Most Popular
-
What's your advice for someone who's currently working full time for a company but wants to break into web startups?
-
NIKE. Just do it. I don’t have enough information here to comment. I don’t know your reality. Given what you’ve said here I would say; “get off your ass and do it!”
-
-
do you face criticism and how do you deal with it?
-
I face a ton of criticism all the time. Everyday. Its part of the job. I internalize it all and use it as fuel to get better. Constructive criticism is the best gift in the world to get stronger and faster. The other type of criticism isn’t as important and there will aways be haters. The world is full of haters and you can’t let them get to you. You must use your energy on what will make you better.
-
-
What are the most interesting startups you've seen recently?
-
I think the most interesting startups are catering to the new economy. Taking into consideration sustainability and triple bottom line thinking. Even clothing ideas that use sustainable fabrics or business models that engage people beyond their product. That is what excites me.
-
-
What do you recommend for new startups looking to get all of there legal things in order. Websites? Law Firms? Individual Attorney's?
-
Not sure again how to answer this. Be resourceful. Beg, borrow and/or steel! Get people to believe in you and they can invest their time based on future partnership. I had the same accountant for 20 years. I just left him this year but he did my work for free my first year. We outgrew him about 10 years ago but I never forgot how he helped me and I stood with him. He’s been doing all of my stuff since 1990.. I sold him on my story years ago and he believed.
-
-
Do you ever mentor startups? if so what are qualities that you look for in the concept as well as the team?
-
I do mentor when I can if I feel I can contribute to their business. I often get people asking in manufacturing, fashion/clothing and or online.. and I don’t really know enough to help.
-
-
How do you make the decision of what specific tangent of your passion to pursue/focus on? I have several "variations on the theme" or interest and am having a hard time deciding which is the "best" to pursue. Trying to weigh my passion & interest, the competition, "monetization potential," etc. Also - what about losing the idea to someone in the course of research/discovery?
-
I always tell my people “love what you do an you’ll never work a day in your life”.. you have to have passion for what you’re selling or people won’t buy it. I think that if you get caught up in “monetization potential” that is a recipe for disaster. There is no way I could have thought a tour company could be a global brand back in 1990. Our passion drove the success. Otherwise we would be just another corner travel agent.
-
-
How did you market G Adventures, while also educating consumers on a new/ different way to travel?
-
Well it all started with getting in front of people. I used to speak anywhere that would have me! Every Wednesday I used to hold talks at Mountain Equipment Coop! Just standing in the shoe section telling people what we do. People had an idea in their head of what a tour was and I had to change that so it was a lot of getting in front of people at first. Schools, organized groups or outdoor stores.
-
-
How does one carry though their "brand" to the streets when you only control the online experience prior to going on a trip? Meaning, how do I get people on the ground (usually tour guides from X company) to be an extension of my brand? Thanks Bruce.
-
Drive a mission and core values that resonate with everyone. Live and die by them and offer people a platform to achieve happiness and create freedom. Happy and Free people are capable of extraordinary things. So you have to create an environment that people who want it can achieve it. Everyone needs to know they can grow and they are part of something greater than themselves.
-
-
Dear Mr. Poon Tip, not sure if my previous question went through? I am starting uni in the autumn 2012, and want to work in the adventure travel industry. What would you advise to do over the next 4 years for building up a career so I'm well prepared to enter the field full-time when done? And whom would you advise to network within the adventure travel industry?
-
Network with us! Keep in touch with us. Contact our people and talk to us. Let us know what you’re doing. We have over 1,000 employees on Twitter. Let us know what you’re doing. Get on one of our internship programs..take part in our contests. Take a trip (hint hint! shameless plug). Write a story about it on our blog.. interact daily on our Facebook page.
-
-
I am trying to find different avenues for business development. I am a firm believer in co-marketing opportunities which normally would/should derive a great working partnership with the targeted company. My question is how I should get my name out there (other than CC). I know there are many networking organizations/associations in the Toronto area. Which is the best that works well to reach the “C” level people that I need to meet?
-
Pound the pavement! You need to get in front of people. You need to be aggressive and creative in how you contact people to ask for time. Its a jungle out there but people who want to speak to you find a way. I get excited creative people looking for just a few minutes of time everyday, and they never let up. You can tell an winner by how the approach you. I don’t want to be part of what you’re doing unless your passion can translate.
-
-
How have you leveraged social media to get new customers?
-
We’ve done a lot. We communicate on a regular basis with our friends and fans of the company. We love the close interaction that social media has given us. It has made us very nimble and allows us to go much faster as a business. But we also run contest and promote new products and services though social media. We are involved on many levels. We can test things faster and can be quicker to market. Allowing us to beat our competitors with speed.
-
-
How do you deal with competition?
-
I don’t really deal with them. I do what I can to build a culture to not get caught up with what others are doing. It is different when you’re market leader though..as we drive innovation in our space. We’re kind of lucky because big UK conglomerates have bought most of the companies in our space and made them machines which are driven by profit. We will always win in that game so I don’t have to look what they are doing. So we out smart them because we can’t outspend them. But you can’t really get to focused on what other people do.
-
-
How do I build my brand without spending a lot of money?
-
Social media. Realize that your brand does not belong to you… it belongs to what people think of you. No better way to spread the word than Social Media
-
-
I've got a lot of great ideas and would like to build start up someday soon. What books can you recommend that can help me step by step on building a business and business plan?
-
Blue Ocean Strategy, Good to Great and Tipping Point. Standards..but good to start.
-
-
We are a startup trying to bring technology to a previously very old-fashioned and low-tech market. What pitfalls should we watch out for in our execution and implementation?
-
I need more information to answer this. Sounds interesting though. All I can say is execution is everything. Hold people to excellence but do not alienate the low tech hippies! Be compassionate in your approach and merge you technology approach with old fashion off the charts customer service. Everyone understands good customer service…
-