Guest Post: Ad Venture

Each startup will be writing a guest blog to share the highs and lows that come with being an early stage startup. This is your chance to get a sneaky peek into what it is like to be part of Collider and even grab a chunk of wisdom on the way.

This week’s is written by Bob Haynes, the Director of Ad Venture.

Looking back through the 9 week programme, it is amazing to see how Ad Venture has changed, and that’s not just in reference to the name change!

As a team, prioritizing has never been one of our strongest points, and this has become even more evident during the Collider programme. It seems as if as soon as we believe things are under control, a client decides to throw in an obstacle which completely throws our weeks plans! Trying to fit in an important meeting in with a customer and an equally as important Collider day is virtually impossible. This was the case during the Unilever Brand day in week 5, but luckily it turned out not to be too much of a problem in the end.

The day at Unilever was probably the most valuable to date in terms of networking and giving us a brilliant opportunity to refine our pitch and analyse our strengths and weaknesses. Each 15 minute slot we were faced with a different point of view, and with that a different critique, some of which were completely foreign to us. One point, which was really interesting, was how targeting may not be as important as we thought. Head of strategy for Surf pointed this out to us and after so much positivity from other department heads, his comments brought us back down to earth. After delivering our elevator pitch he pretty much dismissed our product straight away explaining how his KPI was purely to reach as many people as possible, this made us really struggle for the next 14 minutes…

The rest of the ‘speed dates’ were great, and it was brilliant to hear other suggestions to how we can adapt out service for different brands. After the last round we were well and truly exhausted, but we came out with many follow up meetings and even a Unilever mentor!

Interview with Unilever's Digital Planning Manager Alex Dinsdale

I recently caught up with Alexandra Dinsdale, a Digital Planning Manager for Unilever, who is currently a mentor for Collider. We discussed the Collider experience, top tips for startups, and the wider startup community which is blossoming in the UK.  1. Hi Alex, thank you so much for taking the time to have this chat. To start off, please can you explain what you do on a daily basis as Digital Planning Manager for Unilever?

I partner our global brand development teams helping plan strategic marketing programs across digital channels. This includes selecting technology solutions, services and partners, as well as enabling the brands and categories to surface and share best practices.

2. What are your favourite websites or apps at the moment?

I’m a big fan of TheFancy.com, a website and app that brings together crowd-curated fashion, gadgets and places. Like Pinterest, it’s really visual and imagery-based, and I’m continually discovering weird and wonderful things that I want to buy, (but don’t necessarily need!). I also spend a lot of time using Flipboard on my iPad. The variety of stories, news, and content all brought together in a beautiful magazine format makes it very easy to become immersed.

3. What exciting ideas/prospects keep you awake at night?

Unilever’s ambition is to grow the business while reducing our environmental footprint and increase the positive contribution we make to society. For me, the opportunity to make Sustainable Living the centre of a brand’s proposition and find innovative ways to get these messages to our consumers is an incredibly exciting challenge. As technologies rapidly evolve, and consumption of media changes, there’s always a new opportunity to pilot something that’s not been done before.

4. What things might be a clincher when considering a deal with startups?

BRING MAGIC! Seeing real passion, energy and focus in the team. Also to keep it simple. Work out what the company stands for, and stick to this with a clear, targeted proposal.

5. Do you have any major no-nos in terms of pitches?

Do not baffle the audience with figures and science. Understand why your proposition would benefit the recipient in a clear, transparent approach.

6.  Accordingly, any things that you like to see during pitches?

To hear why the proposition is new and unique and how it could grow. Startups have the luxury of being able to adapt and change quickly. It would be great to see hunger, passion and agility come through during the pitch.

7. What are your opinions on startups knowing their figures and how exact they should be?

It’s important to have considered the revenue model so they are aware of their base costs, how they are able to monetize, and to be very aware of their audience. Ultimately who the proposition will appeal to. Firm figures aren’t completely necessary as they may change depending on the customer. Being open to further guidance is good.

8. What are your views on the UK startup scene, especially when compared with America?

The UK startup scene is very fresh and exciting. We worked with Betapond on our Waterworks initiative and were really impressed by their work, knowledge and ethos. For certain projects, the flexibility and new thinking startups offer is a great asset, as well as the ability to run fast and respond quickly. The US scene is more mature and better established. There is a huge amount to learn from the US globally.

9. What experience and feedback from mentoring process at Collider?

It has been a tremendously interesting experience. I am relatively new to ventures and startups, so it has been eye-opening in many ways. The startups I’ve mentored have asked great questions and are very receptive to feedback. I’ve loved seeing the updates and progress made between sessions. The video introductions were a great way to meet the startups initially and quickly gain a clear idea of who the team are and their business.

Thank you so much Alex, and we look forward to continuing to work with you. 

Tech of Tomorrow at Internet World!

Collider will run their Tech of Tomorrow pitching programme at Internet World on the 18th & 19th June within The Market Place Theatre. 

Collider's Tech of Tomorrow @ Internet Worldprogramme will allow a maximum of eight startups to present their innovative tech products/services to a panel of judges and to an audience of over a 100 professionals across the two days.

On the Wednesday, all eight startups will present in front of the judges and visitors then on the Thursday the winner will be announced and get the opportunity to speak about their winning product/service in front of a live audience.

