Brewed From Within

Captive

Air travel is an elevated time to shake and move above the clouds. Elevation makes us all feel successful, so hammering on some work or catching up on a good read/listen/watch feels great, but a nap is just as nice.

Think back to the last time you warped time by catching a mid-flight nap. Suddenly, a flight attendant shatters your peaceful slumber—not to share a friendly update for passengers but to rattle off a forced sales pitch for their branded credit card. Ouch.

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Attention is hard to earn.
If you have it, don’t waste it.

Now, imagine an alternate scenario. Instead of unwanted interruption followed by an impersonal script that makes us feel like prisoners instead of appreciated customers, what if the same offer felt more like a special little gift?

How might it feel to hear that you have been selected to receive a free beverage or tasty snack, paired with that same credit card application as a convenient napkin? This tasty presentation would naturally snag the attention of nearby passengers. As word of mouth amplifies interest, similar offers could be made for those willing to complete the silly credit card application. Engage or don’t, but this quiet surprise feels less forced and can become more of a complimenting gesture to show customer appreciation.

That’s just a thought exercise, but we’ve all sat in situations where we were part of a captive audience. There is a fine line and a big difference between adding or detracting from an experience after interest is sparked or sales are made.

How do we treat our existing customers? Do they get attention only when there are issues or you have more to sell? How might we inspire more lasting joy by slowing down, setting efficiency aside, even letting go in a way? Instead of being careless with earned attention, consider unexpected ways to delight customers, which will remind them why they chose you in the first place. Giveaways, handwritten notes, or any gesture that shows you care will retain better customers.

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“Once you wow an audience, the same trick may not work anymore.” -Seth Godin, Free Prize Inside

How we treat existing customers sets the scene and determines the realities of attention retention. When customers feel thoughtfulness, they will stick around because they care as much as you do. This translates into customer retention because true fans take pride in staying connected. They have more patience when issues arise and get excited to share your charming work with others.

By Ben McDougal, ago

ChatUX

Chatbots have a PR problem.

On one hand, conversational AI combines large language models (“LLMs”), vast data sets, and interesting influence layers to provide insightful ideas and answers to almost any question. Chatbots provide a personalized interaction with education, content creator, language learning support, financial advice, customer assistance, helpful reminders for important tasks, co-founder assistance, and even mental health therapy. These AI companions munch on mediocre and are always available to chat. ChatGPT is the most well-known example, but other content creation methods, bot building platforms, and layered tools, such as BEN BOT and ChatSpot, are being activated in creative ways.

On the other hand, when most humans hear the word “chatbot”, the word serves up a slimy aftertaste. We think of automated help desks that put us in circles, fake followers on social media, the search tool that can never quite find an question, or that lead generation form that only wants to guide you to the next sale. Even with the best intention, a history of hacks fuel mistrust and makes it hard to avoid the spammy connotation.

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Hallucinating is when AI confidently delivers inaccurate responses.

Chatbots may not be able to interpret complex interactions, decode user intent, express empathy, or keep up with the rapid pace of change in the world, but it feels naive to pretend that conversational AI is not efficacious.

As we continue learning how to interact with this innovation, we need a term that is more inviting. A term that evokes trust. One that describes an intelligent counterpart with no agenda. When the user experience is not misguided by motive and AI is truly conversational, “ChatUX” may be the term we seek.

ChatUX describes the interaction between humans and software, unlocked by conversational AI.

Chat is an informal conversation or to talk in a friendly and informal way. UX is short for User Experience, which describes how we interact with a product or service. It includes our perception of value, ease of use, and efficiency. “ChatUX” can help us understand how to interact with emerging technology, while also improving the chatbot’s image.

ChatUX is not spam. ChatUX won’t take your job, sell you something you don’t want, or take over the world. ChatUX requires ingenuity. It is translation technology designed to access endless insight, with an ability to communicate it effectively. It’s software that speaks our language while supporting a timely, interesting, accurate, unbiased, and meaningful experience for anyone curious and generous enough to build beyond the status quo.

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I’m hosting a new podcast! Stay tuned for more caffeinated conversations around technology, entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship, and community building.

