Seven Lessons For Startups From Super Bowl Weekend

Among the prizes was a ticket to the Super Bowl and an opportunity to connect with a variety of executives, entrepreneurs, and government officials. The experience offered many lessons, seven of which I'd like to share for anyone considering launching a business or is still trying to break through...

1. Be the "The" of something. In a private meeting with Kevin Plank, the founder and CEO of Under Armour, he shared the importance of being the "The" of something: The Fasted Grocery Delivery Company, The Easiest DVD Rental Web Site, or in his case, The Best Performance Athletic Shirt. Being very focused on being "the" of something puts everything else secondary to your mission. For us, we want to be The Best Software For Corporate Counsel to Implement a Virtual Patent Marking Strategy. Nothing else matters - even though we have the brains and skills to pull other things off that might make money too.

2. Have A Tight Pitch. On Saturday evening we attended a VIP party hosted by Twitter and Exact Target. When you meet someone for the first time, they always ask where you're from and what you do. Refine your story so that you can explain what you do in less than 15 seconds (yes, 15, not 30). You will have plenty of time, if the other person finds you interesting, to go into details later, but make sure that first sentence has a strong, clear hook. After practicing all weekend, I'm now down to about a 12 seconds. "I am James Burnes, founder of PatentStatus, a software company that enables your corporate counsel to update, manage and publish your organization's patent portfolio and the products they relate to on your company's web site." Notice I said "your" to make it personal to the individual I am addressing. If they don't have patents, the conversation will be short. But if they do, they will ask me why they would want to publish this information on their website (since they don't today) and now we have a sales pitch happening.

3. The Minimum Viable Party. Sunday morning we were sitting in the lobby bar of the Marriott, where the New York Giants were staying for the week. In walked Larry Chiang, Business Insider writer, adjunct at Stanford and co-founder of Duck9. He shared a great concept to achieve the biggest 'bang' at an event. I won't rewrite what you can learn from his recent post, but I will summarize: hosting a low-cost, unofficial, guerrilla marketed gotta-know-someone event at any trade show, social gathering or conference can get your startup more buzz and valuable connections than registration fees, a booth and all the expensive tchotckes in the world can earn you. Hosting minimum viable parties is now our new approach for any trade show we'll be attending.

4. Have Fun. At a business brunch later that morning hosted by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and Secretary of Commerce Dan Hasler, I had the privilege of talking to James Guyette, president and chief executive officer of Rolls-Royce North America. Reflecting on his career, he made it clear: pursue what is fun and you'll unleash more energy than anything else. It's a good reminder for us to keep the opportunity in perspective - and not get too caught up the work we have to do to achieve success.

5. Be a connection king. Scott Case, CEO of Startup America Partnership provided this lesson and two more that were perhaps the most valuable of the weekend. He demonstrated being a king of connections on a variety of occasions and it was amazing to see. It doesn't matter what the situation; the size and influence of your network is the single most important asset you have as an entrepreneur. No matter if your current venture fails, succeeds, grows, sells, etc. - your connections and your ability to build strong relationships will open doors faster and easier in the future than all the hustle and brilliance you could ever create. And that means bringing others together too - so that they see you as a critical part of their network and push opportunities your way.

6. Always Be closing. The second of three gems from the same discussion with Scott was that your future investors and customers will likely come from the network you create today. It may be a friend or colleague of your network - or simply an endorsement through social media that creates the connection. Always be telling your network about your successes, your opportunity and your ideas. Always ask for an introduction and never miss a chance for a second conversation. Those who are always closing will be more likely to win than those who are waiting for opportunity to pop up out of nowhere.

7. Go big or go home. The third "aha" moment from that meeting with Scott was the most substantial for me as an entrepreneur. For our business, we're likely going to be in a land grab. We can launch a successful million dollar venture, land 4-5% of the market and be really happy. If we work hard and prove ourselves to be the best virtual patent marking software in the world, in eight or ten years, we'll maybe acquire 30-40% share and be living the dream. BUT....why not acquire 70% of the market share in the next 90-120 days? It might take more money, focus and effort - but why not go for the Championship from the beginning instead of winning all season long and not ever getting there? We're immediately diving into this approach to determine exactly how we can do that - and it means we must completely blow up the plan we had just a few days ago.

The momentum continues for the PatentStatus team even though Super Bowl Weekend is over. I encourage everyone to sign up for the $1.2 billion in resources that Startup America offers to new ventures. The benefits are an incredible benefit for every entrepreneur in our community and it's growing every day. Hopefully, just like your business!

Got any ideas or feedback? Please contact me directly at james.burnes@patstatus.com, connect on Facebook, and please follow@jamesburnes and @patentstatus.