Author: Robert Pease

Looking forward…

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I have taken a bit of a hiatus from personal blogging over the last ~4 years.  I have done a fair amount of it via the Heinz Marketing blog and via Linkedin but have not had a dedicated and focused place to write and share.

Thus the creation of this blog and the start of “Venture Vice.”  My primary goal is to tell stories here hopefully through podcasts and copy.  I have worked with entrepreneurs for many years, been one myself, and continue to be blown away and intrigued by what it takes to start, grow, and scale a business.

Not the mechanics of spreadsheets and sales plans but the human side of the equation.  How did people, opportunity, and capital come together at a point in time to create something amazing.  What did it take to get there and how many times was it over…before it wasn’t?

Much more to come on all of that in the future.  I did decide to pull forward several years of personal blogging from my former Reply to All blog and have added those to the Venture Vice site.  I use writing and sharing as a way to learn and create and view it as a way to let my children (and their children) have a bit of insight and perspective into what was going on…and what I was thinking at various times in my life.

Onward!

Judgement

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JudgementI spent this past week sitting on a jury in Kirkland, WA Municipal Court.  Jury duty is part of life and is often viewed as an inconvenience and unwanted interruption to our busy lives.

I was no different once I received my jury summons notice a few weeks ago.  "Good grief, do I really have time for this?" was my question.  

I have been extremely busy with all that is amazing about starting a company (Nearstream), merging it with another company (LoopFuse) and now being the CEO of a fast-paced early stage company in a crazy marketplace.  Customers, partners, prospects, and financing all are intertwined in my days.

I was curious about what kind of trial would be going on in the Kirkland municipal court and had prepared myself for some type of random misdemeanor or traffic violation based on this description of what this court hears:  "criminal misdemeanor cases and processes all non-criminal traffic citations and parking citations for violations occurring within the city limits of Kirkland."

I showed up dutifully at the assigned time, filled out my form, and answered the questions posed by the prosecutor and defense counsel truthfully and honestly.

There were several times I could have disqualified myself even by claiming publicly that I could not be "unbiased" in my judgement.  The only problem with that is that is not the kind of person I am and aspire to be.  

Potential jurors were dismissed or disqualified for a variety reasons and it looked as if I was going to dodge the proverbial bullet…until a final seated juror decided she couldn't possibly be unbiased.  With that assertion, I was welcomed to the jury box.  

I was actually very impressed with the judge, court staff and lawyers involved as well as my fellow jurors in their thoughtfulness and professionalism.

The case was very different than my expectation shining a bright light on a troubled family and abusive relationship between husband and wife.  I was not prepared to see children testify against their father but that is what I got.  Apparently the charges fit in the "criminal misdemeanor" category.

Two days, several witnesses, lots of time in the jury room waiting on the next step and we finally were sent to our room to pass judgement.

This was my first time on a jury and being in this role was both odd and invigorating. Above all else, we must come to a conclusion of "guilty" or "not guilty" beyond a reasonable doubt based on the evidence presented.

There were four charges and we all agreed to our conclusions rather swiftly but did challenge each other, our assumptions, and the evidence presented thoughtfully.

I won't get into the final outcome but just like that we returned to the court, presented our verdict, and were dismissed to go on about our lives – a loaded up email inbox, voicemails, and customer needs in my case.  

It was an important thing to do and made be treasure and appreciate all that I have in life that much more.  I pray for the family involved and hope that this step in the process helps them towards some type of peace.

Hug your children, kiss your spouse or significant other, pet your dog (or cat) if you have one, and take the obligation of jury duty seriously as you are being asked to sit in judgement of another and that is not to be taken lightly.

Building systems of engagement for the social customer

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Paul Greenberg is a wicked smart guy and does an awesome job laying out the definition and rules of engagement for the "social customer." He does a great job of articulating what we are working on with Nearstream and our "buyer-centric" demand capture approach.

