BBA (Business Management), MBA (Marketing)
Web Content Developer & Social Media/Digital Marketing Expert with businss savvy, and creative ideas. I am the founder & president of Dickerson Creative Capital Inc, and am currently working on other innovative web ideas to press the envelope, and change the way we view, share, experience, and earn from information and media.
Apple has been forcefeeding music lovers for years, but have never been able to give any true nourishment to the unsigned independent musician. Its like eating candy, fried foods, bacon, and soda for the rest of your life. Sounds fun on the surface, and might be a good idea and exciting for a while But if you keep it up, you will die. Or at least end up with a heart attack or other serious illness. Try some vegetables, fish, and water for a change. Or at least another, more nourishing music service. By offering what of what musicians and music lovers want, you actually offer them more "meat" in your service. Makes for more satisfied consumers, and greater brand loyalty.
I learned a long time ago to simply not care what my family and friends think, or how they judge me. After all, none them are entrepreneurs, have studied business, are programmers or hackers, or even understand anything about the startup culture in any sense. So why subject myself to the criticism of a bunch of amateurs? I’m looking to be critiqued by pros like Paul Graham and the YC team. I’m looking to be subject to criticism from those whom have been there, know what they are doing, and can offer me constructive feedback to improve my idea. It would be like going to my barber because I’m having chest pains. Not a bright move. Since all my barber could do, would be to shape me up and make me look good for my next doctor's appointment.
That's the problem. Some indie artits may do this, but not nearly enough, due to Apple's approval process. Most actually are refused as you mentioned, and this is why itunes is not a viable option for unsigned musicians, as many sites are not. The industry is catered to major label musicians, and FCC regulation stricken. It does not meet the needs of the unsigned musician. Checkout Pandora's plight.
Omidyar himself during the 2008 "Bubble" tv episode of "Download, The True Story of the Internet" on The Science Channel hosted by John Heilemann, stated that he hired Meg Whitman as CEO because he is not a business person and did not do any resarch to begin with, before he began writing the code to develop Ebay. He started with no business plan,and at first the site has very slim pickings of things to auction. In 1998 they hired Whitman because they he realized he need an "A List" business person on their team in order to define the company, direct it, and get it to be taken seriously. Whitman led Ebay to its IPO.
I am not a greedy person at all, and though I enjoy being a founder myself as I currently am one, I have both an MBA and am a founder. So I represent both sides and the best of both worlds. Whitman my not be the founder, but her efforts and that Harvard MBA has led her to the tune of of starting salary of $175k per year with an annual bonus of $100k. in 2008 this had grown a salary of $11 million per year,and today she still owns 3.9 million shares of Ebay stock. Not too shabby I'd say.
You can be the greatest web programmer in the world, but if you cannot develop and articulate the ideas that are in your head, you have nothing. Thats what I learned among other things when getting my MBA. I learned how to think in the terms of taking a new idea from idea to reality, and making it a success.
I greatly appreciate the value that programmers bring. As it is, I cannot use my MBA to program my ideas into a working and successful web startup. I do not think that an MBA is absolutely necesssary. Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and many other successful tech moguls have proven that. But, MBAs could can definately help in lowering the failure rates of startups by using their experience in finance, management and accounting. The best formula of all is to have both on hand. The MBA and the programmer. With the two, you cant go wrong.
Why do you think Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar hired Harvard MBA Meg Whitman as CEO?
I am in the same situation, but I honestly believe that my startup is more scalable than the current YC company, and offers a greater service to the consumer. I solves an issue that has not yet been properly addressed in the industry. And therefore I have chosen to go ahead and apply for the Winter 2010 class. In the June 2009 issue of Inc Magazine, YC founder Paul Graham was interviewed, and they stated that they have had YC startups merge. Therefore, you could possibly benefit your idea in that way as well. My suggestion is that you apply, and get your name out there. You never know what positivity may come from it.
Surround yourself with supportive people that understand your sacrifice and your hard work. Whom understand the long hours, and the large feat that you are trying to accomplish, and you can be successful. Have a supportive wife/husband, parents, friends etc, and you will be ok. If they are not supportive, then maybe they are not the ones for you. Cannot do both without that support.
Jay-Z stated, "Death of AutoTune, moment of silence". But as many may think hiphop is not dead. And there's nothing wrong with utilizing AutoTune. The problem here is that instead of using the software to enhance music and give an interesting effect, many are simply using the feature to cover up the fact that they just cannot sing. Not everyone is creative enough to properly use AutoTune to make good music. Everyone cannot be T-Pain or Kanye. True creative geniuses at work. Real hiphop is still alive and well. Artists like KRS-ONE, as dylanz previously posted, are not the "end all, be all" in so-called "real' hiphop. Try JayZ, Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def, Talib Kwali, Nas, Kanye West, Pharrell, Lil Wayne, T.I., and lets not forget the millions of underground and undiscovered artists that never get the shot at mainstream exposure, or even to earn a living from their craft.
And in response to datums. Hiphop didnt just get rich. It got smart, and diversified itself, as all other genres of music have done before it, and all other areas of the entertainment business. Its hiphop's turn to shine.
These are my 5 favorites (#s 3,11,34,40 & 46), simply because they have all been killed just because current web companies for some reason seem to not be able to get the model right when it comes to distributing online music. Napster was the last company to really stick it to the major lables, and as Pandora has just been proven to, they were hit with the infamous FCC regulations. We can fix these issues with a different model and the distribution of power.
