Author: Committee

5. Start-Ups: Competitors or Monopoly?

5. Start-Ups: Competitors or Monopoly?

You’re walking in the grocery store, it’s been a while since you did groceries. You have to go to a meeting in 15 minutes so there is not much time to waste effort on what you take for breakfast tomorrow morning. Here is where traditional…

4. Start-Ups: Product vs. Business Design

4. Start-Ups: Product vs. Business Design

  “Design is creativity mixed with strategy” – Rob Curedale   “Design is not what it look like and feels like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs   It is time for some story telling. Once upon a time there were 3 guys…

3. Start-Up: Million-Dollar Thinking

3. Start-Up: Million-Dollar Thinking

Stop right here.

And think.

Yes, start-ups have to move fast. And yes, the competition also moves fast. Start-ups have the advantage over large organizations that they can move fast, there is no bureaucratic hierarchy, and the risk stakes are much lower. The power of your start-up lies in new thinking. That is, if you give your idea some space to develop and others time to get back in line. So at this stage your business idea that is going to change the world has been reinvented a couple times, but if you think this will be your final product… Think again. So let’s talk through the steps to undertake before launching your business into the market space, just to let us breathe for a while and rethink.

One of the phenomena you’ll have to get used to is that a start-up might be confusing and often counter intuitive as soon as it takes off. When you built your team it all depended on what your intuition told you, however even if this worked out don’t let it be a guide from here onwards. Here are some counter intuitive points that are worth giving a thought:

  1. Mentors who have walked the burning path of dealing with start-ups. It’s not the mentors that are the counter intuitive part here, but their advice. They have the tips and tricks, but most of all they have courage. Having dealt with all the burdens of start-ups before, your mentor most likely will know where intuition can be the quality to break down a new business.
  1. You don’t need to be a start-up expert. You don’t need a business major. What you do need is having the right insights, a little bit of luck and, where needed, some product development intuition. Because everyone in your company will turn to you when advice and direction is needed, some patience and empathy for listening are a big must-have. As you had others join your team for their expertise, you can focus on keeping them all aligned.
  1. Short cuts. They don’t exist in start-upland. Gaming the system, in other words trying to manipulate some procedures, will put your business back to where it started, as nothing.
  1. There is no part-time start-up. They consume your life once the idea starts living with your customers. Also, the illusion that being the CEO of a successful company will give you the option of doing as you like is one that hopefully fades away fast.
  1. Speaking of successful start-ups, we cannot predict beforehand whether start-ups are going to be successful or not. Although some investors like to believe that they’ve found a pattern they can blindly follow, it is categorically seen impossible to do so.

So have you taken some time to breathe? Good. Then we’ll have another look at your business idea. Does the idea sound bad if you think it over? Good. Most good start-up ideas started as really bad, think Facebook being a site where guys could mindlessly compare girls against each other. However, there are some indicators that can tell us if a start-up will show potential or not:

  • They are qualities that the founders themselves want. Mark Zuckerberg took quite some risks while starting “Facemash”, the first version of Facebook. He had to hack into Harvard’s system in order to get pictures from female peers, and therefore almost risked expulsion. However, as soon as the statistics came in about the success of this page he decided not to give up on his idea, as there was still so much potential.
  • They are products that founders know or learn how to build. Zuckerberg studied computer science, and together with some friends was able to build and rebuild the website every time there was new demand.
  • They are ideas that very few others think are worthwhile doing. It took Facebook 2 years before it opened up to the entire world. It takes some time for others to tag along with your new idea, but who knows, maybe you’ll have the same spurt as Facebook did!

 

“Easiest way to build a different and better future is to live in the future and build what is missing and seems interesting.” – Paul Graham.

It’s not the end of the world when there seems to be no place for your idea at first. Important is though that you analyze whether there are customers out there who are willing to pay for your product or service before you go big. Enthusiastic early adopters are a critical turning point in your newly started business, but before you even get to this stage your idea will probably look nothing like it did at the start. But then, if making a successful start-up was easy, there would be no space at all for new start-ups like your own.

This post is part of the series “How To Start a Startup”, based on the lectures taught at Reykjavik University. For more information check out the Startup Iceland website

2. Start-Ups: The Million-Dollar Team

2. Start-Ups: The Million-Dollar Team

If you are reading this, then congratulations! As mentioned in the first blog post Start-Ups are all about not giving up on your idea! Showing courage, wanting to keep going, that’s where the amateurs drop out. If you haven’t read the first post, read it…

1. Start-Ups: That Million Dollar Idea

1. Start-Ups: That Million Dollar Idea

Starting a start-up. It is an idea that rises to the mind of many, is tried by many, is failed at by many, but these ideas can also change the mind of many. Probably once during a fun night with friends you together came up…

Phosphate Quota Troubles Dutch Farmers

Phosphate Quota Troubles Dutch Farmers

The Netherlands, a country famous for their liberal approach to social issues, tulips, windmills and of course cheese, now faces new issues due to an excess in phosphate-rich cow manure. As a (founding) member of the European Union (E.U.), the Netherlands, just like any other member, is bound to certain laws set by the E.U., which also includes a phosphate quota. This means that there is a maximum amount of phosphate that each country is allowed to emit. Such a quota is in place because phosphate is a gas that in large quantities is harmful to the environment due to its influence on global warming.

