I retired from personal blogging in July 2008.
But you can find me over at http://blog.xero.com.
I’ve had a fairly positive run in the media of late but this article in ComputerWorld was a great example of just how careful you have to be with what you say.
It came from a workshop that a few of us did in conjunction with Unlimited Potential and NZTE. We wanted to do a 4 hour workshop where we could really dive deep into some of the subjects that affect young companies. It was great fun and I think high value. The media was invited along by the organizer - its amazing what ends up coming out the end of the process.
In the industry Dumb Money refers to capital that comes from people that are not experts in your particular space. Its an awful term when you read in in print but its one of those industry speak things that you throw out without even thinking. Our industry is full of them.
RTFM (Read The Manual) is an old classic.
In our office “You had me at hello” means “I’m there. Stop selling. Next point”.
Actually a new one that entered the office with Fletch (he claims) and I was Craig’ed with today is “I’m picking up, what your putting down”, which I believe means “I get your point”.
Anyhoo, my point on my 60 second dumb money rant was challenging the young entrepreneurs in the room if it mattered where they got money from. They just needed some. Access to capital was their biggest barrier to committing to their business. Getting smart advice perhaps was a second priority because they were the passionate experts that just need to get to the next step. I wasn’t even saying that was right I was just throwing out a challenging statement - as I’m prone to do.
In the case of AfterMail, our non industry expert (dumb) angel money was a super smart guy who added a huge amount of value to our business and played a big role in doing our deal. I learnt a huge amount off him and will often ask for advice.
So I cringed when I saw that article.
My lesson is your lesson. Be very careful about what you say when there is media in the room.
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I don’t think it reads that badly. I think your point comes across.
Rod, you are right about being careful. I felt it on my own skin when I first read that article and then listened to you in one of those NZTE classes in Green House.
From the beginner’s point of you your advice about “dumb $$$” sounds a bit arrogant (I’m sure it wasn’t meant that way, but it’s just what I thought then). The problem is not only where I gonna get the money, but “where to next”. I’m sure many beginners will be worried accepting the $$$ if they didn’t know “where to next”.
The other thing is the weight of your words. When people came out of that class they were just stunned. They all went away thinking and very energised. What you say is affecting people because they listen to what you say carefully.
When I asked you what I thought was a sophisticated marketing question you gave me a very unsophisticated answer “Blog, blog, blog”. Few days of digesting the answer changed my thinking 180 degrees.
Thanx for sharing your experience!
Cheers,
Max
Good point on being careful when media is in the room but may be better to just be careful all the time in front of reasonable sized audiences. That said, I reckon Stephen is always keen to get a response from his good copy. He did this time.
I agree the article doesn’t read that badly, but one has to be careful. Plus, as an insider, given recent press hasn’t been exactly accurate about the final Aftermail sale amount and have emphasised the role played by you and not mentioned others, one has to roll with the punches.