Many of the most creative and effective marketing that I have come across has centered around the thematic combination of the “Three Cs” –Content, Community, and Commerce. Content drives user acquisition, community is built around the buzz created by the content, and commerce happens last on the good will built through great content and a highly-engaged community of users. A few eCommerce companies that come to mind as having executed this strategy very well are Huckberry (one of the earliest eCommerce retailers to focus on high-quality editorial and content/photography first, then commerce second), Goop (high quality content to build a devout community of consumers centered around wellness and healthier liv-ing), GoRuck (using community-driven events to sell their core products), and Thrive Market (delivering high-quality wellness and healthy food products at affordable prices, with a massive online community of loyal consumers and health & wellness advocates/influencers). read more

There are many reasons. Here are a few of the big ones. Lower your risk of failing because of these reasons and you'll be better off. Founder problems. The founding team fights over direction, equity, compensation, growth, and many of issues. To reduce your risk of this, have the hard talks about your perspectives and write down responsibilities. Write up a founders' agreement. This is not for legal purposes as much as it is to ensure that you have these difficult conversations early on. Build something that people want. Sounds simple, but many startups instead build things that the founding team thinks are cool. If few other people agree or if no one eventually wants to pay for what you are building, the business is likely to fail. Look to your location for talent, problem to solve, and perspective. That means that you might end up building something different, or at least differently, than if you were in another location. Avoid building something that works read more

If there's a formula, it's partly of things to do and things to stop doing. Be observant and unreasonable. Try to see your environment as an outsider. We constantly avoid solving problems because of a silent belief that "that's just the way the world is." Become passionate about solving a problem for a customer group. Your solution will probably change -- that's why passion about the problem is key. Your customer segment is the group of people you will spend years with as you build your business. So you also need that founder-customer fit. Ignore general tech press and instead focus on your customers and what they read, events they attend, and focus on. read more