Finding my Tribe (to put a valuation on my business)

You hear it all the time when starting any kind of business. Find your tribe. Who will want what you have to sell? Who believes in your vision? Surround yourself with like-minded people. You mustn't try to be all things to all people.

The same must apply when seeking out potential advisors and investors.

I am feeling this incredible wave of inspiration, creativity and hopefulness at the moment. The past few hours have seen me glimpse behind that heavy curtain of uncertainty. I am feeling clearer about my preparations for my Silicon Valley trip.

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love, describes in her TED talk how Ruth Stone, a 90 year old poet experiences creativity - something you feel coming towards you. You are not the source. You are the conduit. And you have to be receptive to it. It will pass through you and leave the creative result 'in you'; a book, a poem, a painting, a fully-formed idea or business strategy. You have to seize it or it disappears.

Writing this blog post before it vanishes is really important, so I have something to reflect on later.

Until today, I was feeling very confused and inadequate about my trip to Silicon Valley. But today was a great day.

Today I took matters into my own hands.

I feel as though I know the answers already, that they are about to barrel through me and I must seize the moment; who I need to speak to, the people in SV who see my vision, who think in the same commercial space as I do. The potential investors and advisors who have already invested in creative, disruptive start-ups. These people will be my tribe.

And action brings clarity.

All day I have been trawling Crunch Base to identify the home and interiors companies who have had $$$millions invested in recent years. Companies like One Kings Lane, Houzz and Custom Made. I will use these 3 as my bench marks. Their founders, investors and the people who orbit around these companies are the people I really ache to meet when I'm in SV. I have hand written every name, every investor, the size of their rounds (paying particular attention to the seed rounds because that is where I am at), HQ locations and snippets of info that may be of use.

From tracking the curve of their initial seed funds to the more recent C or D Rounds, I can begin to glimpse at the value and potential of My Bespoke Chair and my mass-customisation, co-designing dreams.

It is my conundrum of HAVING to put a valuation on my business before I get to SV that has seen me do this research. In the absence of any solid historical financial data for My Bespoke Chair, I need to see how comparable companies have grown. And where they started. How they were valued at the beginning, and their initial seed round investment. I am trying to find the balance between where I am, the potential size of my market and the precedence set by similar companies who have gone before me.

It is through this research that I can paint my valuation story and back it up with solid evidence.

So, my next step is finding ways to meet the founders, investors and advisors to these success stories. And warm introductions are the only way to do this. You cannot call them up and ask for a meeting. We all respond better when a trusted and valued colleague or friend recommend we meet someone. And these high-flyers simply do not have the time or inclination to meet everyone, so their inner circles become reliable filters.

So I am trawling my contacts, the people I know from coffee-meetings, online masterminds, friends of friends and people who I know would happily recommend me. LinkedIn is a platform I've been slow to grasp. About 3 months ago I employed a VA to help me set up my profile. It's not hard but it was one of those jobs I kept putting off. Paying $60 was good use of my time and money. The '6 degrees of separation' are openly highlighted in LinkedIn, so that is my focus.

I will hustle and call and make the best case I can in order to meet with my tribe for breakfast, lunch, coffee, a cocktail or even a bus ride. And I need to have something, even one little 5 minute meeting, arranged before I leave in October.


P.S If anyone knows Alison Gelb Pincus, I'd love an intro!

Rockstars, Angels and Me

There comes a time in every business when you have your very own "Donald Rumsfeld" moment.

"....there are things we know that we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns - things we don't know we don't know."

But now I have a secret weapon, my very own mentor; a business rockstar.

A mentor can help you see the wood for the trees, can offer objective opinions and lead you to 'light bulb moments.' They understand your vision, can help fast-track growth and steer you clear of pit-falls. They've been there, done that and got the t-shirt.

Who is my mentor? How did I find him? How does it work? What can we both expect from the mentoring process?

Brad Rosser is a true business rockstar - the brains behind the brains at Virgin; Richard Branson's right hand man. After Virgin, he joined Unilever before setting up his own "angel" and management business, The BSF Group (short for Better, Stronger, Faster)

I didn't actively seek out Brad. We were introduced via a charter member at Sydney TiE; the mentoring and entrepreneur association I joined some months ago. I have been attending their evening seminars and sat in on a pitching contest they held at PWC. (Read my blog post on it here)

This is absolutely a result of my constant meeting with people for coffees (even though I only drink tea), going to events, meet-ups, seminars and always talking about My Bespoke Chair. You never know who you may meet and who will resonate with your story. I believe that people matter - read my blog post on this here - and connecting at every opportunity is vital.

Brad and I met properly today at The Westin; we had previously met briefly at a talk he gave last week. I signed up months ago for his Launch & Grow Smart event, and totally co-incidentally our mentoring introduction was made the same week.

As his mentee, I will be able run ideas past him, bring questions and queries to the table. We will meet regularly and informally discuss the direction of My Bespoke Chair.

I am pinching myself. Is it unprofessional to dance a little jig of joy?!

The path will still be long and winding, and there is no magic bullet for success; I have always been willing to put the hard yards in. But mentors are key to so many businesses in their infancy. And to have Brad on my team is pure gold.

 I am certain that our working relationship will be as rewarding as it will be enjoyable. Today was a great start!



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