First thoughts for my next steps after Seedcamp and Springboard

Now that the deadlines for Seedcamp and Springboard have passed, it's time to get down to defining my next steps to launch Boomerang.

That I wasn't accepted into Seedcamp, and I haven't yet heard the outcome of Springboard makes little difference to what I have to do next. So here are the tasks, in no particular order at this time, that I've been mulling over since my Springboard interview last Friday.

1. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT- Refine my pitch for Boomerang, using Guy Kawasaki's 10-20-30 rule for presentations; that is, create a 20 minute presentation with 10 slides. The 'elevator' pitch I used in my Springboard application was better than in Seedcamp, as I used less 'Marketing-speak'. But after the Springboard interview, I realised I need a more in depth, and more focused pitch to work from; a baseline for my Product Strategy. I'm going to really focus on getting version one out there as a Minimum Viable Product to validate my ideas (see Eric Ries' blog http://startuplessonslearned.blogspot.com/2009/08/minimum-viable-product-guide.html). I'm going to eliminate corporate 'happy talk' in everything I do (see Jeff Atwood's blog http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001300.html ). I'm going to use tangible examples and real scenarios.

2. SALES AND MARKETING- Start working on a revenue stream. Contact potential channel sales partners; as VARs evolve due to SaaS, look for partners who understand this shift and have strategies that align to Boomerang's target market and ideology. Start building relationships with online and offline review sites and authors. Get it out there!

3. FINANCE- I'm taking a lean approach to Boomerang, but I also want to be sure that once the product is launched, and I have at least a couple of prospects in the sales pipeline, I can approach Angels for funding to be sure that Boomerang has a solid foundation on which to build relationships and drive sales. I need to fully digest the Enterprise Investment Scheme and make sure that any investor will be entitled to all of the tax benefits allowed by law when investing in Boomerang. While I have good experience with greenfield projects and taking new products to market and I've run my own business for over 10 years, I am also looking for a co-founder with experience that will give any potential investor complete confidence in our success.

4. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT- Last, but not least, I need to launch the Boomerang Beta, as soon as possible- ideally by the end of September. The prototypes are complete, so I just need to wrap these into a Beta offering. I am also working on making the software more testable and ways to validate the feature set (ala Minimum Viable Product as noted above).

rev 2 - 11 Sept 2009 [removed 'To be continued']

rev 1 - 6 Sept 2009