This law (quota) had already been in place but has gotten renewed attention in the Netherlands this week because it turns out that there is an excess of cow manure. This excess is a recent development because the European Union removed the milk quota April 1st, 2015 after it had been in place since 1984, which resulted in many Dutch milk famers wanting to expand their business and increase their milk production. Hence, many investments were made by these farmers; buying land, building larger and more modern facilities and of course increasing the number of cows. Now that it has come to light that the cow farmers cannot continue to have it their way, many of them will potentially end up with financial discomforts, to put it lightly. Having already made the investments for new land and facilities, they are now unable to up their production significantly enough to make it worthwhile, meaning that they’re forced to operate at a loss, making it impossible for them to pay back their bank loans or other investors.

Thankfully, there is a potential temporary solution. As previously mentioned, every EU country has a certain value of phosphate emission they can put out without worries for retaliations. However, some countries, who for example, do not have quite so many cows, or other phosphate emitting sources, may be able to rent out the difference between their actual phosphate emissions and their legally condoned phosphate emissions to the Netherlands, to accommodate for the surplus. Nevertheless, the farmers are still left with great uncertainty with regards to their future and their investments. This will only temporarily cut losses and can definitely not be considered a long term solution.

Multilingualism

Multilingualism

Multilingualism is the use of two or more languages. Nowadays, the vast majority of the Earth’s population is bilingual; more and more people speak at least three languages. To be considered multilingual, you do not have to have full proficiency in all languages- just enough…

The Tale of the Oil Price

The Tale of the Oil Price

Oil. We’re all familiar with the dark, greasy, and of course valuable substance found under the earth’s crust; it’s one of the things that makes the world turn, figuratively speaking of course. Worldwide, approximately 90 million barrels (1 barrel is 159 liters) of crude oil are…

The Forever Oil Prices Battle

The Forever Oil Prices Battle

Why the oil price stays low for the coming years

A further recovery in the oil price is expected to be still far away. After the massive drop in prices last year, oil prices reached the highest point in May since the slow recovery has started in January. But the downward pressure on oil prices is on the rise again.

As fuel and energy prices move alongside oil prices, individuals came out a bit cheaper when filling the tank of their cars and could also save a bit on overheads at home. Many companies also decreased their costs, especially due to lower transport and energy prices. But the big oil companies who want to sell their products preferably at the highest possible price booked substantial profit losses. To better visualize the magnitude of their loss (which is actually our gain), the lowest price was below $ 50 a barrel last November, more than 50% cheaper compared to the peak last June at $ 114 (now its around $ 63).

The fundamental problem is an oversupply and this situation will not change in the short term. Last week, OPEC, the oil cartel, did not change its policy on its production quota of 30 million barrels per day, and thus aims to maintain its share on the market. It means that the current overproduction is maintained by particularly Saudi Arabia. The most important country within OPEC can produce at low prices and does not want to give up market share.
As opposed to it, the technique by which shale oil is extracted from the ground is much more expensive, low oil prices hit shale oil producers therefore harder. Oil shale is an underground rock formation with high oil content and as they are solid and cannot be pumped directly out of the ground, the oil shale must first be mined and then heated to a high temperature. The US has huge reserves but up until very recently, extraction was thought to be unprofitable.
Saudi Arabia has tried to push shale oil out from the market, but that they did not succeed. The United States still keeps up as the production of shale oil is profitable again due to improved extraction methods and technology.

Besides the fundamental issue of oversupply, dollar has also become stronger again, partly due to increased concerns about the situation in Greece while oil demand from emerging markets such as China will grow less quickly in the coming years. This is partly a direct result of the gradual slowing down of the economic growth in China.

Why invest in Colombia?

Why invest in Colombia?

In the past decade, Colombia’s economy has proven to be fairly stable and expanding. Historically, Colombia has been an agrarian economy but with the advancing 20th century, it has urbanized quickly. During the past century, Colombia’s market economy grew steadily with an average rate of…

Blatter 1. Football 0.

Blatter 1. Football 0.

After a tumultuous week, its another dark day in football history. Sepp Blatter has once again been elected for the presidency of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Despite being opposed by HRH Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein of Jordan and not receiving enough votes…

Snapchat To Go Public

Snapchat To Go Public

You probably are all familiar with the popular picture/video sharing app called Snapchat. For those of you who are not; Snapchat allows you to take pictures/videos and send them to your friends who can view them for up to 10 seconds, after which the image or video deletes itself. Since its launch in 2011, Snapchat has grown immensely, with up to 100million daily users to date, which naturally also sparked the interest of larger companies. CEO and co-founder Evan Spiegel famously turned down a $3,000,000,000 (yes, that is 3 billion US$) takeover bid from social-media giant Facebook back in 2013. The app has since developed into a much larger concept than just a silly app for teens; incorporating large media channels such as National Geographic, VICE and CNN and Spiegel has now announced the plan of going public, via an initial public offering (IPO). TIME magazine quoted him on stage at the Code tech conference in California, saying “we need to IPO, we have a plan to do that. An IPO is really important,” As of now though, no further information is known about when this possible initial public offering would take place and how large it would be.

