The SRS Initiative

If you're someone who runs or is starting a business, you've probably heard that that you need to “niche down” to be successful in your venture. This advice is great, but sometimes you need to “niche-up”.

“Niche-up” in essence means to go broad.

Because the reality is that you need to go through a “cyclic niche-down and niche-up process” to test, validate, pivot, evolve, grow, and generate demand.

Regardless to whether you are a service or product company or even a little bit of both, doing one (e.g. niche-down) without being able to do the other (e.g. niche-up) slows down your ability to reach product or service market fit.

Many treat product or service market fit as a stable fixed position. However, product or service market fit can and does change. Regardless of whether you want it to or not.

What happened to market needs since Covid-19 provides evidence for how what makes for a good product or service market fit can change in an instant.

Understanding and knowing how to execute this is one of the keys for maintaining a successful business.

Not all businesses are start-ups. However, if you are planning to found, develop, or already have a start-up read "Why StartUps Fail" by Tom Eisenmann.

A $30-$40 investment now could save you $100’s if not $1000’s in the future or even prevent start-up failure...

And of course feel free to contact me with any questions or if I can be of some service.

Over 70.0% of small business owners have no exit strategy. An exit strategy is a plan for what happens when a business owner, investor, etc., wants or needs to leave or stop taking part in their or someone else’s business.

So, for those who have or are planning to start a business, start-up, or Research Impact (RI) Venture - think and put a plan in place for what should be done with your company when you decide to retire, leave, or get tired of it in advance.

This might seem counterintuitive but thinking about your exit strategy will help you determine a strategy for how you want to organize, or start, and/or move your company forward.

If you already have a company and do not have an exit strategy.

Now is a great time to get one.

Below are a list of five major types of exit strategies.

So, you have obtained a patent, no what – have you thought about patent licensing?

Below I have provided 10 basic types of patent licensing that one should know.

Out of these ten numbers 7 and 8 are not a specific type of patent license per se but rather names for approaches that are used in the licensing community.

Number 7 listed below is called “carrot licensing” – an approach where the patent holder entices the licensee with a glimpse of the patent to get them to buy.

Number 8 is called “stick licensing” – an approach where someone or entity is infringing (i.e., using) your patent and you basically say get the license or else…

Moral of the story here is to always know your Intellectual Property (IP) rights and options. It is also good to know the lingo.

Please reach out to me if you have patent licensing and/or business questions and would like a consultation.

If I cannot answer your legal and IP questions , I have colleagues who I work with who can.

Burn rate is critical for understanding when you are going to run out of money (i.e. runway ends) and also determining how much money a company needs to continue operating and hopefully grow.

It is also important to know that there are various ways to calculate burn rate (e.g. net or gross) and that one’s burn rate can increase and decrease.

There are many places where one can go to learn about burn rate.

Geckoboard is a good place to start. Below are some “basic” burn rate equations they provide.

Take home message - know your burn rate.

For those who want to start or have a business, there is a transition that many of you will go through, that very few openly talk about.

It is the transition of working for someone else (i.e. an employee) and/or having a side business or hustle to becoming the CEO of your own company – the point when building and moving your company or venture forward takes priority.

This is a lonely transition where: your thoughts begin to change; your social and digital presence begins to shift; people seem less interested in what you have to say; you start to encounter an abundance mindset (e.g. almost everything could be possible but you realize that you have to focus and decide to move in one direction) and; you constantly question if you are correct.

When this happens and it will – buckle up, stand your ground, focus, find one person who can support you, and move forward.

In these scenarios, even through your failures, you win, because it is only a matter of time before you learn and transform, as you transition to the other side.

If you need help through this transition please email me to figure out how I can best support you!