From Startup to Business

Haig Kayserian - KAYWEB Angels

Why startup?

• Have you heard the one about the Dane, the Swede and the 3 Estonians who sold their company to Microsoft for US$8.5 billion?

• What about the one about the Hungarian, whose presentations product is used by over 40 million people and 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies?

• And what about the Finnish game developers who sold half their company for US$1.5 billion?

• There is nothing stopping Armenia from developing several such success stories every year.

In fact, Armenia can and must produce several tech startup success stories

every year.And we all - founders, mentors, investors

- have a part to play to make this happen.

The idea

• Am I really onto something here?• Who is my market?• How can I prove it?

The strategy

• What is my business objective?• How do I get there?

• Business Plan - Analysis, Financial Roadmap, Business, Product• Set goals• Set milestones• Set timelines

• Review, review, review…

The product

• Strategy defines the final product. What do I need to build now?• Who do I need to build it?• Is it ready?• Test, test, test…

The growth

• Will financial/other investment in my business help it grow (scale)?• How to identify the right investor?• What do investors look for?

• Same as what you should look for…• Have you identified a real problem?• Will your solution solve this problem?• Your market?• Your competition?• Business model?• Are you the right person?

The buzz

• How to get your first 100 customers?• The marketing strategy and implementation?

• PR• Digital advertising• Traditional advertising• Viral growth

The tipping point

• Malcolm Gladwell defines a “tipping point” as "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point"

• You have your first 100 customers… now how do you make it tip?• Right to left planning

The end game

• Have you succeeded or failed?• Should you move on?• Should you continue? More investment?• Should you sell?

Haig Kayserian - @HaigKayserian - KAYWEB Angels

Questions?