Entrepreneur_USA_2016_02_downmagaz.com.pdf

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THINK IT.

LOVE IT.

DO IT.

Make Your Mark

And learn a thingor two from Hanson

(yes, thatHanson)

FEBRUARY 2016 | ENTREPRENEUR.COM

TURN YOUR PASSION INTO PROFIT

Have a Good

Idea? CallYour Lawyer

page 53

Making Moneyin Politics(Without

Feeling Gross)page 24

How to Do

Good WithoutGoing Brokepage 64

TheCreativityIssue!EverythingYou Need

to Starta BusinessThat Matters


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4/120ENTREPRENEUR

2162

PHO

TOGRAPH

BYBOBBYFISHER,GROOMINGB

YRENEMALON

Y

ON THE COVER: Photograph by Bobby Fisher

Its All bout

24Politics Pays. But Does Civics?Brigade has an ambitious, possibly crazy

plan: decrease voters cynicism and

turn positivity into profit.

By Jason Ankeny

32An Entrepreneur Is an ArtistYou can learn a surprising amount from

Hanson, the one-time boy band that

transformed into a multifaceted brand.

PLUS: Meet the guy using bitcoin tech to

help artists sell their work.

By Jason Feifer and Jared Keller

40Youre Goingto Love Sales

Stop thinking of it as a chore and start

getting creative. Your business

depends on it.

By Joe Robinson

64Good Work

You can give back to your community

without going broke. First steps: Find the

right causeand the right partners.

By Michelle Goodman

78How Franchises

Grow FastQuick expansion is easy. But preparing

for strong, lasting growth? Thats harder.

By Jason Daley

99Breakout Stars

Learn what fuels the fastest-growing

franchises of the year.

By Tracy Stapp Herold

32Rock stars, festivalkings, beer brewers:Meet Hanson, the2016 edition.


5/120

The Rendezvous foundsomething great to puton top of their BBQ.

When Charlie Vergos Rendezvous in Memphis ships out an order of their world-famousribs, custom FedEx shipping labels help them send a piece of their restaurant right there

on the box. Thats just one of the tools of the FedExSmall Business Center that can

help streamline shipping, boost efficiency and improve e-commerce. To see how our

online shipping tools can help grow your business, go to fedex.com/smallbusiness.

#SolutionsThatMatter

2015 FedEx. All rights reserved.


6/120

15EsquireGuyIn the worst of

times, how and

how not to help a

colleague in need.By Ross

McCammon

18

DesignA textile designer

turned her fathers

sketches into

colorful fabricsand launched a

new business.By Margaret

Littman

47Shiny ObjectMicrosofts new

Surface Book

laptop-tablet

means business.By John Patrick

Pullen

48

Ask a GeekCan streaming

video help

my company?

By Mikal E.Belicove

10

Editors NoteChannel your inner

Picasso and thrive.By Amy C.

Cosper

12

FeedbackWords from

our readers.

Tools51Smart VisionInternet-connected

smart glasses can

change the way

we work.By Michael Frank

21

51

18

Culture

50The FixA restaurant chain

finds a smarter

way to hire.By David Port

18MarketingHarness the power

of words to hook

new customers.By Ann Handley

19

Ask a ProThe legal ins and

outs of company

vehicles.By Christopher

Hann

20

TravelFly high with new

airplane Wi-Fi.

21

BusinessUnusual

A glue developer

turns bad luck into

sticky business.By Grant Davis

22

The EthicsCoach

Are severance

agreements a

slimy practice?By Gael OBrien

48

CLO

CKWISEFROM

TOP:PHOTOGRAPHBYDAVIDRINELLA;ILLU

STRATIONBYKEVINWHIPPLE;

C O U R T E S Y O F A P X L A B S P H O T O S

P H O T O G R A P H B Y D A V I D M C

C L I S T E R A N D G R O O M I N G B Y T I N A D A V I S


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Where theres business

theres EPSON.

EPSONBusiness Solutions

epson.com/forbusiness

Epsons innovative solutions are helping millions of businesses exceed their

vision in more ways than youve imagined. Like robots that improve quality

in factories worldwide. Industrial dye sublimation printers that marry fashion

and technology. Mobile POS solutions for exceptional customer service. Digital

projectors that enhance communication. And high performance printers that

help businesses run at full speed. See all the ways that Epson helps businesses

succeed, at epson.com/forbusiness

EPSON is a registered trademark and EPSON Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark of Seiko Epson Corporation.

Copyright 2016 Epson America, Inc.

ROBOTICS POINT OF SALEDIGITAL TEXTILE PROJECTORS PRINTERS


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CLO

CKWISEFROM

TOP:ILLUSTRATIONBYGARYNEIL;PHOTOG

RAPHBYCHRISDELORENZO;

PHO

TOGRAPHBYJESSECHEHAK;ILLUSTRATIONBYJAMESVIC

TORE;PHOTOGRAPHBYANDREWB

ETTLES

73

FranchiseeA mobile screen-

repair franchise

recruits future

owners from

In-N-Out Burger.By Jason Daley

76

Franchisor

A small batch,customized T-shirt

concept puts a shirt

on anyones back.By Jason Daley

Money

Start Up

Franchise

59Wacky Idea

A key chain

designed by a

robotics engineer.By Danielle

Beurteaux

116

Back PageIts a matter

of trust.By James Victore

55

Ask theMoney GuyWhy would the

bank yank my

credit line?By Joe Worth

56

Your MoneyThe taxman

confusith: Behold

the new rules for

interstate business.By Steph Wagner

53

VC ViewpointBefore you do

anything else,

protect your

intellectual property.By Jim Morrone

54

StartupFinanceLooking for funding?

Try your schools

alumni network.By Michelle

Goodman

60Q&ABeware the high

cost of pursuing

perfection.By Ann C. Logue

62Whos Got VC?

A mattress

company enlists

celebrities to

promote its

charitable works.By Michelle

Goodman

53

76

5664


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2168

EDITORIAL

INTERIM MANAGING EDITOR Grant DavisSENIOR WRITER Jason AnkenySPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Tracy Stapp Herold

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Margaret Littman, Jenna Schnuer

ART & DESIGNSENIOR ART DIRECTOR Evelyn GoodPRODUCTION MANAGER Monica Im

CONTRIBUTING ART DIRECTOR Nancy RoyCONTRIBUTING PHOTO DIRECTOR Judith Puckett-Rinella

CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Chad McCabe

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSMikal E. Belicove, Danielle Beurteaux, Josh Cochran,

Jason Daley, Michael Frank, Andrew Gibbs,Elaine Glusac, Michelle Goodman, Ann Handley,

Christopher Hann, Jared Keller, Ann C. Logue,

Ross McCammon, Jim Morrone, Gael OBrien,John Patrick Pullen, David Port, Joe Robinson,James Victore, Steph Wagner, Joe Worth

ENTREPRENEUR.COMVP, DIGITAL David Pomije

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Raymond HennesseyMANAGING EDITOR Lauren CovelloDEPUTY EDITOR Stephen Bronner

ARTICLES EDITOR Andrea HuspeniSPECIAL PROJECTS DIRECTOR Linda Lacina

CONTRIBUTORS EDITOR Peter PageSOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Wendy Frink

DATA AND LISTS EDITOR Tanya Benedicto KlichRESEARCH EDITOR Carolyn Sun

SENIOR WRITERS Catherine Clifford, Kim Lachance ShandrowASSOCIATE EDITORS Laura Entis, Joan Oleck, Erin Schultz

STAFF WRITERS Geoff Weiss, Nina ZipkinEDITORIALASSISTANT Carly Okyle

VIDEO PRODUCER KianVIDEO EDITORS Alice Guilhamon, Anna Teregulova

IT MANAGER David BozanicAD OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Michael Frazier

TRAFFIC COORDINATOR Jose Paolo DyONLINE AD TRAFFICKER Michelle Rosol

DIRECTOR, SITE OPERATIONS Jake HudsonDESIGN DIRECTOR Austin Allsbrook

DIGITAL MEDIA DESIGNERS Kevin Chapman, Monica Dipres, Nicole LeachENGINEERS Angel Cool, Brandon Davis, Jaime Parra

