business Archives : Page 5 of 17 : Ted Murphy

Steve Jobs – My iMentor

As you probably know by now Steve Jobs passed away today. I could go on and on about my passion for all things Apple; how I hope they can continue to innovate without him… but what really strikes me is the hole I feel in my gut right now.

Two people have stoked my entrepreneurial fire for as long as I can remember… my father who literally created me, cared for me, mentored me, and supported everything I have ever wanted to do… and Steve Jobs, a man who I have never met or corresponded with in any way (despite many attempts of mine).

Steve accomplished so many things in his life that I can’t possibly list them all, but I believe his biggest contribution to the world was being an iMentor. Steve’s boldness, perseverance, work ethic and incredible attention design have guided me without our physical paths ever crossing (though I was so close at one MacWorld). I can’t tell you how many times I have thought to myself “what would Steve do?” I know I drive my development team crazy at times and it is thanks to Steve teaching me that good isn’t good enough. I want things to be “insanely great” and I am not alone.

An entire generation of entrepreneurs have been iMentored by Steve. His mark extends far beyond the iPhone in your hand or the iMac on your desk. From movies to music to robots and quantum physics, the people that are changing the world draw strength from following Steve’s long road to success.

Steve taught me that disruptors are often hated before they are loved, that the best ideas come from your heart (not focus groups), and most importantly to never give up on something that you believe in (even if your board or investors do).

Apple burst on the scene with the Apple I & II and that was incredible, but what really impressed me was the long term commitment Steve made despite what seemed like insurmountable odds. Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy and Steve came back to transform the company with his vision and commitment to innovation.

I have been there. I have been running on vapor. I have had everyone tell me I was crazy. I have been told, “don’t waste any more of your money.” I have been told to “just give up.”

I knew Steve wouldn’t give up. My dad doesn’t give up. I never give up.

I am no Steve Jobs. There is only one. However, I do hope that in some way my actions, failures and success can iMentor a new generation of entrepreneurs, developers and designers following their dreams.

I will miss you Steve. Give iGod a high five for me. I will buy you a beer when it is my time.

Ted Murphy In business, inspiration

Adaptive Creativity

A few months ago I found myself sitting on a plane, staring at my computer screen, reminiscent of days gone by. I was looking through old screen shots and photos of projects I worked on when I was younger. From print design and logos to websites and videos, I used to spend the majority of my day pushing pixels, story boarding and drawing. I knocked down quite a few design awards in my day and I absolutely loved seeing my creative visions become a reality.

Things have changed over the years. I spend most of my day in meetings. I travel constantly. Inspiring brainstorms with designers and engineers on beanbags have largely been replaced with giant oak tables lined with lawyers, bankers and investors. I am pursuing the same dream, but in many ways it feels like I am living a different life. When I was in college I considered myself to be an artist that happened to be entrepreneur, in reality I am an entrepreneur that happens to be an artist.

I don’t think I am alone in this. Many founders struggle with identity issues as their organization grows and their roles change. Some fight it. I have chosen to adapt my creative energy to my changing role over time.

Creative Energy

You may think of yourself as a coder, a designer, a writer or photographer… but what you really are is a creative. You do things differently. You are an inventor… a visionary. Once you recognize that your true asset is raw creative energy, you can learn to adapt and convert that energy to overcome any challenge (and make any task fun).

Business as Usual + Unusual = Art

I spend a large part of my time these days meeting with people in suits. I am talking buttoned up, cuff link-wearing, hard-core wall street types. I could grab my suit and conform. I could be absorbed into the machine and “act like a public company CEO”. Instead I see these meetings as an opportunity to adapt my creative talent and demonstrate what makes our company special. I don’t want my meetings to be business as usual. I want to share what makes our business unusual.

I walk in wearing cowboy boots, jeans and the biggest smile they have ever seen. I yell with excitement. My pitch includes offbeat photos, jokes and enough passionate energy to power a small city. I blaze through 60 slides in 20 minutes. I rock their world.

I have spent hundreds of hours tweaking my investor presentation. It features photos and videos I have personally created. It is story that includes my wife, my dog, my trials of the past and vision of the future. It may not be a new website or logo, but when I deliver it in front of an audience it is art.

