startup secrets - have you got what it takes?

Proprietary and Confidential

START UP SECRETS

An insider’s guide to unfair competitive advantage

Do you have what it takes?

 @underscorevc   startupsecrets.com

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Have a Question? Tweet it!

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@underscorevc#startupsecrets

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Where does this all fit?

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Vision(Market)

StartupRoadmap

Enduring Company

Value Proposition

PeopleTeam

Execution

Cultural ConsistencyThe

Founder

It StartsWith YOU

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Technology platform is here

Lower cost barriers

Faster time to launch

More accelerators and mentors

Better ability to test product market fit

Does it mean you should just jump in and startup?

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Context…

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A question for you…

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What does success look like to you?• Lifestyle?• Fame?• Power?• Money?• Other?

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Founder’s Dilemmas – Rich vs. King

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Most entrepreneurs want to get rich AND run the show

Tough to have both money AND power…• To make a lot of money on a venture means

getting financial resources to capitalize on opportunities in front of you. Tradeoff is loss of control

• To remain in charge you need to retain equity. This means fewer financial resources to fuel your venture.

If you don’t figure out which matters more to you, you’ll wind up being neither rich nor king

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Reality of what’s involved

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“I want to change the world.”• Pressure • Sacrifice (not if your passion)• Money “Rent and Ramen”

Uncertainty • years to outcome: 7 to 10 yrs. ~ ‘000s: 1 funding~ 1 in 10 breakouts

(Anecdotal: only 45 “Unicorns” in the past decade)

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The path to success…

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The roadmap to success…

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Pivots?

Ideation

Repeatability?

Predictability?

Scalability?

Validation?

Profitability?

Funding?Creation

What will yours be?• Make it up!

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What will yours be?• Expect the unexpected…

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The roadmap to success…

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Pivots?

Ideation

Repeatability?

Predictability?

Scalability?

Validation?

Profitability?

Funding?Creation

Outliercustomers

Business Model Reworking

FundingMirage

Iterations

The unexpected:“near death” experience

Team Upgrades

Growth vs Leverage?

Re- Creation

(See LinkedIn article here)

StartupEuphoria

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What will yours be?• Expect the unexpected…

Longer, harder, maybe even bigger

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The roadmap to success…

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Pivots?

Ideation

Repeatability?

Predictability?

Scalability?

Validation?

Profitability?

Funding?Creation

Outliercustomers

Business Model Reworking

FundingMirage

Iterations

The unexpected:“near death” experience

Team Upgrades

Growth vs Leverage?

Re- Creation

StartupEuphoria

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BREAK-through

-out

Get used to the UNgame

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UNexplored

UNdefinedUNexpected

UNcertainty

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Playing the UNgame My 5 watchwords: REALITY, CLARITY, HUMILITY, CREDIBILTY, CERTAINTY

• Reality Confront it head on, shine a spotlight on it to get…

• Clarity Do everything you can to get people to fully understand the situation, problem, opportunity

• Humility Show humility with customers, partners, employees, investors, media, etc. first by listening before

jumping to conclusions / answers

• Credibility Establish what have you learned and then move on fast to … Build credibility by delivering improvements before promising anything

• Certainty Confirm it’s turning things around from the outside in – check with customers etc Expect it to be fleeting if you’re growing fast!

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But founders are oftenUNconventional

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Genius?

Thomas Edison

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imho: being right isn’t always as important as being practical, or enabling others

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Genius?

He was right…

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Why are you doing this?

Inspired?• Change the world

Meeting a need?• Personal or market?

Addressing a pain point?• Scratching an itch?• Healing a wound?• Positively motivated?

Or just to prove someone wrong?

Fun or Fundamental?

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UNconventional founders

Are usually

• FUN AND FUNdamentally driven

The combination of BOTH fuels them for the UNgame

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Question?

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What would you choose to do

if today was your last day of work?

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Timing…

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When do you think is the right time to become an entrepreneur? Right out of school, college? After you’ve got some real work experience? After you’ve been in a startup? If you’ve worked your way up a corporation? Whenever ?!

Is it age related?

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The Age Old argument: Youth vs. Experience

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0-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%

Age of U.S. Tech Entrepreneurs - At Time of Funding

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The Age Old argument: Youth vs. Experience

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• Youth• Ignorance is bliss

• Unaware = unlimited• Open mind = open to possibilities

• less to lose• Experience

• Confidence• Stronger networks

• Deeper pockets • also more to lose

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Networks and Relationships

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Cultivate, Curate your network Attract, Select, Grow people Find mentors

The number one relationship• Your potential customer

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Shoe Leather

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Customer intimacy• Vital in product development, support, etc.

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Career path… so how do I gain that experience?

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Career paths for founders?

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PeopleSoft

Outcome Founder(s) Relevant Prior Experience

David Duffield Aneel Bhusri$9.5B

Yahoo & InfoseekMichael Baum, Rob Das,Erik Swan

$3B

PayPal & Socialnet.comReid Hoffman$7.8B

Odeo, Audioblog, Pyra Labs, Blogger

Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone & Noah Glass

$31.6B

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Big Company vs. Startup Experience?

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I’ve been incredibly successful at Global Enterprises• Does that set me up for success as an entrepreneur?

IMHO = NO!

If you want startup experience• Go and work in… A STARTUP!

Find a mentor within the startup

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Outliers…

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10,000 Hours• 3 hours a day for a decade

Deep ExpertiseOnshape

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A tale of two cities…

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Deep ExpertiseOnshape

On The Job

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Stages…

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One size fits all?

Ideation Confirmation Creation Validation Repeatability Scalability Profitability Predictability

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Stages…

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Ideation Confirmation Creation Validation Repeatability Scalability Profitability Predictability

Increasing VALUE

Decreasing RISK

Innovator

Entrepreneur

Builder

Operator

Enabler

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YOU are your biggest investor

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VCs, investors, advisor• Invest some of their time• Some of their money• Part of their portfolio

You invest • Your life• Your reputation• And there is only ONE of you to invest

It takes• Dedication• Focus

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Innovation & Entrepeneurship

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Don’t set out to create a billion-dollar company

Set out to solve a multi “billion-dollar problem”

MINDFUL of what it takes to build an enduring company

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