start-up survival 101 @ start-up pirates maastricht

By: Vince Meens

* Chuck Norris approves of this presentation

Start-up?“A temporary organisation in search of:

a repeatable and scalable business model”

Start-up participant testimony:

Eureka! The Golden Idea!!!!

Simple = Good

Not everyone is going to "get" it …

And that’s perfectly OK!

Your idea is not unique, your execution is!

Building a team(The Founders)

Good Team checklist:

2 to 4 people to start Excel in 1> skill Not just copies of yourself Pleasant / Frictionless Pragmatic, resourceful Make decisions by consensus Have 1 appointed leader with f.d. Hire slow, fire fast

I’m#CEOB*tch

1. Authority is earned!2. You start with nothing ...3. Every victory +++4. Every miss ---

5.So be nice

Invest in people And people will invest in you!

Build relationships before you need them … and maintain them.

!!! Always be selling !!!

Tell great stories!

Chain of Belief!

1. Believe in your idea!

2. Believe in yourself!

3. Find a teammember who believes in you & your idea!

4. Find another teammember who believes in (1)2-3.

5. Find a customer who believes in (1)2-4.

6. Find another customer who believes in (1)2-5.

7. Find an investor who believes bec. (1)2-6 believe

8. Find another investor who believes bec. (1)2-7 believe

9. Repeat ad infinitum … Easy

Hard

Medium

How to raise money for your idea?A.k.a. turning your new “hobby” into a “full-time job”

A.k.a. funding/financing/investment

How much do you need?

= BURN RATE

4 major types of financing:

1. Equity financing: give away part of your company2. Debt financing: e.g. a loan, CCs, line o. cr. w. suppl.3. Subsidies/Grants: government incentives4. In-kind financing: someone just sponsors you

Who will invest?

1. The 3 F’s - Friends, Family & FoolsSmall amounts ( < 50K), High risk for them* Mileage may vary depending on how rich your family is

2. (Business) Angels: (Rich) People who invest their own money in startupsMedium amounts (10-500K), Hands on contribution, Smart money, Relatively less risk

3. Venture Capitalist firms: People who invest other people's money in startupsLarge amounts (500K-5M+), Lots of influence

Fundraising on just a story/pp: HARD

Fundraising on a story + your reputation: MEDIUM

Fundraising on real production traction: EASY!

1. Raise money before you actually need it!

2. Raise more money than you think you need!

2 *golden* tips

• They invest primarely in you instead of your idea!• They want you to succeed!

• Give them something to do! Smart money FTW

• Listen:• YES: Investor says: “Optimize and scale your business this way”• NO: Investor says: “Make your product like this”

Investors are nice people (Really)(In fact they are just like you & me, except more experienced and richer)

Small consistent steps = WINNINGComplete and release something new on a regular basis.

Get in the flow of accomplishment/wins.

“Ship early, ship often!”

1. Prototype:The crappiest version of your product your investors will accept to invest.

2. MVP (Minimum Viable Product):The crappiest version of your product your customers will accept to buy.

3. The real product:The best version possible version, after iterating over and over based on feedback.

Products come first:If people love your product, the tiniest announcements will get attention.If people don't love your product, no amount of marketing will help you.

Don’t worry, be crappy!(At least in the beginning…)

Failure = Proof that you’re experimenting!

Embrace failure!

“Scars make for better stories than tattoos.”

“We’re doing great.”We are not doing great.

“We’re growing 500 percent week-over-week”Last week we had 1 user, today we have 6.

“We’re not currently raising money.”We’re desperately need money.

“I’m a serial entrepreneur.”Person who had two ideas, both of which failed.

Pre-Money ValuationA number you made up.

OpiumOPM, or “other people’s money,” is an incredibly addictive substance to entrepreneurs that’s rarely respected or missed until it dries up.

Be cool, learn to speak start-up(Repeat after me …)

All work and no play, makes you a dull boy/girl

Or contact me somehow:Vince Meensvince@vendureka.com0031630004806

Thank you for time and good luck!