El Futuro MX "Se escribe digital" | Clint Nelsen

Bootstrapping Startups In

Mexico

Via Gringo Goggles

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@ClintNelsenClint@StartupLabs.org

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• 54 hour hackathon

• Pitch an idea

• Form a team

• Build a prototype

• Over 500 cities in 100 Countries

Co-Founder^

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Co-Author^

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• Investment fund

• Co-Invest with local investors in emerging markets.

• Global network of investors

• Pushing teams to focus on users & revenue

Founder^

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How I started

Seattle Startup Weekend - 2007

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How I got Started• Graduated college 2006

• Finance Degree

• ZERO Coding or Design Skills

• Attended Seattle Startup Weekend in 2007

• Bought Startup Weekend early 2008 (with no money)

• Bootstrapped the company

• Today 30+ employees offices in Seattle, Mexico city, London

• Raised $12M to date via 3 companies I co-founded.Friday, November 2, 12

My Perspective

• Traveled to 100+ countries just for startups

• There are few original ideas

• Most Startup Weekends have nearly identical pitches

• Speed and execution is all that matters!

• I recently moved to San Francisco

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Mexico Via Gringo Goggles

• I’ve been here for a month

• No plane ticket home yet :)

• Invested in 8 startups.

• There is SO MUCH POTENTIAL HERE!

• Many concepts in other parts of the world do not exist here.

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How To Start• Get your monthly burn as low as possible

• Surround yourself with other entrepreneurs / mentors

• Go to Startup Weekend!

• Pick an idea you’re passionate about

• YOU NEED TO BE PASSIONATE ABOUT IT

• Work non-stop. NON-STOP.

• Forget your personal life (for a while) to succeed you need to treat this like bootcamp.

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Which Idea?

• Start with something you feel comfortable doing or is a few degrees from what you do well.

• Keep it Simple! The fewer moving parts the better especially in the beginning.

• Do something you can execute on QUICKLY.

• There are few original ideas, most are a clone or a variation of an existing concept.

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Silicon Valley SUCKS• Extremely expensive

• Hard to attract and retain talent

• Rent is expensive

• Office space is expensive

• Developers are INSANELY EXPENSIVE

• This is anti-startup.

• Silicon Valley does have the influencers, I’m not sure it’s the best place to start your journey.

• EVERY IDEA has been done!

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Why Mexico Rocks!

• Startup ingredients are cheap (rent, talent, space, taxis, food Everything!)

• The market has few players. THATS AWESOME

• Facebook ads are .07 per click vs $1.70 in the US.

• $1M Marketing budget becomes a $25M budget!

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Different Countries

SAME Startups

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The World Is FLAT

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You Need

• Low burn rate

• Problem to solve

• Team to solve it

• MVP & Market Validation

• A Big Market (little competition helps)

• Growth

• Plan to scale

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Finding Product Market Fit

• Hack, cut corners, be fast. Tape it together before you pour concrete.

• Get users / paying customers as soon as possible.

• Run tests to do this.

• This is darts blindfolded. But each time you throw you get to look to see where your dart landed.

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Opportunity in Mexico

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Silicon Valley

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Be Self Sufficient

• Nobody can stop you, and you need few external inputs.

• Plan for zero support

• Execute well

• You’ll get TONS of support when you no longer need it.

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What Kind of Startup Are you?

• E-Commerce? Stay in your local market!

• New technology? Move to Silicon Valley

• Try to maximize self sufficiency in either case

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Mexico Is About to Explode

• Especially if talking about an e-commerce startup, I’d rather launch in Mexico.

• 10% have smartphone, 90% in 4-5 years.

• Mexico is a HUGE market, with relatively few players, serves as a launch pad to South America.

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Start Now!

• Launching a company isn’t hard

• Starting is the hardest part

• Seek out help

• Feel free to email me, happy to help!

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@ClintNelsenClint@StartupLabs.org

Friday, November 2, 12