What Do You Want Us To Do Next? Oct 07 Jason Moore

We are very excited to announce bigWebApps' use of Uservoice to help guide us in our on-going development of HelpDesk.

How Uservoice works:

1. You can vote anonymously, but it is much more effective if you create an account before voting.  We highly recommend that you login, so we can have on-going conversations with you about your feedback.
2. After you have logged in, read through the list of suggested features that have been submitted.  If you see one that you like, give it 1-3 of your votes (you have a total of 10 votes).
3. If you do not find a feature that you would like to see added, you have the ability to add to the list.  Type a title of the feature in the "I suggest you..." box.  Please be descriptive so others will know what particular feature you are referring to.
4. Scoring System (what your vote means):
   1. "That sounds like a good feature"
   2. "I would like to have that feature"
   3. "I really need this feature"
5. Once you have used up all of your votes, there are two things you can do:
   1. Wait.... I know.  That's no fun.  But as we complete projects on this list that you have voted on, your votes will be returned to your pool.
   2. Update your preferences by changing your votes.  You have the ability to remove and/or change the votes that you cast for a particular feature at any time.
6. Now that you have read the instructions, go play!  Visit the site specific to bigWebApps HelpDesk: http://bigwebapps.uservoice.com/

NOTE: This tool is for new features only.  If you have a question about HelpDesk or need to report a bug, please send an email to support@bigwebapps.com.  This will create a support ticket in our version of HelpDesk, so we both can stay updated on the progress.

NOTE2: This is a new tool both in the marketplace and for bigWebApps.  Our intention is to give you an even bigger voice in our development road map.  There may be bumps along the way, but as we work together we will continue to improve HelpDesk for your needs.

See you there!

Working with our Customers Oct 06 Patrick Clements

We always have a development road map for our applications that extend a mile long.  Just when we think we have come to the end of a feature list a whole new set of doors open up and provides new opportunities with how our applications can help our clients.  This is the nature of software and if you aren't innovating you are probably dyeing.  This is good for us because we enjoy software development and creating new cool technologies.  The struggle then becomes which feature set becomes next in line.  This is the not so fun part.  The bigWebApps teams does a great job in listening to our customers and to our prospects on what they would like to have in a complete solution.  We document each feedback and note who, when, why, and what so we can always come back and get a clearer understanding of what is being requested.  The tough part  for us is determining which ideas would have a the largest direct impact on the community at large.  Which feature would be felt in removing some overdue pain points.  Although often times the squeaking wheel does get the grease we try to be very thorough in making sure what is next up in development is universal.  However, often times we have long term quality clients that have a request or a series of requests that just don't get ranked high on the development road map.  In effort to address this we have begun to test out a new process allowing our client to take ownership of the development and to customize the application based on their needs.  This would give the clients access to a development team to customize the solution to meet their needs.  This process does have some limitations as bigWebApps project managers have to approve of the feature development due to the customization will be introduced into the single source code.  The client also has to to agree that all intellectual property will be assigned to bigWebApps.  The advantages to the client is they receive access to custom development quickly allowing them to get the solution they need.  This is a new step for us and we are testing it out to see how it goes.  Stay tuned to see how it works out!

Building a Better Board of Directors/Advisors Oct 03 Jason Moore

I had the pleasure of attending the Owen Entrepreneurship Breakfast hosted by Vanderbilt's Owen School of Management this morning.  The panel was fantastic; made up of Bruce Lynskey, Jim Usdan, and Debra Fish.  The open floor discussion covered the process and ideas behind building a better Board of Directors or Board of Advisors for your company.

Of course, there were a lot of things discussed that can be passed off as common knowledge but listening to real stories and experiences solidify those thoughts with me.

Below are my bullet-point notes:

• Build a board based upon your company's weaknesses
• Do not rush building a board with a startup
• Members should have real world experience in your industry and specifically with the weaknesses that you are trying to fill
• Do not fill your position with people who gained their "experience" from serving on similar boards
• Advisory Board seats are most effectively filled by "connectors"
• There is little difference between an AB member and a paid consultant.  The AB member is will to accept stock options as payment :)
• Make finite relationship rules very clear from the on-set
• Get a commitment from them for a certain number of hours per quarter, so their expectations are in line with yours
• For both types of boards, be clear at the beginning and continue to reinforce your original message throughout the relationship.  This includes items that would end the relationship.
• Prior to a board meeting, have a preparation meeting for any management that will be present to make the board's time effective
• The main tasks for a board is to hire, develop, and/or fire the CEO
• ...thus protecting the shareholders
• KEY POINT: The best companies are the ones that have the absolute intention to be a great independent company.
• Let the VC's/Investors worry about your exits
• Simply concentrate on building and sustaining the best company in your industry
• If something else happens: great!  But don't build your company around that.

The panel was made up of three diverse viewpoints on this topic and it made for a great discussion. 