By Ben McDougal, ago

Phygital

Blending a physical reality with digital depth is something humanity has experimented with for decades. Catchy names, memorable phone numbers, short URLs, and QR codes are simple methods that guide a physical interaction to details online.

Augmented Reality (AR), Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), biotech, and smart materials all take it up a notch. Each of these technologies provide a path to phygital experiences.

To spin some yarn, let’s stitch this nerdy good term into the world of fashion. Phygital clothing now has passive chips embedded behind a patch or hidden in the garment. When tapped by a phone, the tiny chip is given enough electricity to pass data. This prompts a notification that links to digital destinations. The destination may be a website just for fun, but for larger brands with dollowers, the loyalty contest is given all-new levels. Imagine the status game of a global fan base that unlocks digital assets by working together. An elbow bump from someone wearing your favorite brand can now highlight ownership and unlock gamified layers.

With ownership determined by code and real-time incentives connected to the owner, this nerdy good phygital term quickly becomes apart of the web3 taxonomy. That said, the flex is not about being high-tech. It’s introducing a remarkability factor.

When remarkability matters, as it often does, phygital twists offer an edge. There are endless examples of digital depth revolutionizing every industry. Computers and smartphones link a physical device to digital experiences and the first smart vending machine in 1982 would lead to an entire microcosm we call the Internet of Things (IoT). Today’s chips are cute, but nanotech (think a computer on every cell) and neurotech (think brain-computer interfacing) represent a direct line where input and output will require no physical movement. Edges dull as new becomes commonplace, so the time to get phygital is now.

As the world continues to be phygitized, more physical products will be mirrored by digitized counterparts, ownership will be obvious, and an augmented experience will be increasingly invisible as our perceived reality is reinforced by the phygital world all around us.

By Ben McDougal, ago

Fresh Powder

After a gondola ride, whether you ski or snowboard, you’re not getting far without the right equipment.

Let’s imagine you’ve made it to the top of a snow-covered mountain. The distant view is inspiring and there are endless ways to enjoy the ride back down. Similarly, there are endless ways a business can evolve.

Financial modeling is an important technique that helps us simulate different scenarios for a business.

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This contribution was written by Jeff Erickson. Jeff is an investor, advisor, and skier on the silicon slopes of Utah.

A financial model helps forecast the financial performance of a company. They are based on the company’s historical performance and assumptions about the future. This tool can be used to make better decisions when raising financial capital and to assess potential returns of a given venture.

Returning to our mountainous metaphor, think of financial models as your map of the snowy terrain. It provides an overview of the area, routes to explore, and dangers to avoid. Like a trail map, financial models use numbers to set the scene, then help us determine the speed and direction of our business. They also help identify potential risks and optimize how different types of resources are used.

A financial model is essentially a roadmap for the future, and it gives investors an understanding of how you plan to generate revenue and scale over time. A solid financial model demonstrates that you have done research into the market, understand potential risks and opportunities, and have thought through the key drivers for success. Your financial model helps investors see how you think about your business and whether you understand the levers that matter. It also gives them confidence when they see that you know how to strategically allocate the money they may invest and that you know how to manage cash flow.

Most investors speak in the language of finance. Terms like run rate, CAC, LTV, runway, and burn rate are common vernacular. Building your financial model helps you learn, decipher, and understand this language of finance, enabling you to more effectively work with investors.

A common mistake is thinking that it’s you and your financial model versus the world. Instead of falling in love with assumptions, work with potential investors by using the financial model to analyze various scenarios. When founders can cruise down the mountain with investors while using a financial model to explain different scenarios in real-time, partners will get more excited about taking the lift back up for another run.

Entrepreneurs need to be aware of the changing terrain to make the best decisions for their evolving business. Let’s avoid the trees and carve out a few steps that will land you in a position to know the numbers.

Define

Before building a financial model, it is important to define the company’s business model, revenue streams, and financial objectives. This information will determine how you structure assumptions for the projections to accurately reflect what could realistically happen with your business.

Gather

Once you define company goals, gather historical data relevant to creating accurate projections. This includes past sales, costs for running operations, generating revenue, customer acquisition, and any other financial data that may help tell the story of your business.

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Prevent that new business idea from floating toward someday by compiling relevant resources that brew confidence in getting others excited to join you.