Paul breaks down the two types of systems every business needs in a customer engagement world:

  • System of Engagement – this is all about interaction and communication the way that the customer/prospect wants it.  Most existing technologies fail here as they are designed to scale personalization vs. provide a mechanism for meaningful engagement.
  • System of Record – this is the well defined, known, and entrenched area of CRM systems, billing systems, etc.  They are seller centric and represent the companies record of you.  Systems of Engagement do not replace Systems of Record but without the former the latter becomes less and less relevant.

Speaking at the Sales 2.0 Conference in San Francisco on Social Signals [slides]

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I made the early morning trek to San Francisco today where I will be having a few meetings, dropping by AdTech, and giving a presentation at the Sales 2.0 Conference entitled: Social Signals – Capturing Demand Instead of Simply Generating Leads. 

Here are my slides if you care to flip through them or share them (hope you will!)

Social Signals: Capturing Demand Instead of Simply Generating Leads
http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=sales20socialsignalspease-120331173506-phpapp02&rel=0&stripped_title=sales20-social-signalspease&userName=Nearstream

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Q1 2012 Recap

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Wow, the first quarter of 2012 has come to a close and I have not done a single post on this blog.  I think that is now officially the longest I have gone without one here. 

I am not sure why the absence occurred. I share via short updates on Twitter but that is no excuse to not do long form writing.  My Q2 goal is to do more so let's see how I do.

It has been a busy first three months of 2012 with several trips to Atlanta to work with the team at LoopFuse, a business trip to Rhode Island allowing me to mark that off the "states visited" list, a nice family visit with my Dad on St. Simons Island, GA, a mostly unispiring trip to the South by Southwest Interactive festival in Austin, TX, and lots of other adventures nearby our home in Kirkland, WA.

I also managed to run 2 half marathons (Jacksonville, FL and Mercer Island, WA) with Marel and am just shy of my 300 mile quarterly running distance goal sitting at 275 as I type this.

We have also continued to work on Nearstream and the first version of the social lead generation software is now available so if you are interested in learning more, email me.  It has been an exciting process to take an idea to working prototype to customer trials and now to commercial offering. Much more to share on this as we ramp up further.

I was also very flattered to be asked to be an advisor to Seattle-based Optify which provides inbound marketing, search, and social analytics software.

I am very convinced that marketing technology will be a huge growth area going forward as automation, instrumentation, and measurement are applied to the ever larger amounts of marketing spend being shifted to on-line channels from off-line predecessors like newspapers.  My work on marketing automation at LoopFuse, social lead generation at Nearstream, and now inbound marketing & analytics at Optify are all aligned with this trend.

So, staying busy and having some fun plus enjoying watching my girls grow up faster than I thought possible.

Here's to Q2!

 

Looking forward to 2012

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Looking

Happy New Year everyone! Today is the day that most people are getting back to work, clearing out their inboxes, and getting cranked up for what lies ahead in 2012.

2011 was a great year for me in many ways with Gist being acquired by Research In Motion, me thankfully being deemed unnecessary in the new organization, connecting with a great team at marketing automation software company LoopFuse, and the launch of a venture of my own – Nearstream.

Several years ago, David Cohen who is the ringleader behind TechStars among other things wrote a post that stayed with me – Plenty of time for that later.

To paraphrase, if you want to start something look at the clock and write down the date and time. Post it somewhere you can see it and every minute, hour, or day that passes should remind you to get started.

That pretty much sums up my approach to 2012 as I embark upon a few new ventures and place responsibility for the outcomes primarily on my shoulders.

Predictions aren't my thing but I write this blog for many reasons including creating a record for my children and their children to read one day.  So, looking forward to 2012 here's how I see things:

World

The world is constantly changing with new allies, new enemies and a media circus designed to scare us in every direction.  The European Union is being tested by economic strain but I do not believe its end is near. The Middle East continues to be a flash point and I do hope that our hasty withdrawal from Iraq for political expediency does not sacrifice the steps towards a stable democratic government that 10 years of blood and treasure were invested to achieve. Afghanistan needs many more years of concentrated assistance to become a stable country. I don't believe this is an American problem, but I don't know who else is up for the challenge.  We have been at war with Iran since 1979 and the only ones who don't seem to know this is us. Tensions will continue to rise and a strong hand on our side will be needed to keep calm and exercise our power where needed.  Let's hope that person is in the Oval Office (see below).

