The Startup Swami

A few weeks ago (on Friday Feb 19th) I was invited to be a guest on HubSpot.tv. The show is a weekly video podcast covering inbound marketing news of the week. It's hosted by Karen Rubin & Mike Volpe.

The show was great, and I really enjoyed participating. If you missed it, and would like to take a look,  all of the old episodes are in iTunes: http://itunes.hubspot.tv/ 

I thought I would provide a quick top 10 of what I saw "behind the scenes" during my visit to HubSpot.tv.

1. The HubSpot offices are located in the heart of Kendall Square in the One Broadway building. Parking isn't cheap.
2. The office layout is very open -- and right outside the HubSpot.tv room there are rows and rows of salespeople taking calls. It's pretty impressive for a "startup."
3. The filming of the show takes place in an open room with a ping pong table, drum set, and cooler full of beverages (beer).
4. Besides Karen and Mike, there are a number of other folks that assist in the production of the show. I didn't catch all of their names, but they were very nice people.
5. A few minutes before the taping started, I was emailed some notes about the show (I was told that I'd get them in the morning, but apparently things were running a bit behind that day). So I read them in detail for the first time on air! 
6. I was repeatedly told not to lean on the desk that we all sat behind. Of course, I still managed to lean on it -- and they were right, it's not sturdy.
7. To my knowledge, Mike Volpe did not wear makeup during the show. Maybe he just wears some everyday...
8. Yes, I was drinking beer in my Hubspot mug. Sam Adams.
9. Karen is as energetic on camera as she is off. I think it would be fun to go to Vegas with her and the HubSpot team.
10. The room was full of HubSpotters during the show -- including Brian Halligan (the CEO of HubSpot). There were also other tech folks that came in to the office to see the show. Many people came up to me after the show and were very appreciative.

All in all, it was a great experience being a guest on HubSpot.tv. I hope that Karen and Mike will invite me back someday!

The Startup Swami has been a little busy these days -- more juicy posts will be coming soon. In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy reading the office manager job description that I posted to Craigslist last night. I spent some time thinking about how to find a great person who has the right mindset and demeanor to fit in at Punchbowl. And this job description is what came out of that thinking. Every question in the job description has a purpose, and I've gotten some very interesting emails today as a result. What do you think? Do you think I'll find a great office manager with this job posting?

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We're a small consumer Internet start-up company in Framingham, and we're looking for a part-time office manager. The ideal candidate will be available from 11-2pm every day of the week, and is comfortable with the rapid nature of a tech startup. The Office Manager reports to the CEO. Our CEO is a smart but demanding person who wants an office manager with raw intelligence, a superior memory for details, and a great sense of humor. Rather than sending a resume (which we really don't want to read), please email a quick summary of your work/life experiences and answer the following questions:

1) Including the current President, who were the last six Presidents of the United States?
2) Fill in the blanks: When I see a _______ I always ________
3) Do you like American Idol? Why or why not?
4) My favorite beer is ___________ from ____________
5) The last website I visited before Craigslist was ___________
6) The email address I used to create an account on MyPunchbowl.com is __________

BONUS: Find a picture of a cute puppy online. Send a link to the picture.

This is the kind of post that I want have on this blog; brutal, honest, and raw. These are my stream of consciousness thoughts after a bad day.

I was a crappy CEO today. I was a bad leader, ineffective at my job, and a jerk to those around me. I pride myself on being a great leader and a great boss. Today I failed. Why? It pretty much comes down to one thing: I was exhausted. I needed a break. So I finally left work at around 5:00pm, and I came home and slept until 9:00pm. I feel better. I'm more rational, and calmer.

So what happened? I'm a new dad, and while I love my little daughter, it's overwhelming to be a new dad. I don't have nearly enough time in the day anymore. It's not that it's particularly hard to be a dad -- it's just time-consuming. I used to be able to "catch-up" on work in the evenings and weekends. I don't have time to do that anymore. Yes, it's hard to be a CEO of a start-up and a new dad.

When I'm tired (exhausted), everything becomes overwhelming. Small tasks become big, and I become very inefficient. I spend just as much time thinking about how overwhelmed I feel as I do actually trying to accomplish tasks. I know that I'm being ineffective, but that doesn't make it easier. My inbox piles up, and my attitude stinks. That's how I feel when I am really tired.

