Those Who Can Do

I have been involved in developing software applications for more years than I care to remember and here are a few thoughts:

1. You are only a naive user once. Watch a new person try to use your software application and learn from what they can't easily do. Once you are trained, anything is intuitive.
2. You don't build new software the way you build a house - those that try to make it into a linear process with prescriptive completed outputs at every stage are doomed to failure - even if the project plan looks pretty. There is always a non-deterministic aspect to any complex system. Agile approaches, adaptive planning and iterative development is needed.
3. That said, you should always seek to reuse building blocks and design the components of the system with this in mind. If you have to reinvent the wheel each time, you are doing something wrong.
4. Don't expose too many end users to pre-alpha software (apart from those sacrificial virgins mentioned in 1) - they will not be able to see past the first bug/crash/wobbly and will not thank you for an early look at anything short of perfection.
5. So don't let core developers design a user interface. Their perspective is clouded by what is going on deep in the bowels of the system. A business analyst that has empathy with and understanding of the user requirements should always be part of the team and in small projects is more important than a 'project manager'. They can fein selective amnesia to immitate 1 and 4.
6. Everyone is qualified to criticize and say what’s wrong with a system; it’s a lot harder to contribute innovative ideas and define what’s right!

TechTalk 2007

TechTalk 2007, held in conjunction with the Connect Yorkshire Investment Forum, saw speakers focus on what is the recipe for high-tech success. Gwyn Humphreys emphasised that customers can often be your cheapest source of money and if you can cut a deal with early adopters where they help fund development of the technology, then that is a great way to avoid giving away too much equity too early on. At the other end of the spectrum, Stephen Allott emphasised that if you have a developed product, the secret to world domination is a motivated and well incentivised sales force. Steve Garnet from Salesforce.com evangelised about software as a service and the rise of utility software. This goes hand-in hand with a 'pay as you go' subscription model, rather than upfront licencing. My experience is that this is a win-win if software companies can adapt to this model from a cash-flow perspective as it is a lot easier sell product and the revenue stream is annuitised, which is highly valued by an investor. Graham Bowland from Surgical Innovations spoke about the challenges and rewards of entering the US market. Overall a great afternoon of inspirational talks!

10 Things Not To Get Wrong When Building A Technology Business...

At the i-techpartners academy event at Daresbury, Richard Veal from New Mind reflected on what he had learnt (the hard way!) in building his business, a lot of which resonated with my own experiences:

1. There isn't a shortage of work to go around - collaborate, build on the work of others and stop your techies insisting on reinventing the wheel.
2. Ideas are cheap and surprisingly plentiful, it's implementation that's hard. It also helps to focus on one idea, so select the right one!
3. Don't believe your own hype: success is not necessarily replicable and equally if you fail at first, try and try again.
4. Being an MD is a lonely place - you need advice, mentoring and an external perspective.
5. Generic business advice is useful, but specific advice is invaluable from someone who really understands your market/technology.
6. Get your organisational structure right as soon as you can. An average employee in the right structure (and motivation) is better than a good employee with the wrong one.
7. Build in scalability into your business model from day one; it's hard to retrofit.
8. You will need twice as much time and money as you thought you would!
9. Networks are important to long term development. External focus is needed to understand the wider picture and assess impact internally.
10. Success is specific, run your own business - it's your story, write it.

See also my top ten tips on raising investment!

£25 Million Entrepreneur Challenge

The Bank of Scotland Corporate have launched a £25 Million Entrepreneur Challenge with the aim of providing support for driven, well-established businesses that aim to continue growing and become dominant forces in their markets.

A maximum of five businesses will share up to £25 million of funding plus valuable business opportunities. With a funding package of up to £5 million entirely free of interest for three years, each of the successful businesses will also gain coverage for their business in the pages of The Sunday Times and exposure to local media, along with opportunities to network with some of the UK's top entrepreneurs.

Sounds like a serious way to gain both finance and profile.... The closing date for entries is 15 August 2007, Good Luck!