Nation

We are sailing into a Presidential election year that will see ~$2 billion dollars spent to convince us one person is better than another (or more evil).  I am concerned about the scorched earth policies to be used (by both sides) and what it will do to us as a country. 

Barack Obama was elected on the promise of transformational leadership and he is a failure in that regard. I did not vote for him and will not be doing so this year so take that statement with a grain of salt. Even though he was not my choice, he is my President and I hold him accountable for the gap between words and actions that have been exhibited over and over.  He appealed to Americans most cherished sense of hope and rode that marketing slogan to the White House. His administration's policies have been unsuccessful in creating the environment for economic growth and his rhetoric has grown increasingly negative and divisive. The candidate of hope generally wins so we'll see if we get four more years of Obama running on fear and anger this time around.

Financial Markets

Who knows? Things regress to the mean over time so after a few years of volatility and poor returns, most people are giving up on the stock market and pulling money out. I'm not sure if we have seen true capitulation but history tells us that the time to invest is when others are not.  The election year dynamics will certainly spook it until there is some clarity on who will be leading us for the next four years.

Technology

All mobile, all the time.  We are consuming, communicating, and increasingly ignoring each other with our smartphones.  The penetration of these types of devices globally will continue to rise with prices coming down, processing power going up, and human connectivity increasing. What could possibly go wrong?

Social saturation. The giddiness of social networking is waning.  Many are fatigued with status updates and the constant flow of information that you didn't use to have but now must have.  Better filters, proactive privacy controls, and enabling off-line interactions are on the top of my list.

Me

I watch my girls grow up a little more every day and am committed to being present as often as I can to be part of their lives. I am shooting to lose all frequent traveler status this year replacing it with Skype, GotoMeeting, chat, and well thought through trips.  Let's see how I do.

I need to be more patient (always on my list) and take the time to reflect on the blessings I have been given.  I will run many more miles this year including maybe a second attempt at a marathon (failed to even participate in Portland last year after signing up).

I am responsible for the outcome this year so time to get to work!

Happy 2012!

 

A month in Steamboat Springs

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Steamboat-flag-logo

We were very fortunate to spend the month of November in Steamboat Springs, CO.  Colorado has long been one of the places that Marel and I love and it is our plan to eventually live there.

We made our first trip to Steamboat Springs, CO seven or eight years ago and loved both the skiing as well as the true town and community that surrounded it.  Unlike Vail or Aspen, Steamboat is a town that happens to be an amazing ski destination.

We began our adventure at the end of October with me (and dog Riley) making the drive while Marel and the girls flew a few days later.  I enjoyed 1200 miles of thinking with stops in Boise and Park City along the way.

We kicked off our visit with an amazing Halloween celebration in downtown Steamboat when Lincoln Aveneue fills with both parents and children trick or treating from shop to shop.  This community gathering really opened our eyes to the people who call Steamboat Springs home and how many were in our same "life stage" – young children, etc.

Our initial plan was to spend the month around Boulder but as we thought more about it, Steamboat made the most sense and we did work in a Boulder visit during the Defrag Conference in Broomfield. 

We spent our time in Steamboat as residents not really tourists while I was helping my long time friend Joe Solomon with a bit of marketing work for Iconic Adventures.  

 Joe is an awesome guy, has an amazing office right on the Yampa River, and provides outdoor adventures for brands, causes, and companies.  We've had a bit of fun working through the many great business opportunities out there including calling on various micro-breweries.  Definitely give him a ring if you'd like to do a company off-site or marketing event that will make a lasting impact.

I was able to work on the things I needed to including my social lead generation startup Nearstream from there with Skype, GotoMeeting, a smartphone, and a high speed interent connection.