As the CEO, I set the tone for the company. I try to do my best everyday, but sometimes I fail. Today was one of those days. Case in point: I had a meeting today about a difficult problem, and I was an asshole the entire meeting. Instead of taking a productive approach that could have led to progress, I spent the entire meeting being defensive and ineffective. To those of you in that meeting today, I'm sorry. You deserve better.

When I'm tired and burnt out, everyone in the office feels my stress. I'm aware of this, and I try to keep to myself. But that's not how people are used to seeing me act. I know I impact the tone in the office when I feel this way. To everyone in the office who felt the bad vibe today, I'm sorry. You deserve better.

If you're reading this and feel exhausted, do everyone around you a favor: go to sleep. Sometimes the only solution is sleep. And that's ok. I'm going to go to bed now so I really get refreshed. Tomorrow is a new day.

Talk to any great entrepreneur in any business, and you'll find that behind the business is a personal story that relates to the business. In my case, my fascination with Groundhog Day was somewhat of an inspiration for MyPunchbowl. Allow me to explain...

For as long as I can remember, my favorite holiday has been Groundhog Day. I think it all began because I wanted to be a weatherman. I studied weather during a daytime summer camp at Garvies Point in Long Island when I was about 7 or 8 years old. I loved the idea that meteorologists stood in front of a green screen and didn't even see the weather maps! But I've never been strong in math, so my interest waned as I learned how many computations are involved in predicting the weather. My interest in weather was piqued again when I learned that there was a furry rodent who predicted the weather (without math!) each year who lived in a town called Punxsutawney. I was hooked.

My love for Groundhog Day reached new heights when the movie Groundhog Day came out in 1993. As a student at the University of Rochester, I had a new way to share the revelry with my classmates. So I dressed up in a suit, and wished everybody a happy Groundhog Day.

Fast forward to 1997, and I made my (infamous) solo trip to Punxsutawney, PA to meet the Seer of Seers. The night before I left for the twelve hour trip, we had a small party with a few friends. That was the first annual party, and this year will be party #14. Each year has been more elaborate than the last, and fun has been had by many. I've written about Groundhog Day on the Punchbowl company in years past. Here's my Groundhog Day post from 2007, my preparations from our 12th annual party in 2008, and another blog post after the party from 2008.

For 2010, I wanted to do something special for Groundhog Day-- so on a whim, I picked up the phone and called the folks who developed Groundhog.org. I told them that I wanted to partner with the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club and create an eCards site. After a little negotiation, we signed an agreement with Groundhog.org to become the exclusive provider of Groundhog Day eCards. This morning, we made the official Groundhog Day press announcement.

When I started Punchbowl, I had a few dreams that I wanted to fulfill. Today I can cross one of them off of the list. Punchbowl is an official partner of the Groundhog Day festivities and close partners with the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. Awesome. Happy Groundhog Day!

When people ask what I do for a living, I typically say that I run my own company. Depending on the audience, I'll mention that the company is VC-backed, or that I'm the CEO of a consumer-internet startup. Unless I'm asked, I usually don't get into the details.

In the same conversation, I'm invariably asked, "how many employees work for you?" It's the kind of question in which the answer is supposed to be an indicator of how successful your company has become. And I'm here to tell you now that it's not a good indicator.

In the early years of Punchbowl, I hated answering the "how many employees do you have" question. For a really long time, there was only three people associated with Punchbowl. None of us were employees -- and we only worked on the start-up part time. A few years later, after we had taken our second round of funding, the team had grown to 12 people. I remember meeting people during this time who were impressed by the number of employees. "Wow, you're really successful," they would say. Since it feels great to be recognized as a CEO of a successful startup, I would readily agree.

Here's the problem with this line of thinking: the number of employees says nothing about how well you are achieving your goals as a company. In fact, the number of employees you have may be holding you back. If you have profitability metrics, then the number of employees adds costs when you may be trying to reduce spending. And the number of employees doesn't really say anything about your revenue or traffic metrics either.

The truth is that the number of employees says nothing about your success. It only tells you how much time you spend during your day managing other people and dealing with the inevitable issues that come up as a manager. My happiest times as a CEO have been the days after laying off an employee that was problematic or an employee that was not achieving their goals. It's a great sense of relief when the team is back to the core group of people who commit themselves to excellence and integrity.

Some of the best products and companies were built by a very small group of people. And some of the worst failures in the business world are from companies that have too many employees (to the point where they can't innovate and change direction easily). So why do some people measure success by the number of employees?

