How We're Building a Values-Driven, Lean Advertising Startup
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How to Build a Successful, Values-Driven, “Lean” Company
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Transcript of How We're Building a Values-Driven, Lean Advertising Startup
How to Build a Successful, Values-Driven, “Lean” Company
Rob FanFounder & CTO
Rob FanFounder & CTO
Dan GreenbergFounder & CEO
Dan GreenbergFounder & CEO
The (quick) Sharethrough Story
Sharethrough Company Growth
Roots in engineering virality for
Facebook applications and viral video campaigns.
2 Hours of Development....
Then....Sharethrough started as a Facebook App Company
Our first app? Hugs.
....20,000,000 Monthly Active Users!
Sharethrough is the first technology company built exclusively for brand content, not ads
Most video campaigns on the AdAge Viral Video
Chart... ever!
Generated over300MM video views
80% customer retention
We win lots of awards :)
We’ve got a ton of experience
Our customers love us
Sharethrough Dashboard
Ad Products
Sharethrough guarantees views and maximizes sharing.
Publisher Network
Your Brand Video
Now....Sharethrough Guarantees Views and Maximizes Sharing
It’s media,
not magic!
Sharethrough in the News...
The Stanford Class that built Apps, and Fortunes.
“Now 25, he works out of a glass-walled corner office in San Francisco. He is C.E.O. of his company, now called Sharethrough, which uses social media to distribute videos across the Web for companies.”
"Sharethrough is building a repeatable
advertising product for branded video content
that doesn't rely on happy accidents."
AdAge Media Maven, Dan Greenberg, on Social
Video
Sharethrough Integrates with Facebook Platform for Social Video Distribution Inside Social Games
"This new initiative marks Facebook's validation of social video, focusing on views, not impressions; choice, not interruption; shares, not just CTRs.”
Sharethrough in the News...
The Stanford Class that built Apps, and Fortunes.
“Now 25, he works out of a glass-walled corner office in San Francisco. He is C.E.O. of his company, now called Sharethrough, which uses social media to distribute videos across the Web for companies.”
"Sharethrough is building a repeatable
advertising product for branded video content
that doesn't rely on happy accidents."
AdAge Media Maven, Dan Greenberg, on Social
Video
Sharethrough Integrates with Facebook Platform for Social Video Distribution Inside Social Games
"This new initiative marks Facebook's validation of social video, focusing on views, not impressions; choice, not interruption; shares, not just CTRs.”
How We Got Here
FAIL FAST
Treat everything as an experiment
Always be transparent.
Building a product is easy
Building a business is hard
Technology is a problem-solver, not the product
Plan everything in terms of MVP’s
Cash is a vanity metric
More cash does not equal more equity value
Sell your VISION and choose early customers
who want to build that vision with you
Make your story shareable(Give customers the language to sell it)
Make everyone your champion
Hire aspirationally
Day-to-day tips
Curate a lean/agile/customer development library
Over-invest in learning opportunities
Document customer archetypes with visible artifacts
Paired programming on all stories
Daily scrums, Rotating pairs daily
Ping pong battlefield
Communicate with visuals instead of words
Stanford d.school whiteboards
Physical, visual, and transparent product communication
Physical, visual, and transparent product communication
CONCERNS
PROBLEMMEETINGAGENDA
DESIGNSTUDIO BUILD - MEASURE - LEARN
How We Scale This Philosophy
Document core values from the ground up
Optimism
Action
Creativity
Personal Growth
Purpose
Respect
Transparency
Core Values
’s
means...
in action...
think big, and think ahead
it’s not...
OPTIMISM
• confidence in the existence of a solution
• don’t get discouraged
• there is always a way
• embrace uncertainty
• ambition
• enthusiasm
• blind positivity, irrational happiness
• denial Our Core Values
means...
in action...
fail fast, learn aggressively
it’s not...
ACTION
• take forward-moving steps, not lateral movements
• fail as a team, not as an individual
• learn by doing
• decisions over perfection
• “be the accelerator, not the brakes”
• proactive vs. reactive
• Carethrough example
• waiting for full buy-in before you start something
• blind action without thought or planning Our Core Values
means...
in action...
demand context
it’s not...
PURPOSE
• make sure everyone on your team understands the major goals• communicate learnings and challenges up and down the company• sharing passion• asking questions• office hours
• blind commitment to the project Our Core Values
means...
in action...
self-awareness & effective communication
it’s not...
TRANSPARENCY
• should be tempered with purpose• lunch and learns• intellectual honesty• customer reporting• company wide file sharing
• always being wide open with everything• ignoring issues, roadblocks, and sticky situations Our Core Values
means...
in action...
write your own story
it’s not...
PERSONAL GROWTH
• aspirational hiring• appreciating the newness of everything• recognizing growth is not always easy• being part of an ongoing story, not a treadmill• the education fund• having mentors and advisors
• being afraid to jump off the bridge Our Core Values
means...
in action...
make everyone our champion
it’s not...
RESPECT
• trust in those around you• speak up• understand your impact on the people around you, directly & indirectly• taking criticism well• empathy• Carethrough
• being nice all the timeOur Core Values
means...
in action...
create new things
it’s not...
CREATIVITY
• bias towards creation, not improvement• thinking differently about problems• building MVP’s, not full-blown solutions• STR exists to facilitate more creativity in the advertising world
• accepting the process as-is• resisting change• always being different, artistic, zany, funny, etc
Our Core Values
