Shared Learnings
MY NEXT JOB
#fakenews My next job is to see that the amazingly talented Pollenizer team land new challenges that are BETTER than Pollenizer. Sorry for the clickbait, but I knew you would be curious about what I did next so I exploited how Facebook has re-wired your brain to love...
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THE NINE YEAR DECISION
SUMMARY This week, Pollenizer turned nine years old and it is time to make some changes. Pollenizer closing Melbourne and Sydney incubators, ceasing new consulting and education business as current engagements conclude. Directors will continue to support portfolio of...
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FEEL LIKE THE WORLD’S AGAINST YOU? MAYBE ITS YOU…
YOU = FOUNDER, CEO, PRESIDENT, DISRUPTOR-IN-CHIEF Judging by our current obsession with US political news, it seems like we’re living in an age when leadership as a personal and professional skill, is as critical, and as mysterious, as ever. I still remember my first...
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STARTUP SCIENCE VS “ALTERNATIVE FACTS”
STARTUP SCIENCE, I.E. EVIDENCE-DRIVEN Those of you who are regular readers of Pollenizer's blog will recognise our belief in evidence-driven business model discovery – something we call "Startup Science". Startup Science uses hypotheses about customer problems to run...
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DEAR ARTHUR SINODINOS
Welcome to your new role as Minister for Innovation. I am a big believer in your mission and hope you can keep it for longer than those that came before. You will need to convince your colleagues that innovation takes time. Explain to them it is a cliche that startups...
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2017 IS YOUR YEAR FOR BALANCE, GROWTH AND ADAPTATION
Our lives are one big experiment that we are continually running. For the majority however, we most likely never think about this in a deliberate way. Well, maybe scientists do… Over the last 10 years, I’ve grown to think differently. I’ve become much more of a...
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WHAT WILL YOU LEARN IN 2017?
The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else - Eric Ries As we embark on a new year, new goals are set. Startups are retrieving focus from the year passed and gaining momentum for big ambitions in 2017. The emphasis is on optimization, performance...
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“SEXY CX FOR STARTUPS”
Yes, you read right - sexy. How can Customer Experience (CX) be sexy? If you are a startup providing B2B or B2C products or services, CX can be sexy when you implement a simple framework enabling you to “build-measure-learn” from your customers. Taking an “outside-in...
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“GROWTH HACKING IS EVIL” AND 13 OTHER RANDOM LESSONS LEARNED IN 2016
The great privilege of my job is the opportunity to pattern-match across multiple industries and organisations, all trying to invent the future. Here's some personal lessons learned from 2016. It takes more than tools. We spent years developing Startup Science as a...
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STARTUP SALES FAILS
One of the first things I learned working at Pollenizer was to ‘sell before you build’. Years on, old habits die hard. The process of inventing while selling, is nothing short of an art. Being resourceful, while demonstrating value you are yet to create. It’s...
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THE ART OF REBRANDING
I sat down and had a chat with Damien Metcalf, Pollenizer’s Creative Director. He recently led Pollenizer’s rebrand, which launched earlier this year. In our conversation, Damien shared his thinking behind the rebranding process and the lessons he learned during this...
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HOW TO MAKE PROGRESS BUILDING AN APP
Fernando Parra is Pollenizer’s Product Manager. It’s been a big year for Fernando and the Engineering Team. They’ve been at work building the Startup Science app - a solution enabling Startup Founders and Innovation Managers to measure and manage new growth in their...
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