FRONTEND ENGINEER Nicholas JennesSEO MANAGER Thomas Tan

ENTREPRENEUR PRESSACQUISITIONS AND MARKETING DIRECTOR Jennier Dorsey

MARKETING AND PRODUCTION MANAGER Vanessa Campos

EDITOR IN CHIEF/VP

Amy C. Cosper

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Jason Feier

Vol. 44, No. 2. Entrepreneur(ISSN 0163-3341) is published monthly by Entrepreneur Media Inc.,18061 Fitch, Irvine, CA 92614. Periodical postage paid atIrvine, CA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Entrepreneur,P.O. Box 6136, Harlan, IA, 51593-1636. One year subscriptionrates in U.S.: $19.97; in Canada: $39.97; all other countries: $39.97; payable in U.S. funds only. For customer service go to entrepreneur.com/customerservice ormail subscription orders and changes to Entrepreneur,Subscription Department, P.O. Box 6136, Harlan, IA, 51593-1636. For change of address, please give bothold and new addresses and include most recent mailing label. Entrepreneurconsiders its sources reliable and verifies as much data as possible, although reportinginaccuracies can occur; consequently, readers using this information do so at their own risk. Each business opportunity and/or investment inherently contains certainrisks, and it is suggested that the prospective investors consult their attorneys and/or financial professionals. Entrepreneuris sold with the understanding that thepublisher is not rendering legal services or financial advice. Although persons and companies men tioned herein are believed to be reputable, neither EntrepreneurMedia Inc.,

nor any of its employees accept any responsibility whatsoever for their activities. Advertising Sales (949) 261-2325. Entrepreneuris printed in the USAand all rights are reserved. 2016 by Entrepreneur Media Inc.No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means withoutwritten permission of the publisher. Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs will be returned only if ac companied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All letters

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BUSINESS

PRESIDENT/COO Ryan SheaPUBLISHER Justin KoenigsbergerASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/MARKETING Lucy GekchyanINTEGRATED MARKETING MANAGERWendy Narez

MARKETINGCHIEF INSIGHTS OFFICER, MARKETING AND RESEARCH Lisa MurrayVP, MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS Jillian McTigueCOMMUNITY MARKETING MANAGER Rocky VyMARKETING AND EVENTS MANAGER Gildardo JimenezMARKETING MANAGERNicole JurinekCOMMUNITY MARKETING COORDINATOR Ralph LiCREATIVE SERVICES ART DIRECTORJeff MestonGRAPHIC DESIGNER Christian Zamorano

ENTREPRENEUR MEDIANATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES

NEW YORK CITY (212) 563-8080REGIONAL SALES MANAGERS James Clauss, Randy MillsEASTERN ONLINE SALES MANAGER Brian SperanziniSOUTHEAST DIGITAL SALES EXECUTIVE Patrick NotaroOFFICE MANAGER/EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER Elvira PerezCHICAGO (312) 923-0818

MIDWEST DIRECTOR OF ONLINE SALES Keith BainbridgeDETROIT (248) 644-2786

MIDWEST ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Lori K. FlynnATLANTA (770) 209-9858

SOUTHERN ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Kelly HedigerSAN FRANCISCO (415) 433-0441

MANAGING DIRECTOR, WESTERN SALES GROUP Kris KiloilNORTHWEST INTEGRATED SALES MANAGER Leilani ProvostIRVINE (949) 622-7169

LOS ANGELES ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Eric RuckerSOUTHWEST ONLINE SALES MANAGERJeffrey Rinna

FRANCHISE AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISING SALES

VP, FRANCHISE Paul FishbackACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Tim Evans, Brent Davis, Simran Toor,(949) 261-2325, ax: (949) 752-1180CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RPI Classieds (727) 507-7505, ax: (727) 507-7506PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ADVERTISING Direct Action Media,Tom Emerson (800) 938-4660ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MANAGER Mona RifinONLINE ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Monica Santana

EXECUTIVE STAFFCHAIRMANPeter J. SheaSENIOR VP, OPERATIONS Mike LudlumSENIOR VP/CFO Joseph GoodmanCORPORATE COUNSEL Ronald L. Young

VP, INNOVATION Bill ShawDIRECTOR, INNOVATION Deepa ShahVP, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Charles MuselliSTAFF ACCOUNTANT Jane OtsuboACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE MANAGER Lynn Van WinkleASSISTANT CORPORATE COUNSEL Rick IgnarraOFFICE MANAGER Yvette MadridFACILITY ADMINISTRATOR Rudy Gusyen


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Were all artists.

That doesnt

mean were all

Picassos with

paintbrushes, mind you. But

we all have the capacity to

create something unique:

music, paintings, buildings,

sculpture, books, logos,

iPhones, businesses.

I know this creative spark is a cornerstone

to entrepreneurship (along with drive, talent

and balls of steel). But not everyone agrees.

Every once in a while, I nd myself arguing

with someone from some corporation or

educational institution about what entrepre-

neurship is and what it means to our culture.

This is their recurring response: Entrepre-neurship means you are the sole proprietor

of a business, or you are a business owner

assuming risknothing more.

No, actually, sir or madam, thats wrong.

Entrepreneurship means creating something

THE ARTIST OTHERWISEKNOWN AS ENTREPRENEUR

never imagined before, born from a passionthat wouldnt be stopped. Its in our DNA to

gure out how to solve problems. And t hank

God for that because its how were going to

survive as a species.

Entrepreneurship requires people who

recognize blank canvases as opportunity.

What sets t hem apart is t he innate curio sity

and boldness to throw paint on that white

space and see what happens. Even if it sucks,

having the guts to do it is what matters.

Of course its hard. Failure is expected. But

man, it is a hell of lot more fun than simplyowning and running a business. And when

it works, the rewards are magnicent. This

month we prole two very different versions

of entrepreneurial creativity. Our cover story

on the Hanson brothers (An Entrepreneur Is

an Artist, pg. 32)yes, the boy band from the

1990sand their evolution from pop-culture

phenoms to savvy entrepreneurs who dabble

in music, festivals and craft beer, says it all.

But we also wanted to show another side of

this ingenuity. As we are all painfully aware,

we are in the midst of the bloviating, atulentseason that is a tenet of American society: the

election year. Politics is a tough racket, which

is why we decided to take a look at people

brave enough to turn it into a business plan.

Brigade (Politics Pays. But Does Civics? pg.

24) is a mobile app that aims to build a social

network for the politically inclined and to

drive citizens from talking about political

issues to doing something about them.

We hope reading this is sue inspires

you to look for your next blank canvas and

start throwing paint. And along the way,understand that youll pick up some rules of

the game. But dont worry; youre learning

them so you can then break them and make

something wholly new, per Pablo Picasso.

JASON FEIFER

Our executive editor has

worked atFast Company,

Mens HealthandMaxim. He

kicked off his time with us by

discovering that he and the

Hanson brothers share a love

of great ideas and great beer.

PAUL SAHRE

Paul is a world-renowned

illustrator, designer, entre-

preneur, influencer and the

brilliant mind behind the

opening illustration in this

months Culture section

(pg. 15).

Amy C. Cosper photograph by Nigel Parry/CPI

OUR BOARD OF

ENTREPRENEURIAL ADVISERS

Amy C. Cosper

[email protected]

@AmyCCosper

Learn the rules like a pro so you can breakthem like an artist.Pablo Picasso

Editors Note


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Feedback

TELL US ABOUT IT

Our Facebook fans, Twitter followersand discussion groups are buzzingabout what matters to entrepreneursmost. Come join the conversation.

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Accelerate Your Business Event Series

Join Entrepreneur and Microsoft in kicking off the rst event of our 2016series in Miami on Feb.23, and discover proven strategies and innovativesolutions to optimize team performance, improve company productivity,and position you for continued success. Seats are limited. Go to

entm.ag/accelerateto register now.

CINDY WHITEHEA,WHO GRACED OURJANUARY COVER,LEFT SPROUTPHARMACEUTICALSSOON AFTER, SAYINGHER WORK WAS DONE.WE ACCEPT THECOMPLIMENT.

WE ASKED READERS:

What does it take to be acreative entrepreneur?

ClarifiedIn December's Trends 2016 look into

bio-hacking, "Nature 2.0," we accidentally

inferred that Tim Ferriss was an investor

in Bulletproof Coffee. That is not the case

and was not our intent.

I FIND IT HIGHLYvaluable to be acreative entrepreneur and not just a

dollars and cents business thinker(although you need that, too). Buildingsomething from the ground up, newor better than its been done before,

takes a lot of skills/attitudes thatcreative types possess: taking orig-inal approaches to problem solving,willingness to make mistakes and learn

from them, not being tied to conven-tional thinking, and being able to takecriticism and turn it into motivation. Cre-ative professionals are excited by theprocess, not just this months numbers.

