When you think of Mark Cuban, you probably think of him as the hands-on owner of the Dallas Mavericks. When Cuban is on the sidelines of an NBA game, he’s either really into the game or really annoying — depending on your point of view.

Mark Cuban (Image: Flickr)

However, no matter what you think of Cuban, he’s one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the last few decades. He’s owned several startup companies and initially made millions and then made billions.

He’s also a very smart guy who has a great blog at BlogMaverick.com. One of his best blog entries is called Success & Motivation. In this entry, he tells his entrepreneurial stories. Reading the whole thing, you couldn’t help but get motivated.

Along the way, he offers a number of tips for entrepreneurs and startup companies. Read it and let me know what you think.

Earlier today I got a chance to interview Fabrice Grinda, the co-founder and co-CEO of OLX. For those who are unfamiliar with OLX, it’s a free classifieds website that has an online presence in more than 80 countries and in more than 30 languages. Each month, OLX generates over 400 million page views and is hugely popular in countries such as Spain, Portugal, India, China and many countries in South America.

Founded in early 2006, OLX has received nearly $30 million in funding and now boasts 125 employees. It’s estimated that more than 1.5 million new classified postings are added on a monthly basis.

Fabrice Grinda is a name that all online entrepreneurs should know. Prior to OLX, he co-founded Aucland S.A. (a popular auction website in Europe) in 1998. Later, Fabrice Grinda founded Zingy Inc., a company that deals in wireless media. In 2004, he sold Zingy Inc. for a reported $80 million. His blog, Musings of an Entrepreneur, is required reading for anyone in the startup business world.

Without further ado, here is the interview with OLX’s Fabrice Grinda.

Stephen Kersey: During the startup phase of OLX, what were the biggest challenges you faced?

Fabrice Grinda: The biggest difficulty we faced – and still face when we launch new countries – is to attract enough people who post listings and who reply to listings.

Given the benefits if transactions happen we can usually convince car dealers, real estate brokers and head hunters to post on the site, but it takes a lot of effort to reach out to them and make them aware we exist. Fortunately, once the virtuous cycle gets started ever more posts attract ever more replies and the site takes off organically.

SK: Many people have compared OLX to Craigslist on steroids. What do see as the most important advantages of OLX?

FG: Craigslist works fundamentally well and there is no one big feature missing. It’s more the sum total of small improvements that make a step change in the user experience. Those include:

• Having a fantastic mobile site where users can do everything they can do on the web (http://m.olx.com)
• WYSIWYG Ajax editor for users to generate colorful rich listings without knowing HTML
• Direct support for pictures and videos
• Improved search in key categories – especially real estate, cars and personals with nice Ajax sliders
• The ability to search within a certain distance from your zip code, including in all categories on a national level
• Pictures on the listing and search results pages

The list is endless

SK: OLX is popular in many countries around the world. Going forward, what additional countries do you hope for OLX to tackle?

FG: We are already present in 87 countries so we are not missing many countries. We are currently working on launching Bangladesh, El Salvador, Iceland, Sri Lanka, Malta and Egypt.

We are considering launching in Africa and the rest of the Middle East but not taken a final decision yet.

SK: For the long-term success of OLX, do you believe that you need to make a significant dent in the American market?

FG: Our success does not depend on succeeding in the US market – there are many large markets which can sustain us. However, we believe we can become a relevant player in the US market.

SK: OLX has an amazing amount of Web 2.0, social media and mobile functionality. How much of your company’s quick growth do you attribute to those three aspects?

FG: It’s hard to make a direct attribution, but my instinct is that the improved functionality is the only reason people are willing to give us a chance at the beginning so it’s very significant.

SK: On a personal level, you’re already a very successful entrepreneur. Have you always been drawn to entrepreneurship or is it something you have learned to love?