Ms. Fish is a corporate psychologist who helps companies plan for building their boards. 

Mr. Usdan is a former serial entrepreneur, serial board member, and currently venture capital partner.

Mr. Lynskey is a Clinical Professor of Management in Entrepreneurship at Vanderbilt's Owen School as well as an experienced start up entrepreneur.

What is ITIL? Sep 25 Patrick Clements

 

ITIL defined by Wikipedia is a set of concepts and techniques for managing information technology infrastructure, development, and operations.  It is concepts that were developed to begin merging IT management with the overall business objectives.  This is really a positive movement in customer service and support. Traditionally companies usually tend to get in their own little silos and say 'Hey, my department is doing their job...everything works well over here' without interfacing with the other business units.  IT departments (from my own personal experience) are the worse at doing this.  What ITIL brings to the table is taking off the blinders and making each department unit operate with the same goals...the goals of the business.  Engaging the customer, creating visibility, assigning accountability, and implementing continuous improvements, these are the basic idea on what the ITIL framework is able to provide. This is not to say that ITIL itself is a simple quick fix.  It's pretty weighty and lives among the same standards that you would find in Six Sigma or the ISO standards. These standards are definitely overkill for a small to medium size company, however the underlying concepts are what are important.  It is our mission to understand the methodology of ITIL and boil it down to something that is tangible and possible for our customers via our web hosted solutions. 

ITIL is a continuous learning and improvement process and we would always be open to hear your thoughts and feedback on how we can move closer to these standards.  IT management of customer service is a growing need and ITIL is providing a map for best practices.

START Atlanta helps to launch new technology businesses Sep 08 Patrick Clements

START Atlanta, a non-profit organization started by local Atlanta entrepreneurs is holding a kickoff event the weekend of September 19-21 to bring together Atlanta-based angel investors, VC's and Atlanta entrepreneurs to help connect the Atlanta Startup Community.

The vision of START Atlanta is to provide the Atlanta early-stage technology startup community access to knowledge and capital necessary to launch new businesses. START Atlanta focuses on very early-stage companies in Atlanta that are typically below the radar of the angel and VC community. The funding needed for these companies to reach their first milestone is usually between $15k to $50k. START Atlanta plans to help companies network within the Atlanta startup community and to help raise the needed capital to build these companies to a level where they can seek additional rounds from angels or higher.  START Atlanta's technology platform will also make it easy to allow investors to invest in smaller amounts and help bring transparency to the local technology companies.

"This is a fundamental need we see as local entrepreneurs." says Patrick Clements, one of START Atlanta's co-founders. "Based on some frustrations with the current technology startup ecosystem, a group of local entrepreneurs decided to propose a solution as a way to give back to the community and to help start new ventures that don't require the same type of investment capital seen in more traditional businesses."

Companies that participate in START Atlanta will have to network online and attend various offline events to interact with each other and investors. The companies will have access to online resources, peer knowledge, and tools to help them succeed. Investors will have the ability to invest in small amounts with collaborative results, and the ability to research and track their investments' milestones.
Alan Pinstein, another START Atlanta co-founder added "For any community, you get what you put into it.  The goal of this non-profit is to grow and foster the local startup community. We want to show that you can hit home runs in Atlanta if you have an idea, a team, funding and a supportive community."

START Atlanta will begin with a kickoff event the weekend of September 19th to gauge the needs from both entrepreneurs and investors. START Atlanta is anticipating around 45-50 people at the event made up of entrepreneurs, lawyers, developers, designers, investors, and anyone else interested in the success and growth of the Atlanta Startup Community. Please refer to www.startatlanta.org for information, schedules and registration details.

About START Atlanta

START Atlanta was conceived by Atlanta entrepreneurs, more specifically, members of the Atlanta Midtown Gang of 5 (Mathew Sweezey, Duncan Freeman, Wei Yang,  Patrick Clements, Ray Abram, Alan Pinstein, Josh Watts, Paul Stamatiou and Loren Norman). START Atlanta is a non-profit organization set up to help foster better startup companies and bring investors new opportunities with smaller outlays of capital.

About Gang of Five

Far too many entrepreneurs unwittingly forego perhaps the single biggest resource they can tap on - other entrepreneurs!  So the idea came about to get a group of Startup companies together once a week to help each other out. The Atlanta Gang of Five was originally formed by Scott Burkett.  To get help setting up your own Gang of 5, please contact Mathew Sweezey.

What? No Early Termination Charge? Aug 04 Jason Moore

Recently, I posted an answer on LinkedIn's Q&A section about SaaS contract terms.  Instead of using examples and vague descriptions, I sent our primary subscription contract to him for review.