Creatives have huge egos and tons ofnerve (this is an asset and challenge) todo things in a different way.

You have to be a high-functioning

creative thinker to succeed in a creativeindustry. You cant fake it or rely onspecific skills (accounting, legal, etc.) inthis type of business. The key is adding

left-brain skills to turn creative ideas

into potential business ideas. Thats thebiggest hurdle for most creative entre-preneurs. Some people can do both,most cant. Those who do most often

find success.

Kyle GoldingOKLAHOMA CITY

I THINK I WASborn to makeup things that havent been

created yet. That characteristicdidnt always work well for me.I remember in high schoolfeeling anxious, like a misfit. It

seemed everyone else knewexactly the path they wouldpursue in life, and I had no clue. SoI went to college and began a life of

experimenting. I went down one careerpath only to discover I lost energyaround it. Id go down another and findout that I didnt have the right degree orpedigree. One day when I was pissing

and moaning about feeling unsettled, avery wise friend said I had the heart ofan entrepreneur. I recognized that shehad given me license to come up with

wild ideas, try them and put them out inthe world to see the response. If it wasnegative, Id move on to the next thingthat captured my passion.

All that experimenting paid off: At 30,

I became an entrepreneur and writer. Iwould say that the defining moment inmy lifeand the biggest uptick in my in-

comewas when I went from pursuingmoney to pursuing meaning, followingmy passion. For me, this is the mostimportant gift I give myself every day.

Scott HalfordDENVER


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ENTREPRENEUR 15Photograph by Paul Sahre

Live + Work

esquire guy

THE

WORSTOFTIMESHOW AND HOW NOT TO HELP

A COLLEAGUE IN NEED

By Ross McCammon

W close physically, we are not

often close emotionally. But when one of us experiences

a personal crisis, we are forced into unfamiliar roles

and this distance can be awkward and, at least for the

aggrieved, unhelpful. Professional relationships are anchored by hierarchy,

politics, obligation. Emotional support needs waters that arent muddy.

It requires purity and simplicity. And to achieve those things you need

enough humility to understand that your job is not to alleviate the burdens

of grief. Your job is to alleviate the burdens of work.


18/120ENTREPRENEUR 21616 Illustration by Patrick Vale

First thing: Acknowledge the hardshi

This is most of it. This is the point. And yes,

its hard. I think the main anxiety we have

comes from talking to people who may not

want to talk . Soema il. Rea lly. But dont

avoid looking at the person when you pass

in the hallway. Really. The problem isnt

reaching out; its that we try to do too much.

And too much is what t he aggrieved is

already experiencing. Dont add too much on

top of too much. Dont demand information

by asking How are you doing? or What

can I do?

Upon the death of her husband Dave

Goldberg, Sheryl Sandberg, COO of

Facebook, took to the social media site to

talk candidly of her pain. She returned

to work hoping for normalcy, but people

avoided her or looked frightened whenever

she approached because they were unsure

how to act or what to say. People often lean

on hopeful statements, like, Everything

will be OK, or ller quest ions like, How are

you? But in her rst Facebook po st after her

husbands death, she warned that these often

lead to further pain and uncertainty. Instead,

Sandberg says, Real empathy is sometimes

not insisting that it will be okay but acknowl-

edging that it is not.

A related point: Acknowledge that

the hardship has happened to them.

Acknowledge that you dont know what the

hardship feels like. The two most practical,

helpful, loving, nonjudgmental comments

are I heard what happened and I cant

imagine wh at its like for you, says Russell

Friedman, executive director of the Grief

Recovery Institute, which trains people to

help those who have suffered loss. Of course

you know grief. You know how you felt when

a similar thing happened to you, but you must

avoid the attempt to identify.

Also

Dont be a therapist. Or a

cheerleader. Taking on either of these

roles is self-aggrandizing. You cant make

things bet ter, but you can make thing s worse.

Stop talking. Friedman suggests being

and those of you who, l ike me, have an aversion

to cute metaphors will have to forgive me for

reecting this onea heart wit h ears. (Sorry,

everybody.) The point is: Grieving people

need to be heard, not spoken to. When youre

offering advice, youre doing the opposite

of listening. W hats happening is: Theyre

hearing you. And t his isnt about you.

Dont ask what you can do to

help. Say what you are going to

do to help. Or just helpno talking

required. A request for permission i nvolves

the task of answering the question. Dont

create tasks. Instead, relieve them of tasks.

They arent incapable of doing their jobs,

of course, but their jobs will be m ade much

more manageable if you remove tasks in t he

short term. Were talking meetings, projects,

softball team management

That said, maintain their privacy.

Before you enact some plan to help the

aggrieved staffer get her work doneor deal

with less workrun it by her rst. The plan

might involve other colleagues, and she

might not want everybody knowing whats

going on in her personal life. Also, some

people prefer working through tough times

to distract themselves.

Finally: Do the thing. I dont know

what the th ing is. Mayb e its owers. Maybe

its setting up a cooler on the persons

porch so people can drop off food (without

requiring anyone to answer t he door).

Maybe its your presence at the funeral.

Maybe its a card. Maybe its nally sending

the email you wrote three days ago. Go. Do.

Hit send. Despite all the warnings about

overstepping and overburdening, err on the

side of doing the thing. When it comes to

helping, too much will always be better t han

too little.

Of course, sending the second-to-largest

gift basket, not the largest, wi ll do just ne.

Lets not get carried away here.

Ross McCammon is a senior editor atEsquire

magazine and the author ofWorks Well With

Others. To learn more aboutEsquireand to

subscribe, go to esquire.com.

T

t e

tso o ou e

overreacting. Because

this is criticism.

"It could be a lot worse

or Youll get over it."

Because this downplayssuffering.

"You need to pull your-

self together" or "You

need to be strong. Be-

cause youre asking the

person to reject their

feelings.

Everything happens for

a reason. Because this

is stupid.

I know how you feel.

Because you dont.

What can I do? Because

it requires the person

to make a plan for you.

Did you see Scandal

last night?! (Not now.)

jargon

clocksucker (n.)Definition:A lazy, unproductive colleague who wastescompany time and money. Usage:Dont involve thatclocksucker Bob if you ever want to get this project done.


19/120216

ENTREPRENEUR 17Photograph by David Rinella

packaging of the month

A Bottleof What?It looks like booze.It calls itself a spirit.But what do you doif youre a brandingagency and a client

comes to you withwhat it bills asthe worlds rstnonalcoholicspirit?Answer: Create acategory languagefor a category thatdoesnt yet exist,says Hamish

Campbell, creativedirector of the New

York-based brandingcompany Pearlsher.This is what he cameup with for Seedlip.Andrew Gibbs

Fi d

he

v

erlap.

The

bottle

looks like it

b

elongs on a liquor shelf,

but theres something

unique about it. Its

a shape not currently

owned by a particular

liquor category,

Campbell says. Rather, it

calls back to botanical

distillates and the

language of apothecary

shops, he says.

Nod to process.

Copper makes the

bottles cap glow and

adds some light to

the label illustration.The metallic touches

reference the copper

stills use

d to create it,

l

l says.

reate atmosphere.

S

eedlip was founded by

a

Brit who comes from

a long line of farmers.

The illustration plays

off that, revealing

itself as the profile of

the native red fox, a

creature indigenous to

the English countryside,

Campbell says. Its also

supposed to represent

the disruptive nature of

the spirit.

efine the essence.

So, okay: Whats a

nonalcoholic spirit,

exactly? Seedlip says

its based on herbalconcoctions from the

1651 book, The Art of

Distillation. Bark, spices,

citrus peels and other

woodsy ingredients are

distilled in a way similar

to whisky, and the result

can be used like many

liquorsmixed with

tonic, say, or in a clean

martini. Pearlfisher

used the ingredients to

tell its storyand was

inspired by centuries-old

botanical illustrations.

Andrew Gibbs is edi tor-in-chief of

The Dieline and editorial and creative

director ofHowmagazine.


20/12018 ENTREPRENEUR 216 Photograph by David McClister; Illustration by Patrick Vale

design

marketing

Hookem WithHeadlines

Sometimes, the greatestbusiness ideas are found athome By Margaret Littman

A

a traine d

textile designer but

recent career moves

took her far aeldmovie actress

and user-interface designer.