FG: I was definitely drawn to entrepreneurship from a very young age. As a kid, I grew up playing with computers and saw Bill Gates and Steve Jobs as role models. I was lucky to see that my youthful passion could actually be turned into a job I love!

SK: What is one piece of advice you’d give to others who are considering creating an online startup company?

FG: Just do it!

Many people will tell you your idea will never work. You may fear that competitors will steal your idea. The reality is that no one really knows what will work or won’t work. As for competitive threats, they pale in comparison to the difficulties of executing on an idea.

These days, the costs of launching a startup have never been lower. If you want to try something, just launch it and see what happens. You will learn a lot and adjust accordingly. You can never launch early enough! Worse comes to worse you will have had a fun learning experience.

Check out the free classifieds OLX website and leave a comment to tell us what you think!

Free Classifieds at OLX

Launched in June of 2008, SavorTheSuccess.com is a startup internet company that boutique social network for female entrepreneurs. By connecting female entrepreneurs and professionals, the website gives women the power to make connections and gain voice in many different industries.

SavorTheSuccess.com Screen Capture

Looking at the setup of the website, SavorTheSuccess.com does a great job of utilizing many Web 2.0 concepts. There are prominent links to the website’s Twitter and Facebook pages along with many other features such as member profile spotlights, member written blogs, an interactive forum and a listing of PR opportunities. There’s even a section to listen to radio broadcasts.

The registration process is quite easy for both professionals and media wanting to post PR opportunities. In fact, posting PR opportunities simply requires filling out a single form.

For women looking to make a name for themselves in the business world, this website looks very helpful. If you are a member or become a member, leave a comment to tell us how you like their service.

Behind the SavorTheSuccss.com website is the wife and husband duo of Angela Jia Kim and Marc Stedman. Expect to see an interview here on Startup Spark in the next few weeks.

For more than a couple of years, I have been looking for a networking/mastermind group of entrepreneurs. You know, people you might do business with - or help you find business, but more importantly, people who understand and can give you some advice and support once in a while.

Heck, it’s lonely being a solo entrepreneur!

I’ve tried BNI and even a local networking group, but both really didn’t have entrepreneurs in mind.

I’ve checked on Meetups, but nothing seems like it fits right.

You see, I’m an entrepreneur that works from my home. Many small business owners don’t get me. I think part of it is that they think I need a traditional office in order to be serious about my work.

And I understand why. I’ve met many people who have businesses from their home, and at least around my parts, they aren’t very serious about their businesses.

So what’s a gal to do? Perhaps create her own group?

If you’re having the same kind of issues finding a networking/mastermind group, let me know by leaving a comment and perhaps it’s time that we join forces.

Image credit: JMichaelSullivan, on Flickr

I love Guy Kawasaki, and am excited to read his new book.

But what I really love about Guy is that he offers so much information to help entrepreneurs and startups.

Take a look at this new video.  Yes, it does promote his new book, but his tips are so good, I needed you to see this.

As part of Success Secrets, we talk with entrepreneurs and other professionals about building a business.

This week, I’m talking with Kaira Sturdivant Rouda, author of Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs and the president and creator of Real Living—the first national women-focused brand in real estate.

I had a great time talking with Kaira about how women can create a business.

(Image courtesy of Shannon Cherry of BeHeardSolutions.com)

A recent survey from the Bank of Scotland shows that most UK small business owners are working 50+ hours per week, a rise of almost 3 additional hours compared to this time last year.

And more than a quarter of the 1,003 surveyed feel that they will have contribue to work long hours for the rest of 2008 due to the tough economic climate.

So what’s it like for US small business owners? Are you working more than your counterparts across the pond?

Social networking sites have proven to be an outstanding method of growing your business.  It is among the most effective (and free) ways to get the word out and connect with other business owners.

Sites like Myspace and Facebook are only a couple among the growing web of social networking sites.  There are dozens of networking sites that meet the specific needs of small businesses, such as Ladies Who Launch, counting more than 50,000 users, which was made specifically for startup businesses run by female entrepreneurs to connect with other women entrepreneurs and move forward in their business.