Build

Using qualitative (industry trends) and quantitative (past results) data points, build realistic assumptions to drive your financial model. This can be done using spreadsheets, but dedicated software makes it easier. With a framework in place, begin with customer acquisition data (sales outreach, paid ads, referrals, etc.). Next, make assumptions around revenue streams by considering all the ways you can make money (product sales, services, advertising revenue, etc.). Continue by including resources related to building a team, then focus on any changes in operating expenses. Finally, consider any required expenses to scale your business and how to finance the venture long term.

Validate

Once initial assumptions are plugged into a financial model, it’s important to track the accuracy of your assumptions each month and to update the numbers based on actual data. With metrics consistently tracked over time, your financial model becomes more accurate and reliable. You will notice trends in customer acquisition, identify the most profitable revenue streams, and monitor your expense projections. Additionally, you will be able to run different scenarios using your financial model to help you confidently make better decisions in running your business.

As we add financial models into an investor pack, dynamic understanding is supported by an interactive tool to project progress. This shared awareness brews confidence and helps more people enjoy the ride in a shared direction.

By Ben McDougal, ago

Attention Traps

As early moves are sequenced, a few creative assets can help founders translate emerging insight into valuable snapshots of the business. One-pagers, pitch decks, and investor memos are additional types of attention traps that entrepreneurs can use to ignite interest.

One-Pager

The one-pager is a punchy asset built to describe the most important elements of your business. Concise is nice, as the goal is to create immediate intrigue. One-pagers should be made to be seen by anyone. This means you must find a balance in giving enough details to show substance and realistic potential without giving away the secret sauce.

While you may know a lot about your business, the goal is to guide others through new layers of understanding. As you consider what content to include and how to format so much goodness into such a tight document, focus on creating curiosity to keep conversations flowing.

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The FliteBrite one pager from 2015.

 

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My guest column on consistency in the Business Record.

With a one-pager ready to share, invite feedback as you build confidence by sharing it with strategic investors, partners, and those who may kindle fresh progress.

Pitch Deck

Slide decks support a verbal presentation. Pitch decks add more information to help recipients (often investors) learn about your venture. With 10–15 slides, present the story of your business with eye-catching visuals, data-driven details, and links to more supportive content. Keep this asset concise and entertaining. Do so while identifying the market, problem, solution, signals of traction, moat-digging differentiators, team, competition, the ask, compelling calls to action, and contact information.

Knowing this attention trap is most often needed by founders raising financial capital, even if it’s in a closing appendix, it’s good to include more data-driven details to show research-based comprehension. Like back slides that support Q&A portions of a verbal pitch, market research, conservative financial projections, how money will be spent, and customer discovery results are all ways to prove you understand your business plan and how the numbers work.

That said, don’t numb readers. Avoid small font and word salads. Incorporate imagery that supports a captivating story. Translate your mission while making it clear how this venture will deliver serious returns. Like the one-pager, pitch decks are not crafted to secure an investment. They are designed to fuel interest and more conversation.

Investor Memo

Commanding an influential investor memo keeps people informed with the ongoing progress of your company. Along with sections you include in a pitch deck, investor memos create space to highlight the evolving details of your fundraising campaign, key performance metrics (KPIs), data visualizations, recent milestones, multimedia, needs of the team, and future goals for the company. Online platforms make it easy to manage dynamic, accurate, and interesting investor memos. The quick-to-digest but also real-time information is why investor memos are popular among well-articulated founders raising venture capital.

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If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough. -Albert Einstein

With these attention traps set, alternate versions of each asset may help you share impactful details with the right audience. For example, a pitch deck for local angel investors may be different than a pitch deck for a global venture capital firm.

Connecting everything adds efficiency but maintaining a well-organized data room is not for the faint of heart. As any company expands, so will the need to update different types of attention traps that support an evolving story for a growing variety of onlookers.

 

BACKGROUND CONTEXT
We had spent all month exploring early moves to evolve business ideas into reality. Using our time dedicated to no-code wireframing, actively listening to others, telling customer stories with a colorful business model canvas, and escorting execution with business plans, to translate emerging insight into snapshots of a business. The one pager, pitch deck, and investor memo are distinct types of attention traps entrepreneurs can use to connect with those who care.

By Ben McDougal, ago