After a move to Nashville, she

was wondering : Whats next ?

For inspiration, and to pass the

time, she started maki ng weekly

trips to Memphis to visit her

dad, William Eggleston, the

photographer widely credited

with po pularizin g color photog-

raphy as an art form.

Willi am also d id drawin gs,

and Andra began scanning the

pieces to preserve them. Then

she started playing with them.

She enlarged one image, adjust-

ed the colors and turned it into

a pattern. I said, Dad, look at

this!, she recalls. And he said,

Goddamn it, thats beautiful.

What is it? I said, Thats your

drawing. And he was shocked.

She knew her next career

move: Andra turned those de-

signs into fabrics, which she had

produced in the U.S. on Belgian

linen, and in 2013 launched her

textile business called Electra

Eggleston. (Electra was the

name her father wanted for his

daughter. Mom vetoed it.) The

work has attract ed internati onal

WITHOUT THE RIGHT

WORDS, YOUR BLOG POSTS,

FLYERS AND ADS

MAY GO UNNOTICEDBy Ann Handley

A headline isnt a final flourish, just some-thing to tack on after the writing or video

production is done. Its your critical first

impression: 80 percent of visitors will read

your headline, but only 20 percent will go

on to read the piece itself, according to

Copyblogger. Draw readers in this way:

Trust.BuzzFeed may score with hyper-

bolism like 36 Of The Absolute Worst

Things That Could Ever Happen to You,

but your goal is to inform, help and inspire

your audience. If you overplay the headline,

your audience will feel misled and skeptical

of your next headline. Be useful, and never

waste your readers time.

SOURCING

INSPIRATION


21/120216 ENTREPRENEUR 19

press, and shes expanded her

offerings every year since. She

now has a showroom in Los

Angeles, is looking to open one

in New York and expects to

become protable this year.

But to reach this success,

she had to overcome a great

challenge: her fathers legacy. I

had this man hiding behind the

curtain thing a little bit. I was

so intimidated by the reputation

that my dad has accumulated

in the art world. My standards

were almost too high when I

started, she says. So she focused

on a market very different from

his: She started selling her fab-

rics at very upscale prices only to

interior designersand that, she

decided, would be the only way

she did business.

But as the business pro-

gressed, she experimented and

added $280 pillows. Originally,

she sold them through high-

end home dcor boutiques;

eventually she added online

sales through her site, electrae-

ggleston.com. I never thought

the pillows were going to sell

that well. I thought they were a

side project and would serve as

a vehicle to sell the fabric by the

yard, she says. But instead, the

pillows revealed a new market

for her. People bought them

when they couldnt afford an

interior designer or yards of her

fabric. Maybe youre not going

to buy a Chanel suit, but you

might buy some Chanel glasses,

she explains.

Context.Tell your readers whats in it forthem. For example, Things to Consider

Before a Business Launch is vague and un-

inspiring, but 9 Things I Wish I Knew Before

I Launched My Last Business captivates.

Another tip: place the reader into a headline.

14 Kinds of Pumpkins to Grow offers little,

but 7 Kinds of Pumpkins You Can Grow on

a City Balcony speaks to a target audience.

Curiosity.Theres a sweet spot in head-

lines: Its called the curiosity gap, when

youve made the a reader curious enough

to click and read. (Consider the pumpkins

on a city balcony. Dont you want to know

what they are?) But dont toy with readers.

Her 2015 line consisted of

15 vibrantly colored designs,

which were based on ve

of her fathers drawings. In

2016, shell add neutrals in the

same patterns. But she doesnt

plan on basing her company

entirely on her fathers aesthetic

sensibilities. Shes branching

out with future collections that

draw on other artists work. In

2014, she made limited-edition

bow ties with Nashville-based

designer Otis James. And she

had prototype vinyl wallpapers

made, using the same drawings

from James.

Im taking it very slow,

she says, because I dont want

any carelessness. She thinks

back to some meetings at her

Los Angeles showroom, where

designers asked her, Do you

want to be [only] great, or do

you want to na il it? And th at

got Andra thinking about how

much work she still had to do.

Im at about 94 percent right

now, she says. But there is a

huge margin between 94

percent and 100 percent.

A headline that says This One Simple TrickSaved My Business might as well say Im

Desperate For You To Click.

Clarity.Be direct, simple and tight. Your

headline should have fewer than 70 charac-

tershalf a tweet. Longer headlines may get

truncated in search results and social shares.

A good way to see what works: watch how

your headlines do on social media and study

what the best-read ones have in common.

Ann Handley is the author of the book

Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to

Creating Ridiculously Good Content.

@MarketingProfs

QWhat legal issues

do I need to ad-

dress when providing

company vehicles for

my employees?

Ke h a

leveland lawyer

and a former chairman

of the National Small

Business Association,

suggests covering

these three bases:

iability Make sure

y u right

insurance coverage,

Asthmus says. When

talking with providers,

explore liability issues

both for your employ-

ees (should one claim

you provided a defec-

tive vehicle) and for

third parties (should

the employee get into

an accident).

Taxes

Istheemployee

e i led odrive the ve-

hicle for personal use?

If so, Ashmus says,

the employee might be

responsible for paying

taxes on it. Check with

your accountant and

your lawyer.

omp ecl r abouttheterms

of use. For example, is

the employee respon-

sible for vehicle main-

tainence? One solution

is to provide company

cars only to employees

classified as exempt;

that is, salaried em-

ployees who, under

law, are not eligible for

overtimeor compen-

sation for time spent

fixing the car.

Christopher Hann

RoadSage

ask a pro

(Above) A young AndraEggleston was her fatherWilliam Egglestons model inthis iconic image. (Left) Now

shes wrapping her luxury fabricbusiness around her famousfathers aesthetic.

COURTESYEGGLESTON

ARTISTICTRUST


22/120ENTREPRENEUR

21620

WELL CONNECTE

travel

AIRLINES ARE FINALLY GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT WI I

HERE, FOUR OF THE MOST INTERESTING PLANS

Despite all this, dont expect totally smooth, cheap connections. The whole plan lyh s

a certain bandwidth, says Seth Kaplan, managing partner atAirline Weekly. If evr on l

on, everyones Wi-Fi will be slow. Thats why many services come at a costif few rp opl

connect, service stays fast. Elaine Glusac

JetBlue Southwest Virgin America Delta Air Li s

The

pitch

JetBlues statedgoal is to be theonly U.S. carrier tooffer free Wi-Fi onits entire fleet.

Its screenlessseats mean theplanes weigh lessand burn lessfueland South-west believescustomers prefertheir own devicesanyway.

Welcome to thefastest internetspeeds in the sky,at 140 gigabits persecond (eight to 10times faster thanother airlines, aVirgin spokesmansays).

The airline isno offering upg satellite-ba dservice on ghaul flights dfaster grou dto-air spee onshort route bo hvia Gogo.

Wi-Fioption

today

All its 150 AirbusA320 and A321jets contain Wi-Fior as JetBluespunny writersnamed it, Fly-Fiwith speeds up to20 megabytes persecond.

Wi-Fi is availableon about 80percent of its fleet;the carrier wontdisclose speeds.

Wi-Fi provided byGogo is availableon all planes, andViaSats superfastWi-Fi is availableon the first of 10new planes thatwent into servicelast fall.

About two sof domesticaircraft and85percent of international fligh s offerconnectiv y

Cost Free $8 per day, whichalso comes withmore than 20 TVchannels.

Virgin Americaplans to startcharging for ViaSatservice in March.

Some bas caccess, in l di gmovies, is ;more rob access sa sa $3.99 an .

In the

future

It expects to havethe entire fleetwired with satel-lite technologymeaning nointerruptions onits new Caribbeanroutesby next fall.

There is no timeline on full-fleetconnectivity,but a Southwestspokesman saysall new planes willhave it.

By June, all 10 newplanes loaded withsuperfast Wi-Fi willbe in the air.

By mid-2 linternatio alfligh will be eq dwith Wi-Fi.

Illustration by Robert Samuel Hanson


23/120Photograph by David Rinella

J

Dhulchaointighs

glue has gained

legions of fans who

use it to seal cracks

x busted bathroom xtures or,

in the case of a British TV show,

affix their cameras to the outside

of a small rocket that they then

launched into space. A farmer

even used it to make and attacha

prosthetic leg to one of his chick-

ens, who got nipped by a fox.

