Start-Up NuggetsARIEL POLER @ariel

You can’t fol low all the advise that you get – including mine

There are many ways of building companies

You must find the approach that works for you

Advise should help you gain insights and to experiment

It is the same for competitive athletes…

Speed is overrated!

What good is going fast in the wrong direction?

Move fast to discover the right direction

The better you understand where you need to go, the faster you’ll get there

But, never stand still!

And, of course, once you have a course, use all your resources to get there without distractions

Use Time to Manage RiskMake one bold bet at a time. Don’t “hedge your bets”.

If your bet doesn’t work, make a new one.

Each bet might be risky, but over time, your chances of success increase

This applies to start-ups, career decisions, and products

But it is OK to experiment with different things for a while - until you decide what you want to bet big on. Just don’t do it for too long…

Don’t believe what you ReadMost success “stories” are significantly “edited” after

the fact

It often takes time, e.g. StumbleUpon and Twitter were no overnight successes

20/20 Hindsight gives great strategic vision. Realistically, successes are built incrementally.Don’t obsess over your world domination vision on day one.

Make sure you have a vision for a small success – from which you will be able to build a larger one. To use a baseball analogy, start by getting to 1st base.

Tips for PitchingWho you pitch to is the most important thing

Do your homework to identify the best possible people. Review their blog posts and tweets. Look at their investment history and professional background

Don’t confuse product pitches (or sales pitches) with company pitches

Key points often overlookedCustomer acquisition strategyUnit economicsTake a look at bestofangel.com

It is not about checking boxes. It is about getting the investor excited

"You are too early” and other excuses

Most investors do deals when they get excited. But they don't like to say “I am not excited", so instead they use an easy excuses, such as:

- You are too early- The deal is too small- I want to see more customers/revenues/technology

Be careful about trying to solve these issues, because once you do they are likely to find others. Instead, figure out how to get them excited. And focus on moving your business forward.

Investors like to keep their options open.

Help me Help YouInstead of “can you introduce me to a potential

investor” say “I believe so and so would be a great investor because of x y z. I see you know him. Can you please reach out to him with the attached email”…

Be Specific with your requests

Try to add value even while you are asking for help

@ariel