startup tips nov20 2008 p1

Startup Tips for EntrepreneursPart IStartup Tips for EntrepreneursPart I

James VuongVP, Investment & TechnologyIDG Ventures, VietnamJames_vuong@idgvv.com.vn

James VuongVP, Investment & TechnologyIDG Ventures, VietnamJames_vuong@idgvv.com.vn

“Entrepreneurship is about those who dare to dream the dreams and are hungry and foolish enough to try and

make their dreams come true”

“Entrepreneurship is about those who dare to dream the dreams and are hungry and foolish enough to try and

make their dreams come true”

So you want to do a startup…So you want to do a startup…

Are you sure?Are you sure?

Crucial Questions to answer for

Yourself and Your Investors?

What’s Your Value Proposition?

Aspirin Vitamin Candy

What Problem are You Solving?

Or

What Need are You Addressing?

How Well Can You Solve That Problem?

Can You Delight Your Customers?

How Large is Your TAM

(Total Addressable

Market)?

How Large is Your TAM

(Total Addressable

Market)?

How Many of Those Customers Do You Have?How Many of Those Customers Do You Have?

What is Your Viable Business Model?

Example: For web companies,

it’s not just about growing traffic

and users!

Are Your Customer

Willing to Pay You?

Can You Monetize?

What’s Your Sustainable Competitive Advantage?

Being the first mover, agile, and fast are necessary to survive, but….Being the first mover, agile, and fast are necessary to survive, but….

Not sufficient to succeed!Not sufficient to succeed!

How Do You Erect Barrier-to-Entry?

Ideas are …Ideas are …

NO EXECUTION = $1WEAK EXECUTION = $1000SO-SO EXECUTION = $10,000GOOD EXECUTION = $100,000GREAT EXECUTION = $1MBRILLIANT EXECUTION = $10M

AWFUL IDEA = -1WEAK IDEA = 1SO-SO IDEA = 5GOOD IDEA = 10GREAT IDEA = 15BRILLIANT IDEA = 20

Idea is just a multiplierIdea is just a multiplier

XX

Execution is everything!Execution is everything!

The Team is Most Important!

Why Is Your Team the Best to Execute This Idea?

Brain and Technology is Not Enough

Missionary vs. Mercenary

Trustworthiness

Transparency

“Where most entrepreneurs fail is on the things they don’t know they don’t know.” – VinodKhosla

The Big Bad Unknown

A Complete Team of the A Players

The Village People- Y.M.C.A.

Can You Solve One Problem Really Really Well?

Focus, focus, focus!

“Entrepreneurship is about those who dare to dream the dreams and are hungry and foolish enough to try and

make their dreams come true”

“Entrepreneurship is about those who dare to dream the dreams and are hungry and foolish enough to try and

make their dreams come true”

Go make your dreams come true!Go make your dreams come true!

“Stay Hungry,“Stay Hungry,

Stay Foolish!”- Steve Jobs

Stay Foolish!”- Steve Jobs

If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.

Or send an email if you know:Or send an email if you know:- A promising startup we should invest inA promising startup we should invest in

- A great person we should meetA great person we should meet- A great book/article/blog I should check outA great book/article/blog I should check out

Hope to hear from you!James Vuong

James_vuong@idgvv.com.vn

If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.

Or send an email if you know:Or send an email if you know:- A promising startup we should invest inA promising startup we should invest in

- A great person we should meetA great person we should meet- A great book/article/blog I should check outA great book/article/blog I should check out

Hope to hear from you!James Vuong

James_vuong@idgvv.com.vn