Written on 30th June 2009
23 COMMENTS Zee, Editor in Chief at The Next Web, Principal at WeDoCreative.
When I first took steps into this industry, conferences, networking, panels and speeches were something which I knew I would have to get involved with. If I’m honest, its not an area I particularly enjoy but it comes with the territory – much like celebrities and the paparazzi I suppose :P .
Anyhow, I dug and dug and couldn’t find a decent list of tech events that I should be making an effort to attend – so I decided to create one myself – and now I’m sharing it with you. I have undoubtedly (more…)
Next to being an Internet Entrepreneur I also consider myself a true mobile worker. I started my first company in a bar in Amsterdam and started my second company, HubHop – a WiFi hotspot provider – so I could work anywhere with WiFi.
Being a mobile worker requires good preparation. I bought a TUMI bag years ago to protect my Powerbook/MacBook Pro. As you might know the TUMI has lots of hidden pockets in which you can store stuff. I decided to compile a list of things that every Mobile Worker should have in his bag to turn any place into a temporary office. Built on years of experience I hope it is useful for you:
1: Gadget Kit
Laptop (with DVD player for long flights), iPhone/iPod, Digital Camera.
2: Emercency Back-up Kit
USB Stick, Spare Keys, Laptop Lock, Spare Batteries (laptop, phone + other stuff), one or two rewritable CDs or DVDs, Food (stuck in meeting, airport or traffic!), Original Laptop Installation CD/DVD.
3a: Cable Kit
Ethernet, Monitor/projector adapters, Airplane Power adapter, Adapters for Phone, Laptop and Other Gadgets, Spare iPod/iPhone Headset.
3b: Cable Kit
The most important cable you might want to pack is a cheap power extension cord. I have one that is almost 4 meters long and it is my most used gadget. Most places have wireless internet but the power sockets are always inconveniently hidden somewhere. A simple extension cord gives you a lot more freedom!
4: Medical First Aid Kit
Aspirin, Sleeping pills (lethal dose to escape boring meetings), Cough Suppress Pills (Mints/Drops/Anything that works for you), Bandages. (Optional: tampons and/or condoms).
5: Personal Hygiene Kit
Toothbrush and Toothpaste (Take mini set from plane or hotelroom) and/or Mints and/or Chewing Gum, Toothpick and Floss, Nail file and Nailclipper, Comb, Small Mirror.
6: Papers
Passport, Businesscards, 3 ballpoints, 1 Permanent Marker, Notebook (moleskine), Book or Magazine (for when batteries are empty (inevitable) and you are bored), 4 Paperclips (to eject disks, sim cards from iPhones or poke between teeth when bored).
7: Assorted Tools Kit
Leatherman/pocket knife, Screwdriver, Tie rips, Ziplock Bag (for storing liquids such as drinks, beauty products and vomit), small umbrella.
My cat is pretty quick but I am smarter so I can catch it if I want. My cat can also catch mice. I’m not sure if mice are dumber or smarter than cats but they CAN be caught by cats. But I can’t catch a mouse with my bare hands. They are simply too fast for me.
I can catch my cat and my cat can catch a mouse but I can’t catch mice.
Are you following me? This makes sense, right?
But it doesn’t make sense to big companies. They figure:
‘We have enough money to buy this little start-up that offers this solution to this problem so we sure as hell can just build this solution ourselves and save us the trouble and money of buying it’
But the ‘Buy or Build’ decision is slightly more complicated than that. The fact that you can buy a company doesn’t mean you can also build what they can build.
Being a cat catcher doesn’t make you good at catching mice.
Scale DOES matter.
More mental ammunition for you if you ever find yourself negotiating with a big company.
But wait! It also works the other way around! Catching a mouse or catching 100.000 mice is not the same. When you catch one mouse you are dealing with one mouse. If you are catching 100.000 mice you are dealing with mousecatchers. Herding mice or herding mousecatchers are two very different things.
But you knew this.
Maybe you didn’t know this: cats don’t play with mice for fun, practice or out of ignorance. They play with mice because the terror of being eaten alive by a cat makes the mouse’s meat taste sweeter. Apply that to the cat & mouse games that are played during negotiations and you can figure out what I could blog about that.
The title of this post is a quote from Wittgenstein which kept popping into my head as I was traveling through Europe these past weeks. I visited France on a ski trip, stopped over in Vienna by airplane and then traveled to Budapest by car.
I speak Dutch, some English, a little German and unfortunately only know one word in Hungarian. The conference I’m visiting only had 4 English presentations: my own, Ernst-Jan’s and two more. Unfortunately none of the other presentations used the only Hungarian word I know.
Hungary has a population of about 10 million people. After WW1 the country got split up and Hungary lost 72% of its land (a sensitive subject even now) which means that there are about 14.5 million people who still speak the language.
In Europe we tend to compare ourselves to the US regularly. We are jealous of the great start-up cultures in cities like San Francisco and the entrepreneurial spirit that so many Americans seem to have. But how much difference is there really between these two parts of the world? Lets take a good look at some statistics.
Population
The US has a population of more than 300 million. Compare that to Hungary and you aren’t too well off. Compare it to Europe as a whole and the figures look different. There are more than 700 million Europeans. That is twice as big an audience as the US?! Suddenly I don’t feel so alone anymore.
Language Those 700 million people are divided by language, right? They all speak different languages so it is too difficult to reach them? Well yeah, there are 23 official langauges in the European Union and 65 languages and/or dialects in total. That sure sounds fragmented.
