Aim High!Atte Miettinen

12 November 2012

Me

• Mountaineer - summited Mt Everest on 19.05.2012• Completed the Seven Summits a month later as

first person from Finland• MBA & previously four start-up’s in IT/telecoms• US$450m in funding & business in +50 countries

Entrepreneurs are modern day explorers!

What’s required to reach the top of the world / to

become a successful entrepreneur?

Right Attitude Starts with Passion

Think Big and Aim High

Be ready to work hard and make sacrifices – there’s not shortcut to success!

You need confidence and determination – starting a business, like mountaineering, is about long-term focus

First step is often the most difficult!

Everything Starts with an Idea

• An opportunity for a product or service or maybe a new business model

• Key to be open minded and to expose yourself to new things

• The environment and creativity• What’s the vision?• Keep it simple

Do you have any other ideas?

• Founded by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith • Met Steve Jurvetson @ Draper Fisher• Launched Hotmail on 4th of July, 1996• Sold to Microsoft 18 months later for US$400m• Today Hotmail has 324m users and it’s world’s

largest web-based email service

Is this the Right Timing?

• For you to become an entrepreneur?

• For the idea to become successful?

• Leading edge vs. bleeding edge

Business Plan

Business Plan

• What is the company going to do?• What is the business model?• What skills, resources, tools and partners are

needed?• You need good general management skills to

create the plan• Find someone that’s done it before!• Don’t assume – challenge and qualify the

assumptions• Be flexible

Right People / Team

• Recognise that a successful business is a team effort

• Are you the right person to be CEO?• Identify the expertise and experience required

and surround yourself with people that complement you

• Hire the best & trust them• Be ready to share the benefits

Teamwork Makes it Easier

Funding

• Do I need additional investment, how much, how much value am I going to create, how much ownership am I willing to give up?

• Own savings, friends and family, bank, venture capital?

• Raising external funding is often a much longer process than you think

• Don’t be discouraged with the first no – use this opportunity to get feedback, learn and refine your plan

Believe you can change the world.Work quickly, keep the tools unlocked, work whenever.Know when to work alone and when to work together.

Share – tools, ideas. Trust your colleagues.No politics. No bureaucracy. (these are ridiculous in a garage.)

The customer defines a job well done.Radical ideas are not bad ideas.

Invent different ways of working.Make a contribution every day. If it doesn’t contribute, it doesn’t

leave the garage.Believe that together we can do anything.

Invent.

Execution

Execution

• Use your time effectively - Focus on the right things

• Trust the team – no micromanagement• Listen to customers, partners, colleagues• Recognise that you have to take risks to succeed• Surprises are part of life - Persevere and have

faith• Maintain objectivity - Don’t get bogged down !• Manage your costs• Manage Stress by maintaining a balance

Manage Stress

Meet Red

Angry Birds

• Developed by rovio, founded in 2003• The company developed +50 games without much

success• Apple iphone and appstore in 2007/2008• Angry Birds was game try #52 and launched on

11.12.2009• 50m downloads in first 12 months• One billion downloads by May 2012• Today, the company is worth ~US$6 billion

Summary

• Success in business, like on mountains, is not guaranteed

• Right attitude: think big & aim high!• Right timing: know your summit window• Right idea: Keep it simple• Right people: hire the best people and trust them• If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it!

Thank You!

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