I was really intrigued by the web 2.0 …the machine video and wanted to create a similar video showcasing Grooveshark.

Let me know your comments…

So I decided to put together a quick How To build a killer 90 day plan:

1. 1. Get a big whiteboard, some Red Bull / Sparks (beer+energy), your team, and 5 hours

Brainstorming. We’ve heard it thousands of times, but you really need to start out with a blank slate. Write down any idea, no matter how stupid, etc. It can be tough to actually stick to this idea, as there’s always someone in the group that tries to shift the focus to one specific idea and it’s own merit, but just try to drown them out or tell them they have an investor calling to get them out of the room and keep the creative juices flowing. After you’ve spent yourselves, take a break and resume meeting up later that day or the next day.

2. 2. Take a step back and look at the big picture

With all of our really cool, crazy ideas, we now have to think rationally. How does this all fit into our big picture? We’re planning out an intense PR push for the next couple months, so we have to see how each of these ideas would fit into a big picture plan. From this, we can start to frame out the 90 day plan.

For example, the first month, we’re going to make make major announcements about lead investors, signing a major label, the second month, we’re going to discuss our open API, a new product release, etc. Now, with all of these announcements, we have a number of projects that would fit in (gantt chart anyone?) with the press release timeline. Be sure to tick off the projects that make sense with your timelines so you have an idea of the priority of different projects.

3. 3. Take your ideas and categorize them, expand on them, and eliminate the crap

Now that we have our huge ass list of ideas, now we move onto categorizing, removing, and improving on our ideas. Taking that break is essential as it allows our brains to relax, and let the ideas sink in and fester (excuse the word, my thesaurus is lost). When revising all of your ideas, start putting them into a digital form so that you can easily adjust/send/delete them. I personally like to use a draft email and just add the list as I go, other people like simple text editors — doesn’t matter. And our team, we like to choose a project lead for each separate project. This way we have accountability, responsibility, pride of ownership, etc.

4. 4. Gather your entire team and get them pumped up

Order out a huge plate of food from your local 5-star restaurantuer or if you’re a startup like us, get the ramen boiling… Since this will most likely be the biggest push of your company’s existence (every 90 day push should be “the biggest”) make sure to prepare your team and get them excited about the next 3 month’s of their lives and make sure they kiss their wife and kids (or roommate, in our case) goodbye as their ass is going to belong to the company.

5. 5. Be prepared for your entire 90 day plan to be shit in 2 weeks

As with any plan we’ve ever created, it’s a guarantee that it will be rendered completely useless in 2 weeks or less. Whenever we think we have a clear strategy of where we’re headed, we land a major investor, discover the iPhone, run out of money, get flush with money, etc. Regardless, it’s always helpful to plan things out just so that you’re prepared for what’s coming next. From personal experience, I’ve found that people who play things off the cuff and improv things to be a hell of a lot more successful (and relaxed) than those people who are constantly calculating and planning. Caveat included: those people who manage to improv everything are extremely well prepared in a variety of areas (through reading the news, talk to users, , thus equipping themselves for relatively everything.

Do you guys have any tips for a killer 90/60/30 4 year plan? (not involving Hooters)

Taken from a list by Jeremy Shoemaker of Skills to Pay the Bills:

The DO NOT list:

DO NOT email the person asking if you can interview them. This is a waste of time. Instead just send your questions.

DO NOT list all the other people you have interviewed and try to “con” the person into participating in your interview. I do not know why but this seems to have become a popular technique. Odds are people either 1) do not care or 2) do not like the other people you are interviewing.

DO NOT miss spell the persons name you are trying to interview.

DO NOT ask questions that can be easily answered by reading the persons about page. People put those pages up for a reason and its very annoying when people ask you those questions.

DO NOT expect the person will link to the article.

The DO list:

DO a VERY brief introduction on who you are, the context of the interview, and where the interview will be posted.

DO let the person know you have already collected some basic information on them and will post that prior to the questions in the interview.

DO a search for the person’s name you interviewing in Google like “Jeremy Schoemaker interview” and see what they have said in other interviews. Try not to ask the same questions others have asked.

DO try to ask something the person would be interested in. Ask about their latest project or something they are excited about. This also shows you are not just firing away the same email to as many people as possible.

DO ask controversial questions. Everyone has opinions and most of them will share them. Its quite possible you are giving the person a stage they have wanted on a issue they have wanted to share their opinion about. I respect people that ask hard hitting controversial questions. It also usually shows they have taken the time to know what makes me tick and what I am passionate about.

