Michael Tavani was the speaker at this March’s Atlanta event. Michael is the co-founder and head of product at Scoutmob, a venture-backed and nationally recognized local mobile company named one of the top apps in all categories by Wired and Mashable and one of the country’s most promising companies by Forbes.
He speaks on the Top 43 Lessons he learned the hard way, covering everything from launching viral marketing campaigns to hiring great employees. Read through them below.
Now is the best time in the history of the world to start something.
It’s doesn’t have to be a company, it can be a project, a nonprofit, a film..
Everyone has distribution to the whole entire world.
If you’re a creative, you’re only limited by your creativity.
There is no perfect idea.
No great ideas are great on paper.
Jump in.
It hurts.
You’ll figure it out on the way down.
It’s hard to learn from the sidelines.
It’s all about execution.
If you can execute, a good or bad idea, you can make it happen.
The idea is 1%.
Tell everyone your idea.
When you tell people your ideas, you get more from them.
Find a wingman with complementary skills.
You can’t do it by yourself.
Hire for passion. You want to have passionate people.
Send potential employees an industry article. See how they respond.
Passion is the key.
Do unscalable stuff.
You need to be a do-er.
Do stuff even an intern wouldn’t do.
Tap your local market.
Grow your initial base.
Brand is huge.
Before you do anything, create something remarkable.
If people don’t like your product, the rest doesn’t matter.
Hire a designer and copywriter.
People have to enjoy and like using your product.
Take opportunities and risks to build brands from the ground up.
Delight in all places. Even the smallest of details.
Hide Easter eggs. Everywhere.
Average loses on the web every single time.
Your competitor is a click away.
Don’t be average.
Brand, not technology, is the great differentiator.
No one shares a shitty brand.
T-shirt test: The company that’s created a solid brand is a company whose t-shirt you would want to wear.
There are a million ways to make it happen.
It’s easy to make an impact in Atlanta.
Nothing better than being in the game.
No Ugly Duckling 