Cover image for The Web Startup Success Guide

The Web Startup Success Guide

Author Bob Walsh
Release Date: 2009/07/01
ISBN: 9781430219859
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Book Description

The Web Startup Success Guide is your one-stop shop for all of the answers you need today to build a successful web startup in these challenging economic times. It covers everything from making the strategic platform decisions as to what kind of software to build, to understanding and winning the Angel and VC funding game, to the modern tools, apps and services that can cut months off development and marketing cycles, to how startups today are using Social Networks like Twitter and Facebook to create real excitement and connect to real customers.

Table of Contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Foreword
  3. About the Author
  4. About the Technical Reviewer
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Introduction
  7. 1. Introduction: What Was Is Not What Is
    1. 1.1. Please Insert Chip into Brain
    2. 1.2. The New Online Economic Reality and Your Startup
    3. 1.3. So, What's a Startup? And Why Would I Want to Be One?
    4. 1.4. Startup Flavors—Take Your Pick
      1. 1.4.1. Traditional
      2. 1.4.2. MicroISV
      3. 1.4.3. Side Project
      4. 1.4.4. Open Source Project
      5. 1.4.5. Modern Online Software Startup
    5. 1.5. When Is the Right Time to Jump?
    6. 1.6. Recap
  8. 2. Value Is the Core of Your Startup
    1. 2.1. Value and Problems, Problems and Value
    2. 2.2. Beginning at the Beginning Is Just a Beginning
    3. 2.3. Wally's Startup Law
      1. 2.3.1. The Problem
      2. 2.3.2. Your Startup's Value
      3. 2.3.3. Your Resources
      4. 2.3.4. Your Fulcrum
    4. 2.4. Implications of Wally's Startup Law
      1. 2.4.1. Wally's Checklist for Your Startup Idea
    5. 2.5. Where Do You Find Problems?
    6. 2.6. Recap
  9. 3. So Many Platforms, So Many Options
    1. 3.1. Then and Now
    2. 3.2. Everybody Wants to Be in the Platform Business
    3. 3.3. Software As a Service
      1. 3.3.1. Overview
      2. 3.3.2. Main Characteristics from a Startup's Point of View
      3. 3.3.3. Advantages
      4. 3.3.4. Disadvantages
      5. 3.3.5. Comments
    4. 3.4. Platform As a Service
      1. 3.4.1. Overview
      2. 3.4.2. Main Characteristics from a Startup's Point of View
      3. 3.4.3. Advantages
      4. 3.4.4. Disadvantages
      5. 3.4.5. Comments
    5. 3.5. Social Networks As Platforms
      1. 3.5.1. Overview
      2. 3.5.2. Main Characteristics from a Startup's Point of View
      3. 3.5.3. Advantages
      4. 3.5.4. Disadvantages
      5. 3.5.5. Comments
    6. 3.6. Mobile
      1. 3.6.1. Overview
      2. 3.6.2. Main Characteristics from a Startup's Point of View
      3. 3.6.3. Advantages
      4. 3.6.4. Disadvantages
      5. 3.6.5. Comments
    7. 3.7. Hybrid
      1. 3.7.1. Overview
      2. 3.7.2. Main Characteristics from a Startup's Point of View
      3. 3.7.3. Advantages
      4. 3.7.4. Disadvantages
      5. 3.7.5. Comments
    8. 3.8. Open Source/CMS
      1. 3.8.1. Overview
      2. 3.8.2. Main Characteristics from a Startup's Point of View
      3. 3.8.3. Advantages
      4. 3.8.4. Disadvantages
      5. 3.8.5. Comments
    9. 3.9. Mac Desktop and Windows Desktop
      1. 3.9.1. Overview
      2. 3.9.2. Main Characteristics from a Startup's Point of View
      3. 3.9.3. Advantages
      4. 3.9.4. Disadvantages
      5. 3.9.5. Comments
    10. 3.10. Recap
  10. 4. Tools and Groups for Startups
    1. 4.1. Back in the Day . . .
    2. 4.2. Tools for Startups
      1. 4.2.1. Version Control for Your Startup
        1. 4.2.1.1. GitHub
        2. 4.2.1.2. Unfuddle
        3. 4.2.1.3. SourceGear Vault
      2. 4.2.2. Customer/Beta Tester Feedback
        1. 4.2.2.1. SurveyMonkey.com
        2. 4.2.2.2. PollDaddy
        3. 4.2.2.3. CrazyEgg
        4. 4.2.2.4. UserVoice
        5. 4.2.2.5. Get Satisfaction
      3. 4.2.3. Looking Good/Going Video
        1. 4.2.3.1. 99designs
        2. 4.2.3.2. Jing
      4. 4.2.4. Testing Your Site and Your Software
        1. 4.2.4.1. Browsershots
        2. 4.2.4.2. BrowserMob
        3. 4.2.4.3. UserTesting.com
        4. 4.2.4.4. uTest
    3. 4.3. Subscription Startup Communities
      1. 4.3.1. The Six Figure Software Micropreneur Academy
      2. 4.3.2. StartupToDo.com
    4. 4.4. Startup Organizations and Groups Online and Off
      1. 4.4.1. College Entrepreneurial Groups