I am still an artist, I just paint with different tools. You can find an opportunity to adapt your creativity in virtually any job role. Every change is a new canvas begging for your paint.

(Except for accountants. Sorry, I don’t want you guys getting creative.)

Ted Murphy In business

Save Time with CardMunch

I have been on the road almost non-stop since the beginning of the year. Much of the time that I spend on the road is networking and meeting new people. I accumulate stacks of business cards every week and sadly not every card is maximized to its full potential. While I want to keep in touch with (almost) everyone I meet I never seem to get all the information entered into my address book.

I tried the card scanner route. It was a good idea, but unfortunately OCR just can’t deal with all the different variations in fonts, sizes and layouts that people have on their cards. That… and I really don’t want to spend what little time I have at home scanning in business cards.

Enter CardMuch

CardMunch is one of the best business productivity apps I have found to date. CardMuch allows you to take photos of business cards with your iPhone. I can do it at the airport or even on the plane. It then uploads the photo of the card to a server where actual humans enter data and review the information for accuracy. Once processed they synch the contact information back to your phone and create an address book record. Even better… it will auto send a LinkedIn invite so your contact data is never out of date. It’s free (for now anyway) and I love it.

Ted Murphy In travel

The Trick to Flying First Class

In October 2010 I did a post called General Boarding. In that post I explained what I do to save money when I travel and that I never ride first class. Oh how things have changed. As soon as I did that post I received numerous emails from other frequent fliers showing me different ways to “level up” on various carriers. This year I have been flying first class about 90% of the time, earning miles faster and actually saving money for IZEA in the process. While I still look for the lowest fares my carrier of choice is now Delta and I have gone from zero to Platinum status since October. I am going to share my dirty little travel secret with you. I have no affiliation with Delta or AMEX other than a being a loyal customer.

Medallion Qualification Segments

The key to leveling up on Delta is Medallion Qualification Segments (MQMs). You can earn traditional “Miles” in thousands of way, but MQMs are a different story. You can’t earn them from buying flowers, renting a car or eating out. You can’t buy them either. For the most part you have to travel the actual miles to earn MQMs. However, there are periodic promotions and other methods that allow you to rack up MQMs in a big way.

In November I scored 25,000 MQMs for transferring 50,000 AMEX rewards points to my Delta account. That is the difference between Silver and Gold Status. This promotion is no longer active, but I hope they bring it back in 2011. This got me way closer to my Platinum goal, but what put me over the edge was the American Express Delta Reserve Credit Card.

AMEX Delta Reserve Card

I have been an American Express customer since 1999. They are my credit card of choice for business and personal use. I love their service and was delighted when I found out that they had a special high end credit card for Delta. With this card you earn 10,000 MQMs with your first purchase and can earn an additional 30,000 MQMs if you spend $60,000 or more per year on your card – which is doable if you are using it for business expenses. In addition to the MQMs you also get some great benefits:

Check your first bag free (for up to nine people)
Access the Delta Sky Club (free booze, Internet and comfortable seats)
You can gift MQMs to other people
Annual companion certificate for a free ticket
Pay with miles lets you buy any ticket with miles without blackouts
24 Hour Concierge

At $450 the card is not cheap and the APR of 14.5% isn’t great, but if you are a frequent flyer that pays your bills every month (and has excellent credit) this is right up your alley. I have only had the card for a month and it has already paid for itself in baggage fees alone.

Ted Murphy In entrepreneurs

Know Your Nos

Over the past two months I have racked up nearly 25,000 miles bouncing from coast to coast pitching my butt off on ideas big and small. I would love to tell you that every time I walk in to a room people hand me a contract, but the reality is that rarely happens. People “need more time”, “need to circulate with colleagues” or “think it is interesting…” but at the end of the day what they really mean is NO…. or at least no right now.

No is probably the hardest word to hear as an entrepreneur, whether you are pitching your business to an investor or a project to a client. But no is part of the game. Nobody bats 100%, especially if you are pioneering a new space. Not only should you expect no, you should embrace no. No is your friend, because each no gets you one step closer to yes.