And n Dhulchaointigh knows

all this because people tweet and

Instag ram and YouTube their

craftsits an online commu-

nity driven by the question,

What else can this stuff hold?

But this booming business

almost didnt happen, because

n Dhulchaointigh, a London-

based product designer, wanted

to just sell the thing off.

The project rst started small:

She was creating an ergonomic

knife handle with a mixt ure of

silicone caulk and sawdust. Then

she spent six years experi-

menting with 5,000 different

variations of her formula unti l

she had made a moldable, rub-

berized glue, which she planned

to sell to a large multinational

like 3M. But it was 2008 and the

recession stopped that idea cold.

A lot of experienced people told

me that I had to partner with a

big company to succeed, she

says. But, often things have to

business unusual

StickyBusinessHOW A GLUE DEVELOPER TURNED

BAD LUCK INTO A DIY SENSATION

by Grant Davis

go really bad for us to have the

condence to do something dif-

ferent. We didnt have a choice

but to go and do it on our own.

It worked: Last year, her

revenues doubled to $4 million.

Heres how she got there:

Step 1.Think

internationally.

As soon as she had a working

product, her business partner

insisted they le for patent

protection across Europe, the

U.S., China and India. Even

though weve only been selling

Sugru in America since 2014,

we knew almost six years before

then that we would, she says.

Having that protection made

it much easier to nd investors

who would let us scale manufac-

turing to meet demand.

Step 2.Launch a

community.

When we started, we made it

very user oriented, not neces-

sarily application oriented, she

says. We let the users tell us how

Sugru could work. The com-

pany showed off users photos

online, and eventually launched

a blog and a page where anyone

could ask the company how to x

anything with Sugru. Users ran

with this, trading their own tips

and insights.

Step 3. Follow the data.

When Sugru rs t went on sale

through Amazon U.K., half of its

orders came from the U.S. After

a few years, n Dhulchaointigh

had sales data proving that

Americans were interested,

which helped her break into the

market.

Step 4.Lock up capital to

fund rapid growth.

To help fund Sugrus U.S. expan-

sion, the company launched an

equity crowdfunding campaign

in 2014. (The U.K. has allowed

this kind of fundraising for three

years, and the U.S. followed last

summer.) Sugru asked for 1

million, and hit its goal in just

four days. It went on to raise 3.4

million ($5.2 million).

Step 5.Remember your

strength.

Were in a category where not

much new or innovative takes

place, and the space is dominat-

ed by companies like 3M, n

Dhulchaointigh says. Buyers are

intrigued, but she knows they

wont sign right away; they may

not see a need. So she keeps the

conversation open. It took about

a year to nally get orders from

Target and L owesbut now

shes there, on the shelves next to

3M products.

Sell, Improve, Repeat: Once n Dhulchaointigh developed the rstversion of Sugruwhat she considered a minimum viable productsheput it up for sale online and closely followed early users responses. Herteam never stopped iterating based on that feedback. Sugrus shelf life hasimproved from six months to 13, and theyre now working on a version withno chemicals so it can be used in hospitals, and so parents feel okay about

using it on child rens toys.


24/120ENTREPRENEUR

21622 Illustration by Brian Rea

.

We had to lay off an

employee who wasnt a

good fit for us. I wanted

to offer her a severance

package of five weeks

of income, to help herand her family as she

searches for a new job.

But I read that I shoul

also have the employee

sign a severance

agreement. I know its

common, but it feels slimy. What are

the ethics here?

noncompete; perhaps an agree-

ment not to discuss the sever-

ance or badmouth t he company.

The assumption is the company

and employee both went into an

employee/employer relationship

with goo d intentions, and there

k l

Y p

y p g y

f f g

l l d h h d t

y y

f f

able doing it. Give t he employee

ample time to review it and

consult with a family member

or expert. Not all binding legal

documents have to be written in

legalese; yours can be straight-

forward and supportive. The

goal, Varelas says: Make the

document feel like a mutually

supportive relationship.

Now heres the bigger ques-

tion: How do you avoid future sit-

uations where an employee isnt

a good t ? Have you and your

team claried what behaviors,

the ethics coach

SEPARATION ANXIETYAre severance agreements slimy business?By Gael OBrien

attitudes and valuesin addition

to skills and competencies

create success for a team mem-

ber, the business, and clients

or customers? Are you clear

about that in interviews? Or do

you assume that a new person

will catch on to the culture and

contribute accordingly? (Bad

plan: Not everyone has psychic

abilities.) Your team surely

has thoughts on how to screen

job candidates and help them

succeedif you dont know t hose

thoughts, you should. While

youre at it, ask how you can

improve communication. If you

believe youve covered these

bases, consider your team: Are

they so close knit that new arriv-

als have trouble tting in? Once

you solve this riddle, you can put

your efforts into helping people

start right, rather than worrying

about how they leave.

AYour instinct to offer

severance is compassion-

ate and appropriate. Its also the

right message to send in the mar-

ketplace: Your company treats

people with respect even when

things dont work out. But the

accompanying agreement isnt

slimy at all. Its good business.

Severance agreements

are business documents that

clarify expectations, says Elaine

Varelas, managing partner of

Boston-based outplacement

rm Keystone Partners and an

expert in separation negotiation.

Employees often sign written

agreements when they start

a job; the same should be true

when they end it. The agreement

can outline what assistance

an employer will providefor

example, additional weeks of

salary, benets continuation, or

career-transition assistance, she

says. It also spells out what the

employer needs in return, such

as acceptance of the severance

amount; release of liability;

in some elds, reiteration of a

Gael OBrien is publisher of

The Week in Ethicsand founder

of coaching/consulting firm

Strategic Opportunities Group.


25/120

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There are thousands of things a

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Credit cards are issued by Chase Bank USA, N.A.


26/120

Brigades James Windon

(left) and Matt Mahan votewith their feet.



BY JASON ANKENY

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN HIGBEE

Most Americans agreethat government is broken.But only a few braveentrepreneurs have triedto fix itand their effortsrarely go well.Brigadesexperienced leaders think

they can do better. Andthis election year, theyllbecome an object lessonin taking on the greatestbusiness challenges.

[innovators]

Politics Pays.

But Does Civics?


28/120

Brigade CEO Matt Mahanwants you to vote, damn it.



M A this anger on Twitter.

Some start brawls at campaign rallies. A few, well, are

running for president. But most people simply unplug.

Voter turnout in the U.S. ranks among the worst in the

industrialized world: Just 42 percent of eligible Americans voted in the

2014 midterm elections, the lowest level since the U.S. Census Bureau

began tracking voter activity in 1978. In the coming presidential elec-

tion, only 41.2 percent of registered voters aged 18 to 24 are expected to

participate, according to Tufts University research.

It is indisputably a problem. But heres a question nobody has an

answer to: Can business solve it?

Savvy entrepreneurs might see all the signs of a good opportunity.

A need in the market? Ample room to scale? A ready-made set of early

adopters who love politics and, with the right product, might be able

to help draw in others? Its all there. But while many startups have

tried, most have failed. DemDash, a self-described new platform

for citizens to engage with their democracy, tried to get 10 percent

of San Franciscans to use it during a 2012 election, but mustered

only 2 percent and is now gone. VoterMind made educational apps.

Gone. VoteIQ, t he nations rst major political social networking

site? Gone. Some have garnered a modest amount of venture capital:

Votizen raised $ 2.25 million (it was bought and closed), and Versa

raised $1.3 million (ditto).

And then there are the petition sites. People love petitions. Its why

the for-prot Change.org (which b ought Versa) has pulled i n more

than $42 million in funding to date. ColorOfChange.org launches suc-

cessful petitions too, but is a nonprot. And although both have lofty

purposes, their impact is largely around single, hot-button issuesthe

kind of stuff that gets people momentarily red up, but not the stuff

that keeps them engaged in the long term.

The track record here is not good. So why the hell would anyone else

try to build a business aimed at increasing civic engagement?

Frankly, there isnt a lot of clear, measurable demand in t he space,

says Matt Mahan. And yet there is in a kind of diffuse and vague sense,

in that everybody has something they care about, everybody has some-

thing theyre worried about, everybody has some change they want to

see in t he world.

And so Maha ns going for it.

