Today Om Malik's blog, he's posted a great profile of some Independent Innovation companies that are really taking off.

I especially liked his 3 rules for the new "technology enabled" startup:

  1. Involve your customer: Spreadshirt and Threadless work because they allow customers to create, design and customize their own T-shirts, instead of buying off-the-shelf stuff.
  2. Your customer is your ultimate salesperson: Moo grew by tapping into and riding on the backs of special interest groups and social networks. Every time a customer hands out a card, Moo gets free marketing.
  3. Serve your customer: If you want to play at cost arbitrage, as CastingWords does, make sure your service is high on convenience as well as low on price. This has been the case for centuries, why should the new millennium be any different.

And finally, his call to action is killer:  "So what are you waiting around for… time to start something new! Or old, for that matter."

Thanks Om!