Your Failure Profile

Each time someone tells you no write it down. Better yet use a spreadsheet or database to track your nos more efficiently over time. I am a big fan of Salesforce.com, you can easily use their platform to track your failures. Record not only that you were shot down but why you were shot down. Was it price? What is time? Did a competitor have a better offering? Did the person you pitched “get it”?

Over time you will be able to develop what I call a Failure Profile. Your profile can tell you why you are failing and what type of success ratio you have when pitching your wares. This is important for two reasons:

1. You can address the reasons you are failing and modify your pitch to close more effectively in the future.

2. You get an understanding of your personal close ratio. That will help you determine how many nos you can expect to hear before you might get a yes.

Once you understand that each no gets you closer to a yes they are much easier to stomach. In fact, you become eager to cycle through nos faster in order to get to the yes. I heard a lot of nos over the past couple of months, but I finally got the one big yes I was after.

Ted Murphy In entrepreneurs

Dan Rua : VC Rock Star

Five years ago I launched PayPerPost.com with a controversial story in BusinessWeek. Shortly after the launch I was inundated with calls from venture capitalists looking to fund my idea and “help me take it to the next level”. My family has a long history with VCs and investors. My father raised funds and took a company public in the 80s, achieving a $250M market cap. Both of my brothers raised about $30M each from top tier VCs in the early 2000s. I have seen the ugly side of investors and venture capital. When VCs started calling in 2006 I wanted nothing to do with them… and then I met Dan Rua.

An Instant Connection

Most VCs will tell you that they don’t invest in technologies, they invest in people. Unfortunately most entrepreneurs don’t operate in the same way, either out of greed or desperation. I was lucky. I had an existing company that was doing very well, and PayPerPost was taking off like a rocket ship. I didn’t need money. I didn’t want to get in bed with new investors, but that all changed after a few weeks with Dan.

Dan and I connected instantly. When I shared my vision he not only understood it but he challenged me to think even bigger. I told him that I wasn’t really interested in raising money. He told me that we should have more conversations and I should meet some of his associates. Over the course of the next few weeks Dan and I spent a lot of time together. Within 90 days PayPerPost had $3M in the bank and a syndicate of top tier venture capitalists around the table. It all started with Dan and I am eternally grateful for all he has done.

For The Long Haul

Closing a round is one thing, building a company together is another. Like any company IZEA has had its fair share of ups and downs. Through it all Dan has been my rock. I bounce new ideas off of him, share my frustrations and fears, and celebrate the big wins. Over the past few years I can’t tell you how many times he has made the 4 hour commute from Gainesville to Orlando to lend a helping hand. He has been there for the lowest of lows and the highest of highs. Strong. Confident. Understanding but not afraid to tell me what I need to hear. An entrepreneurs VC in every sense of the term.

Lucky Me. Lucky You.

If you are a Florida technology entrepreneur you know that raising venture capital in this state is hard. Really hard. But things have been changing over the past few years. Dan’s firm Inflexion was the first (and still only) early stage fund to focus on Florida. They have made nine investments in companies to date, and there will be a larger Inflexion Fund II in the future. That is great news for Florida startups and something I am extremely excited about.

I lucked out when I found Dan. If you are a Florida entrepreneur (or an institutional / accredited investor looking to make a real difference in our economy) you should drop him a line. Having a money guy in your corner is great, but having a money guy that cares about you and knows what he is doing is even better. There is a reason why Dan is one of the most respected VCs in the industry. Dan Rua is a rock star.

Ted Murphy In inspiration

Warrior Dash

This morning I ran the Warrior Dash with my IZEA teammates Larry and Rhia. I have to say it was probably the most fun I have ever had running, partially because of the obstacles, mud and party atmosphere, but mostly because of the people I ran with. We were by no means the fastest team out there, but we had a great time, stuck together and “Rhia and The Sprinkles” crossed the finish line holding hands.

The Warrior Dash is a 3 mile run combined with a challenging and rugged terrain. Along the path you will encounter mud crawling, fire-leaping, balance beams and various other obstacles. It all ends in a big party, complete with a band, plenty of over-sized beers and giant turkey legs.