Mahan is the co-founder and CEO of Brigade, a free app that was

launched in mid-2015. Its a social network, essentially. But instead of

[innovators]

Americans are pissed.Months out from the 2016 United States general election,voter discontent has reached a fever pitch: 72 percent saytheir elected officials cant be trusted, per a Washington Post/ABC News poll, and two-thirds believe the nations politicalsystem is dysfunctional. In fact, 21 percent of people want

the eventual president-elect to tear down the various leversof government and start over from scratch.

STY

LISTMATGIBILISCOANDGROOMERYVETTESWALLOW



seeing your friends baby photos, you see their political positions, and

youre challenged to take a stand on issues as well. Brigade has raised

$9.5 million in venture funding from Silicon Valley rainmakers such

as Ron Conway and Marc Benioff. And it has good pedigree: Mahan

headed up another civic-minded startup, Causes, that arguably came

closer than anything else to making civics protable. And its executive

chairman is Sean Parker, the social media wunderkind who co-founded

Napster and was Facebooks rst president.

Theyre up against a steep challenge, yes. But that just means theyll

have to be as creative as possible.

Step #1: Study what worked and riff on itIn 2004, Mahan was earning a bachelors degree in social studies

at Harvard University. Elsewhere on campus, classmate Mark

[innovators]

Zuckerberg was launching a little thing initially called The Facebook.

Thats where social discourse moved, and I quickly became excited

about that as an opportunity to insert civic discourse as well, Mahan

says. So he launched what he believes is Facebooks rst political cam-

paign. Harvards endowment had recently increased its investment

in some oil companies that allegedly propped up Darfurs genocidal

regime, and Mahan organized a student protest. Harvard eventually

divested. That opened my mind to the idea of the internet as the

platform for democracy, he says.

In 2007, at Zuckerbergs suggestion, Mahan joined a company

called Causes. Facebook had just opened itself up to third-party

appsthe decision that, yes, also brought you FarmVille and Maa

Warsand Causes turned political action into an easy, viral expe-

rience. Critics may call it clicktivism, but it had an impact: Across

156 countries, 186 million registered users generated more than $48

million for nonprots and put 34 million signatures on petitions.

By 2012, Mahan was Causes president and CEO. And then he took

an extreme risk: He tried moving the service off of Facebook. We

didnt own the primary relationship with the user; that was Facebook,

he says. And we didnt own the primary communication channel

between users; that was also Facebook. But he misjudged how

much Causes could do on its own. Over the next two years, activity

plummeted from around 40 million monthly active users to between a

million and 1.5 million.

There was a bright spot, though: Causes seemed to conrm that

young peopledowant to be more civically engaged, and theyll do it

using a for-prot service.

And so Mahan and some colleagues decided to start fresh. Causes

was folded, as was a sister company, the aforementioned Votizen. They

relaunched as Brigade. The goal this time: Own the conversation

from the start. They couldnt just be a Facebook feature, a little part of

something else. They had to be a brand that stood for something, and

thatusers want to identify with.

e

ople are generally frustrated, and if they believed that they

could

be involved in shaping the world and creating that outcome,

they

w

ould do it, Mahan says. They come to Brigade because they

expec

t to take action. You dont have that expectation on Facebook or

wi

tter. No consumer is on Facebook or Twitter to be activated to do

something concrete. Thats the point of Brigade.

Step #2: Prove youre on to somethingCivics groups are by nature optimistic. The business community can

be far more skeptical. So the Brigade team needed to answer a ques-

tion early on: Whats the evidence that this will work?

Its a question they heard frequently from potential funders. So of-

ten the way venture capital is deployed is about pattern matching. Its

about saying This looks like this other thing that was successful and

therefore Im willing to invest, says Brigade co-founder and president

James Windon. At a time when venture capital dollars are owing

into this Silicon Valley ecosystem and driving innovation, its not

necessarily owing into the civic space because theres not something

you can point to as being massive and successful, particul arly from the

citizen perspective.

Thats why Brigade began by building a simple, hopefully addictive

IN THE COMING

PRESIDENTIAL

ELECTION, ONLY

41.2 PERCENT OF

REGISTERED VOTERSAGED 18 TO 24 ARE

EXPECTED TO

PARTICIPATE,

ACCORDING TO

TUFTS UNIVERSITYRESEARCH.

ALE

XBELOMLINSKY/GETTYIMAGES


31/120

T E L L C O N G R E S S T O O P P O S E P A T E N T B I L L S H . R . 9 & S . 1 1 3 7

T A K E A C T I O N A T S A V E T H E I N V E N T O R . C O M

America has been on the cutting edge of innovation for over 200 years because of a strong patent system.

If Congress passes harmful patent legislation, it will devalue the system that has helped turn Americas

best thinking into our nations #1 export. That will mean fewer new ideas brought to market, fewer jobs

and a weaker economy. We cant maintain our global competitive edge by undercutting our greatest asset.

BROUGHT

TOYOUBYTHEINNOVATIONALLIANCE


32/120

The problem wereseeking to solve

is cynicism, saysBrigades Windon.



service. When any social network is effective, its because it stroked the

ego of the user rst, says the companys head of design, Marc Hemeon.

Heres what happens when you open t he app: Youre asked what you

think. Who doesnt like that, right? You can select from a menu of top-

icsabortion, climate change, gambling and so on. Each will prompt a

series of statementsGun control is an effective way to reduce violent

crime, for exampleand you can tap agree or disagree. You could

do that all day, if you want. Or you could dive into the comments and

debate with other users. Or connect with friends and compare ideas.

Or, rare as it is in this politicized age, you could admit youre unsure

on a subject, and Brigade will display other user opinions to help guide

you in one direction or the other.

Beta testers took close to a million positions during Brigades rst

week of public release. That was good data for the company: It could

now show that yes, people care about issues, and yes, they want to

announce those opinions in a social format. Next up: What else will

people do?

Step #3: Find other ways to be usefulIraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America is a nonpartisan nonprot

with 150,0 00 members but is puzzling over how to increase its reach.

There wasnt a seamless way for people to engage in the political and

policy discussions surrounding our community, says founder and

CEO Paul Rieckhoff. And there wasnt a way for people outside of our

community to understand what was going on. Then Brigade reached

out, asking if the IAVA would like to run petitions on the app and get

people responding to more veterans-related issues. The organization

was glad to participate. We need tools to help us punch above our

weight class and help us amplify our voices, Rieckhoff says.

There are a lot of groups like this, which are hungry for civically

minded, highly engaged people. Brigade is inviting them into what it

calls impact partnerships, so that it can present users with a curated

set of nonprots and advocacy organizations from across the ideologi-

cal landscape. The more users nd causes theyre passionate about, the

theory goes, the more theyll return to Brigade to stay involved.

This is the beginning of a complex puzzle for Brigade: What brings

people back? How can you keep the conversation going once agree

and disagree get old? How can you be a hub for all things politics the

way that Facebook is a hub for all things social? A mong the kinds of

discussions these questions lead to: I dont talk politics with a lot of my

friends. Its not worth hurting friendships, Hemeon says. Thats one

of the challenges facing Brigade: How do you activate around things

that you care so passionately about, but you cant even talk about with

your good friends?

His answer: Well intro duce you to new friends. Its a puzzle hes

eager to gure out.

Brigade is also experimenting with localized services. There are

roughly 520,000 elected officials across all strata of U.S. government,

and more than 500,000 of them occupy seats at the local levelcity

councils, school boards and all the other officials whose names you

probably dont know. Last October Brigade launched an experiment to

see how valuable it could make itself on a hyperlocal level. In advance

of some municipal elections, the app rolled out local voter guides to

users in Californias Bay Area and Manchester, New Hampshire. They

contained detailed information on the candidates and ballot initia-

tives, personalized voting recommendations, an invitation to pledge

who youre voting for and a handful of other services.

On election night, Brigade got a nice surprise: With the exception

of one contested district supervisor race, Brigade users vote pledges

paralleled the nal election outcomes for all San Francisco candidates

and ballot propositions. If that can be replicated in other elections,

Brigade could make a case that its data is highly valuable to pollsters,

lobbyists, brands and many other well-paying entities.

Step 4: Prioritize the problemsOpen the Brigade app. Select a subjectlets go with Campaign Trail

Mix. A card pops up: Republican presidential candidates have better

ideas for solving the countrys problems than Democrats, it says.

Agree, or disagree? Either way, youll get the results: Only 26 percent

of users tapped agree for that. Now try gun control. Abortion. A pat-

tern becomes clear: The people who use this appperhaps because

51 percent of millennials identify as Democrats or lean left, compared

with 35 p ercent who identif y as Republican or lean r ightare pre-

dominantly liberal.

