Livio Radio
j
ake Sigal, 30, founded Livio Ra-
dio, a startup that makes Inter-
net radio more widely accessi-
ble, in his Ferndale home four years
ago with a $10,000 loan from his
parents. Now
his company
is venture-
backed and
one of the
leaders in the
automotive
Internet radio
sector. This
Jake Sigal
year he was
named Entre-
preneur of the Year by Automation
Alley.
He has some advice for up-and-
coming entrepreneurs:Ideas are
worthless. It's the execution of
the idea that is valuable. So share
your idea with as many people
as possible;' he says. "Too many
people focus on patents. Patents
should come after your product is
launched, not before!'
According to Sigal, many entre-
preneurs focus on creating their
business before their product.
"Ninety percent of failures are on
the product side!'
He also suggests finding part-
ners."I found partners in China and
the U.S. who had the resources I
needed;' he says. "The factory we
used and the engineers we used
were willing to work for free and
take part of the profits."
Sigal recommends looking to the
Small Business Administration to
get started; that's what he did. He
also suggests people attend trade
shows in their fields and get a bit of
experience at a startup before they
launch their own.
"Be the expert in your product,
get good advisers and surround
yourself with people who know
more than you do about other as-
pects of the business," he says."It's
only with great people that you
can make a great company."
He also adds that people"severe-
ly underestimate"the amount of
effort it takes to get a business off
the ground. "Ask yourself whether
you're ready to put in a half-day of
work — and then pick which 12
hours you want to work. If that's
not you, you probably shouldn't
create a startup;' he says. RT
Your People LLC
ynne Golodner, 41, had been
working as a freelancer for 10
years when she decided she
needed a bit more security in her
life. Divorced with three kids at
L
46 November 2012 I
RED THRUM
the time, the thought of launching
her own business seemed inviting.
"At first, I thought about opening a
cafe;' she says."Then I asked myself,
'What skills do I have? What does
the market need?"'
She saw a need for companies to dif-
ferentiate them-
selves in the
marketplace and
connect with cus-
tomers.
"Social media
was a new land-
scape, and I saw
how I could use
Lynne Golodner
my communica-
tion skills to act
as a matchmaker;' she says.
Her first step was to find mentors.
"I found several who helped me ex-
pand my vision into public relations,
events and marketing campaigns;'
she says.
She launched Your People LLC, a
communications and public rela-
tions firm, out of her house five
years ago. "I kept my overhead low
and used contract workers at first
as I grew the business," she says. In
•
Resources:
AUTOMATION ALLEY
(248) 457 3200
-
Automationalley.com
ANN ARBOR SPARK
(734) 761 9317
-
Annarborusa.org
TECH TOWN DETROIT
(313) 879-5250
http://techtowndetroit.org
BIZDOM U
Also has online training
available.
(313) 833 7800
-
Bizdom.com
OU INCUBATOR
(248) 648 4800
-
oakland.edu/ouinc
SBA
(313) 226-6075
www.sba.gov
HEBREW FREE LOAN
(248) 723 8184
-
www.hfldetroit.org
GREAT LAKES
ENTREPRENEUR QUEST
http : //gleq. org
FOR STARTUP TOOLS AND
TEMPLATES
www.steveblank.com
"Startup Tools" tab
May, she opened an office in South-
field, and has one full-time and two
part-time employees.
Her advice is to build your busi-
ness by building relationships. "Lis-
ten to people. I ask a lot of people
out to lunch, and I've never been
turned down," she says."Learn your
lessons in the trenches and learn
from your clients."
She, her husband and four kids
live in Southfield.
"I tell people who want to start
their own business to do it. Yes, it's
scary at first. But you'll regret it if
you don't try." R7
Kosher
Michigan
It
abbi Jason Miller, 36, has
always been an entrepreneur.
He launched Miller Video
Productions when he was 15, but
he opened Kosher Michigan "almost
reluctantly7 he says.
Miller was working at Tamarack
Camps in 2008,
supervising
the kosher
kitchens there
in place of
the Vaad, the
Orthodox
rabbis' council
Rabbi Jason Miller
that usually
supervised.
"I began getting inquiries from
local food businesses to certify
their products as kosher;' he says. "I
began to look at what was wrong
in the kosher certification indus-
try and realized I could provide a
certification service with the same
standards as the Vaad that was
easier to deal with."
Miller launched Kosher Michigan
in 2008 with some cheerleaders —
and some detractors. "My biggest
assumption was that it wouldn't
work;' he says. "Not a good plan!
"At first it was a side project, but
as it grew, I had to formalize it as a
business, incorporate, hire a book-
keeper, business manager, etc.;'
he says. "I got advice from other
businesspeople."
Miller became the first Conserva-
tive rabbi to successfully compete
with the Orthodox in the kosher-
compliance industry, and today he
certifies 40 businesses and thou-
sands of products as kosher.
Miller lives in Farmington Hills
with his wife and three children.
His advice to entrepreneurs is to
think big. "Don't let anything deter
you;' he says. "Articulate a belief in
your business and communicate it.
Become a thought leader in your
industry." RT
Entrepreneur from page 45
big idea to a venture capitalist or angel
investor who will jump at the chance to
invest in your dream, think again.
Very, very few startups raise
money from outside investors,
only 2.7 percent of new business-
es, according to a U.S. Census
survey of business owners.
Even if you are one of the
lucky few who might get outside
funding, "that angel investor is
going to want to see the founder
put cash in the business and
know that their family, friends
and acquaintances are invested,
too," says Anderson. "They want
to know you've got something to
lose if you fail."
Nothing replaces having "skin
in the game," according to Banks
of HFL, which does provide some
small business funding, includ-
ing the Marvin I. Danto Small
Business Loan Program, which
goes toward giving interest-free
loans — up to $100,000 — to
young Jews in Southeast Michi-
gan who want to start a business
or build on an existing one.
Graub stresses that Hebrew
Free Loan, which helped local
businesses The Robot Garage
and Wow Writing Workshop get
their start, is probably not the
first stop for young entrepre-
neurs.
"Most of our applicants have
gone through Tech Town, Biz-
dom U or the SBA before they
come to us, so they're a little
farther down the road to starting
a business," he says. "We often
help them find other funding
sources and provide supplement-
ing collateral for a standard loan,
for example."
What's great about the pro-
gram, however, is that applicants
are assigned carefully matched
mentors. "When we see short-
comings, we provide contacts
that can help, and invite them
back," Banks adds. "We want our
customers to prosper. We say yes
more than we say no."
Before taking out loans and
seeking investors, take this
advice from Anderson: "Get
started by finding customers. It's
the cheapest funding you'll ever
find."
The one requisite everyone
looks for in an entrepreneur
above all is passion. If you have
passion for your business idea
and a never-quit attitude, "there's
never a bad time to start a busi-
ness, if you plan it right," says
Banks. RT
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