Celebratory Economy

I am sure that most of us have watched the recent blockbuster movies (don’t want to name); I must say that they don’t cut it on pure cinematic experience – story, characterization, thrill, melodrama, etc. But they do have one aspect in common – star power – each has a star that has drawn crowds at least in the past. Celebrity draw, like no other.

There are a few areas in which I have seen celebrity draws to be bigger than real. Entertainment is the first of its kind: movies, shows, videos, ads, TVs – the ones that rope in crowd pullers draw the best. Same is the case with politics, you get the crowd pullers, and you are assured of that marginal advantage. So is it for early-stage businesses, personal brands of founders take over the strength of businesses.

Not that we realize it, but we live in an economy driven by celebrities. More the celebrities the better it is. And celebrities can be hired or grown. If celebrities are hired, they cost crazy and are mostly not exclusive to us. If they are home grown, then we are way better off.

At @OfBusiness and @Oxyzo, we have always believed in making celebrities from within. Home grown talent that has grown because of performance (and future potential) at the firms. Not just the early founding ones, but several of them have become household names in their ecosystems of tech, ops, finance and marketing. With time, the hard way.

Four strategies have always helped us build this muscle.

1.        Insiders always have the first right of refusal to the next big opportunity than the best from outside.

2.        Insiders are actively marketed and let to market, so that they can build their own brand.

3.        Ones who have potential to be celebrities are let on their own so that they can make their mark as they deem fit.

4.        Belief that the internal celebrity always has its own pitfalls, but overall nets out positive for the organization in the long run.

#lifeatofbusiness
#lifeatoxyzo