the joys of living

THE STARTUP LIFE

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhinoneal/3907394091

SO WHO IS THIS GUY?• STARTUP FOUNDER

• EARLY STAGE ANGEL INVESTOR

• MENTOR (PROPEL/PLANET HATCH)

• I AM A RUNNER

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gianpierre_soto/5505817770/sizes/l/in/photostream/

TOPICS1. STARTING

2. GROWING

3. EXITING

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cedmars/6816878644/

team | validation | funding

STARTING

http://cdn.api.warnerbros.com/WB_Portal_3.0/imageRequest?rendition=SmallThumbnail&contentId=087194

Team Make wise choices, including your co-founders

FoundersCommitted & a fire in their belly.

Ideal Number? Well: 1 < n ≥ 3

Core Team Never settle for anything less than A+

Hire for culture fit & functional skills

Be slow to hire & quick to fire

MentorsSubject matter expertise

Available when needed

http://www.flickr.com/photos/syume/4400844746/

You will wake up in a puddle of

your own sweat realizing you

are completely *****

http://sleepdisorders.dolyan.com/30-great-tips-what-can-help-me-sleep/

Validation Your idea solves a problem

customers are willing to pay

money for

http://wallpapergravity.com/Image.php?ID=382174

Validation Ensures you’re not heading

down the wrong path.

Validation:If you don’t do it, you’re

burning cash by guessing

http://www.ipadwallpaperhd.com/fire_dollar-wallpapers.html

FundingThe art of bootstrapping

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trippinlarry/5987691227/

Bootstrappingretain control | no dilution

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tfpc/6139591124/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/h-k-d/4490192739/

Art of Bootstrapping• Get lean – personally & professionally

• Explore work for equity options with core team

• What’s your Obama-O strategy?

• Leverage every dollar you have, or can get

http://farm1.staticflickr.com/93/281790898_c3240c02c4_o_d.jpg

Leveraging MoneyLots of non-dilutive loan and grant programs to

support research & development, hiring, and

export market development.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/WinonaSavingsBankVault.JPG/1280px-WinonaSavingsBankVault.JPG

Angel / SeedOnce you have a

validation, prototype, and

ideally paying customers

http://www.flickr.com/photos/minusbaby/3403178463/

Failure is from a lack of paying

customers, not funding

http://www.flickr.com/photos/evoo73/6930638399/

process | planning | advisors

GROWING

ProcessImportant, but balance that ‘startup’

culture

Above all else, ensure you have a

culture of employee accountability

http://farm1.staticflickr.com/91/269389847_e32f708b58_b_d.jpg

PlanningWhen starting, doing is more

important than planning.

At some point you will need

some ‘planning’ for growth

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/21470089/

AdvisorsImportant to you as a founder, and to your company

http://www.flickr.com/photos/javi_velazquez/6908063653/

strategy | positioning | execution

EXITING

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maccari-Cicero.jpg

StrategyAre you an entrepreneur, or empire builder?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellbailey/1805414461/

Lean Startup + Early Exita winning combination

Val

idat

ion

Rai

se A

nge

l (o

wn

35

%)

Pro

du

ct /

M

arke

t Fi

t

Pro

ve

Mo

del

Trac

tio

n

3 Year Exit$25M at

65%

Seri

es A

(o

wn

40

%)

Seri

es B

(o

wn

25

%)

Mez

zan

ine

(o

wn

10

%)

2 to 3 years

5 to 7 years

IPO / Exit $150M at 10%

Source: “Exit Strategy for Startups”, VentureArchetypes, LLC

Which path is better?reducing time to exit = reducing risk + enhances IRR

Strategyskate to where the puck is going to be

wrap yourself around acquirer’s axleCredit: Sporting News Archive

http://www.flickr.com/photos/uckhet/268319752/

Exit StrategyHave your “end game” exit

strategy on Day #1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beaconradio/5911999506/

Positioning• Tell a good story, with passion

• Specifics on potential of “together”

• Vision of “what could be” in the future

http://www.gazprom.com/about/history/events/italy40/

Negotiation• Hire A+ finance & legal advisors

• Never piecemeal

• Clean house before diligence

ChallengesStarting a company from

here? http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamhenning/45704086/sizes/l/in/photostream/

There Are None!Stop making excuses: regardless of location, it isn’t easy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mona_q/3595738923/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gianpierre_soto/5505817770/sizes/l/in/photostream/

TOPICS1. STARTING

2. GROWING

3. EXITING

Most startups fail because

the founders give up…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcnickerson/1008563510/

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3747/9945353096_f2391c8030_b_d.jpg

Don’t give up too

early, but…

http://www.smallbiztechnology.com/archive/2012/07/learning-from-failure.html/

Recommended ReadingLean Startup | Lean Analytics | Running Lean

Some of the photographs in this presentation were retrieved from Flickr and made available under a Creative Commons license. Please refer to each photograph for a link to the image source.

Contact Me:E-Mail: jthompson@about.me

Twitter: @thomjeff