Creators of new products in environments of extreme uncertainty, startups face enormous risks.
In the US, about 50% of small businesses fail in the first five years. Insufficient capital, over investment, and low sales are just some of the reasons leading to this sobering statistic.
As a startup owner, what can you do to “growth hack” your business and improve your chances of success?
What are entrepreneurs and business builders made of? Who should you bring to your team at different stages of growth, and why?
The answers, according to venture capitalists and business leaders Anthony K. Tjan, Richard J. Harrington and Tsun-Yan Hsieh, are contained their book Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck (HSGL). Tackling the human aspect of entrepreneurship, leadership and management, the book surmised that each of us are biased towards one of four traits – namely heart, smarts, guts, or luck – in our decision-making processes.
Can you guess what my name is? (courtesy of Film Quest)
Secrets. Mysteries. Codes. Puzzles. Riddles.
These are the stuff of books, movies, television programmes and radio shows. They tease us, allure us, and tempt us, drawing us deep into an enshrouded shrine of enchantment where magic potions and incantations are formulated.
Image courtesy of MD Journey
Writing is an art and a science. Often, it involves the right alchemy of formula, focus and flow.
Effective writing of internal “pitch” documents is an important managerial skill. Through well articulated plans, proposals and submissions, one can lobby for much needed budgets, manpower or other resources to support one’s work.
27 year old Melvin Ong (above) has a vision. And that is to be the king of fries in Singapore.
Together with his partner Steve Tan (also 27), Melvin owns and operates What The Fries! – a snack food outlet located at the basement of J Cube Mall. With the cheeky acronym WTF, the stall has been in operation slightly over a year (it opened on 2 Apr 2012). It serves savoury snacks like Golden Nuggets, Mexicali Wings, Roasted Drumlets, Sunny Hunny Wings, and lots of fries.
Imagine watching a magical performance by David Copperfield.
Rather than dazzle you with his breathtaking acts, Copperfield regales you the audience with his childhood story. He relates how his grandfather – a crusty old man – never gave Copperfield or his father the approval they craved.
Ahh the wonders of 3D. If only we can get rid of those ugly 3D glasses…
Well, apparently, now we can. In a world’s first for Singapore, A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), together with Temasek Polytechnic (TP), has developed a new plastic film which empowers your handheld device to display 3D images and videos. This nano-engineered screen protector allows you to view 3D movies and photos using your smartphones and tablets without needing to wear those pesky red and green spectacles!
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Customer service is one of the most talked about topics in Singapore. Hell hath no fury like a Singaporean customer scorned. At the same time, we have this incredible obsession to share what we eat, wear, buy and do, often with “value-added” comments (“yay” or “nay”).
Unfortunately, retailers and F&B operators are often oblivious of what their customers think. While a few do trawl the web to search for answers (good or bad), most continue their operations in blissful ignorance.
Image courtesy of Desk Topped
Screens, screens and more screens.
With smartphones, tablets, laptops, and of course the good old TV (or Apple TV for the gadget geeks) and cinema, everybody is staring at an electronic device. Lifestyles have certainly changed in the hyper-connected new social era, enabled by digital gadgets that are perpetually connected to the web.
