Elana Fine, managing director of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, took questions online last week with her guest Rami Essaid, chief executive and co-founder of Distil Networks, a company that makes products to block Internet “bots” that sow spam or steal data. Here are excerpts from that chat:
To keep up with customers’ changing demands, the Fairfax mall is demolishing relics from its past, including fountains and waterfalls, to make way for high-tech seating areas, free Wi-Fi and grand entryways.
Web site helps women go from maiden name to married name Abha Bhattarai More than 160,000 people have used MissNowMrs.com, which has annual sales of more than $1M.
Conference center developer sets sights on Tysons CornerNew York-based Convene is staking out 15,000 square feet in what used to be a seafood restaurant in Tysons Corner.
Q.:Rami, How did get your first paying customer?
Rami Essaid: Our first paying customers were also our first unpaid beta customers. One of the most important things we did early on was talk to potential customers, pitch them on the idea and get buy-in on our concept. As we developed the product, we continued to engage with those potential customers to make sure we are building something they would buy. What that led to is a natural progression from market research to adviser to unpaid trial to paying customer.
Challenges
Q.:Rami, what is the hardest thing about owning a business?
Rami Essaid: The thing that keeps me up at night is making sure I don’t let anyone down. Ultimately, as the CEO, my decisions shape the future of the company and I worry about making a mistake. There are people who are counting on me to lead the company to profitability as part of their investment portfolio and another dozen that rely on me for their livelihood. Several of my employees are also close friends. I don’t want to let anyone down.
Competing with the BIG guys
Q.:Why is it that the big companies do not develop a service like yours? They have resources and an installed base of customers.
Rami Essaid: Some big companies might eventually work on what we are doing too, but big companies move slowly. Often having a lot of resources and customers can be just as much of a hindrance as it can be a benefit. The big guys can’t take the risks a start-up can and often cannot change direction as quickly. This gives us a unique advantage to build and iterate faster than they can and establish ourselves as the market leaders in the space.
Elana Fine: Security is also an area where larger players have historically acquired technology rather than develop on their own, for many of the reasons Rami mentioned above. Some of the biggest players such as Symantec have grown by acquiring a lot of companies (good news for Distil!). Shareholders might be happier to see acquisitions than high R&D costs.
Accelerators
Q.:What are your opinions of [start-up] accelerators? Do they help, hurt or do little to nothing?
Elana Fine: I’m interested to hear Rami’s thoughts on this. I’m going to say they can actually do all three — and it really depends on the accelerator and more importantly the entrepreneur. Accelerators do take equity in companies early on, which can hurt companies later as they raise more money, leaving founders getting squeezed early. For first-time entrepreneurs, they provide extremely valuable advice and extensive networks. Enterpreneurs just need to be clear what they want out of an accelerator and spend their time wisely.
Rami Essaid: I can’t speak highly enough of our experience being a part of the Techstars accelerator program. The mentorship they provided helped us compress a year’s worth of business and product development down to a few months. The program was an amazing jump-start to our company. To this day, we still leverage the Techstars network for introductions, connections and advice.
That said, I cannot blindly endorse all accelerators unanimously. A friend, Aziz Gilani, along with the Kauffman Fellows, did a study on 200 accelerator programs and they found that only a few actually add value to the companies they were supporting.
Beyond the nationally recognized few, you really have to take each accelerator on a case-by-case basis.
Protecting your idea
Q.:How do you connect with potential customers or prove a concept without either starting the biz or giving away your ideas (presuming it’s a service, not a product)? What constitutes “proof”?
Elana Fine: That is always tricky and a lot of entrepreneurs do worry about others stealing ideas, although it doesn’t happen as much as you think. Typically people have ideas in markets where they have some experience and existing connections. If you can’t immediately come up with a list of 10 potential customers that you could eventually sell to, then you are going to have a hard time when you actually have a product ready. For a service, proof is actually delivering on what you offer. If you have a new methodology for dog walking, offer to walk someone’s dog for free to test it out and get feedback on what worked and what didn’t.
Rami Essaid: First of all, the concept of “giving your idea away” needs to go away. If your idea can easily be implemented or copied, then chances are this idea is more of a feature and less of a stand-alone solution. Since you mention this as a service, have you identified who would buy this service? What types of companies are those? Who in those companies would buy it? Answer those questions and then go find local companies and people that fit those descriptions. Connect on LinkedIn or call them and simply ask for their advice. You’ll be amazed how many people are willing to talk to someone that is asking for help if they aren’t trying to sell them something.
Reprints$('.infoButton').on( 'mouseenter', function(e){$(this).children().show();} ).on( 'mouseleave' , function(e){$(this).children().hide();} );Discussion Policy | FAQ | About DiscussionsLoading...CommentsAdd your comment Read what others are sayingAbout Badges SuperFan Badge SuperFan badge holders consistently post smart, timely comments about Washington area sports and teams.
More about badges | Request a badge Culture Connoisseur Badge Culture Connoisseurs consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on the arts, lifestyle and entertainment.
More about badges | Request a badge Fact Checker Badge Fact Checkers contribute questions, information and facts to The Fact Checker.
More about badges | Request a badge Washingtologist Badge Washingtologists consistently post thought-provoking, timely comments on events, communities, and trends in the Washington area.
More about badges | Request a badge Post Writer Badge This commenter is a Washington Post editor, reporter or producer.
Post Forum Badge Post Forum members consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on politics, national and international affairs.
More about badges | Request a badge Weather Watcher Badge Weather Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on climates and forecasts.
