The Medici's of the 21st Century

I received a message a little while ago on LinkedIn.  The sender was not someone I knew well or corresponded with often.  But his message was unusual.  Trevor Gilette wanted to start a business, but he lacked the resources to do so.  So Trevor decided to try to work his contacts.

Trevor's message, in part, read:

This is what I'm asking for help on. I need to raise some capital for my business, $5000 by Friday, July 19. I'm asking for 1000 people in my networks to donate just $5 to me. It's less than a cup of Starbucks Coffee. I'm very excited to become a business owner and I am very much grateful to anybody who is willing to donate just $5 to help me get there. If you can spare $5, please send it to me via paypal at trevgillette@gmail.com.

In the 14th century, if you were an artist and you were looking for a commission or an entreprenuer looking to start a new enterprise, you often found yourself talking to a member of the Medici family.  The Medici family is often credited with helping jump start the Renaissance, a time of great growth and productivity in virtually all of the arts and commerce.

In the 21st century, if you are an artist and you are looking for funding to pursue an artistic endeavor or a visionary looking to start a new business, you often turn to one of the many crowdsourcing sites like Kickstarter.  Or LinkedIn.

I was intrigued by Trevor's initiative, so I reached out to him with permission to write about his effort.  He agreed and we exchanged a few emails in which he answered some questions.  Trevor characterized the response he got to his message as a mix of supportive and skeptical.   His effort did not generate the support he had hoped, although Trevor did get some inquiries asking to see a business plan and more details on the proposed business. At the time we talked, Trevor was still deciding whether he would put together a business plan to share with those who inquired.

There are a few lessons that can be learned from Trevor's project:

• The landscape has changed and there are many more ways to accumulate capital and support for a project than there were just a few years ago.
• The increase of funding options does not minimize the need to do good solid preplanning and the need to be able to communicate that plan in an effective way.  Trevor indicated that if he were to change anything about his appeal, he would have done a business plan prior to making the ask.
• A cup or Starbucks coffee has become the new standard cost comparison.
• Some people are generous to a fault.  Some people are jerks whenever they get a chance.  Most people ignore an opportunity most of the time.  The challenge of the artist or the entreprenuer making an ask is to capture the reader or viewers' attention and ignite their excitement or at least their curiosity.
• If at first you don't succeed...

Related articles

• The modern business plan
• Crowdsourcing

Volunteers as Starting Points

Abraham Lincoln said that if he could get someone to lend him a book, they would be a friend for life.  The act of lending something as valuable as a book was an act of engagement and trust.  After that, it was impossible to be indifferent and indifference is a bigger threat to friendship than animosity.

The same thing is true about volunteerism.  If you can get someone to voluntarily do something in support of your organization or brand, even something small, you have the start of engagement.  Once you have engagement, you have awareness and involvement and all sorts of good things can happen.

I suspect that this is the thinking behinds the marketing campaigns that are abundant right now that encourage readers or viewers to "like" or "retweet" or "pin" the latest page, site, or post of the company.

The trouble is that often the marketing plans don't go beyond the request for the original interaction.  Lincoln didn't change enemies into friends simply by borrowing books.  He used that initial act as an excuse to engage in conversation, debate an issue or lend back a related book.

Similarly, just getting someone to like your Facebook page does little to no true marketing good.  Getting someone who had liked your Facebook page to them sign up for an e-newsletter or to request a coupon for a free sample of what you are selling is a step in the right direction.  The point is it is easier to get people who have taken a tiny bit of time to like you on Facebook to take a tiny bit more time to sign up for something or watch a video. The general public who haven't volunteered their tiny bit of time, haven't made that tiny commitment to you.

Now that you've voluntarily read this blog, please subscribe!