This would seem to be a challenge for Brigade, a company that wa nts

to be all inclusive. But Mahan brushes it aside. Its a problem, yes, but

its not the most pressing problem. For now, he says, t he goal is to

demonstrate the right kind of user behavior and retention. He can

worry about balancing out the user base later.

Brigades brain trust knows the app has a lot to overcome. Even its

pitch presents challenges because while the company wants to i ncrease

voter participation, theres no evidence that a product like this has that

power. Plus, low voter turnout is a complex problem. Forty-three per-

cent of nonvoters report family incomes below $30,000 per year, nds

the Pew Research Center. Many of these people have trouble getting

time off work to vote or cant get t ransportation to the polls. Its unclear

where an app like Brigade ts into their lives, or if it ts at all.

But the way Brigades founders see it, there are still many layers of

more-accessible voters it can reach. One of t he benets we have is

were dealing in subject matter that natura lly lends itself to social pro-

motion, says Windon. Whether its an advocacy campaign for Black

Lives Matter or an awareness-raising campaign to change the way we

think about campaign nance, the essencethe purposeis to grow.

If we can build the type of technology that makes it easy, effective

and rewarding for users to pull their friends into campaigns, ideas or

issues, well be able to structure interactions that allow the platform

and the net work to grow.

Once theyre there, Brigade w ill have ever-more challenges to over-

come. They already have a taste of whats next: Many beta users said

they enjoy taking positions but, Mahan says, they have a hard time

articulating why theyre doing it and what its building. So now he and

his team are busily answering that call, wrestling with how to make

all those agrees and disagrees build to something something more

substantial for each usera deeper, richer prole in the app, the digital

sum of an individual persons political will.

People need to understand why, Mahan says, an idea that says as

much about politics as it does about his ambitious, young company.

They have to have a sense of purpose.

[innovators]


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A Tale in Thre

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1.The Band ThatBeat the Odds

2.

The Artist That NowProtects Other Artists

e Acts:3.

The Conversation:What Does Creativityin Business Mean?

T

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Photographs by Bobby Fisher



Act 1:The Survivors

mmBop was an international hit. Butthen your major record-label deal started

falling apart. Was that when you realized

that to have a long career, you needed to

be entrepreneurs as well as artists?

Isaac:We were always a bit hard-nosed,

despite our cheerful demeanor. Our rst

manager really pushed that we not sell our

publishing rights, which is one of the earliest

things an artist will do: Theyll sell in order to

get a cash advance. The premise of anything

you dowhether its writing a song or any

businessis ultimately that it hinges heavily

M

Hansoncouldhave been aone-hit wonder.(RememberMmmBop?)But rather thanquit after theirstar fell, theytook full controlof their brand.Now theyremusic makers,festivalorganizers,beer brewersand marketingmastersand still havelegions of fans.Interview by

Jason Feifer

on your belief in the thing that youre doingand promoting and selling. Its a reection of

who you are in a very deep way. We looked at

it as: We care about the future of what were

doing. This is not just a way to make a quick

buck, but its ultimately a li fe to be proud of.

Taylor:Theres an epidemic in t he music

industry, which is the idea that artists need

all these other people to succeed. You need

the manager, you need the label, you need the

publicist. But artists of all kindsdesigners,

painters, everybodyare now seeing that

they can be their own brand manager and

The Brothers Hanson(from left to right: Isaac,Taylor and Zac) are off to

their next meeting.



other artisan business. Thats why its evolved

more and more into creating its own identity,

with th ings like Hop Jam, our annual beer

festival, that stands around Hanson. Were at

the festival, but its its own party.

It also strikes me as a smart way to sell

more things to your fans. Theyve already

bought the ticket to your show, after all,

and they can only own so many T-shirts.

Taylor: Its a natural step to say were play-

ing a show, we should have our beer there.

One, because we know our fans are ve times

more likely to buy our beer than someone

elses. And music and beer create the DNA of

a great event, so we use that combination as a

way to create a secondary event: Were dee-

jaying and playing t he after part y ourselves.When we s tar ted produ cing be er, it was

weird: T heres a perish able th ing t hats in

stores! A song, theres never a point in which

its going to go bad. I th ink thats a bless-

ing from the point of view of the creative

and business minds. You have to measure

yoursel f wit hin t hose pa ramet ers. It keep s

you th inki ng.

So why call it MmmHops? Were you wor-

ried it would seem like a novelty product?

Taylor: It was a question of whether youcall out the elephant in the room or wait for

others to call it out. What weve done with

MmmHops is actively and proactively tell

people, We are and always have been proud

of who we are and our musicand by the way,

MmmHops is the 20-year personication of

that brand.

Zac:And we wanted to cut off newspapers

from titling their articles, Mmm, Beer.

Because thats not even a pun. Also, in the

end, you know that

the name will getmore attention than

if its just called

Hanson Brothers

Pale Ale.

On your last tour

you did two nights

in each city: The

first show was

covers. The second

was your songs.

Where do these

ideas startthinking about how to

increase your returns on the road?

Isaac:Like anything, it has to start with,

is this a good creative idea? If youre not

passionate about it, it will have great risk of

falling at on its face. So the idea was, hey,playing shows that talk about our musical

inuences sounds really fun. But theres only

so many songs we can play on a set list, so

maybe we should make it two nights.

Zac:Its about expanding the experience,

about nding ways for people to identify with

the band in different ways. This is an example

of how that progresses. It has incredible value

because you get to walk in to a promoter and

say, Were going to be twice as valuable to

you. But its risky because in some markets,

that might not work. So what we try to dowith our audience is ask a lot of them, and

in turn require a lot of ourselves. Were not

averse to risk because we feel like we have

tried to cultivate a relationship where fans

understand that these experiences may not

be your average band experiences, but if

you make the effort to show up, to give your

paycheck to Hanson, that youre going to get

a great experience.

Do you think being an artist makes you

more willing to embrace risk?Taylor:I know a lot of artists who are

extremely afraid of risk. Thats why some

never change their style. But I think it might

allow you to realize that the future could be

almost anything. Its not that the risk is any

less scary. It still keeps you up at night. But

you have the natural abilit y to see the new

potential in things and believe in the oppor-

tunity because you spent so much of your life

creating things seemingly out of nothing.

Isaac:Being an

entrepreneur meansbeing a creative

businessperson. The

most creative person

is not the person who

can come up with

the best idea; its the

one who can take

that group of things

on the table and

assemble them in the

greatest multiple of

unique ways.

marketer. The whole creative world needs

artists to embrace that. They are the center of

their business, not just the center of their art.

Still, there was surely a lot you had to

learn. How did you begin?Taylor: Distribution of records, retail,

radio, pressall that stuff is critical. But our

strategy rst and foremost was to support

this idea that we want to have a hard-core

base. We wanted to make the community

bigger than us. We cant be in peoples eyes

and ears every single minute of every day, so

how can we create a culture with a commu-

nity that fuels itself?

Isaac:As an example, no matter whether

were releasing a record or not, every year we

put out an EP and it goes directly to the fanclub. So fan club members can expect to get

ve songs from us, hell or high water. And

there are various things that go along with

that releasewatching us make it [through

video the band shoots]thats always creat-

ing content for the core base to talk about.

Taylor:The challenge of most artists is:

Labels ght with managers. Managers ght

with publishers. Publishers ght with artists.

And what weve done is bring all of those

pieces under our roof so they can all work to-

gether, so theyre not in competition with eachother. We dont have one side of our business

trying to screw the other side of our business.

When we started talking, I assumed you

would have felt like artists learning to be

businesspeople. But it seems the inverse:

You created a business that was informed

by your needs as an artist.

Taylor: Thats a pretty fair assessment. The

art is the commodity. Thats the bread. Thats

what matters because t hats what created the

relationship, the economy of Hanson. Andthe other stuff, you can learn.

So how did you transition out of pure art,

and into products such as your beer?

Taylor:We like to move our focus into

areas that create community and create

self-identication so that our fans who love

our music, who love what were doing, can

identify themselves in ways outside of just the

song. The beer is like the ultimate evolution

of that kind of idea. It can stand on its own,

outside of what we do, because its a whole

GET CREATIVE!

HANSONIN BRIEF:

Music:The band releases albums on its

own label, called 3CG.