Algramo: New Start-up, New Sustainability

Algramo: New Start-up, New Sustainability

Irritation runs through me as I try to get all the items on my grocery list. My 4 roommates decided that they want to eat spaghetti tonight, but the smallest pack I can find is 1 kg, enough for at least 10 people. Same problem…

Problems in the airline industry

Problems in the airline industry

First a cyberattack on B787 Dreamliner, then a crash of A400M near Seville. .. It seems that airline companies should really update their softwares. For the airline companies- whether civil or military, this means not only losing their employees but also this may scare some…

Why I Love Taxes

Why I Love Taxes

Why I Love Taxes

The statement that there are very few people who enjoy paying taxes is not likely one that will be met with any great amount of disagreement. Even the tax authorities themselves acknowledge that few people relish the task of accounting for and paying their proper share of the tax burden. As the Dutch Revenue Service puts it, “we can’t make it pleasant, just easier.” It is in a similar light of assumed negativity that we find taxation linked to mortality, another of life’s less pleasant aspects, in the expression that the only things inevitable in life are death and taxes.

However, there are very good reasons to have a much more upbeat attitude towards taxes. In a democratic state, taxes are the dues we pay for the privilege of living in a nation providing law and order, internal peace, public safety, commercial infrastructure, and all of the other accoutrements of civil society. The level of the fees can be debated as can the policy of spending, but to see the phenomenon of taxation itself as punitive is as wrongheaded as viewing the fees owed to a club as being other than the natural requirement of membership. Regardless of the scope of the state’s reach in any given society, all state’s cost money; even in the most minimal of state entities imaginable, the government apparatus requires funding to function.

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Taxes can also serve an even broader purpose. In most modern industrialized nations, taxes and dues levied using similar formats to taxation are used to fund elaborate structures of insurance and national pension schemes, in addition to providing subsidies for (higher) education and a variety of other public goods that can be argued to bestow significant individual benefits. By channeling earnings towards these public goods, taxes can prevent both the profligate and the unknowledgeable from failing to provide for a financially secure future.

As reasoned and thinking individuals, we like to believe that we will be responsible and opt for the right choices on every occasion, but the future is far away until it no longer is. Taxes not only stop us from spending our money on “fun stuff” now instead of salting away wealth for our future benefit, they also compel us to do so even in the face of what we might believe to be more important, though transient, concerns in the present rather than taking proper precautions for the future. In addition, the bundling of taxation wealth can serve to provide greater surety to contributors than can a single and significantly smaller pool of reserves being managed by a non-professional. In all honesty, most of us would have to admit that we cannot be bothered to set up a comprehensive personal pension plan. By the same lights, it is easy to see how the pooled resources of public funding can be wielded to create greater stability and equity in health care than private systems catering solely to individuals in an atomized market of health care assurance and provision.

Finally, taxes bleed away social tensions. Taxation on an equitable footing creates, or should create, a sense of communal contribution. We all contribute in this fashion to the common weal and are thus all contributors to the greater enterprise that is the nation. Progressive taxation can also prevent society from tilting too far in the direction of extreme (income and wealth) inequality and can, by being used to purchase public goods benefitting the greater numbers, alleviate the strain caused by the inequality present in any free market society.8266555568_209ebb3b62_o

In this light, taxes can be said to be the ultimate vouchsafe of the middle class, a group often claimed to be the stabilizing factor in economically free societies. By providing funding for such public goods as education, accessible health care, transportation, and secured old-age pensions, taxes guarantee an educated and prosperous professional and mercantile class, freed from over-excessive burdens with respect to health care and retirement assurance.

As we face times where ever-greater appeals are being made for self-sufficiency and hear increasing protestations concerning the burdensomeness of taxation, it is good to remember the benefits we have reaped from a judiciously progressive system of taxes. There are certainly benefits to be had from reducing the tax burden on individuals and companies, but it should at all times be kept in mind what is being undertaken by doing so. Reductions in taxation are, by definition, reductions in the in the contribution being made to the common weal. Without alternative income, this necessitates reductions in the benefits provided by the nation to its citizens. Certainly, it is incumbent upon taxpayers to be critical of the money being demanded of them and to keep a diligent eye on how that money is spent, just as it is due diligence as the member of any club to keep an eye on its finances. But like those club members, we should not be blinded by short-term gains through fee reduction to what we are doing in paying taxes. If we are to be members of the club that is a nation, and we wish that nation to be stable, prosperous, and relatively free of internal tensions, we need to be prepared to pay our due, and in doing so in this knowledge, we should do so gladly.