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Fresh out of Babson College, I did what any smart finance major would do – I started a rock band.
I founded Lansdowne, a Boston-based country-rock band, and I treat it like the business that it is. Like any creative startup founder, I'm perfecting my product so people will consume and evangelize it. I'm de-risking my business and I'm looking for funding sources to grow and sustain it.
Lansdowne has played more than 1,000 shows across the world including a wartime tour of the Middle East, honoring our troops in Afghanistan and Kuwait. We've released four albums, and I have been fortunate enough to hear my songs played on the radio and see them rack up millions of streams.
Of course, what you don’t see on "Behind the Music" are the countless nights sleeping on couches, three square meals of ramen and the self-imposed poverty that comes along with trying to “make it.”
Sound like anyone you know?
Record labels and VC firms are both like banks with networks.
Every entrepreneur pays the same price as a starving musician. From the adrenaline to the self doubt, quitting a dozen times in your head before coming back for more, every new development is perceived as the big break.
Just like a high-tech founder obsessed with raising capital, I thought signing with a record label would be our first break. As it turns out, it wasn't. Here's what we learned:
- Both record labels and VC firms are like banks that have networks.
- Both are going to expect a significant return on their money.
- Partnering with either before you are ready will ensure failure.
When Lansdowne launched, we saw offers from more than one record label. America's Got Talent came calling, too. We turned them down, opting instead to become an S-Corp and raise angel investment.
Crazy? Probably. But Lansdowne wasn’t ready for that kind of cash or attention; we hadn’t put in our 10,000 hours and taking too much too quickly would have turned roadblocks into cliffs.
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Startup marketing: Here's Lansdowne's press photo. The author appears center in aviators and a white shirt.
The main problem with those early deals was that the terms were not advantageous to the band’s long-term growth. While the influx of capital and resources would have allowed us to grow more quickly, we did not have enough brand equity to negotiate. Oftentimes, a take-it-or-leave-it deal can do more harm than good, and handicap your ability to raise subsequent rounds with better terms. Recognizing this required a great deal of self control.
Instead, we sought out angels that had a passion for music. We found three who were fans of the group, and raised a small round in the form of a convertible note. With these funds, Lansdowne invested in things that enhanced our ability to expand our product offering and fan base--van, trailer, instruments, albums, strategic tour buy-ons. That enabled revenue streams like music sales, merchandising and sponsorship, creating a product mix that quickly increased our margins and decreased our need for additional capital.
Personally, I'm now putting a decade of live event experience to work as the founder of Prechorus, a stealthy, cloud-based logistics collaboration platform for live-music professionals. Our partners include the Nashville branch of Street Smart Management and Cambridge's own Middle East Club.
We've treated our band like a startup. But you can also treat your startup like a band:
- Take the hit song that's playing in your head and give it structure. Every marketable song has a structure, and so does every startup idea. Like verse-prechorus-chorus-bridge, tech startups go from customers' pain point, to value proposition, to defensible solution and go-to-market.
- Build an audience and empower them to expand your fan base. I once left a voicemail for a fan’s daughter because she couldn’t make it to the show. Next time we were in town, she brought all of her friends out. From the garage to the Garden, your customers make you great. Give them all of you, be accessible, and enable their experience to expand your network effect. Live for the people consuming your art.
- Don’t be an asshole. The world is small and getting smaller. The person who said, “no,” might know another who will say, "yes." Every interaction matters. Being negative is just going to make you bitter and ruin the journey.
Music is like any other industry: Through shaping your product with the consumer in mind, providing an incredible user experience and maintaining a positive attitude, you give yourself the best shot at being ready to take advantage of funding opportunities that come your way.
One final key to our success has been the ability to make changes without losing the focus of our core business. Lansdowne’s reason to exist has always been producing an energy-packed live show that make our fans feel like family. Like a startup going to market with its first offering, we started with one type of music in mind. That's changed over time. Anticipating and executing multiple pivots has allowed the band to continue growing its fan base from an emerging Boston act into a global brand.
Jon Ricci can be reached at Jon.ricci@gmail.com
SEE ALSO: 18 mistakes that will kill your startup
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