It's an interesting thing when you first start pitching your business idea around to people. It seems as though the 80/20 rule applies. Eighty percent of the people we've met in the last few months are totally excited about bGreen. They want to know details, they want to know how they can get involved, and the MBAs want to know how strong our business plan is. Then there's the twenty side of the 80/20 rule. For whatever reason, they think bGreen is a bad idea. The economy is in shambles. Green is too new. Boston isn't ready for this. We try and ignore these people as best we can, while wondering if there might be some validity in their thoughts. Oh, there's also our moms, who are fully in the 80% camp, who are only worried that we have enough to eat and that we're not too stressed (maybe we'll do a full post on the importance of having your family 100% behind you).
For this post, let's focus on a portion of the 80% crowd. Within this group, there's a smaller group of people we've met who are so excited about bGreen that they want to partner with us. It gets me thinking. What could anyone want to do with bGreen. Technically, we don't even exist yet. Sure we've got a blog, a website in progress, a twitter feed, and some great ideas, but that's it really. We don't sell anything. We've got no sales or distribution platform yet. We don't have any inventory. Really, all we have is an idea. Well, it turns out that it's the idea that sells. People love a good idea, and if they think it can help their business, they're sure as hell going to try and form a partnership with you. It makes perfect sense. In fact, when we think about it a bit more, a partnership is exactly what we'd try to do if the roles were reversed.
Let's take a look at three partnership opportunities that have been presented to us. First, there's the green store in California that, in our opinion, is one for the few green stores doing it right. Great location, interesting and innovative products, and actually running the store like a real business, not just a hobby. During our first meeting with them, they suggested that we find a way to work together. Them on the West Coast, us on the East. Second, there's the design business that deals in eco and sustainable design elements (furniture, furnishings, consulting, etc). Right up our alley. When we met these guys at a trade show, we mentioned our business and getting something going in Boston, and they jumped at the opportunity to create a dialogue with us when we got back East. Finally, there's the resource center in Boston with an enormous network of green industry insiders and vendors. To be honest, while a partnership might benefit them, it's certain that it would be an immediate boost to us.
What do we make of all this? Honestly, we're not really sure. The fact that anyone thinks our idea is good enough to partner on really makes your head spin. It's exciting and it's confusing, but most importantly it gives us some validation of our ideas. We've been doing some reading lately on what makes a successful partnership, and wanted to share some insight from noted entrepreneur, Guy Kawasaki. I've seen Guy mention these two keys of partnering in several different posts:
1. Partner for “Spreadsheet” Reasons. Partnering can accelerate your entry into a new area, open up new distribution channels, speed up product development and reduce your costs.
2. Cut Win-Win Deals. Both partners have to win. Do not enter into win-lose partnerships.
While Guy's advice may be geared towards larger organizations, seasoned entrepreneurs, and companies that already exist, there are many lessons than can be applied to a small startup like ours. What are the reasons for a partnership? Are we just excited about the prospect that people think our idea is cool? Is a partnership just a quicker way for us to get up and running? Is a partnership actually going to deliver results to our bottom line? Will both parties benefit from the situation?
As we work to build bGreen into something more than just an idea, we suspect that our opportunities for partnerships will grow, and we'll be forced to answer some of these tough questions. Some people may genuinely be interested in a deal. Others may look at it as simply a way to gain an east coast presence. Hey, someone may even use the idea of a partnership just to have access to our good looks. Who knows? The only thing we know for certain right now is that we don't really know if a partnership is in our future. Stay tuned.
p.s. you can check out Guy's full articles on startups here, here, and here.
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