When we started Publictivity, it was originally an application for the Public Relations industry.  Over time, after listening to valuable feedback and seeing what others had to say, we realized that Publictivity is useful for all companies and a ton of different industries.  We’re going to start posting short 3-4 minute videos showing how Publictivity is useful for different industries.  Here’s the first video for Public Relations:

Auren Hoffman wrote an interesting blog post this morning called “Why Angels Continue To Invest In The Consumer Space“.  The piece is pretty darn accurate, and you can’t deny it.  Sure, SaaS + Enterprise startups are getting angel funding, but nowhere near the rate of the Consumer Space.  I don’t have the stats to back that up, but I do have my nose to the ground when it comes to angel investing + funding trends.  It’s pretty straight forward to me: We need to fundamentally change the way enterprise/SaaS companies are built.  They need to be built like consumer Internet companies.

Why Angel Investing In the Enterprise/SaaS Space Isn’t “Hot”:

• The Products Aren’t As “Exciting”
  When it comes to investing, it’s a lot like showing your new toy or car off.  How often do you think the angel investors of facebook or one of the TechCrunch50 companies brag about their investments?  I’m going to say pretty damn often.  They are cool, they are hip, they are exciting.  They’re also easier to relate to.  Auren invested in Meebo. I’m sure it’s pretty easy to ask “Do you use meebo?”, and then get a yes from a lot of people.  Try that with “Enterprise Software For Human Resources” or something like that.  Quote from Dharmesh Shah, an awesome angel investor who gets it:
  “Consumer internet is just a lot more fun than enterprise software. Who wants to talk about enterprise intrusion detection for the Fortune 500 when you don’t have to?”

• The Usual Background of The Founders
  Most founders of enterprise + SaaS companies are coming from large companies like Oracle, SAP,etc.  instead of places like Y Combinator or dropping out of college.  This is an insanely different mindset.  A lot of redtape + “I Know It All” mentalities are  injected into the DNA of the company.  Most of these founders also have some sort of money in the bank.  It may not be a lot, but it lets them live off of more than the “ramen diet”.

• Never a “Flickr of Video”
  Enterprise + SaaS plays aren’t really that easy to understand.  There’s never a we’re like X company for X market ie- Flickr of Video, Facebook For Dogs, IM but Online,etc.  That makes it a lot harder to grasp the concept of what a company does.  It took us close to two years at Publictivity to be able to come up with something remotely similar to this: “Like Sharepoint, but if Apple made it instead of Microsoft”.  ERP, CRM, ECM,etc.  Seriously, it’s too complicated.

• It’s A One Way Conversation
  Angel investors need to do due diligence of some sorts.  They do this by calling customers and happy users.  Products like meebo, facebook, ustream, twitter, wordpress,etc. have FANATICAL users, and usually millions of them.  You can also use twitter search, technorati, google, and a whole lot more to see what people are saying.  It’s a one to many conversation.  With Enterprise software, the decision is made by a lone CIO with the input of a few others.  Do you think most users of the software inside a company are fanatical about it? I highly doubt you hear on twitter and technorati searches: “OMG, Oracle Beehive, this is the greatest software ever!!” Instead, the due dilignece pool is left to these CIO types.  This results in a real one to one conversation.

How The Next Generation of SaaS Startups Can Change This:

• Build a Product… And Fast
  Find a product to build, a need to solve, and build it fast.  I’ll admit, this is one piece of dogfood I wish we ate faster at Publictivity.  Build a simple iteration and get users.  You can add on the fancy features and more down the road.  To raise capital, a product means a whole lot more than a slide deck + some overglorified bios to an Angel.
• Find an Initial Audience That Will Love You
  You cannot be everything to everyone.  It’s just not doable.  Build loyalty and evangelism by going after a sector you can capture.  Overtime you can grow into new markets and establish a larger presence.  People who love you are an angel investor’s wet dream when it comes to due diligence.  By targeting an initial market, you can make this happen.
• Make A Simple Value Proposition
  What is the “delta”?  How was business conducted before you existed, and how will it be different now.  If you can simplify that into 2-3 sentences, you’re doing things right.  If it takes more than that, you won’t be able to close customers easily, let alone an angel investor who spends 2% of his time on this stuff.
• Focus on User Experience
  Some of the SaaS/Enterprise startups are just atrocious.  Sure, functionality matters and is important, but why can’t products be more beautiful like the consumer space?  If things are fluid and work well, convincing an Angel Investor with your product is going to be a whole lot easier.  If they don’t enjoy the experience, they probably won’t think you’re potential customers will either.
• Have Younger, Motivated, and Passionate Founders
  I’m sure I’ll get some shit for this statement.  I do not mean this in any offensive way possible.  At the end of the day, the younger out of college with no money founders are a whole lot more passionate and motivated.  They’re more in tune with what people want, and they can really interpret feedback.  Most of the great companies have come from founders in their early 20s for a good reason.  I would also advise: get some adult supervision from those in the industry who know how to run an enterprise company.
• Easy To Start Sales Cycle
  Go to most enterprise vendors and even a LOT of SaaS vendors.  Besides Salesforce, try to get me their pricing.  Try to sign up for a free trial.  I dare you, because it will rarely happen.  The sign up process is often weeks to months, not minutes.  If I see another company where you have to take a “demo tour webinar over the phone via webex” I’m going to jump out a window, a very high up window.   Most Angels will ask you “So how do you plan to get customers?”  If your answer is a 3 month sales cycle with intense legal contracts, custom SLAs, and more that comes off pretty scary.  If it’s clever promotion and being able to sign up for the service just as easily as facebook, then you’re doing pretty well.

