Igniting Start-Up? Channel Firefighter

Start-ups are like fires — they need the right ingredients to thrive, and someone is always trying to put them out or control them. For instance, we handle start-ups like fire when…

• we touch them with our gloves on
• we keep our valuables out of the way
• we use ‘gas masks’ to filter founder hype
• we sometimes contain them in incubators
• we help others find water to kill early-stage ideas
• we hold entrepreneurs in awe, not too unlike firefighters

Firefighters combat fires by attacking elements of the ‘fire tetrahedron’ (modern update of 3-legged ‘fire triangle’):

• Heat – intangible element ensuring fire’s continued growth – successful fires generate heat, increasing potential
• Fuel – raw material dictating nature of the fire – what gases, lights & sounds are emitted, how to manage fire, etc.
• Oxidizing Agent – catalyst greasing the wheels – requires increasing amounts for continued growth, etc.
• Chain Reaction – method to madness – yes, fire has rules, no matter how random it outwardly appears

Thus, fire’s continued growth involves simultaneously fostering access to (2) extrinsic factors and (2) intrinsic factors:

In start-up land, these fire elements have roughly corresponding concepts:

So what are these factor to get a start-up fire going:

• problems – raison d’être for start-ups – start-ups solve customer problems
• process – means by which the problem is solved, for simplicity includes problem-solving tools (platforms, technology, reference data, etc.)
• purpose – why – provides the vision for the start-up to survive, the inspiration – having a problem to solve isn’t enough, must have motivation
• projection – ability to communicate purpose, process, and problems – internal to the team, external with the customers, investors, and the media

As with fire, possessing one, two, or three of these factors is not enough – your company must possess all four, and have the ability to get more of each. Having some large percentage of the market, does not guarantee success. For example, Circuit City and CompUSA came, went, and re-invented themselves (and lost a lot along the way).

Each factor is different for each start-up. To a…Similarly, having a process (reaction) that doesn’t solve problems for any customers (fuel) likewise won’t get the fire started. Being the idea guy (oxidizer) sans tech knowledge (process) will also keep your start-up on the ground. The geek gap some tech folks have communicating with others, e.g., investors & customers, will limit the scale of your start-up, since you’re not generating heat.

• writer – platform may be WordPress or Drupal, and the product is plug-in or user engagement
• analyst – platform may be Pentaho & R, and the product is a competitive intelligence report
• dancer – platform may be practice room with mirror, and the product is a performance
• consultant – process is user interviews and product is branding & marketing plan
• developer – platform may be iOS, and the product may be next great game app

Start-ups also produce different types of artifacts

• products - may appear in several forms
  • software user app – 37signals, Angry Birds, Salesforce , …
  • software developer platform – apigee, github, WordPress, …
  • utility service – CrashPlan, Dropbox, Hipmunk, AirBNB, …
  • hardware devices / artifacts – Prop, Piccolo, ARDrone, HP, …
  • knowledge – AnimationMentor, Wikipedia, ixquick, …
  • shopping – Sojern, Hayneedle, Amazon, …
• projects- generally involves professional services component
  • custom app install
  • enterprise-level scaling
  • feature request yielding new product
  • bootstrap early-stage start-ups, i.e., consulting + product / prototype development stage
• portfolios – combo of products & projects showcasing start-up story, employee & founder team credentials, etc.
• projections – yep, continually showcase products, projects, & portfolios – to plan future, recruit, sales, press, etc.

Notes, Disclaimers, Gotchas…

• Analogy of start-ups to the fire tetrahedron is rough and conceptual – the main takeaway – start-ups are like fires – it takes lots of things to get it going, and during the early stages, is easy to snuff out. The same breath that extinguishes a small flame can later enrich the oxygen content – likewise, (9) customers when you can only handle (2) can burn out your team.
• In true irony, some of the artifacts of fire are a detriment to its own success (at least for some kinds of fires). Notably, carbon dioxide and water vapor are used to mitigate some fires. Similarly, a start-up may be a victim of its own success – too many customers to handle, to many employees to manage, lack of product direction, etc.
• Like carbon dioxide or water, various elements can have multiple effects on a start-up. For instance, a fire extinguisher emitting a CO2 or H2O stream serves (3) purposes – move fuel, reduce heat, evac oxidizer. What is the ‘water’  to your start-up – what external factor will have multiple impacts and limit your growth?
• Real fires ‘flashover’ at seemingly unexpected times. Depending on your perspective, this may be good or bad. Similarly, start-up activity can flare up – intellectual property rights, customer challenges, product launches – remember to practice good project manager / program manager skills, be a GTD ninja, sleep, etc.
• Startup Weekends are good, however, they are only a spark – real companies, like real fires, take lots and lots of hard work – incubators and accelerators are one step in that direction, so is bootstrapping. Bottom line, you’ll need mentors, just like firefighters need a fire chief.
• Entrepreneurs, like firefighters, get tired – remember to take care of yourself along the way – you’re no good to anyone when you’re burnt out or worse yet, burnt up.

For more tips such as these on keeping ‘technology simplified’, follow @thoughtpuzzle on Twitter or Feedburner.

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