I was really impressed by the the local tech startup and entrepreneurial scene.  In Steamboat Springs you ask? Yes, in Steamboat Springs.  There is a great group of folks there that have been putting on Ignite Steamboat for almost two years, have brought in some amazing speakers (via Skype), and even gave me the chance to do a presentation on the mobile workstyle:

 

Ignite Steamboat – 5 Mobile Workstyle Trends

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Yes, we did a bit of skiing too but the visit was a great family adventure and we met so many warm and wonderful people who welcomed us unconditionally.  We will be back to Steamboat Springs soon and definitely see it as part of our lives going forward.

A Content Marketing Framework: Creation + Distribution

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Contentking

"Content" has always been an important part of the marketing playbook but in a world defined by search engine optimization, influence, and sharing it has become a critical component of the modern marketing plan. 

Creation of content is hard enough but an effective content strategy includes both creation as well as distribution.

The work doesn't stop once the blog post is written or the video created, so you must be manically focused on getting it distributed and consumed by your target audience.  The long tail of search results certainly works in your favor but understanding how to get your content into the limited attention span of your target audience is now an essential marketing skill.

So for Distribution record a screencast but make it short (less than 2 minutes), make it creative but not stupid, post it to your blog via an embed so others can share it, Stumble the post, then tweet it, then post it to your personal Facebook page and company page, drop it on LinkedIn, get everyone in your company to push it out via their personal social channels but be aware that they won't share often or stuff they think sucks then link to it in your signature block of your email then send an email blast to your house list featuring it exclusively or highlighting it as a recent blog post. Figure out where your target audience gets their information and post it there but don't shamelessly pitch your company or participate out of context in the comments.  Be sure to vote it up and have others do the same. Rinse repeat…often.

Distribution can be even more exhausting than creation but don't create anything new without thinking through how you are going to distribute it.

 

Sales 2.0 Recap: New connections, old friends, & an awkward demo

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Sales20

I spent the past couple days in San Francisco as part of an 8 day road trip that took me to Atlanta to meet with the LoopFuse gang, St. Simons Island for a bit of golf watching at the McGladrey Classic with my brother and Dad then to San Francisco to be part of the Sales 2.0 event.

It has been a great trip and I had the opportunity to speak at the event on Sales & Marketing alignment.  Not a new concept but the tools and technologies to drive it continue to evolve – none of which is effective without a shared set of expectations and pervasive selling mindset.

I was excited to catch up with Nancy Nardin of Smart Selling Tools, chat with Anneke Seley of Phoneworks and meet Jim Keenan for the first time in person.  Like most events the conversations between sessions and in the hallway proved the most valuable.

It was also great to catch up with Meetul Shah of LookAcross and meet Michael Leeds of IntroRocket in person.  Meetul has just moved to Sunnyvale to be part of the most recent 500 Startups crop and rounding out the Seattle contingent I had the great pleasure of meeting JP Werlin from PipelineDeals.  Easy to use, on-demand sales pipeline management (no, you don’t need Salesforce.com for this).

All of these folks are looking at ways to innovate and rethink sales based on new levels of connectivity, information availability, and speed – I’ll collectively call it sales & marketing hacks.  I did, however, think this group was underrepresented in the panels and keynotes.  The Sales 2.0 gang is definitely looking forward but many of the vendors present are stuck in the past just getting better at bad things.

A “live prospecting demo” brought this home clearly which included one of the most memorable live demos but also one of the most uncomfortable ones I’ve ever witnessed.  If you were there, you know what I am talking about.  If you were not, let’s just say listening to someone cold call their way through a company directory and receptionists screams all that is wrong with current accepted approaches to prospecting and selling (ping me and I’ll tell you the company if you are curious).

I’m looking forward to doing a full session at the November Sales 2.0 event in Santa Monica.  I’ll be sharing more details about Nearstream and how we are taking a different approach to lead generation by starting with the buyer – a simple but overlooked concept.  Stay tuned for more on that!