The next time you meet someone who has started a company, resist the urge to ask "how many employees do you have?" Instead, ask them "how do you measure success?" You're sure to get a much more thoughtful and relevant answer.

Today I had a meeting about the MyPunchbowl numbers so far this month. As you would expect, one of the metrics that we keep a close eye on is the number of events planned on the site each month. During the meeting, we were discussing ways we can increase the total number of events planned on the site. After discussing a variety of possibilities, I blurted out something that I think is relevant about a lot of businesses: "Our job is to sell umbrellas on every street corner when it is raining. We can't make it rain."

Allow me to explain. A few months ago, I was in New York City when it began to drizzle. Although I was wearing a nice suit,  the drizzle didn't bother me much. However, by the time I had walked a few more blocks, it was pouring. As I waited on the street corner for the walk sign,  I spotted a man selling umbrellas on the opposite side of the street. I made a beeline across the street to purchase an umbrella. I didn't care how much the umbrella cost -- he had my solution, and I needed it bad.

As I continued my walk now with an umbrella in hand, I noticed that there were umbrella salespeople on almost every corner. And almost every single seller was surrounded by people who were waving their cash around to try to get one of those precious umbrellas. A few blocks later, most of the umbrella sellers were sold out.

Every time I come across a new startup, I ask myself a fundamental question: are there lots of people in the world that are looking for this solution or is the startup trying to create demand? It is very hard for marketing folks to create demand (that's the job of salespeople) -- and it's almost impossible in consumer markets.

Let's use MyPunchbowl as an example: if you were in charge of marketing for MyPunchbowl, what would you do to cause people to throw a party? In my opinion, people throw parties when they have a need -- for example a birthday in the family, a holiday, or a yearly tradition. I believe that our job is to be the solution for people who have the need to plan a party. We want to be the folks that are standing on the street corner when it starts to rain. Is it possible that we can create demand where there was none before? Sure, I suppose it is possible. But there are thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of people everyday who have the need to plan a party. We can't make it rain. It's not our job to try to convince someone to throw a party. Our job is to make sure that people know we exist, and to explain why our product is superior to any other product that they might choose.

SWAMI SAYS: Is your startup trying to make it rain? That's a pretty tough uphill battle. Instead of trying to make it rain, sell umbrellas. Be the best solution to a market demand, and you'll start to see money pouring from the sky.

The job of a start-up CEO seems pretty glamorous, doesn't it? You set your own schedule, you have a team of people that work for you, and you can set the rules and culture of your company (did you know that Groundhog Day is an official holiday at my company?) I admit that these are some of the things that I love about being the CEO of MyPunchbowl.com. But there are other things that aren't so glamorous.

In any given week, I find myself confronted with a myriad of tasks that no one really likes doing. Here's a partial list of things that I've had to do over the past couple of weeks:

1. We ran out of toilet paper at the office. I had to stop what I was doing to run out and get more
   
2. Met with broker to renew our property & liability insurance
3. Filled out power of attorney forms for states where we have employees
4. Completed our 2009 Delaware Franchise Tax Form  
   
5. Handled the Verizon guy at our office when he came to deal with our router issues
6. Collected signatures for our Board resolutions and annual report
7. Completed the forms for the renewal of our D&O insurance
   
8. Took out the garbage, and wiped down the tables

With all of the other responsibilities on my plate on any given day it can be a bummer when I also have to do tasks that pretty much anyone can do. I never imagined that after three years of being the CEO I would still have to worry about whether or not we have enough toilet paper in the office.

Should I ask someone else in the office to go to the store when we run out of toilet paper? Who should I ask? The lead engineer? The marketing manager? Although I'm sure that anyone in the office would be willing to do these tasks, I don't feel right about asking one of the employees. If they worked at a larger company, they wouldn't have to worry about these kinds of things. So I don't ask.

With my first child on the way, I recently reached the conclusion that I needed help. So just this past week, I hired a new person at Punchbowl who will not only help us with marketing tasks but will also have office manager responsibilities. After three years, it's great having someone in the office who will be able to help me out with some of the paperwork and less glamorous tasks.

Before you think about starting a company, keep in mind that a significant part of the CEO job is doing the tasks that don't fall under anyone's umbrella. If it's not a specific engineering, marketing, customer support, or business development task, chances are that you are going to have to handle it. That's not something I really understood before starting MyPunchbowl.com.

So, do you still want to be a start-up CEO?