Category: BU Community Startups
User-Generated Content Is Here to Stay
by Azeem Khan
The way media are transmitted has changed dramatically over the last 10 years. User-generated content (UGC) has completely changed the landscape of social interaction, media outreach, consumer understanding, and everything in between. Today, UGC is media generated by the consumer instead of the traditional journalists and reporters. This is a movement defying and redefining traditional norms at the same time. Current events are largely publicized on Twitter and Facebook by the average person, and not by a photojournalist hired by a news organization. In the past, these large news corporations dominated the headlines — literally — and owned the monopoly on public media. Yet with the advent of smartphones and spread of social media, everything has changed. The entire industry has been replaced; smartphones have supplanted how information is collected, packaged, edited, and conveyed for mass distribution. UGC allows for raw and unfiltered movement of content at lightening speed. With the way that the world works today, it is the most reliable way to get information out. One thing that is for certain is that UGC is here to stay whether we like it or not, and it is driving much more of modern journalistic content than the average person realizes.
Think about recent natural disasters where images are captured by citizen journalists using their iPhones. During Hurricane Sandy, 800,000 photos uploaded onto Instagram with “#Sandy.” Time magazine even hired five iPhoneographers to photograph the wreckage for its Instagram page. During the May 2013 Oklahoma City tornadoes, the first photo released was actually captured by a smartphone. This real-time footage brings environmental chaos to your doorstep in a chillingly personal way, especially considering the photographer of the first tornado photos ultimately died because of the tornado. UGC has been monumental for criminal investigations and man-made catastrophes. Most notably, the Boston Marathon bombing was covered by UGC in the most unforgettable way. Dozens of images poured in identifying possible Boston bombers, to both the detriment and benefit of public officials and investigators. Though these images inflicted considerable damage to innocent bystanders sporting suspicious backpacks, ultimately it was also smartphone images that highlighted the presence of the Tsarnaev brothers. This phenomenon isn’t limited to America. Would the so-called Arab Spring have happened without social media and UGC? Syrians, Egyptians, and citizens from numerous nations facing protests can easily publicize controversial images and statements to be shared worldwide.
The news uses UGC to its full advantages, from photos plastered on front pages of local newspapers to videos being replayed on every channel. In addition to media outlets, UGC has direct impact on the individual. Facebook feeds are dominated with pictures from friends or shared through thousands of people. Often individuals hear about these events over Facebook or Twitter before having the time to flip on a news channel. These interactive platforms also introduce an avenue for social journalism — anyone can comment, anyone can share an opinion, or introduce new facts. No longer is journalism an institutionalized endeavor — UGC has opened to the door to a new wave of consumer media.
This trend is not temporary but will only expand. The first iPhone launched in 2007, and the world has never been the same. New smartphones are released each month with better cameras and faster processors than computers had even just a few years ago. Gone are the days when news companies hired staff for the sole purpose of photographing news. TheChicago Sun Times fired its entire photography staff this past summer and decided to train the remaining journalists in the basics of iPhone photography. News and media has become instantaneous — no longer can a news organization afford to wait for a staff photojournalist to appear on site. Media organizations are investing in people, average people, with access to the simplest of journalistic devices — a smartphone, and the user generated content it creates.
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Azeem graduated with a B.A in Biology(2010) and M.A in Medical Sciences(2012) from Boston University. After working at Pathogenica, a biotech startup, for a year here in Boston but left to pursue his own startup and take his company to the next level. He’s now working full-time on Supshot, an app that allows people to get paid for the photos and videos they take on their smartphones.
Funding a Startup
By Azeem Khan
At one point every entrepreneur decides how to finance their startup, and each one has different demands so the route varies. With Supshot we're at the point now where we're looking to start fundraising so I've been researching the topic
First, you must decide how much you need to raise. Most startups go through several rounds of funding, which is completely normal so don't just keep higher numbers in mind. For each round you want to take just enough money to get the company to the next step. Startups usually don't get this step right, as many are underfunded, and some are overfunded. It would be helpful to founders to understand the funding process better for a host of reasons, but first they need to know where they can raise.
We should start by talking about the main sources of startup funding available.
Friends and Family
Many startups get their first sums of money from friends and family. Whether that number is a few thousand dollars, or if you happen to have that rich uncle is not that important. The main advantage of raising money from them is that they're easy to find since you already know them. Remember there are definitely disadvantages too though. You're mixing business and personal, which can be scary. Also, they are likely not nearly as connected as other funding sources like angels and venture firms. Finally, they might not be accredited investors, which could make things sticky later in the event of a buyout or Initial Public Offering.
To qualify as an accredited investor according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, a person must have over a million dollars in liquid assets or have an income that's over $200,000 a year. You can legally complicate your life if any of your investors aren't accredited so to keep any regulatory burdens as low as possible, try to make sure your investors are accredited.
Angel investors
These are just individual rich people who can provide capital for the startup in the form of some sort of ownership of your company. More and more these angels have recently begun forming angel groups, which allows them to pool their money for investment purposes, and to be able to provide advice to their portfolio companies. An angel who's made money in the field you're in is a great way to go because they understand your situation, and can be a great source of contacts and advice.
Never forget that contacts can end up being more valuable than money in startups. Having smart and influential people by your side that can vouch for you when you're an early stage company is a great tool that shouldn't be overlooked.
Angels tend to give more favorable terms than other lenders because they are investing in the person rather than focusing solely on the business. Their main goal is to see the company succeed, rather than getting the largest profit possible so there's an incentive to work with them for this reason.
A great thing about angels is that they aren't bound by some of the rules that Venture Capital firms are. Because an angel is using his/her own money there are much less restrictions to deal with.