DO a follow up email with the URL and thank the person for their time.

This list is for 2008, and should be a good resource for your operations, business development, and ad team planning out their year:

International CES, Las Vegas January 7-10 2008

CES is the end-all, be-all of the digital world. Every new tech gadget from cell phones with 10 megapixel cameras to keynote presentations by Bill Gates, anybody whose anybody is here.

Being in Vegas, there’s also a lot of fun night life and rival Adult Entertainment Expos to help you build those business development relationships over some sodas at the dance clubs.

Be sure to book your hotels early, as you might have a hard time finding a room with this massive influx of people to Vegas, and not even mentioning that early in the year is prime-time for vacations.

Ticket prices:
$799 ultimate pass
$499 full knowledge track pass
$179 single session pass

As always, discounts for advance purchase

Location:
Las Vegas, Jan 7-10 2008

CES Blog
CES RSS Feed

Demo, Palm Desert, CA Jan 28-30 2008

Demo is a launching pad for a startups looking to get the maximum amount of exposure, and unfortunately, charges startups to ‘demo’ their products, thus making it a half-endorsement. I personally prefer the TechCrunch model of giving the presenting companies a free ticket, because, honestly, companies probably shouldn’t be spending a lot of money to present their product.

Unfortunately, registration is closed for demo-ers (closed on Nov 9), but there’s always next year.

A block of rooms has been reserved for DEMO 08 attendees at a discounted rate of $274 per night, plus tax. Reservations must be made by January 2, 2008 to receive this special rate. After January 2, rates and availability cannot be guaranteed. Please note: Your registration fee does not include hotel accommodations.

Ticket prices:
$2,999 non-discounted rate
$250 for an additional companion

(There are options for promotional codes, if anyone has any, please share)

Location:
San Francisco, Jan 28-30, 2008

Demo RSS Feed

WebGuild Conference & Expo, Santa Clara, CA Jan 29 2008

The WebGuild Conference is a more intimate event than something like CES, and as a result, a better opportunity for networking. Personally I like conferences like this where you can sit next to the Marissa Mayer’s of the world and have a real heart-to-heart as opposed to the hectic chaos of a CES.

This is the sequel to the first WebGuild put on last year, and this year “will feature keynotes, panels, expo, awards, networking sessions, reception, music, and food & drinks.”

Ticket prices:
Until Dec 31:
Member $199
Non-member $299
Premier expo pass $130

Location:
Santa Clara, CA Jan 29, 2008

Future of Web Apps, Miami Feb 28-March 1, 2008

Topics to be covered include:

• What makes the next great startup?
• Open social: plug in to a new platform
• The future of web apps is beyond the browser
• Launch a web app in 40 minutes
• The problem with social networks

Feedback from the past conferences has been great with audio bites from Michael Arrington, Kevin Rose (not available yet), and Om Malik.

Tickets are really affordable, with students starting at $50 and startups at only $95 each.

Ticket prices:
$50 student price
$95 startup price

Location:
Miami, Feb 28-Mar 1, 2008

Web 2.0 Expo, San Francicso April 22-25 2008

In 2007, there were a number of powerhouses in the room, with names like, Rupert Murdoch, Steve Ballmer, Jay Adelson, Om Malik, Marissa Mayer, this isn’t a conference to miss.

Now 2008, we have the Web 2.0 Expo. This conference is for the builders of the next generation web: designers, developers, entrepreneurs, marketers, business strategists, and venture capitalists. They have a list of who should attend, so if you are on this list, get your credit cards ready !

• Business strategists
• Web and UI designers
• Product managers
• Marketing professionals
• CxOs and IT managers
• Business managers
• Developers in established companies
• Grass roots developers and hackers
• Companies and organizations tracking emerging technologies
• VCs and entrepreneurs

The conference takes place April 22-25, 2008 at Moscone West in San Francisco, California. General registration opens in December 2007 (now).

Ticket prices:
Registration begins Dec 2007, sign up for the newsletter to be notified.

Locatio

n:

San Francisco, CA April 22-25 2008

Feedback from Web 2.0 Summit, 2006:
The Best and the Worst of the Web 2.0 Summit

TechCrunch40, San Francisco, Sep 17-18 2007

The TechCrunch40 was a huge success, as the conference was originally label the TechCrunch20, but decided to expand due to the huge response they received from willing companies.

The expo was designed as a means for startups to showcase their wares, while also realizing that startups are on a limited budget, so the 40 presenting companies all got to showcase for free.