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

-Steve Jobs 

Over the past few days a meme has emerged that describes Enterprise and business software as ugly.  Scoble has stirred a storm up with this post declaring “Enterprise Software isn’t Sexy”.  He is dead on the money.  Some posts even come back and say: “Damn Proud to Be Un-Sexy”.  The best headline comes from Ross Mayfield with “Enterprise Software Doesn’t Get You Laid, It Gets You Promoted“.  So what are my thoughts?

 

Enterprise Software Is UnSexy Because No Standard of Quality Exists

There is no standard for a good user experience in enterprise software.  Tell me what enterprise software user has a yardstick of quality to compare their experience against? They really don’t.  Notice I say user experience, not user interface.  I’m talking the whole enchilada: 

 

•  Purchasing- Forget this “we do not tell you our prices” garbage, and go through a whole sales routine.  I want the information in my face.  If you’re up front, they will call you as well, trust me. Salesforce does it right.
• Installing- Whether it is open source, an appliance, or on-demand most enterprise software is horrific to get started with.  Salesforce, Basecamp, and such are exempt from this.
• Using- People are used to garbage interfaces and will continue to be okay with garbage interfaces until somebody gives them something better.

Think about this: If the consumer side did not focus on usability, design, and the experience we would be stuck with tickers, flame animated GIFs, frames, midi music, and more.  I call on other companies developing for the enterprise to help raise the standard.  GTFO if you are “proud of being unsexy”.  

Collaboration and Consumerization Will  Bring Sexy Back To The Enterprise

Collaboration is the new essence of enterprise software.  For collaboration to work, the experience has to be good.  Try collaborating on ugly software, it won’t happen.  Too much is going on with collaboration for an ugly interface to be there.  Technologies like Wikis, Social Bookmarking, Social Networking, RSS, and more are changing the Enterprise.  These technologies were built off of good interfaces.  There’s hope folks, there is hope.

Build For Users Not CIOs

I read this quote on twitter. It may be from Ross Mayfield or Jeremiah Owyang.  I’d like to credit the individual who came up with this, as it is perfect.  Here’s something that might remind you of the SATs:

Web 1.0 : Web 2.0 :: CIO Ruled Enterprise : User Ruled Enterprise

Think about it for a second. Web 1.0 was controlled by the few.  These few people called the shots on content and what went.  In web 2.0, we, the end user rule.  We make the content, we revolt, and we give you commentary.  In the enterprise, the CIO makes the decisions from his dark little tower for tens of thousands of individuals.  With Enterprise 2.0, the end users will tell the CIO what they want.  If it’s all about ROI, I bet you the CIO will see a better ROI from users who are using a system they love. 

Have Your Cake and Eat It Too 

Many say the Enterprise should focus on scalability, security, privacy, compliance,etc.  I 100% agree, this needs to be there.  Nick Carr has it right though with his logic of: amazon is beyond scaleable, secure,etc., but also is very easy to use.  There is no reason to bury our heads in the sand with a shit user interface because we hide behind “scalability” and “security”. You should have your cake and eat it too- Beautiful AND Scaleable software.  That my friends is our end goal at Publictivity.  

 

 

Wow… this has been a long time coming. The team at Publictivity is beyond excited to have you here for the first time at our Education Blog. We started blogging in late 2006- mid 2007, but stopped in preparation for Beta. We wanted to create something more than just a blog, but a resource that was useful to Public Relations Practitioners, Social Media Enthusiasts, Bloggers, Startups, and more. To keep things simple, we’ve created a list of what the Education Blog IS and IS NOT.What The Publictivity Education Blog IS

• A Resource For Anyone- We made this resource for everyone, not just our first target customers, Public Relations professionals. Whether you are a social media enthusiast, a student, an entrepreneur trying to launch their startup,etc., this blog will provide useful insights.
• One Side Of The Story- This is fact mixed with opinion. To put it simple, it is a lot of interpretation. The great thing about blogging comes in the form of different opinions. Everyone gets to tell their side of the story. Look at TechMeme for example.
• An Open Conversation- Comments will always be open. Period.
• Explaining Why Things Work- This is about why things work. The inner workings and the deep analysis, not a straight forward observation. For example, the community aspect of facebook moreso than the technical or UI aspects of Facebook.

What the Publictivity Education Blog IS NOT

• Purely About Public Relations- right now our focus is on Public Relations, but as entrepreneurs, we have a ton to share. You’ll also gain insights into our company, and issues that we face.
• A Definitive Answer- We’re not the end all source for the topics we talk about. Most of the time we’ll provide supplementary sources, that might even argue against what we say.
• Ego Boosting- We’re not here to sit on our high horses, and tell you what’s right. We want to help contribute to the community with our thoughts.