More about badges | Request a badge World Watcher Badge World Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on international affairs.
More about badges | Request a badge Post Contributor Badge This commenter is a Washington Post contributor. Post contributors aren’t staff, but may write articles or columns. In some cases, contributors are sources or experts quoted in a story.
More about badges | Request a badge Post Recommended Washington Post reporters or editors recommend this comment or reader post.
You must be logged in to report a comment.
Sign in here You must be logged in to recommend a comment.
Sign in here Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.
All comments are posted in the All Comments tab.
More about badgesGet a badge To pause and restart automatic updates, click "Live" or "Paused". If paused, you'll be notified of the number of additional comments that have come in.
Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers. SpamObsceneDuplicate .singular .echo-item-control-Share #newsharebar li .more {left: -565px;top: 10px;} Facebook Twitter Reddit StumbleUpon Digg Delicious Top business StoriesMost Popular VideosTraditional journalism isn't dead.This is what it's like to almost get eaten by a whaleGov. Brown imposes 7-day inquiry that averts strike of San Francisco Bay Area transit MondayAssociated Press This is an amazing traffic lightThe Internet is killing Weight WatchersWill fast-food street protests in big cities help spur hike in minimum wage?Associated Press Calif. gov. orders inquiry, averts strike of San Francisco Bay Area transitAssociated Press Planning for the helium apocalypseAs Windows XP reaches end of its lifecycle, businesses face big IT decisionsSarah Halzack Obama administration stops ban on sale, import of older Apple devicesHayley Tsukayama The electoral college staysHow LinkedIn has changed the way you might get your next jobSarah Halzack Why economists hate software patentsThe GOP's kamikaze mission against ObamacareSo you've burned your Obamacare draft card...'What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness'A terrifying recession graphNASA’s Curiosity rover celebrates landing on Mars; drives toward mountainAssociated Press Microsoft releases Surface sales data ::unspecified:: Value Added: This businessman keeps swinging for the fencesThomas Heath 
Get Business Newsletters and AlertsSign-up for e-mail newsletters and alerts and get the news you need delivered directly to your inbox. Local Business AlertsEconomy & Business News AlertsTechnology News AlertsCapital BusinessEzra Klein's WonkbookPersonal FinanceTechNews Daily ReportSee all Washington Post NewslettersMarket Foolery Featured PodcastsMarketFoolery: 08.01.2013Whole Foods battles great expectations, while the world’s biggest gold miner reports an epic quarterly loss. Plus the guys analyze the latest results from Trulia and Yelp, and gear up for CNBC’s new primetime original “Twitter Revolution”. \ABS\Auto Blog Samurai\data\Latest News updates\2\)
MarketFoolery: 07.31.2013Shares of Buffalo Wild Wings and SodaStream heat up on strong earnings news. Our analysts give their take and talk about the perils of following big money.
MarketFoolery: 07.30.2013Coach drops on weak earnings and a drop in same-store sales. Plus we analyze the latest from 3D Systems, National Oilwell Varco and Barnes & Noble.The Washington PostPoliticsOpinionsLocalSportsNationalWorldBusinessTechLifestyleEntertainmentPhotoVideoBlogsClassifieds More ways to get us Home delivery Mobile & Apps RSS Facebook Twitter Social Reader Newsletter & Alerts Washington Post Live Reprints & Permissions Post Store e-Replica Archive Contact Us Help & Contact Info Reader Representative Careers Digital Advertising Newspaper Advertising News Service & Syndicate About Us The Washington Post Company In the community PostPoints Newspaper in Education Digital Publishing Guidelines Partners Capital Business Capitol Deal El Tiempo Latino Express Find&Save Foreign Policy Washington Post Master Class Parade Magazine Washington Post Tickets The Root Service Alley Slate StudentAdvisor Trove WP Wine Club washingtonpost.com © 1996- The Washington Post Terms of Service Privacy PolicySubmissions and Discussion PolicyRSS Terms of Service Ad Choices Section:/business/capitalbusiness
View the original article here
Chambliss: Threats 'very reminiscent'...
Has $15 trillion been spent fighting...
A heartrending plea about distracted...
The Bacon Wars
Sunday Open Thread
Hey, reporters! Do health insurance...
Paul Ryan's to-do list
Week to start and end beautifully...
Free and Easy
USA keeps eye on the future
How Chris Cooley got cut
Positives and negatives so far...
X-rays negative on Werth's hand
Cutting back on executive perks
Iranian president says of Israel...
The seven Chinese activists whom...
A small book of professional common...
The Internet is killing Weight...
Get organized in style
The problem with the iPhone ban
Blogs & Columns
EntertainmentIn EntertainmentBooksComicsGoing Out GuideHoroscopesMoviesMuseumsMusicPuzzles & GamesTheater &DanceTVBlogs & Columns
‘SMURFS 2’: Sequel...
Abha Bhattarai 
Catherine Ho 
Get Business Newsletters and AlertsSign-up for e-mail newsletters and alerts and get the news you need delivered directly to your inbox. Local Business AlertsEconomy & Business News AlertsTechnology News AlertsCapital BusinessEzra Klein's WonkbookPersonal FinanceTechNews Daily ReportSee all Washington Post Newsletters
Market Foolery Featured PodcastsMarketFoolery: 08.01.2013Whole Foods battles great expectations, while the world’s biggest gold miner reports an epic quarterly loss. Plus the guys analyze the latest results from Trulia and Yelp, and gear up for CNBC’s new primetime original “Twitter Revolution”.