Hey Sexy Startups, Calm Down. Plan. Think. Grow.
I'd like to take you back to 1999. A need was recognized by some airlines. They got together, threw in some cash, partnered with the minds of Boston Consulting Group and formed a new startup. That startup was Orbitz. The investment was $145 million, give or take.
I started at Orbitz in June 2001, the same month Orbitz officially launched to the public. For those of us who worked at Orbitz, it was indeed a startup feel, but it was a startup that was run by some of the most meticulous engineers, designers and marketers I've known. We had aggressive goals, consumers to answer to and were in an industry in the midst of one of the worst moments in US history, 9/11.
From the moment we went live, the customer experience was thought, rethought and shaped over and over again. We didn't have perfect moments. But we also didn't have some of early hiccups I'm seeing some startups experience today. Privacy snafus, revenue disclosure forgetfulness and the need to be - sexy.
Here's what's sexy. Put your startup minds in the heads of the consumers you are trying to service everyday. What are they doing? What time are they investing in YOUR brand new startup? What tweets and referral traffic are they taking the time to send you? How are you making their experience a reciprocal one? These people are taking the time out of their respective social circles to give you the props and attention that keeps you up in the wee hours, counting the number of times your Twitter handle gets retweeted. Perhaps you are putting this on a competing dashboard with your fellow startup buddies.
Back in 2002, this is what was sexy for me: knowing that I had the inside scoop on the most kick butt airline deal from Chicago to Las Vegas. Knowing that at midnight, I would launch a new ad that would tell the world that there was a price drop on a popular destination. I thrived on getting this information out to people. Sure, we had revenue goals to hit, but we put ourselves in the minds of the people who spent time with us.
We were a startup, but we were steady. We needed to grow fast and we did, but always with a plan. We made mistakes and learned from them.
We wanted to provide the best online travel experience for consumers who carved time out of their day to visit us.
One of the senior execs of those early Orbitz years saw another problem. Consumers were searching multiple travel sites at once. So he left Orbitz.
And started Kayak.
The moral of the startup story? Being sexy has many definitions. Solving a real consumer problem and focusing on THAT is the sexiest of them all.
To fellow Orbitz alum who've gone on to lead and run even more startups in this world, I'm proud to have worked with you when I did. What an amazing ride it was.
