Ignite is a set of events where speakers are given exactly 5 minutes to speak on a topic of their choice with slides that auto-forward whether you’re ready or not. It’s a pretty cool format because it forces you to get to the point very quickly. I gave a presentation at Ignite Melbourne a couple of nights ago about how you can use iteration to build a business, even if you don’t have a ton of experience. (more…)

As a young company that is growing (relatively) fast, one of the challenges we face at Envato is to create and keep the right company culture. Today I came across a really brilliant slide presentation from Netflix about their company culture. It’s a really fantastic manual and one I can see I’m going to be referring back to over and over as we grow Envato. (more…)

Since 37Signals famously built a business providing well made web apps for small business, there have been a host of great services launched in their mold. One of my favourites has always been a company called LessEverything. A small (but growing) team out of Florida, the guys at LessEverything have a deservedly successful app called LessAccounting that does just what it promises. Built on a freemium business model the app has been followed by LessTimeSpent and LessProjects along with a whole bunch of neat, quirky and fun side projects. I caught up with co-founder Allan Branch to talk about development, marketing and the business of web apps! (more…)

A couple of years ago there used to be this program on cable TV about renovating homes called Property Ladder. It was a great little show that followed various aspiring property developers as they attempted to buy, renovate and then sell property in the UK. The host of the show, one Sarah Beeny, would advise the would-be property magnates on keeping costs down, being sensible about what sorts of choices they made and generally helping them to make a profit. (more…)

A common refrain for people thinking up business ideas is that all the good ideas have already been done. This of course isn’t true, but it sure can feel that way!

On numerous occasions I’ve had what I thought was a lightening bolt idea only to find that someone has not only thought of it before but has even gone out and built a really great business out of it. While it is rather vindicating to see that your idea really did have merit, it is also a bit disappointing. But should you give up? And if you don’t, then how do you go about taking on such a challenge?

Finding an established competitor is not necessarily cause to quit on the spot. It is however reason to think very carefully, and assess whether you have the resources, energy and ingenuity to go for it. Make no mistake, having an established and successful competitor will make things much harder. On the other hand, they prove that a market exists, and for larger competitors, even the left-overs can be very worthwhile. In one of the biggest markets – internet search – even a measly 1% of the market is apparently worth $1 billion dollars in market cap – sort of explains why companies like Ask keep at it when Google seems to have won the market hands down. (more…)