At Bookey Group, we’ve been advising multiple startups for the past few years, and we love how much fun we’re having. We hope they’re enjoying it too, and benefiting from our counsel.
Based on our small sample size of eight local and global clients we’ve recently worked with, here’s what we admire most about our startup clients:
Their passion: When was the last time you found someone pouring their heart, soul and money into a corporate job? With startups it happens every day, all day, seven days a week. We have fun telling our startup clients about work-life balance but it’s not something they’re thinking about right now. We know from personal experience after having founded four startups between Linda and Georgie, the Bookey Group principals. Our best advice? Both your family and your body benefit from taking time to sleep, exercise and some recreation that isn’t work related.
Newness: Whether startup founders have years of experience in business or not, everything in that startup is new. New ideas, products or services and new teams. It’s exciting and exhausting at the same time. Our Bookey Group team has consulted in a variety of industries for over 40 years. We worked with one of our Ed Tech clients to repurpose their marketing campaign from parents to teachers, as they are the one making that purchase decision. When they used our recommendation on how to reach teachers, they received over 700 authentic Facebook likes in one day (not the paid kind that don’t get you anything).
Unlimited Potential: We’re not talking “unicorn*”, but meeting the goals of the founders. Two of our favorite startup clients are women-owned and are taking on big challenges. Their sole goal isn’t to IPO at $1 billion valuation. Shift Labs is focused on making medical devices with the premise that ‘simple saves lives.’ They measure success by how well their devices will help animals and people heal and live productive lives, along with generating enough sales to support the company and thrive. The founder of StemBox just overshot her Kickstarter goal by more than 10% and it’s still not over. She’s just getting started it gives her the energy to keep going.
Building infrastructure: As small company owners ourselves, we had to figure out tools and processes to manage our company. Ideally our learning curve flattens out the curve for our clients. We do marketing, but we have deep insights on what else it takes to grow and the connections to make that happen. Take liability insurance for example – if you work for a large company, chances are it’s not your headache. If you’re a startup, it’s essential and expensive. We focus on marketing, but we’ve helped companies research purchasing associations through which they can afford this necessity when required.
Watching them grow, and growing with them: It’s rewarding to watch people do new things, become leaders of their company and put themselves out there in the community in new ways. How many people have “pitched” to funders in their previous jobs? Mikko, of M Room, a successful men’s barbershop from Finland expanding into the US, just pitched to Finnish hockey players as potential investors. How many people get to do that in their corporate job?
There’s no sure way to guarantee that your startup will be successful; it takes perseverance, luck, and a lot of work. But being coachable, well-funded and optimistic helps your chances. Spending some of your money on the appropriate marketing activities also helps. Get in touch with us if you want ideas on what works and what to avoid.
*In startup world vocabulary, a “unicorn” company is one that has a $1 billion valuation or higher.