      2. 4.4.2. Startup Groups
      3. 4.4.3. Startup Groups Near You—Offline and On
      4. 4.4.4. Online Forums
      5. 4.4.5. Annual Conferences
    5. 4.5. Large Vendor Programs for Startups
      1. 4.5.1. Microsoft BizSpark
      2. 4.5.2. Sun Startup Essentials
    6. 4.6. Recap
  11. 5. Money: Raise, Manage, Make
    1. 5.1. Follow the Money
    2. 5.2. Raising the Money
      1. 5.2.1. Understanding the Funding Ladder
      2. 5.2.2. You Are Not Alone
      3. 5.2.3. The Basics of the Funding Game
        1. 5.2.3.1. 1. What You're Building, What You Can Achieve, and How Valuable It'll Be
        2. 5.2.3.2. 2. Deciding and Documenting What You Need
        3. 5.2.3.3. 3. Writing an Executive Summary and a Business Plan
        4. 5.2.3.4. 4. The (Angel) Investment Process
      4. 5.2.4. What Angels and Venture Capitalists Want
      5. 5.2.5. Startup Incubators
    3. 5.3. Managing the Money
      1. 5.3.1. Is There an Alternative?
    4. 5.4. Making Money
      1. 5.4.1. PayPal
      2. 5.4.2. Avangate
      3. 5.4.3. FastSpring
      4. 5.4.4. iPortis
      5. 5.4.5. Zuora
      6. 5.4.6. TrialPay
    5. 5.5. Recap
  12. 6. Social Media and Your Startup
    1. 6.1. It's All About Attention
    2. 6.2. The Big Idea
    3. 6.3. Setting Up Your Social Media Basic Radar
      1. 6.3.1. iGoogle
      2. 6.3.2. Google Blog Search
      3. 6.3.3. Twitter Search and TweetGrid
      4. 6.3.4. BackType
      5. 6.3.5. FriendFeed
      6. 6.3.6. Google Reader with PostRank
      7. 6.3.7. What to Look for on Your Social Media Radar
    4. 6.4. The Startup Company Blog
      1. 6.4.1. Startup Blogs—Three Examples
    5. 6.5. Welcome to the Land of Twitter
    6. 6.6. The New News Media
      1. 6.6.1. The Editor Is In
      2. 6.6.2. So Is the Reporter
      3. 6.6.3. Startup PR the Right Way
    7. 6.7. Your Other Title: Chief Community Officer
      1. 6.7.1. Ginevra Whalen, TypePad Community Manager, Six Apart
      2. 6.7.2. Matt Johnston, VP of Marketing & Community, uTest, Inc.
      3. 6.7.3. Veronica Jorden, Communications Manager, Blellow
      4. 6.7.4. Maria Sipka, CEO, Linqia
        1. 6.7.4.1. Building Your Pre-Community
        2. 6.7.4.2. The Post-Startup Community
        3. 6.7.4.3. The Build-or-Buy Decision
        4. 6.7.4.4. Finding Your Community Manager
    8. 6.8. Recap
  13. 7. Clarity Matters
    1. 7.1. If You're Not Clear, You're Not Selling
    2. 7.2. The Unique Selling Proposition Pattern
      1. 7.2.1. The Hook
        1. 7.2.1.1. Credibility
        2. 7.2.1.2. Relevant Value
        3. 7.2.1.3. What Are You Trying to Sell Them?
      2. 7.2.2. Credibility Markers
        1. 7.2.2.1. Famous People Saying Nice Things About You
      3. 7.2.3. Relevant Value
      4. 7.2.4. The Final Piece of the USP Puzzle
    3. 7.3. Case Study: Mint.com
      1. 7.3.1. Interview with Aaron Patzer, CEO, Mint.com
    4. 7.4. Case Study: RescueTime
      1. 7.4.1. Tony Wright, CEO, RescueTime
    5. 7.5. Recap
  14. 8. Getting It Done
    1. 8.1. This Might Hurt
    2. 8.2. GTD in Summary
      1. 8.2.1. GTD's Five Core Principles
      2. 8.2.2. GTD Recommended Software
    3. 8.3. Online Productivity
      1. 8.3.1. Taming the Info Beast
      2. 8.3.2. Tools That Help
    4. 8.4. Developer Productivity
      1. 8.4.1. Beating the Google Loop
      2. 8.4.2. How Do You Learn?
      3. 8.4.3. Into the Heart of Darkness: Startup Developer Methodologies
      4. 8.4.4. Your Least Favorite Subject
      5. 8.4.5. Fog Creek's FogBugz
      6. 8.4.6. Next Floor, Please
    5. 8.5. Startup Founder Productivity
      1. 8.5.1. Tools for Founder Productivity
      2. 8.5.2. He's at It Again!
    6. 8.6. Recap
  15. 9. Six Wise People
    1. 9.1. Some People You Ought to Listen To
    2. 9.2. Recap
  16. 10. What's Next?
    1. 10.1. Intro to the Outro
    2. 10.2. There Have Never Been More Opportunities for a Startup to Succeed
    3. 10.3. The Quality of the Idea Behind Your Startup's Product or Service Is Paramount
    4. 10.4. Your Idea Has to Hold Real Appeal to at Least One Specific Market Segment
    5. 10.5. Serious Value + Great Customer Experience Means You Get Taken Seriously
    6. 10.6. If You Play by Everyone Else's Rules, You Lose
    7. 10.7. Social Networks Are Key to Your Success
    8. 10.8. Have a Plan to Get Through the Bootstrap Valley of Death
    9. 10.9. Money Is the Lifeblood of Startups—Manage It Well
    10. 10.10. One Final Bit of Advice
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