Great Team Building

My only regret for this years Warrior Dash was that I didn’t make it a bigger company wide initiative at IZEA. The race is short enough that everyone could have finished, yet challenging enough that you feel like you accomplished something. Next year I plan on having a company tent, spending the entire weekend in a camper and paying the entry fee for all the Izeans that want to participate. Unique events like this are true team building opportunities that foster team work, comradery and some incredible memories.

Ted Murphy In business

The Force Multiplier

Have you ever tried to dig a hole with your bare hands? You can do it, but it is slow. Grab a shovel and suddenly you can dig faster and deeper. Rent a backhoe and you can dig out a swimming pool in a matter of hours. The shovel and backhoe are examples of force multipliers. A force multiplier allows someone to accomplish a task with dramatically greater effectiveness, in this case digging a hole.

The term force multiplier has its roots in the military, but I believe the concept is applicable and relevant to business as well. Opportunities for force multiplication surround entrepreneurs, but they often aren’t thought of in that way. Things like training, recruitment, community, partnerships and even branding are all potential force multipliers.

Technology… The Low Hanging Fruit

Technology is the first place I would look for force multiplication in any business, because many technologies can simply be purchased. You can apply technology to most aspects of business, but the one that is most often ignored is the one sitting in front of you on your desk.

Many of us spend the majority of our day in front of our computers. We develop a deep dependence on them to accomplish our work. When they are slow we are slow. When they crash we crash. Yet businesses are often ridiculously slow to update computers because of the expense involved. New technology isn’t an expense… it is an advantage.

I recently saw an employee use a computer that had a 5.5″ inch floppy drive at a Budget Rental Car office. WTF! What decade are we in?

How much faster could that person process me if they were on a faster computer?
How many more customers could they process per day?
How much happier would I be as a customer?
How much more money would I ultimately spend?

Employees that run computationally intensive applications should have their computers updated once every 1-3 years. Standard office app and web users should be updated 3-5 years. The investment will pay for itself in efficiency as well as providing an additional boost to morale… it is two force multipliers for the price of one!

While you are at it don’t skimp on monitors. The productivity gain you will get from a larger monitor will pay for itself.

Photo Credit Tracer.ca

Ted Murphy In business, inspiration

Foosball Isn’t The Devil

For The Disruptors…

People fear what they don’t understand. There will always be those that down play the big idea, criticize it or even personally attack those behind it. Don’t let the naysayers get to you. Don’t let their small mindedness cause you to question yourself. Believe in what you are doing. Go against the grain. Make the dream a reality.

Most of all never ever stay off the field because others don’t like the game. Get out there and run like hell.

You can do it Bobby Boucher!

Ted Murphy In inspiration, life

Let’s Get Muddy

Tara and I recently returned from Maui. One of our goals for the trip was to see some waterfalls. We stopped at twin falls, one of the highlights along the road to Hana. We jumped out of our Jeep, grabbed our stuff and made a quick trek up to the waterfall just off the road. When we got there we were disappointed. Maui has been in a draught this year and there wasn’t really much of a waterfall. Water was barely trickling down the mountainside and the pool it flowed into was cloudy.

Just as we were about to head back to the Jeep a group of adventurous tourists appeared out of nowhere. They were covered in mud and out of breath. “There is another waterfall up this path,” one of them said. “You’ll get dirty but it is worth it”. Tara and I looked at each other, then back at the people who had just come down the mountain, then back at each other. “Let’s get muddy,” I said. Tara agreed and we started up the path.

Neither of us understood what we were getting into. Not only was the path covered in overgrowth, rocky and extremely slippery, it lead us to a 30 foot tall bridge that had a 2 foot wide path and no guard rails. I am not afraid of heights, but I didn’t like this bridge at all.

In the end it was definitely worth it. The waterfall was gorgeous. It was clear, cool and so remote it felt like our own special treasure.

Don’t Be Afraid of a Little Mud

Life is full of opportunities. The best opportunities often lie at the end of a trail that will leave you muddy, winded and a bit beaten up. Some people avoid the mud all together. Some people jump in and celebrate every dirty step forward. Life is simply too short to always play it safe.

Go on… it is time to get dirty.

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