Dan Benjamin: Entrepreneurs on Rails
Posted by Annalisa Afeltra in
Ruby on Rails -
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I have just had a few words with Dan, he is agitated and he did not expect that many people, probably this session was the most full amongst the other sessions.
The room is (unexpectedly) crowded and Dan is about to start his session.
A small poll on how many people in the room are freelancers: the majority. Dan Benjamin speaks about his 15 years experience in development with his software house and says that he would like to share with us how much he has learnt.
The key of success is always the same, to find a product that satisfies a need (just like what apple did).
Dan speaks about Jeff Bezos, who was obligated to produce the book that he wrote only because it was refused by all publishing houses, having a huge success.
What do you need to start?
First of all an idea, that must be clear but not static, that can change with time if it is necessary. Then you need energy to be at 100% on the idea. Dan says that you also need Spirito Guerriero, the will to go ahead and to sacrifice for the project.
Before you start:
You need to first know why you are doing this, especially for the projects OpenSource, that is always with more difficulty are a good starting base to make business. You need to then have the objectives that are temporarily fixed. Dan adds a very important thing: you need to from the start know in what way that which you are doing will make money. Another important thing, you need to have is an open escape street: meaning that if things go bad there must be a way to get out of the project in a pragmatic and premeditated way.
Why create a company ?
Dan makes it evident that a company is a separate entity, it is like a second personality, for that you must pay tax. There are also positive sides, for instance collaborating with other companies is much easier (clearly he is talking about the American system) or keep loans. Also the fact that owning your own company helps also the affair relations (a precession of security).
Clearly owning a company costs and bureaucracy increases.
(at the moment Dan’s conference is very interesting but very little link to Rails, some people leave the room….)
What company to create?
Dan is doing an overview on various types of companies that is possible to create in this country.
And Then?
It is essential to create a brand that can show your company. The brand must have a message (simple and concise) that describes your activity. Dan announces that it is not good to over exaggerate and make it seem that it is more than it really is. It is also important to position the brand. For this you need to have a clear idea who is the client that you are marketing for. Dan confirms that the first few months the marketing is much more important than the programming.
Making it work
The most difficult challenge is linked to the managing the flow of requests from the clients; it is difficult but you must be able to say no if the requests become too much or risks reducing the quality of the product. It is also important to remember that working from home for long periods seems to make people less productive and reliable, it would be better to have an office and to be at least in two.
(interesting interval: the security guards are clearing the room as it over the limit)
In our environment, Dan proceeds, it is very important to write analysis quotes to the clients that are the most possibly detailed (affirms that the documents that your company produces are never less than 40/50 pages) Dn continues saying that you never need to start code without a contract.
The discussion concludes on a good note to invest the profit earned, legal consulting and publicity is in Dan’s opinion the two most important sectors in which you need to invest.
Annalisa
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Dan Benjamin
Posted on June 02