There has yet to be an announcement on the next conference for 2008, and how big that 20, 40 number will be.

Ticket prices:
$2,500 standard rate ticket price
$900 demo pit price

Location:
San Francisco, Sep 17-18, 2007
2008 Unannounced

Mobile 2.0 Conference San Francisco, Oct 15, 2007

2008 looks to be the year of mobile, with all of the technologies being poised for explosion, from iPhone with 3G, to OpenSocial, to Verizon opening their platform, we are going to be seeing a lot of progress in the mobile world in 2008, and this event should be a must-attend.

Last year, it was a one-day event that had big names from Vodafone, Nokia, Shozu, Taptu and the like.

Review of the first Mobile 2.0 Conference

Ticket prices:
$145 standard ticket

Location:
San Francisco, Oct 15, 2007
2008 Unannounced

Web Builder 2.0, Dec 2007, Unannounced for 2008

The last Web Builder conference took place Dec 3-5, 2007 in Las Vegas, and seeing how we just missed it, it makes me wish I put this list together a month ago!

This conference is tailored specifically for the development team, so get your evdo cards ready, as they suggest you bring

• Developers
• Designers
• Product Managers

This conference is a bit on the pricey side, with tickets starting at $1,295 for the 2-day standard pass, but they promise a lot,

In three days, five focused technical tracks and full-day workshops you’ll get tips and tricks on everything from AJAX to Wikis, from REST to CSS. Plus, you’ll find in-depth advice from experienced practitioners and top industry figures to help you get the job done. Attend and learn how to build solutions faster, gain productivity and enhance your entire Web experience.

Ticket prices:
$1,295 2-day conference-only package rate
$1,595 3-day gold passport

Location:
Las Vegas, Dec 3-5, 2007
2008 Unannounced

Blogged with Flock

I’ve been trying to dedicated myself to a number of my social networks that I have recently become members, and I’m really falling in love with LinkedIN.

Per the duties of my job, I have to hunt down record labels to solicit talk to them about licensing their content in our music network, Grooveshark. And part of this involves me scouring through our Billboard record label book, and also combing the Internet for any hint of an email address or phone number.

In the past, we’ve mostly been relegated to info@recordlabel.com, which is pretty much a dead-end for us. Normally, we would write these guys off until we found another connection to them, but now, we have LinkedIN.

Thanks for LinkedIN, when I’m searching for a contact at Sub Pop records, all I have to do is search in LinkedIN, and I find their General Manager, Director of Technology. And now, I have a name to put to that generic info@recordlabel.com. From there, what I’ve been doing is Googling these people, and finding whatever other information or contact portal I can for these people and from there I’m initiating a conversation.

So that brings us to the quick and easy bullet points people love:

Look for new customers on LinkedIN

If you have a particular industry you’re looking for, search for that term, and see who pops up.

Look for investors on LinkedIN

With the amount of self-promotion that goes on on this site, it’s hard to look somewhere without someone asking for $1-5 million in the Answers section, but, if you have tact, you can find the right people, and just figure out the correct approach to reach them.

Look for partners on LinkedIN

There’s nobody better to partner with than someone whose at the same stage of development as you. Besides crawling TechCrunch for the latest startups, LinkedIN is another great place to network with fellow startup entrepreneurs. Check out the Startups section of Answers and see who’s active.

Look to sell people when they come to your profile

Although it took me some time to learn this, this is definitely a valuable lesson. When visitors come to your profile, you have a chance to sell them. Whether you want them to visit your blog, buy your product, or become your friend, you only have a couple of seconds, so make sure you’re polished. Here’s my personal pitch:

Grooveshark is a music sharing community that compensates users for marketing their favorite artists. We developed our platform with the goal of competing with the illegal networks, and tapping into the over 300 billion illegal downloads yearly.

To truly compete with the illegal networks, we offer our users free, full-length streaming on any of our tracks, we give them $.25 compensation for any $.99 song they sell, and we give them the same drm-free collection they can find on the illegal networks, on our network, all while guaranteeing the labels and artists are paid.

We are actively looking to make new connections in the following areas:

* Record labels and artists looking to license their content in our community
* Complementary web-services looking to grow their user base and partnership opportunities
* Advertisers looking to expand their digital media portfolio with an innovative new advertising platform

Shoot me an email at andrew.wise@grooveshark.com

Hopefully these tips will be of help, but feel free to add any you’ve picked up.

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