3) Listening to an album all the way through
The single is one of the unlikely beneficiaries of the internet – a development which can be looked at in two ways. There's no longer any need to endure eight tracks of filler for a couple of decent tunes, but will "album albums" like Radiohead's Amnesiac get the widespread hearing they deserve?
11) Music stores
In a world where people don't want to pay anything for music, charging them £16.99 for 12 songs in a flimsy plastic case is no business model.
34) Mainstream media
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Rocky Mountain News in the US have already folded, and the UK's Observer may follow. Free news and the migration of advertising to the web threaten the basic business models of almost all media organisations.
40) Undiscovered artists
Posting paintings to deviantART and Flickr – or poems to writebuzz – could not be easier. So now the garret-dwellers have no excuses.
46) Staggered product/film releases
Companies are becoming increasingly draconian in their anti-piracy measure, but are finally beginning to appreciate that forcing British consumers to wait six months to hand over their money is not a smart business plan.
Great insight. Launch fast and iterate. Learn from mistakes, edit, and continue to build something that people want.
The "Founder" next door is like "The Millionaire Nextdoor".Keeping it simple, frugal, and staying cash-flow positive wins the game. This is why your millionaire next door and your founder next door are probably one in the same. Similar philosophies.
Im a BIG fan of this model. But it only works if you've developed a free product that is valuable enough to your users, that they will come back to pay for additional services to enhance that product for continuous use. Build it, and they will come. And they will pay.
Whats all the fuss? The average consumer would never even notice the difference. Looks the same. And for that matter, why would the company spend the money to make the change throughout the organization? Sounds like a waste of money, for little positive impact, and more negative response than is necessary.
Lure in with FREE, and make functional with standard features that already beat the competition. And charge for additional services innovative, fun, and attractive services.
Garry Tan and YC have come up with something similar to this way of posting information, with http://www.posterous.com. Similar idea, but specific to music artists and their website info.
Bootstrapping is a great idea. Check out sites such as http://www.elance.com, http://www.guru.com, and http://www.odesk.com to find a reliable programmer. Word of advice. You will find your biggest savings with programmers located in Asia and India, as opposed to the U.S. and Europe based companies. I saved 90% on my programming this way. Just make sure you explain exactly what you want done, what you expect, and check credentials and previous work.
When searching for Angels, you can checkout http://www.crunchbase.com to view what Angels and VCs are investing in your competitors, as well as to do research on the competition and companies and founders that you like and admire.
Lastly, share your ideas and get valuable feedback from people that can help you improve it, at sites such as http://www.ideaoffer.com, http://www.ideablob.com, and http://www.blubstorm.com. Just make sure to keep your ideas guarded and protect your intellectual investment in yourself and your startup. You can even get paid for lending your creative opinions to others on IdeaOffer. That extra cash can help you bootstrap your idea.
Why cant we utilize the supercomputer to our advantage, and make it actually do some good, and help to stop pollution? Not the V8, V12 or even a Jet Engine. But utilize another often used engine in collaboration with the supercomputer, to create true green energy. Hint. Im using it right now.
Not a coder. But being in marketing, and condering myself as a pretty creative guy. I too notice that my production level increases when listening to music. I am more creative and innovative when I have something inspiring, fun, or just purely good playing. Now, if we can just get music to be more productive, creative, and innovative for a change.
Decent idea, but sounds like a music site API dilemma waiting to happen. Will they mesh? Dont know. And the manual labor aspect posting to social sites like facebook does not sound fun at all. Tedious and inefficient. Keep it in house. Build the right site, with rich featues and a great name, and compete directly with the musician's own site. Make them begin to leave their own and only deal with you. ie, such as many major label artists have begun to do with using Myspacemusic instead of their own site. Eventhough it lacks usability, and in my opinion is worthless. If they can accomplish it, you can demolish what they've ATTEMPTED to do.
Regardless, you have to look at both options, because they both have their positives. It really depends on the person no matter what. One could be college educated and know the books, and have no business savvy, and have no experience or knowledge of developing a startup. And at the same time, someone could be a experienced hacker, and web programmer but not educated at all, and have not business savvy, and have no idea of how to take their talent to the next level with their own startup. Personally, your best bet is to hire or invest in the person that has both. Not only is educated, but has great business savvy, and experience in building a web startup. Neither a college education, nor experience can stand alone and be as potent as if they are to work together. Clearly it has been proven that you do not need a degree, such as the success of Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg, and that you dont need to be a hacker, or have great experience or business savvy, such as George W. Bush. But why not have both in someone like Donald Trump? College or no college. Both sides hold significant value. It just depends on the candidate your reviewing, and what they bring to the table.
As an MBA myself, I have never understood the mass criticism and stereotyping the degree receives from those whom simply have never experienced business school. Why? In my experience, I have learned how to think and design my ideas to the point where others can best understand their positive potentcy. I have applied what Ive learned in various aspects of business, into a functioning web startup as well. The most negativity that I have ever seen from my having an MBA, is being told by a potential employer, that I am overqualified for a position. And I honestly cannot complain about that. Would much rather be overqualified than underqualified. And thats just what my MBA has done for me. Made me qualified. Qualified to work in the position that I want, qualified to run my own startup, and qualified to write this post. And its not just the piece of paper I received that qualifies me. Its what I learned and experienced during my education.
Worth it since now the company can implement the browser immediately, instead off waiting to develop, test and launch it. Time is money, and in the long run, RIM may have just saved both. Look out IPhone. Now if RIM can just improve the Blackberry App World.
I dont know about researhing the human brain in order to win a million. I'm an MBA, not a CNS PHD. But us startup entrepreneurs sure know about incorporating the research of consumer behavior in order to earn a million from our innovative business ideas.