Everybody in the United States at least speaks English, right? Well, almost. English is not the official language of the United States but more than 82% of the population speaks it as their native language.
Lets look at Europe again: 51% of all europeans speak English as a second or first language. That actually means that there are more people who speak English in Europe (357 million) than there are people in the United States, in total!
Money
It isn’t really about the language is it? It must be about the money. The United States is a richer market. But is that really true?
It looks like the GDP of the US was about USD 14,330,000 in 2008 and USD 18,930,000 in Europe (In millions of dollars).Yep, Europe is doing a lot better than the US when it comes to GDP. Maybe GPD growth? Is the US growing faster than we are? I don’t know what the results will be of the current economic crisis but when you look at from 2006 till 2007 the United States GDP grew 4.9% and our GDP grew 16%.
Maybe you say I’m making these numbers up as a biased European? Nope, they are from the CIA World Fact Book. Surely the CIA can be trusted on their own numbers?
The more I think about it the more interesting Europe becomes to me:
- There are more people in Europe
- More people speak English in Europe than there are people in the US
- We have more money in Europe than in the US
- We are growing faster
I have to admit, all these ‘facts’ are based on statistics. And we all know how trustworthy those are. But I do suggest you do your own research and look at what you can find out about the differences between Europe and the United States before you pack your bags and move to San Francisco.
Now all that is left for me to do is convince all the Internet Entrepreneurs in Hungary, and Europe, to actually start speaking English…
Without VCs many start-ups wouldn’t have a chance. Unfortunately with VCs many entrepreneurs also don’t have a chance. There will always be a power struggle between investors and entrepreneurs. Sure, they have a common goal: make the company successful. But unfortunately they also have a goal that is completely opposed to each others goals: they both want to make as much money as possible. If that means screwing each other out of some, so be it. Unfortunately, again, the entrepreneur is usually the one with less power in the relationship and so more likely to be screwed, if there is screwing to be done.
Last week Scott Rafer wrote a guest post with his ideas on the current economic crisis and what it means for entrepreneurs. One quote stuck with me:
“Instead, the Valley is delivering grimy voyeurism from ‘A-list bloggers’ or transient opportunism from VCs seeking to negotiate better inside deals with their portfolio companies over the next six months.”
Yep, what that says is that there is screwing to be done and if you are an entrepreneur there is a good chance that some venture capitalist has his cross hairs aimed at your ass.
So how can you defend yourself if you are starting your company? Here are some tips:
1: Be Independent
Yeah, easier said than done. And true in any situation. Still, try to stay away from the “We need 1 million upfront to build our infrastructure” ideas and focus on stuff you can build out of your basement. Once you have traction (cashflow & users) then talk to investors. You will be in a better position to make demands.
2: Think Different
Every VC out there is currently blogging, talking and tweeting about how bad the economy is and how we should all stock up on money if we can and accept any deal we can get. Very friendly advice indeed! Fact is, entrepreneurs are counter-cyclical thinkers. If there is an economic slump we of all people should be seeing opportunities! In a bull market anyone can make it. This is our finest hour and don’t let those blood sucking parasites tell you otherwise!
3: Be Prepared
When you are talking to a VC they will always make it seem like they want to buy a part of your company. Switch that thing around! Don’t be too cocky about it but think of it this way: you are buying a part of their money and are using your company to pay for it. It is a simple trick but will make your perspective completely different when talking to them.
4: Be Patient
With everybody else panicking now is the time for you to relax. Observe what is happening in your industry and who will panic first. Basically this market is now a huge game of chicken: who is going to fold first? Grow your company, concentrate on cashflow and focus on the future.
5: Ignore Everyone
Ignore all the naysayers around you. Don’t matter if they are bloggers, investors or family. You have a company with a product that people want. Focus on that! Unless you have a lot of shareholders you are the only individual who is truly independent. No pink slips for you because you are your own boss! Cover your ears, keep your eyes on the road and blow those competitors who only have eyes for their stock portfolios out of the water!
Economic crisis? Bring it on! This is the era of the entrepreneur and nothing can stop us!
Don’t you hate that question? I always have a very hard time explaining people what it is I do exactly. The above diagram explains some of the pitfalls of trying to explain what you do if you are a designer. Same could apply for entrepreneur/blogger/marketeer/SEO expert or any of our other ‘modern’ professions…
In only 12 days The Next Web Conference will be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We will post short daily updates about speakers, initiatives and events here.
Jessica Mah is a 17 year old entrepreneur, blogger, and sophomore in college AND one of our keynote speakers next week.
She is the editor of Startupism.com and the co-founder of Shockapps.com. As of recently, she became a TEDster. Her blog details her adventurous journey through school and entrepreneurship.
She ran a successful hosting business when she was 13 and now that she’s 17 year old she’s planning to start ShockApps.com and retire at age 25 as a millionaire. She keeps a personal blog over at JessicaMah.com
Here is an interview with Jessica at SXSW 08 with Julia Allison:
Want to hear The future of the web according to teenage serial internet entrepreneur Jessica Mah? Reserve you ticket before it is too late!
Written on 30th June 2009
23 COMMENTS 
When I first took steps into this industry, conferences, networking, panels and speeches were something which I knew I would have to get involved with. If I’m honest, its not an area I particularly enjoy but it comes with the territory – much like celebrities and the paparazzi I suppose :P .
Written on 8th May 2009
The Next Web Blog is closely associated with The Next Web Conference which is held annually in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. At this event speakers from all over the world come together to talk about, and show off, the future of the Web. (More info 
