Question

Topic: Branding

Need Help With Positioning/branding A New Venture

Posted by Anonymous on 1/19/2006 at 2:59 PM ET 1250 Points
I'd like some advice on how to think about positioning a new venture...what kinds of questions to be asking, etc.
There are four of us...two senior executives with years of experience who have successfully grown a publicly traded company and two younger, creative partners with non-profit, artistic and marketing backgrounds. Our intention is to find a handful of innovative startups or other promising small companies and help them grow. We'll have two basic means by which we'll do this. First, we have significant capital for funding them directly, but we don't want to be defined as a VC or angel company. Second, we'll have the marketing and business experience to provide mentoring, but we're not a consulting group. What are we??? Looking forward to getting to know this site and hope any of you can help. Any ideas for names would be great too. Thanks.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by wnelson on 1/19/2006 at 3:11 PM Member
    Erick,

    A model that I have seen work is the "Business Incubator" model. This is where you set up office space in a building for start-ups. Charge them rent for a lease, provide them means for leasing office furniture and PC's, perhaps pay the utilities, provide them a phone system, a receptionist who answers their phones, and provide business advice/mentoring for fee (or in exchange for equity, if you desire that and believe the risk and rewards to be worth it). This might be a viable alternative which allows you to use your capital - to buy and fit suitable office and to provide the mentoring. You are not a VC, Angel, or consultant - you're an incubator. You may even find some funding, tax breaks, or low cost real estate from county or municipal corporate development centers (that's what they are called here, anyway) - an local government organization which buys properties and sells it to start-up businesses. They are usually partially state funded and can offer some good deals to folks who create jobs in their area. Hey, maybe you can even get a couple to compete for your presence?

    I hope this helps.

    Wayde
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 1/19/2006 at 3:35 PM Member
    You do sound like a mixture between a business incubator and a VC, with a bit of start-up consultant thrown in.

    Perhaps you an just take the broad stance that you are business start-up specialists. You bring all the pieces together to take a person with an idea and let them make it into a viable business.

    I suspect "The Start-up Specialists" is already taken, but if not that could be a good name.
  • Posted on 1/19/2006 at 7:44 PM Member
    When you're a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. And I'm a marketing/management consultant, so your core competency looks to me like you're consultants. You're not standard, run-of-the-mill consultants, but down deep at your core you're still consultants.

    You plan/want to get involved in making strategic decisions for your clients, expect to understand their strengths and weaknesses, business opportunities and vulnerabilities, etc. And the money you'd invest is really separate from what you DO. Otherwise you'd be strictly VCs.

    You've asked the right question: Positioning. The name is really a secondary issue. I think you need to figure out why you're different from, and better than, a traditional consultant. That's where your positioning uniqueness lies.

    And don't forget that a good positioning is benefit-oriented. Think about the benefit you bring to a start-up operation and a novice entrepreneur. If you approach positioning from the customer's perspective, you won't go wrong. This isn't about what you do, but about what benefit the customer will realize if/when he/she works with you.

    Interesting situation ... and a neat project for a good marketing/management consultant. (Are you one of those?)
  • Posted by darcy.moen on 1/21/2006 at 2:48 AM Accepted
    I'm going to read a bit between the lines. You've got business experience and you wish to assume a role more of a mentor within blossoming new businesses that could use a guiding hand. You've got cash to invest into the right venture, where, when, and if required, but....you do not want to invest so much as to take control of a company.

    The world could use many more folks in your situation.

    As much as all of us would love to have your problem, what to call yourselves is an interesting one.

    I prefer to think of you as enablers. You can offer assitance to opportunities you deem worthy of your skillset. If a situation requires cash, you can make an investment to resolve a need or remove obsticles.

    In our city, Asian cultures offer a similar opportunity, where individuals with complimentary skill sets (accounting, sales, administration, etc), pool a fund of money, and invest with a recent immigrant or someone from within the community who wishes to begin a new business venture. This is referred to as a Golden Dragon.

    This group meets each month, and offer business advice, and look over the 'golden dragon's' financials. They mentor the new owner as need arises. The owner repays each of the investors in the golden dragon out of the profits of the new venture, if and when available. This continues until all the investors are paid out. The golden dragon then seeks a new opportunity, and the cycle repeats.

    Sound familiar?

    Call yourself whatever you want, but, spell out your mission statement clearly. Folks will find you soon enough, and you will have more opportunities knocking on your door than you can handle. I think in your situation, you could call yourself 'Four Guys in a Phone Booth', and nobody would really mind.

    If you were to take an interest in a venture who really needs, and appreciates your assistance and opportunity, I think I'd call you a Godsend.

    Best of luck, and much success to you, and those you choose to assist.

    Darcy Moen
    www.customerloyaltynetwork.com
  • Posted on 1/23/2006 at 12:39 PM Member
    I'll throw in my two cents for the positioning and naming parts.

    Although it's nice to straddle so many domains, you've got to differentiate to win business, especially being so small. If you guys can truly believe there is a sweet spot between VC and marketing (I do, since I don't see anyone doing it well), then go for that overlap. VCs provide the $, then sell all non-essential assets, and count the beans daily. Marketers spend too little time understanding the business and financial implications. You be the guys who "get it." Money plus well-executed marketing strategies = success.

    So, how to name? Creative names are nice, but if they are unpronounceable or obsequious (Altria anyone?), I think that spells trouble. Two ways you can go, but in either case I would use "partners" as that makes you more than a consultant - gives that VC flavor.

    1) Just take your last four initials (I don't know what they are so this is just an illustration). "MKHD Partners", with your tagline after. This is if you want to stress the capabilities and experiences you each bring to the table and lean a bit more in the VC direction.

    OR

    2) A name like "MarketLaunch Partners" that claims the sweet spot, and is fairly obvious as to what you do. Or "VentureLaunch Partners." Or the four of you take an hour and brainstorm on that basis.
  • Posted on 1/25/2006 at 6:08 AM Member
    H'llo Erick,

    It's been real interesting to read all the responses you've got for your query. Most of them have said the same things in different ways. SO, I'll spare you the trouble of going through yet another set of rules that have been already been spelt out for you in so many different ways. All proper and apt, as you, yourself have noted.

    Instead, allow me to bring in a woman's perspective into your business.

    What you would essentially do, is help others realise their dreams. Whether it is your expertise or money that you offer, then end result is helping others achieve their vision or attain their business objectives and thereby as I said realise their dreams.

    In this context, maybe you could call yourselves, ahem... "The Dream Merchants" I know it sounds cliched but.. so what? That's what you guys will be! Besides, think of the intrigue value your name would have... people would definitely be interested in getting to know u guys better.. what better opening would you need than that?

    And oh yeah.. dont forget to ask yourselves all the questions listed above and more importantly have the answers before you get your foot in through that door!

    All the best.
    Jane
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