Strategy, execution and a bit of luck.

The life of a startup founder

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

• STARTUP FOUNDER

• TWO EXITS (2009 – ALCATEL

LUCENT & 2014 – LIVEOPS

• EARLY STAGE ANGEL

INVESTOR

• MENTOR TO MANY STARTUPS

• RUNNER

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TOPICS1. STARTING

2. GROWING

3. EXITING

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team | validation | funding

STARTING

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Team Make wise choices, including your co-founders

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FoundersCommitment, and a shared passion.

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Core TeamNever settle for anything less than A+ | Slow to hire & quick to fire.

As a founder, 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

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Validation Ensures you’re not heading

down the wrong path.

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Ignoring ValidationMeans your guessing and burning

cash

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

FundingThe art of bootstrapping

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Bootstrappingretain control | no dilution

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Bootstrapping• Get lean, at work and at home.

• Explore consulting or other work options.

• Leverage every dollar.

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LeverageR&D grants

New hire programs

Loans for sales & marketing

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Angel / SeedOnce you have a

validation, prototype, and

ideally paying customers

Acceleratorsadvance your idea | scale | investors

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Failure is from a lack of paying

customers, not funding

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planning | process | advisors

GROWING

Planning“Some people skate to the puck. I skate to where

the puck is going to be.”Credit: Sporting News Archive

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/

Knowing when to hit the gas pedal is key.

Scaling awareness too quickly can spell disaster

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ProcessImportant, but balance that ‘startup’

culture. Above all else, ensure you

have a culture of employee

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

AdvisorsImportant to you as a founder, and to your company

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strategy | positioning | execution

EXITING

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StrategyAre you an entrepreneur, or empire builder?

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Lean Startup + Early Exita winning combination

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3 Year Exit$25M at

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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

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Exit StrategyHave your “end game” exit

strategy on Day #1

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Positioning• Tell a good story, with passion

• Specifics on potential of “together”

• Vision of “what could be” in the future

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Negotiation• Hire A+ finance & legal advisors

• Never piecemeal

• Clean house before diligence

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TOPICS1. STARTING

2. GROWING

3. EXITING

It is a lonely adventure

Balancing ActMost successful entrepreneurs have a good balance of execution intuition and luck.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/classblog/5136926303/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Failure is a real possibilityhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/kcnickerson/1008563510/

Light at the end of the tunnel

Recommended ReadingThe Founder’s Dilemmas| Lean Analytics | Running Lean

Local AcceleratorsAccepting applications for their next cohort.

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