N4MD: Moving Up and Landing Nissan

James Harris (@jharris9999), the founder of N4MD, is thrilled to announce that Nissan is their newest client. N4MD and Nissan’s Innovations team met at an Hypepotamus event for corporate innovators last summer. After Nissan expressed a need to better connect to their customers, James seized the opportunity to tell them about N4MD’s Interest Server. 60 days later they were presenting at Nissan Corporate HQ in Nashville, and the rest is history.

So I understand that N4MD has a big announcement?
We do! Nissan is curating a collection of magazines focused around their NISMO brand using our Interest Server. You can find them here: https://flipboard.com/profile/Nismocars

The team is proud that a startup of our size is working with Japan’s number 2 car maker. It’s a huge experience for us; and it’s an even bigger statement about Nissan’s commitment to innovation, on and off the track.

How large is your team?
We have 4 full-time team members and three part-time contractors. Together we deliver for Home Depot, Nissan, Midtown Alliance, Dunwoody Duluth and a handful of other clients.
Where you and your team located now that you’re no longer in the Hypepotamus space?
We love Midtown, its proximity to Ga Tech and Flashpoint; and we have been a big part of the Hype family since its inception. As we grew we decided to move to the 11th floor of the Biltmore in a new shared office space call the Co-Op. It’s a comfortable space with 6 offices, all occupied by growing teams that need larger offices with lockable doors. We will continue to be active in what is going on at Hype; I tend to find myself in the space a few times a day.

So tell me more about the Co-Op?
The Co-Op is a solving a simple problem. In the Atlanta startup scene there is the Hype (free), ATDC (nice, but not free) and Atlanta Tech Village (very nice, but not even near free) when it comes to team space. As a startup outgrows the generosity of Hype (either because the team has grown, or the team is finding real revenue and traction) the next option in office space is a huge leap. The Co-Op sits between the free and not so free options. We structured the Co-Op to cost around $250 a month per team member with flexible, month to month agreements. Our hope is that it becomes a model for other startups to “cooperatively” learn to share under utilized office spaces, working together to move forward.

What’s the most important things for startups to focus on when selling enterprise products?
(1) Big named clients matter – they bring credibility and a discipline that other large companies often acknowledge and respect.
(2) Keep the product dead simple – complex only confuses the sales conversation.
(3) Be humble – they are a $1,000,000,000 business and you are not.
(4) Build something so amazing that they dread the idea of trying to build it themselves – nothing feels better to a startup CEO than the customer being in awe the first time you demo your product.
(4) Focus on paying customers – first find one that will pay you (and that their check will cash), then find five more, and so on, and so on…

What’s the best way for people to follow you and N4MD?
The best way to following N4MD is to follow us on Angel List, here: https://angel.co/n4md