Ilya Pozin, Founder of Ciplex, runs an internet business that's growing at a 25% - 30% clip annually. As a small business, Ciplex has "flipped" the organizational chart, "fired" its managers, and installed staff as empowered leaders. Pozin's title, for example, is now team support.
Scott Gerber, Founder of Young Entrepreneur Council, works at supporting, educating and connecting American entrepreneurs worldwide. He works at bringing entrepreneurship (i.e., self-sufficiency) up to the same level as traditional jobs, that is, as a viable option for university graduates.
Panel members respond to audience questions about ethics and controversy, new sites "popping up," and the CapitalOne switch from direct mail to social media.
Mike Darne, Senior Director Senior Media & Search Marketing with CapitalOne, views social media as "a shiny new toy." He and teams at CapitalOne look at how this toy can complement their TV campaign and come up with products that small businesses need.
Bess Wyrick, Founder and CEO of Celedon & Celery, wants to rebrand the company, after splitting with a partner. But how does she do this, and is it even a good idea to do so? More pointedly perhaps, how does she deal with the identity crisis her company is going through?
David Smith, Founder and CEO of TekScape, asks how best to work social media and grasp its ROI. Social media may be less product-determined and more customer segment-focused. But even before that, Smith learns that coming up with a strategic plan first helps to answer such questions.
Michelle Madhok, Founder and CEO of SHEFINDS Media, asks how to separate signal from noise of social media, that is, genuine followers and potential customers versus contest participants. In light of two million unique visitors a month, it's a massive, complicated question to answer.
Shane Snow, Cofounder of Contently, relates a focus shift from small business to big brands. Do research and fashion crisp messages are the advice from the panel. However, this clip didn't address his second query: Right now his sales people rely on the founders to close big deals. So how does the company scale the ability to close, because the founders aren't always going to be able to step in?
Susan Lindner, Founder and CEO of Emerging Media, wonders how to best balance marketing efforts with client work. Does it makes sense, for example, to hire someone to handle the operational moves? This way, she can focus on promoting the business. It's rethinking how and where she ought to spend her time.
Thank you for reading and watching, and let me know what you think?
Ron Villejo, PhD
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