Here was the response that I received:

Jason:
What happens if a customer just wants to cancel early, no breach of contract involved?
Is there an early termination fee?
Thanks,
<Name edited out>

My response:

Our approach to customer relationships is very centered on satisfying them.  On one year contracts, if they cancel we will refund them a pro-rated amount equal to time left.  On a multi-year contract, the only thing extra they will owe us is any discounts that were given for the multiple years.

We do not charge a penalty for our clients to cancel because we feel that it is a failure on our part to deliver what we promised.  It may be that they simply did not put the effort into implementing, but that could be partially our fault as well for not giving them the proper tools to assist in the process.

One of the primary inspirations for our approach this (and other aspects of our business culture) has been Seth Godin's blog and his relentless approach on businesses not being satisfied with where they are.

If you are looking for outside ideas to help shape your business/organization, and you are not following Seth's blog now is the time.  His insight and creative approach to being remarkable is a great tool... and it's free!

It's been three weeks since my response.  My assumption is that my answer was not what he was looking for.  I bet he's not listening to Seth!

R.I.P. Randy Pausch Jul 25 Jason Moore

The brilliantly motivated author of "The Last Lecture" passed away today after an extremely inspiring approach to news that tends to numb others.  We are all better people by being inspired by Randy and his story.

The Last Lecture

R.I.P.

Naming Your Company Jul 03 Jason Moore

Are you stuck in the process of finding that perfect name for your company?  Are you discussing the option of paying a naming consultation firm (c'mon, man)?

Here's a checklist of things not to do.  The rest will more than likely not matter much.

1. Can people clearly understand you when you say the name over the phone?
2. Can people easily spell it?  This is key when you think about email suffixes.
3. Does it make people immediately think of a product that has nothing to do with who you are or want to be?
4. Try not to go the 2.0 route of not using vowels... unless, of course, that is the image that you want to portray.

If you avoid these mistakes, you will more than likely be just fine.  See the example below.  And notice that they have been in business for over 120 years!

This grocery store was located across the street from our hotel in San Antonio during our trip to the NECC 2008 this week.

NECC 2008 Wrap-Up Jul 02 Jason Moore

NECC 2008 has come to close, and I am now sitting at the airport.  The show was great this year.  Despite a booth location that was MUCH less than desirable, we had the honor of meeting several great folks from all around the country.

Dana Smith from Arlington Public Schools in Virginia blew me away with her ideology and approach to support in a school district.  From our brief conversation, she was able to articulate a few of the ideas that we think are paramount to an IT support team evolving from a break/fix reactive team to a proactive customer service department.  This is difficult enough when training reps who are working with paying clients.  It is far more difficult to try and convince your support staff these ideals when their primary focus is servicing co-workers.

No matter what environment you work in, remember your support may be the only avenue the end user has to getting back to doing their job.  In Dana's situation that means teachers having the ability to get back to teaching students.

Thanks to Dana and all of the great people who stopped by to say hi!  You served as a great reminder as to why we are passionate about the opportunity to help people improve their customer support process.

See you next year in D.C.

Early Bootstrapping Lessons Jun 27 Jason Moore

Dr. Jeff Cornwall from the Entrepreneurial Mind blog posted a series on creating and maintaining a bootstrapping culture in your business.  This is a topic that is near and dear to the bigWebApps' heart.

It just so happened that I learned bootstrapping at an early age and from an unlikely source.  I attended a small private school through the 8th grade.  Small and private, contrary to initial thoughts, usually means very low budgets.  And our track team was the epitome of a bootstrapping culture.

I ran hurdles... otherwise know as "hurdle" during practice.  OK. OK.  We had TWO hurdles that we set up in the back alley behind the school.  The only time anyone on our team actually saw a full series of hurdles was at a track meet against schools who most definitely had more than two!

Our pole-vaulter (just so happens to be bigWebApps' CEO, Patrick Clements) was the biggest champion of the bootstrapping efforts, though.  Our pole had as much flexibility as lead and the very safe landing mat was (not kidding) a mesh net with some not-so-foamy objects stuffed in.  It appeared to me that someone had visited the dumpster of a local carpeting store and selected the finest (but under-appreciated) scraps of carpet padding available.

In the 7+ years since we founded bigWebApps, we have created some great products, formed and cultivated some amazing relationships with clients, and improved our overall business intelligence.  But there really is one primary reason why bigWebApps was able to survive those dreaded first 5 years for new businesses: Our CEO, Patrick, was diligent (read "downright stubborn" at times) about keeping costs low whenever and wherever possible.  --I'll save our early hotel and rental car accommodations for a later date!

The bootstrapping culture has been set.  Dr. Cornwall's posts will give you ideas for other areas (such as how to hire other bootstrappers) where you can cultivate the bootstrapping culture.

And thanks to the Holy Name Cardinals' non-existent budget for teaching us early lessons!

Other posts in Dr. Cornwall's series: Recruiting Bootstrappers, Rewarding Bootstrappers, and Bootstrapping Top Down