Festivals:The group organizes an annual

Hanson Day in Tulsa, full of events and

seminars; Hop Jam, a craft brew and music

festival also in Tulsa; and an annual destina-

tion show, in which the band fills a resort in

Mexico or Jamaica, produces a weekend of

activities and even curates the menus.

Beer:Its flagship brew is MmmHops, avail-

able in 20 states and online.



Act 2:The

UpstartHow does alifelong artisttransition intoentrepreneurship?Easy: He relies onhis creativity, like

everyone else.By Jared Keller

Kevin McCoy,pouring one out.



theft thats endemic on the likes of Facebook

and Reddit, the platform bakes an e-com-

merce component directly into a digital work

to make legitimate licensing easier. 4chan

doesnt care, but NBC Universal might,

McCoy says.The idea came to him about a year ago, at

a hackathon. The event matched artists with

technologists, and he was paired with serial

entrepreneur Anil Dash. The two soon dis-

covered a shared fascination with the block-

chain, a wonky system used to track bitcoins.

It can verify authenticitythat is, it sees that

you own the contents in this lebut doesnt

store anything in a centralized database.

McCoy and Dash got to thinking: What

if you used the blockchain to track the own-

ership rights of digital assets such as photosand GIFs? The idea seemed more important

than ever. Everyone I knew in the creative

community was just feeling such pain, and

the questions of valueWhat is my work

worth? How do I translate that?became so

much more important, he says.

McCoy had a passion and a purpose; what

he needed next was guidance. He found

it when he was invited to join New Inc, an

unusual startup incubator attached to the

New Museum, a modern art museum in New

York City. It draws in people at the intersec-

tion of art, technology and entrepreneurship

and offers them a deep bench of R&D and

business-development resources . T heres

a world of difference between creating apiece of art that goes out into the world and a

product that goes to market, McCoy says.

Im sitting there thinking What the hell

are these terms? Whats a convertible note?

What is debt nancing? I had no idea.

First step: Assemble a team. McCoy

asked his art-world contacts to put him in

touch with the right nancial, technical and

legal minds. Fred Benenson, VP for data at

Kickstarter (and vice chair at Rhizome, the

organization that hosted the hackathon)

helped rene Monegraphs message and

drew in potential investors who understood

McCoys passion. Chris Tse, a technologist

with a design background, c ame on as CTO.

They enlisted law rm Pryor Cashman

to help craft rights language in plain ol

Englishbecause most artists are not law-yers. Using New Incs mentor network, the

company secured a $1.3 million investment.

Monegraph now has six employees.

Dash is an advisor and likes what he sees.

People who know how to code are a dime

a dozen, but Kevins unique in t hat he un-

derstands the social, economic and political

considerations of actually making a living

off of art, says Dash. He has an encouraging

message for creative people who dont know

a thing about business: You know stuff others

dont, and thats valuable. Its an unrepre-sented perspective in the tech world.

McCoy feels that. Hes even found that

an artists mentality easily translates into

CEO leadership. To start, he trusts his team

to do what he cant. I have a vague idea

as to how software works, he says with a

laugh. And he knows that an ar tists work is

inherently entrepreneurial, and v ice versa.

You think about an artist doing sketches that

go into to making a painting, he says. For

us those sketches were a visual design and

conversation-based process,on a conceptual and product

level. Were constantly revising,

revising, revising. And its not

just about revising a pitch deck,

but constantly revising the idea,

piecing apart the idea.

He focuses less on checklists

and reports and more on conversation and

creation. Rather than stick to a detailed

product road map, Tse and his engineers

iterate daily. McCoy and Tse have big-idea

debates about what Monegraph even is, a ndthen use the outcome to guide its marketing.

Instead of organizing his teams on siloed

projects with parallel targets and regular

meetings, McCoy brought his team together

for what was basically a weeks-long meeting.

He values intuition and insight as much as

analytics and data.

So yes, the product and the CEO are a

work in progress. But shouldnt they be?

The entrepreneurial spirit of dening, of

iterating on a vision, McCoy says, is what

artists are fundamentally all about.

Its a Saturday in December and things are

not going well for Kevin McCoy. His year-

old startup, Monegraph, released a major

software update the previous evening and

the bug xes arent documented properly, the

marketing materials arent complete, and the

interfaces are barely holding together. The

release, it seems, is a work in progress.

But then again, this CEO is a work in

progress too. Until recently he just called

himself an artist. Since the 19 90s, McCoyand his wife, Jennifer, have been making

art out of internet mediausing an online

ad network to distribute 1 million absurdist

banner advertisements, for example. But now

hes taken on perhaps the hardest challenge

in the arts: Hes trying to turn a creative

passion into a business, relying on his artistic

instincts to build something completely dif-

ferent. That does have its benets, though

like right now, when the artist inside him

knows that even failures can be fascinating.

All of my artwork is about building sys-tems that generate meaning, he says, sitting

in his Manhattan workspace. Monegraph is

about building systems that generate value.

Ive relied on what Ive taught myself as a n

artist to teach myself what to do here.

McCoys company helps digital creators

license their work for artistic or commercial

use. A photographer can upload orignal

works to the site, say, and set specic usage

rights. If a media outlet or advertising agency

wants to use that photo, it can purchase

rights (or full ownership) directly throughMonegraph.

Monegraphs goal is to address a problem

that basically every artist on the internet

has experienced: Their work is difficult to

monetize but very, very easy to steal. McCoys

interest in the project was born out of his

personal experiencebecause he... well...

has often been one of the guys copying other

peoples work without permission. There

are tons of issues in the art world around

fair use and appropriation, he says. While

Monegraph isnt a silver bullet for content

GET CREATIVE!

I

WERE CONSTANTLYREVISING. AND NOTJUST A PITCH DECK,BUT CONSTANTLYREVISING THE IDEA.


40/120

Act 3:The Conversation

and what to say to them. For me, for this

particular set of ideas, it seemed like making

a company called Monegraph and trying to

make a platform was the way to do it.

Taylor: Absolutely. An artists life is

essentially crystalizing what you believe and

nding a way to rene that and continuing

to share it over and over and over. Thats thesame as building a brand. Apple, BMW, go

through the list of incredible companies:

They have a powerful sense of themselves.

And being a performer, writing songs,

collaborating with othersyour whole life is

that way. Youre constant ly pushed back to,

who are you? What is it that makes you spe-

cial or different and how do you amplify that?

Kevin: Thats been one of the most amaz-

ing thingsinterfacing with people from,

say nance marketing or ot her spheres. You

yseet e e e fengagement, the level ofg e a d co mitment in those elds.

You g t to co e sations and benet from

t e r ge a d skills. Thats been really

g to p e.

S e f epeople that have in-

d e ve been businesspeople

d ho are not literally art-

Iseea g adery among anybody

w o s g to c asetheir own idea and try

to u d g orthemselves. And hon-

y so eof t e ostnoncreative people

a dt e east p gto me have been theactual In t e and community, they

ca l t g r ease. Its ego, which

s p e e sa version of that in the

tech : tech gods. Ego sucks the air

outof t e

s nitely true. Im a col-

l b t and I have been for-

e er h d wnside of the art world

s h t h this idea of one great

l gaway in isolationand

h s t h w theworld is. A question

f r o l : w did you guys juggle the

slow extension into this mi ni-enterprise?

How do you make sure that all adds up in a

coherent way?

Taylor:Well, how do you walk a tightrope

and not fall to your death? Its simila r. To me

it all comes back to a sense of purpose. I didnt

always recognize how much Im a goal-

oriented human, but I constantly visualizesomething happening. Sometimes well

store up a very, very long list of ideas that

only comes out in pieces. I nd doing more

than one thing a necessity. As a musician and

an artist, I always want opportunities to be

multifaceted.

Kevin: Yeah. It powers the whole thing.

Taylor: Im completely a workaholic is what

Im trying to say.

Kevin: Dont try to burn the candle at both

ends. Just drop it in the re.

Taylor: Im praising the re gods. You justhope youdont burn thehousedown

Kevin: People have asked me over this

past year and a half, What about your studiopractice? Are you afraid of losing that? I

take refuge that Im condent in my identity

as an artist. Im not worried about what

particular thing Im doingmaking a photo,

a painting, a company. I know that its all part

of the same process. You have to be creatively

open to these possibilities and not be hung up

on, I should be doing this, I should be doing

that. Everybody makes their own path.

Youre thinking about following your own

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