How I built a software business(and had some fun along the way)

Philippe Faes, entrepreneur geek and lava lamp owner

@faes

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My company

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Success pitch

• I am 25% shareholder• 4 ½ employees• profitable• 95% export• customers all over the world

siemens, philips, ESA, bosch, and many more

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But...

success

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success

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success

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we make and sell an IDE for the VHDL language

IDE: integrated development environment, based on Eclipse

VHDL: programming language to create digital circuits (based on ADA)

What we do

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extra slide: how to “program” hardware

• all life (DNA) consists of A, T, G, C• all software consists of 1 and 0• all hardware can be made with NAND

a software tool called “synthesis tool” translates a VHDL file to a net of NANDs

note to self: tell bad joke about Cincinatti 8

how we got there

phd students bored with programming VHDL

waiting for big companies to build a good IDE

figured we’d finish the phd and start a company

( january 2008 )

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“very experienced”

is just another way of saying “made all the mistakes there are to make”

so, here are some matras:

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1. sales fixes everything

(and lack of sales breaks everything)

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2. release early, release often

if you are not a tiny bit ashamed of what you are releasing,...

you are releasing it TOO LATE!

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3. features are not an asset they are a liability

put differently:

every feature that you build will incur a cost in training, support, maintenance and bug fixesevery yearfor as long as you both shall live

( amen )14

4. fake it until you make it

and I mean: “until you build it”

a.k.a. the mechanical turk

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5. don’t do everything yourself

OK, we’re only just learning this now...

• sales• marketing• website• ...

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6. if you’re going through hell, keep going

• two years before we sold our first license• four years before cash flow neutral• several years with low or no paycheck• probably 10 years before investment is

returned• competitors have come and gone!

be prepared for a long ride. 17

mantras:

1. sales fixes everything2. release early, release often3. features are not an asset ...4. fake it until you make it

5. don’t do everything yourself6. if you’re going through hell ...

build

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but it’s fun

• be my own boss *• travel the world• meet interesting people• send invoices from the provence, in shorts• inspire, convince and lead people

(customers, employees, partners, investors)

* put differently: I have several hundred bosses19

in short...

I wouldn’t miss it for the world

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