Passion + Purpose

When Unhappy Customers Strike Back on the Internet - The Magazine - MIT Sloan Management Review

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:58:12 -0600

When Unhappy Customers Strike Back on the Internet - The Magazine - MIT Sloan Management Review:

“…good news for companies because online complainers are not necessarily terrorism-minded individuals who go online at the slightest provocation to impede commercial operations. Instead, they are simply exhausted customers who kept complaining about a serious issue that the company kept failing to address.”

Thoughts on Entrepreneurism...

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:51:51 -0600

“Entrepreneurship involves mistakes and failures. [Entrepreneurs] will struggle. They will fight. Many will fail. Others will thrive. The creation of a business from the embryo of a concept is the genius of the entrepreneur. There are no boundaries as to who can be an entrepreneur.”
- Eduardo Saverin
Co-Founder, Facebook

How I Use Visualization To Drive Creativity

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:10:54 -0600

How I Use Visualization To Drive Creativity:

Creativity is the most important success criterion for a startup. Yet so often overlooked. Check out this post for ideas on how to infuse creativity into your business, and to thrive!

Stanford's Entrepreneurship Corner: Mark Suster, Serial Entrepreneur - Honest Advice on Starting a Company (Entire Talk)

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:19:59 -0600

Stanford's Entrepreneurship Corner: Mark Suster, Serial Entrepreneur - Honest Advice on Starting a Company (Entire Talk):

One hour of absolutely invaluable information if you want to be an entrepreneur. Hunker down and watch this whole video…and then go build something awesome!!

Entrepreneurism 101 - You have to love what you do!

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 09:14:40 -0600

You have to love what you do You can make money doing something you don’t love, but you can make much more money if you spend your time on something you love. If you love what you are doing, naturally you will work harder and spend more time doing it. And best of all, it won’t seem like work.

A great example of this is Gary Vaynerchuk. He was able to turn his families $4 million wine business into a $50 million business within 3 years. Through his passion for wine and the social web, he was able to combine them and create an empire.

After Gary conquered all things wine related, he realized he had a passion for all things brand related. So he created Vaynermedia, a company that helps build brand equity. So far it seems that things have been going well for him. He locked in a 7-figure book deal and he has shares in a lot of predominate web companies like Twitter.

If you love what you are doing like Gary, not only are you more likely to make a decent chunk of change, but you will be happy.

HOW TO: Use Social Media to Create Better Customer Experiences

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 08:45:15 -0600

HOW TO: Use Social Media to Create Better Customer Experiences:

Today’s business must address more aspects of the customer experience than ever before. In addition to a stellar product or service, you now have many more channels to listen to and participate in, while keeping the experience consistently excellent. Where it gets complicated is wading through the noise, turning data into insights that the whole company can use, and sharing these insights. Because there is so much data being hurled at you, solutions that help unify and share information in a usable format have become necessary.

The customer experience is one of the cornerstones of an effective business strategy, and a finely tuned communication and collaboration system is key if you want to provide an excellent experience, whether it’s via the social web or in-person.

Another great post by Maria Ogneva of Nimble.

6 social media business trends to watch out for in 2011

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:05:42 -0600

6 social media business trends to watch out for in 2011:

The most interesting of which is that Social Customer Service will drive revenue in 2011. One could argue that it certainly already is when you look at the impact at Zappos. The question of “ROI on social technology spending” is becoming tired as companies realize that these technologies are not going away, and people are getting even more connected and empowered than ever before. I believe the story in 2011 will wrap more around the “agile corporation” that is able to embrace these technologies, and in the process, their customers.

The Innovate100 event proved to be very successful for the...

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:27:00 -0600

Chris Shipley holding court in Zaragoza

Me waiting to take the stage!

Anboto - the winner!

Me and Jackie toasting with Chris

Celebration after a great event

The dinner that night went a little late

Awesome group of folks

The Innovate100 event proved to be very successful for the startups that were invited to participate. Chris Shipley and Guidewire Group put on a great final “pitch slam” that found Spanish company Anboto the winner in the number 1 spot. But all the companies that were fortunate enough to find themselves on the Top 100 list won in the deal. This is a tremendous vote of confidence for any startup seeking to gain insights into their probability of success, and the exposure provided by a powerhouse startup mentor like Chris Shipley. SocialSmack was very fortunate to be a part of that…and stoked that we landed in the Top 10!!

I just gave Props to @snappages on @SocialSmack! http://ssm.ac/281 #brandprops

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 23:10:29 -0500

I just gave Props to @snappages on @SocialSmack! http://ssm.ac/281 #brandprops

At the Entrepreneurs Foundation Poker tournament…table of sharks. :) all for a good cause!

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 23:10:29 -0500

At the Entrepreneurs Foundation Poker tournament…table of sharks. :) all for a good cause!

Interesting read - make sure your brand is not decaying! “Does Your #Brand Even Have A...

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 23:10:29 -0500

Interesting read - make sure your brand is not decaying! “Does Your #Brand Even Have A Pulse?” http://t.co/shziKLX

RT @orchid8: Hey #movember Team Austin! Did you know that @helpattack has a site JUST FOR YOU?...

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 23:10:29 -0500

RT @orchid8: Hey #movember Team Austin! Did you know that @helpattack has a site JUST FOR YOU? http://helpattack.com/loves/movember

RT @eric_andersen: @socialsmack @Marcio_Saito interesting point, is a strong focus on customers on...