it is in part those two factors that determine to what extent an idea or company will succeed.   The other is the old adage of “under promise and over deliver.”

So what’s the story?

I don’t watch TV that much any more but the other day I caught a Wendys commercial about their new Boneless Wings.     Since I try to watch what I eat (a hazard of getting older) and I also try to watch my carbs what appealed to me was a fast food restaurant offering what looked like grilled marinated chicken without the carbs.

This is what the ad looks like:

So today while running some errands I stared to think about lunch and  noticed a Wendys so I thought I’d give it a try.

When it’s my turn in line I order the Asian Sweet & Spicy ones shown in the picture above.   I’m thinking it will come out something like fast food Chinese chicken does… grilled with some marinade sauce on the top.   Fairly low cal (other than the sauce) and tasty.

Instead I watch the woman behind the counter scoop up what looks like a bunch of  chicken nuggets into a black plastic container, pull out a plastic squeeze bottle, squirt some sauce into the container, put a lide on, and then shake it vigorously for about 10 seconds, then put it on my plate.   I have to say I was a bit shocked, otherwise I would have told them – never mind.

I got back to my table and although this is not my picture (found it on the web) this is what it looked like:

After taking a bite it was in fact their chicken nuggets (or as someone else on the web commented, something similar to their old chicken strips) with some sauce squeezed on top.   Worse yet I looked at the board and 5 chicken nuggets with sauce cost $1.19 at this location.    I counted 8 pieces of chicken in here and it cost $3.99!    More than 3 times the price!

In general, I like Wendys.   I don’t eat there much but if I need some food and there is one around I’ll get burgers or Chicken from time to time and like their salads.  But this has to be one of the worst executions of what could have been a good idea…and worse in my opinion one of the worst cases of mis-setting customer expectations I have experienced in a long time.

This year we are using WizeHive to provide a collaboration space for all of the DreamIt teams to share ideas, questions, best practices, etc.   There was a recent entry made by one of our 2009 DreamIt companies about their level of preparation prior to meeting in the last few days with a local VC.

It made me remember one of my favorite personal stories; that of the $2M dog biscuit.

In the early 1990’s I had a company called PTS Learning Systems, which at that time was a provider of classroom based technology training (we later morphed multiple times before we sold the company in 1999).   PTS was doing well.  We were growing rapidly and profitable and were cash flow positive.   I wasn’t looking for funding but after studying information on direct marketing we began an aggressive promotional strategy which included sending out materials about every 6 weeks to a locally grown database of customers, key contacts, and local funding (VC) sources.   We sent out our schedule, press releases, customer success stories, etc.  on a rotating basis.

It helped grow our business but interestingly about 4 or 5 months into the program, the day after a flyer was sent, I received a call from someone with Safeguard Scientifics.   At the time they were THE hub of high tech activity in the Philadelphia area.  They were very bright and very progressive and their leader, Pete Musser, was a huge pillar behind the technology community in Philadelphia.    They asked if we were looking for funding.    We talked for a while, I said we didn’t need funding, and that was that. 

Six weeks later our next mailing went out.   Once again, the phone rings a few days later.    Same person.   Are you sure you are not interested in talking about funding?    Having done a little homework in between I said…”well I don’t have a business plan pulled together but if you can arrange a meeting with Pete Musser I’d be happy to come in and talk about whether it makes sense for us to create one and go down the funding path.”

Within a few days we had a lunch scheduled at their offices.  In between I put in a considerable amount of time learning as much as I could about Safeguard and Pete and one thing that stuck out was that wherever Pete went…so did Sam, his golden retriever.   So much so that at one point Sam was part of a statue they had when you walked into Safeguard.   I guessed that Sam would be at the office the day of our meeting.

So the big day arrives and I meet Pete for the first time (who was/is a great guy) and we sit down in his conference room for lunch along with one of the firm associates .    I grab my turkey sandwich and they grab theirs…. and then Sam meanders into the room.     As Sam walks by, I reach into my suit pocket and pull out the biggest dog biscuit I could find the night before at the pet store.  I ask permission to give Sam his lunch and then hand the biscuit to Sam.

About four months later I had a $2M investment from Safeguard and one of their funds (and I’m happy to share that when I sold my company about 7 years later I was able to return about $10M.) 

I never actually asked Pete whether the biscuit influenced his decision but I know we had a great meeting that day; they even offered to coach us through the process of building the business plan!  Sure we had a good company-  and a good story – but I’m convinced that taking the time to study and prepare made a huge difference in that meeting.

Of course today it’s even easier to do research before meeting someone for the first time.   If they are a VC, find out what sort of businesses they invest in, what niches, what are their hot buttons, what sort of personal interests they have, etc.     I know that when I am interviewing someone for a job or interviewing companies for an investment their willigness to take the time to do their homework, think through some questions, and otherwise be prepared has at least a subtle influance on my opinion.

And  of course, don’t forget to bring the $2M dog biscuit!