How to get involved?

Collider will select six startups from their accelerator programme with the remaining two places up for grabs by applying through http://www.f6s.com/techoftomorrowinternetworld/apply. We will work closely with Collider to select the best two applications to join the other six on the stage!

*Booking opens Friday March 14th. Deadline for submission is April 18th.

Think you and your business have a viable tech product/service to present infront of a b2b audience? The winning startup will recieve free publicity and marketing around their product/service as well as a professional video of their presentation to be used as you wish! Follow Collider for the latest news on who has been accepted@ColliderGB

It costs nothing to enter the Tech of Tomorrow @ Internet World Programme, only time & creativity!

For further information please contact Orlaith @ iwmarketing@ubm.com 

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About Internet World

Internet World, founding event of London Technology Week, is the only event that enables you to define and deliver all aspects of your digital strategy; from online technology, business fulfilment and infrastructure to connectivity, legislation and online security.

Internet World also includes Big Data Show and in 2014 welcomes longstanding US brand Interop, thus becoming the most comprehensive face-to-face event for those defining or delivering their organisation’s digital strategy.

As a visitor to Internet World you will benefit from a cutting-edge education programme, practical workshops, training and networking with your peers.

Register free here – http://www.internetworld.co.uk/collider_reg/

@iw_expo  #iw2014

Guest Post: Why I Love/Hate the Mum Test

I hate the Mom’s test.... oh no, actually I love it! Each startup will be writing a guest blog to share the highs and lows that come with being an early stage startup. This is your chance to get a sneaky peek into what it is like to be part of Collider and even grab a chunk of wisdom on the way.

This week’s is written by Carl Wong, the Director of LivingLens.

 So as we reach the end of week 4 of the Collider programme, it turns out that it’s time for me to write my first ever blog.  Now, I can talk for England (‘Yes we know’ I can hear you thinking), but articulating engaging, witty prose in the written form is something I struggle with a little.  Who know’s why?  Maybe you do indeed, but regardless, be gentle with me should you decide to critique these first tentative efforts...

Anyhoo, end of week 4, and I think I know how it feels to be a dog, or perhaps more appropriately, a mayfly.  I feel like I’ve done 7 months worth of thinking and decision making in these last 25 days.  Each day finishes with me wishing we all lived on Pluto  in order to get more done (length of time it takes for Pluto to complete one rotation on its axis 6 days 9 hours 18 mins), albeit we’d probably be a little more chilly.  Here are a number of words I have added to my game of Investor Bingo recently;  Hypothesis, Use Case, Roadmap, Runway, Stable Release, Power Users, Pivot (we’ll come back to this one!), Dev Sprint, Elasticity (really not sure about this one), MVP, Follow-on.  I’ve yet to have a conversation with anyone in the world of Collider were I haven’t got 4 corners and a granny shouting house outside of 3 mins....

So let’s talk about the Pivot.  When does a small change or re-positioning become the fantastical Pivot, and when does a Pivot become a mistaken wild goose chase up one’s derrier?  It feel to me that LivingLens, our earstwhile market research video platform, is well on its way to pivoting.  Our small idea has grown a crystalis and is transforming into a BIG IDEA.  It fills me with both excitement and fear thinking of the possibilities, and the challenges of making it happen, but its genesis can be found a few weeks ago at the damn blasted Mom’s test session.  The Mom Test is a book by Rob Fitzpatrick.  The general vibe is How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you.   ‘Don’t go after the sale, focus upon Product Market fit.’ They said.  ‘ No, no, no!’ I screamed (sort of) – ‘I’m this close to the biggest decision makers I’ll meet, and I will therefore MAKE them love my product!’ I also screamed sort of.  Well, Rose slapped me about, and Miles made me read, and after some internal mental battles, and a fair whack of practice, turns out I was wrong.  Very, very wrong.

I love the Mom’s test.  Fact.  You won’t find a bigger convert around.  It has helped us massively.  By letting go of the sale, and treating each meeting like some market research fieldwork to glean problems and opportunities, we’ve uncovered some ‘truths’ we didn’t know existed.  These new ‘truths’ have transformed our thinking, and are evolving our video platform into putting the consumer in front of anyone, anywhere, using any device, effortlessly reaching precise consumer insight film within moments.  Our service will become a product. We’ll crawl the web as well as your content, and we’ll package it all up in the funkiest UX you’ll see.

Read the book, and let go of the sale.   It may up with a pivot, but it’s the only path to true success!

Want to work with startups?

/ COLLIDER SEEKS A PROGRAMME INTERN

Collider is an accelerator programme dedicated to startups which help brands understand, engage with and sell to customers. We are looking for an enthusiastic intern to assist our busy team in delivering an awesome programme to transform our startups into businesses.

/ MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• Community management – help creating and updating social media, blogs and our website ensuring all content is relevant and up to date

• Event management – support with venue booking, catering, general logistics before and at the event, diary invites, communications to any speakers, follow up etc

• Investor management – including management of funding plans for   startups, arranging investor events

• Governance – help with reporting, document completion

• Diary management – arranging coach, investor and brand meetings, booking meeting rooms, diary co-ordination etc /CONTACT

Please email your CV to rebecca@collider.io and we will be in touch.