#23: When to start a company, "I made that b*tch famous," the importance of high potential hires...
Tomorrow is Monday, people. Let's all start the week like Gaga:
In edition #23 of the World's Best Newsletter:
1. When to Start a Company
2. The Importance of "High-Potential" Hires
3. Marketers: Dust Off Those Personas and Use Them
4. Because I'm a Girl
5. The MVP is Dead. Long Live the RAT.
6. What Makes This one of TEDs Most Popular Talks?
7. "I Made That B*tch Famous"
8. Gloria Steinem: Women Have 'Chick Flicks.' What About Men?
9. Quote of the Week
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Here we go!
1. When to Start a Company
Read my latest on LinkedIn, in which I share my Carrie Bradshaw moment during a Female Founders night at Venture Cafe last week.
"Throughout the evening I couldn’t help but wonder…. when should you start a company?"
2. The Importance of "High-Potential" Hires
Julie Weill Persofsky explains - you need to find "high potentials" in the early days of a business. Compared to co-founder types, and junior aspirationals (both of which are important) these hires,
"are on the lower end of salary expectations, believe in the cause, and work their asses off. They are self motivated, require minimal direction, and want to learn. What drives them is the massive potential in career growth, and you’ve got to help them nurture that. They are team players and potential captains."
3. Marketers: Dust Off Those Personas and Use Them
I was interviewed for CMSWire about the B2B Buyer Persona study we conducted at Cintell.
One reasons personas often fail to gain traction outside of Marketing is that they're not treated as a collaborative effort, but rather a marketing mandate. “Often times the marketing team will publish personas because, after all, it's their job to do so. But without first gaining some buy-in from other teams (who operate under their own understanding of the buyer), including executives, and sales teams there's understandable scrutiny of the final product.”
4. Because I'm a Girl
Hubspot's Katie Burke eloquently shares a rebuttal to the moronic (but all-too-prevalent) haters who respond to promotions like her recent boost to Chief People Officer with "everyone knows you got the position because you're a girl."
She also explains that every woman who works in tech (.... every woman on Earth) hears "because you're a girl" dozens if not thousands of times in her life, starting from a young age. It's a well-written piece from someone whose success is well-deserved.
5. The MVP is Dead. Long Live the RAT.
Why you should focus on Riskiest Assumption Tests and forget about MVPs.
"MVP is used so much it’s lost its original meaning. It’s often mistakenly applied to the first release of a rudimentary product. As a result, the “MVP” ends up much more complex than the quick test it was supposed to be and far too shoddy for a released product."
6. What Makes This one of TEDs Most Popular Talks?
The TEDxSomerville talk I did a while ago remains one of the scariest things I've ever done. But, to prepare, I watched dozens (ok hundreds) of TED videos. You can learn a lot from these compelling, engaging presentations. If you've got a talk coming up, read this piece, which breaks down why one of last year's most popular TED talks was so successful, including time management, early reveal of the premise, judicious use of slides, clear language, personal touches, and natural gesturing.
7. "I Made That B*tch Famous"
Happy women's month. Here's a brief history of men taking credit for women's accomplishments, including:
cave paintings
Frankenstein
The first software
Monopoly
Nuclear fission
The song "Hound Dog"
8. Gloria Steinem: Women Have 'Chick Flicks.' What About Men?
"Adjectives are mostly required of the less powerful. Thus, there are 'novelists' and 'female novelists,' 'African-American doctors' but not 'European- American doctors,' 'gay soldiers' but not 'heterosexual soldiers,' 'transgender activists' but not 'cisgender activists.' As has been true forever, the person with the power takes the noun — and the norm — while the less powerful requires an adjective...Bias is, as always, unfair to everyone."
9. Quote of the week - in honor of International Women's Day on Wednesday March 8th.
"Feminism isn't about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength." - G.D. Anderson
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Have a fantastic week,
Katie