The Right Kind of Startups

Tech Week Detroit 2015

C A R L E R I C K S O N

What are startups for?

T H I N K A B O U T I T :

Win business plan competitions

Raise a lot of VC money

Fail quickly so you can build your resume

Land you on the cover of Fast Company

Create a social venue for 20-somethings

Get acquired and subsequently buried

Make you rich, quick

WAIT! THAT’S AN EASY QUESTIONIt would be easy to assume that tech startups exist to:

Startups aren’t a goal unto themselves, despite the impression you might get from the current hype.

W H AT A R E S TA R T U P S F O R ?

Startups are a means of figuring out a company worth building.

W H AT A R E S TA R T U P S F O R ?

Improve people’s productivity

Let people do new, valuable things

Entertain, amuse or connect people

AN ECONOMIC FUNDAMENTALS PERSPECTIVECompanies worth building provide a product or service which

THE TEAM IS SMART, PERSISTENT, COACHABLE, AND RESOURCEFUL

THEY VALIDATE THEIR IDEAS, FAVOR EVIDENCE OVER ARGUMENTS

THEY KNOW THE MARKET OR BUSINESS THEY ARE TARGETING

THEY HAVE SOME LIFE AND WORK EXPERIENCE

SOLVES OR IMPROVES AN EXISTING, SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM

CREATES VALUE DIRECTLY, NOT INDIRECTLY

VALUE ACCRUES IMMEDIATELY WITH FIRST CUSTOMERS

DISRUPTS A LAGGING MARKET OR INDUSTRY

NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN USER BEHAVIOR REQUIRED

Q U A L I F I E D T E A M , R E A L P R O B L E M , U S E R - C E N T E R E D S O L U T I O N

K E E P I T R E A L