Reuters recently published an article stating that Forrester Research Inc. anticipates small businesses’ utilizing of social networking to grow by 20 to 33 percent this year alone!

Has business been slow? Are you finding that people are pulling the trigger as fast as they used to?

You’re not alone.

The latest Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business index shows that half of 600 owners polled nationwide said they’ve postponed major purchases over the past three months.

In addition, just under half said they’re putting less into savings, while 31 percent have reduced their contributions to a retirement account, the survey found.

About a third said their personal finances were getting worse.

What about you?  Are you holding back from spending?

Why every young entrepreneur should start a blog

 by Karl Goldfield

The last time I checked, and it was a while ago, there were over 70 million blogs and that number was growing by a couple of million a month. With that many in existence, the reasons behind starting one are too numerous to count. Here are some of the main ones:

1.      Add content to a corporate site in an effort to market through the blogosphere
2.      Affiliate and internet marketing to make money
3.      Deliver interesting commentary in the area of news
4.      Share ideas and concepts
5.      Write about your passions
6.      Have some fun
7.      Write about your expertise in a field of study

The list goes on, but what is clear is a blog gives people free or inexpensive ways to share their views. So easy is access that filtering through the noise of these billions of pages of content has become a new business in itself (Blog aggregators are popping up left and right). As more and more content goes up, the online community will continue to become less concerned with the blogosphere itself, and filter into the areas that matter most. We are in the early stages of a change in the way people think about information. Experts are being heralded by their message and its acceptance by the online community, not the network or newspaper they work for.

This is why entrepreneurs of the new global economy should care about blogging. For those that want to shake and rattle the cages of normality and reach out to new ideas and concepts, the first new forum of our 21^st century is the blogosphere. My own experience is a perfect example.

Ten years ago, at the height of the internet boom, a young woman I worked with, her husband, and I started www.videogameclub.com. I just clicked on it so you would not have to, and it is now a site for used and cheap games. What we had in mind was the same thing as a young startup named Netflix was thinking of for movies. We were going to charge a monthly fee for videogame rentals. We thought we could build a small customer base and then get some angel funding. We started getting some traction and then the bubble burst in 1999. We could not find an investor with $10 to spare let alone an angel with funds.

Obviously we failed, and every time I see a GameFly.com commercial I cringe. What we did not have then, that we would have today is a forum to find feedback and financing. If we had a blog and shared our ideas in the community our readers would have had things to say. These suggestions would have made the site stronger. If we had a blog and connected with other bloggers, our ideas would have been shared and the marketing monster of the blogosphere would have helped us get those first customers. If we had a blog and developed the customer base, financing might have been paying attention via RSS. Whatever the result, we would have had more of a chance today than ten years ago.

In my current role as a startup sales mentor, I was forced into my position by the blogosphere. In one year of writing, I am connected to over 50 of the best consultants in the world. In one year I am writing original content on over 10 sites. In one year I have signed a book deal. In one year consulting startups is my full time job. I was planning on this happening 3-4 years from now. The blogosphere had other ideas.

If you have ambition and want to see if you have good ideas, everyone in the advice department worldwide says….WRITE YOUR IDEAS DOWN. This should change to, BLOG ABOUT YOUR IDEAS! Now I am not suggesting you give up your intellectual property, or share the great new idea before it is ready. What I am suggesting is that you:

1.      Blog about the concepts and the value that your ideas offer.
2.      Clarify the message in a free environment with no expectations.
3.      Connect with other experts and bloggers for feedback.
4.      Develop a network of trusted advisors.
5.      Learn from the experience.

If you start writing and visualizing who you want to be, what you want to develop, how you want to achieve, and why people should care, you will be amazed what comes into fruition.

–- Karl Goldfield

startup sales mentor

http://salesblog.karlgoldfield.com