The best way to find angels is personal introductions, but if that's not feasible there are other ways. The most effective way I've found is to look at the portfolio of companies they've invested in, getting in touch with the executives at those companies, creating good relations with them, and then asking for an introduction to the angels themselves. This may seem like a ton of work, but if you're not willing to put in the work to meet them, you're not willing to put in the work to make your company succeed. At least that's what they're thinking, and I've had a bunch of angels express that same sentiment to me.
Venture Capital Firms
There are about 500 Venture Capital firms in the United States. Venture firms are companies that invest other people's money, and invest very large sums of it. Their average investments land in the millions of dollars range, and because of this they aren't in the life of a startup till much later. Their performance varies widely, they're harder to get in touch with, tougher to pitch, and come with much more difficult terms of investment.
Because VCs are investing very large sums of money there will be a host of restrictions that come with that money. I won't get into those because each term will vary greatly. It's just something to keep in mind when reaching out to them.
A big change you'll notice after working with VCs who give you serious funding is that you won't have complete control over your company anymore. This makes sense. If someone is offering you millions of dollars that you truly need to make your company succeed, then it's only obvious that you'll have to offer something.
Just like the angels mentioned above, VCs will prefer to invest in companies through people they know. While this may not seem fair, it's how things go.
What to know
The most important thing here is to build a good business. Many people tend to forget this while thinking about their revolutionary idea that's going to change the world. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that investors are always people out to save the world by any means, but since you're trying to get them to invest in you, give them a good reason to.
Sometimes even deals that look like they're going to go through don't so never relax until you have the check in hand. It's always good to keep in mind that deals fall through, people back out last minute, and that it's a long and laborious practice. Don't let it discourage you though, and just keep working. When you work hard, things have a way of falling into place.
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Azeem graduated with a B.A in Biology(2010) and M.A in Medical Sciences(2012) from Boston University. After working at Pathogenica, a biotech startup, for a year here in Boston but left to pursue his own startup and take his company to the next level. He’s now working full-time on Supshot, an app that allows people to get paid for the photos and videos they take on their smartphones.
The Top Five Things I’ve Learned in Two Months as an Entrepreneur
by Azeem Khan
Two months ago I was applying to medical schools, working at a great biotech company and had every intention to stay on that track. Fast forward two months; I've written off medical school, quit my job, and am a co-founder on an app called Supshot.
It's been an interesting ride so far where I've learned a bunch, and am learning more every single day. There has been a bunch of surprises so far though, many of which I truly didn't expect. Some of them were things I expected, but I was still caught off guard by them in some ways.
Here are the top five things I've learned in the last few months:
1. A start-up will take over your life.
The relationship between founders and the company is very intense. A startup isn't like having a job or being a student because it doesn't stop. It's not an idea that can really be understood till you're in the situation. I spend every hour of the day thinking about working, or actually working on my startup. Most of my conversations with people have started to revolve around it. It's a different way of life when you're working for your own company as opposed to someone else's. It doesn't matter if it's a weekday or weekend, morning or night, vacation or workday, because I'm always in the mindset of thinking how I can improve the company.
2. It's a true emotional roller coaster.
The ups and downs of this lifestyle are not something that should be taken lightly. Things can seem amazing one moment, and then you feel completely hopeless the next. The time period between the two could be less than a day. Of course, what's difficult about it is that you can't predict how long the highs and lows will be. You also have to deal with the lows, because well, they're lows, and it's very emotionally draining in that sense. Also, what seems to be the case so far is that it's like a sine wave. Sorry for bringing in science, but it's the best way to explain it. You have to understand that there are going to be constant ups and downs. The amplitudes of these waves are determined by where you are in the company. In the beginning the highs and lows will affect you less, but as you progress they can be more significant because the project itself is so much further along that each setback hurts more. The thing about it, though, is that you just realize that it's a roller coaster so, like all roller coasters, you can enjoy the ride or be screaming in fear each second of it.
3. It's the little things that count.
It's not likely that one day you'll have some genius idea, and the next day you're having an IPO. There's no magic involved in startups. You have to do tons of different little things. It's much more hustling than people realize, and its not glamorous work at all. Sending out 100 emails, trying to track down what's causing the bugs in your app, doing constant research or figuring out the one error that's completely destroyed your Excel spread sheet is what it's really like. You can be sure that there won't be one small thing you do that ensures your success, so what happens is doing a bunch of baby steps that you trudge along with until something does work. Basically, there is no silver bullet. It takes some time to come to terms with this, but the sooner you do, the better.
4. You must be persistent.
It's a trait that matters more than I realized when walking into this. It's both good and bad how determined you have to be. Persistence alone is what gets you through the tough times because even the problems that seem like they can't be solved end up working themselves out in the end if you keep hammering away at them, but it's bad in that, it's not easy to be that persistent. It's sort of like that saying goes, "tough times don't last, but tough people do." I can't emphasize it enough: Perseverance, perseverance, and perseverance.
5. It's fun.
Here's the good part about it all though: It's really fun. The highs that you experience are very high. I'm almost surprised by how fun doing this is. The uncertain nature of startups makes each success feels monumental. You see something you've built from the ground up turning into something and getting positive feedback, which is joyous. It's a really fulfilling feeling having your own company, and being able to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Most of all, I love the freedom of it all. Sure, I work more than most people, but I also get to make my own schedule. No one is telling me what to do, and they don't need to either because no one wants the company to succeed as much as I do. It's creative, engaging, and challenging yet extremely rewarding. It's definitely not for everyone, but that's the case with everything.
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Azeem graduated with a B.A in Biology(2010) and M.A in Medical Sciences(2012) from Boston University. After working at Pathogenica, a biotech startup, for a year here in Boston but left to pursue his own startup and take his company to the next level. He’s now working full-time on Supshot, an app that allows people to get paid for the photos and videos they take on their smartphones.