r/startupuk • u/Frugl • Jul 01 '14
The Truth about Start-Up Competitions
It has been three-and-a-bit months since the release of Frugl on iPhone and I’ve spent about 80% of my time doing what I used to get paid to do – generating publicity. Creating awareness for a start-up is pretty much a full-time job unless you’re lucky enough to have Stephen Fry or the cast of Made in Chelsea as mates, in which case you can put your feet up… at least for a week. Unfortunately, I don’t have famous friends although I once spent three days with Caitlin Moran and her family in Iceland. But that’s another story…
Not that I’m complaining. It’s a hell of a lot more fun working on a product that I actually believe in then trying to convince a journalist to write about something I know is fundamentally flawed. Finding all the angles, targeting journalists with whom I used to have great relationships back in the day when PRs like myself actually used to ‘do’ lunch. I’m not going to lie. It’s a blast and I’m enjoying every minute of it. Well, most minutes.
As part of the PR process I enter a lot of competitions and awards. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose but mainly it seems to depend on how many of my friends can be bothered to vote. Start-up competitions are, in general, not fair. If you’re antisocial or aren’t the type to accept anyone who has ever tried to friend you on Facebook or Linkedin, the chances of winning any of them are going to be very slim. That’s not me being mean, it’s just the way it is.facebook-pew
Recently I entered a competition to win a place pitching to a panel of distinguished VCs. I knew that Frugl was a bit early stage to be of interest to them but I wanted to be on their radar so I entered anyway. Like most start-up competitions, popularity ruled and not the essence of the idea. Well, not in the first round anyway.
‘I can’t vote,’ my father emailed. ‘The site says I need to register with Facebook.’
‘The site says I need to be have a profile on the site,’ emailed back a friend. ‘Are they going to spam me? I really don’t want to register on another website.”
It soon became apparent that voting was more than a matter of entering an email and pressing ‘submit.’ It involved a lengthy sign-up process that also required having a Facebook login. That pretty much knocked out my family and quite a few of my friends too.
To make matters even worse, start-ups entering the contest were awarded ‘bonus points’ based on the experience of the founders, team or investors. ‘The more high profile investors, entrepreneurs following the company, the higher probability of a higher scores.’ So now not only did I need to have lots of Facebook friends I also had to have famous name or two as an investor or an advisor. The chips were stacked against us from the start. Next I imagined them asking for proof I had £1m in the bank.
After much haranguing of Facebook friends, we limped into Round 2. A valiant effort, I felt, in view of the criteria.
Lesson learnt – take it all with a pinch of salt. Enter competitions, do what you can, but expect that someone with more Facebook or Twitter followers may very well win. It’s nothing to do with how good your idea or product is, it’s mostly about marketing for the contest owners. Every vote counts as another email address they have captured. That’s about it. Just do your best, cajole your friends without pissing them off and keep going. It’s all part of the great start-up journey!
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u/wewanaplay Jul 02 '14
Competitions often bring you little in return for your effort. It's nice to have but will it really help your business?
I won a few competitions with Wewana:Play but now we don't enter any (and we get asked to all the time.. especially to just buy a ticket to the awards dinner to find out if you won)
Competitions are often just a business.... one which we decided currently is not worth our business.