Found+READ: Comments by Matt Trossen

Matt Trossen — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 15:44:20 GMT

Refusing to shift with the current is a certain recipe for disaster. There is something to be said about being firm in your convictions about certain goals and visions, but to ignore what the market is telling you is foolish. I’ve watch more than one bullheaded small businessperson refuse to alter their ways and drown in the changing current because of it. But then again, it’s Darwinian isn’t it :)

Matt Trossen — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 11:32:05 GMT

My main piece of advice is also about informal contracts with friends & family. Be very very VERY careful about going down this path. Everyone is friendly and helpful in the beginning, but should you be lucky enough to start building something of value you can count on people believing very strongly that they gave much more than they did. Be very very clear about what you are offering for work done and hold your equity close to your chest. Every % counts down the road. Being over generous in the beginning will bite you later.

Good luck :)

Matt Trossen — Thu, 03 May 2007 06:07:31 GMT

I’m almost embarrassed to admit what my first company name was. After reading a dozen business advice books which all had a chapter about not getting overly complex with your name I went ahead and did it anyway. I ran with “Virulence Industries”. No one could ever get it right over the phone. Just like you, I had a spelling & pronunciation nightmare every time. Not to mention the odd connotation of my word choice. I had a nice deep philosophical explanation for it, as if that should be something that begins every business meeting… The things we do when we are young and green! :)

Matt Trossen — Thu, 03 May 2007 00:25:54 GMT

Yes, that’s true about the icebreaker. Unfortunately I was trying to do phone sales on the one hand, on the other it was meetings where people had furled brows wondering why I’d used such a harsh negative word in a name.

Virulence: The quality or state of being virulent or venomous; poisonousness; malignancy.

If I was selling weed killer it might have been appropriate. BTW- the word choice, it was a whole concept about breaking something down to rebuild it… yada yada. Let’s just say it didn’t go over well.

You just mentioned something else that makes a very good point. We are now Trossen Robotics, we used to be Phidgets USA because the company started as a reseller of a product line called Phidgets. Naming your own company after another companies product line is a HUGE no-no. You have immediately locked yourself down to being identified with only that product. It also is very confusing to everyone else who thinks you are the same company. So listen up dear readers, don’t do that! ;)

After having two experiences with bad name choices I kept it simple and conservative this time around. Trossen Robotics is pretty darn to the point.

Matt Trossen — Thu, 31 May 2007 21:09:12 GMT

I personally would love to hear more from others who have “no-no” tips. Great list. Pretty funny also :)