Episode S: Are You Pivoting or Failing?

Now I know some companies have 'pivoted their way to success.' However, let's be clear what pivoting is and how it works.

A pivot is not a magical bullet that will save your business after it's hit a brick wall.

Most entrepreneurs didn't succeed on their first start-up. Failure is often good because next time you'll come back better, faster and stronger!

Episode R: How Big Is Your Total Addressable Market?

Doing your market sizing exercise is part and parcel of understanding who your potential customers will be and how many you will realistically be able to access.

Be careful of the bright-lights-effect caused by operating in billion dollar markets.

Your real total addressable market (TAM) is probably smaller than you think.

Episode Q: Back to Basics - Focus on Selling

With equity funding, there's often a danger of trying to develop the perfect product before hitting the market and then running out of cash.

To have a shot at success, from day 0 you need to start selling.

It takes time (and money) to establish which half of your marketing budget you're wasting. You need to start that journey early and well before your funding starts running out.

Episode P: Back to Basics - Solving a Strong Customer Pain

There are lots of things that consumers would like in a perfect world but in an imperfect society with constrained resources, what are the most significant problems in their lives that they want solved?

How do you know that what they say is what they'll do?

Episode O: Back to Basics - Finding Business Ideas

Lately I've been spending lots of time focusing on the origins of business ideas.

A blessing and a curse of being an entrepreneur is that you will likely vehemently defend your idea. Great news if you have a good business but not so good if you've charged off in the wrong direction.

In this post I detail the 4 different routes you can follow if you're looking to be an entrepreneur.

Option 1 of 4 is by solving an unmet customer pain. This is one of my passions and where the real innovation happens. I'm going to focus on this because it's vitality important you understand the pain you're solving and for whom.

Episode N: Get Things in Writing

A simple, yet powerful technique that is often overlooked until it is too late.

There's 3 good reasons why I think you should get things in writing:
1. It confirms what was discussed so there's no chance of misunderstanding.
2. It serves as an unwavering repository of information for future access.
3. It stops dishonest individuals from reneging upon their word - it happens!

I was taught the lesson many years ago but it only stuck after first-hand experience of no.3! Don't leave it to chance.

Episode M: The Tough Upfront Conversations in Entrepreneurship

Before you've built your product, recruited some customers and generated revenues, it's important to lay a solid foundation with your co-founders.

Fights only start once you're making money so the time to have these conversations is right at the foothills of your journey.

Episode L: How to get your First 100 Customers - Part Due

So who do you actually target when launching something innovative that is set to disrupt an existing market?

Post the digital revolution, you might be fooled into thinking that the rules have completely changed. Nope. Humans still behave the same way as 70 years ago and long before that. Certain groups adopt and pioneer new inventions far faster than many others.

If you need to market your tech start-up, be smart and target 'Innovators' as defined by Everett Rogers in 1962.

Episode K: How to Acquire your First 100 Users - Part Uno

Most start-ups suffer the underwhelming experience of 3, 2, 1, LAUNCH.... Then nothing happens, because they have zero customers and no-one knows about them.

Where do you start? Do you need a strategy? Are all customers created equally?

The truth is that you need to do your homework before embarking on potentially expensive and unsuccessful marketing campaign.

I've learned lots about customer acquisition through trial and loads of error so I've broken this topic up into multiple, easily-digestible posts. Lookout for the next installment coming soon!

Episode J: Mental Resilience in Entrepreneurship

Successful athletes often make extraordinary entrepreneurs because they have trained their minds to withstand pain and suffering and still break records.

"If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough." Branson.

Entrepreneurs don't do it because it's easy. They do it because they don't have a choice. A raging fire deep down inside them compels them to change the world for the better. Harness your fire and do something incredible!

Episode I: The User Acquisition vs Monetization Balancing Act

Do you need to monetize as fast as possible to prove you have a viable business or is it sometimes better to wait and acquire a large customer base first? Here's my views.

Episode H: The Power of Going Niche

As a small tech start-up with a limited budget, you may feel intimated by  industry giants. Fear not, niche always wins the race!

Episode G: The Small Business Profitability Dilemma

Most entrepreneurship advice is geared towards highly scalable tech unicorn start-ups when in fact the vast majority of entrepreneurs run small businesses.

Episode F: 3 Solid Reasons why You Need a Business Plan

Business plans are always worthwhile. If you're considering creating a start-up, invest time upfront in exploring the idea before you burn copious amounts of energy, money and time, charging off in the wrong direction.

Episode E: How to Launch Your Start-Up for £500

Tech businesses that are started with very little money have a high chance of success because it means you already have all of the required in-house skills to create an MVP. So, you can be leaner, faster and cheaper than any of your competitors. Throw money into the mix and you'll supercharge your performance!

Episode D: Does the 4-Hour Work Week Exist?

Possibly, but what it definitely will help you achieve is running a lean organisation and maximizing the time you do put in. Whether it's 4 or 80 hours per week.

Episode C: How to Double the Size of Your Retirement Annuity in Just 10 Years

Entrepreneurs need to plan for retirement even more than their corporate employed counterparts.

Starting early is far more important than where you invest, how high the return is or even how much you contribute.

Episode B: Launch Your Start-Up as Quickly as Possible

Daily inspiration from Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, "If you're not embarrassed by your first product, you've launched too late!" #startups #gotomarketearly

Episode A: Chasing your Fintech Entrepreneurial Dreams

My keynote on Chasing Your Fintech Entrepreneurial Dreams.

"As an entrepreneur, rather than focusing on making a million £s, focus on solving a millions people's problems. Help them and they'll help you.

Look at Jack Ma with AliPay and Nick Hughes with MPesa - they both did very well in the end but started with improving millions of people's lives."

A big thank you to the whole team at NTUitive for inviting me to speak and to my friends and family for supporting me on the evening.

Event held by: Nanyang Technological University of Singapore @ Rise London on November 8th 2017.