How to Start a StartupV-739-HSST

Bala Kamallakharan

House Keeping• I am here to help you learn, question received ideas and think for yourself

• All assignments and project work will be peer reviewed… so be nice to each other :)

• I get a Veto

• All assignments will be submitted online through your personal and team blogs

• There is no plagiarism or copying or cheating in startups so I don’t expect the same in the work you will do for this class

• Oh, all the work is run through Turn-it-in a plagiarism and cheating detector, I am told this is RU policy so don’t kill the messenger

• This class should be a lot of fun, if you all engage, participate and make it an experience you will all remember. Who knows the next QuizUp or CLARA or Guide to Iceland could be formed by one of you

Agenda

1. Team

2. Execution

3. Startups are counter intuitive

4. Discussion about Blog Post assignment

Team

– Zero to One, Peter Thiel

“A startup messed up at its foundation cannot be fixed - Thiel’s Law”

One of the best ways I know how to mess up your startup is to join forces with a co-founder who does not align with the other founders. Beginnings are special. Cofounder relationships are even more special. When you start something, the first and most crucial decision you make is whom to start it with.

Beginnings are special• Choosing a co-founder is like getting married… oh,

founder conflict is just as ugly as divorce

• Having co-founding teams that don’t match is a disaster waiting to happen

• How well do the co-founders know each other

• Have the co-founders worked together before

• Founders should share a prehistory before they start a company together - otherwise they are just rolling dice

Technical abilities and complementary skill set matter, have a technical co-founder is important, even more important are the above listed items

Hiring Team Members• Just don’t do it… until the product to market fit is

established

• Convince people whom you have worked with before and like spending time with to join your cause

• Build something that your customers will love

• Be generous in splitting the equity, remember it aligns interest and also gives a sense of ownership to the early team

Do not outsource product development, if you are not technical go and find a technical co-founder. Give her enough equity to make her commit to your cause

What is the Ideal Founding Team Composition?*

• One expert in the customers problem, it helps if this person is a visionary, salesman and a connector

• One Technical Maven

• One fixer and operator, who will take care of everything else

* - http://startupiceland.com/2012/03/19/ideal-startup-team-composition/

Early team members• Always hire the best people

• Always hire people way smarter than you are

• Great engineers make great products

• Mediocre engineers do not make great products

• Look for relentlessly resourceful characteristic*

* - http://startupiceland.com/2015/03/24/how-to-build-a-great-startup-team/ * - http://startupiceland.com/2012/07/29/framework-to-build-great-companies/

Hiring your investor• Yes, you heard it right, do your due diligence and

look at investors like they are team members

• Investors have money but they can destroy your company very easily

• Founders and Investors interests usually don’t align, so it is very important to set expectations up front

Whats next?• Now that you have hired the best people, make sure you keep them

• Set and manage expectations

• Communicate clearly the results you want but don’t tell them how to do it

• Make sure you do one-on-one meetings and give feedback

• Motivation

• Autonomy, Mastery and a Sense of Purpose

• If it does not work, FIRE FAST

Execution

The CEO has 5 jobs• Define and set the Vision of the company

and make sure it is well understood at all levels

• Build and manage a Great team and make sure each person understands their role

• Ensure that everyone has the Necessary Resources they need to succeed ~ People, Money, Clarity etc

• Evangelize and over communicate

• Make sure that the entire company Executes ~ hold people accountable

Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos 10 years ago. The company is now bringing its medical testing technology to market—and it’s a game changer. Photo by Mathew Scott

- Bala Kamallakharan

“There is a single characteristic that I have noticed in exceptional Founders and that is their innate ability to have clarity and focus

when there is total chaos around them”

Sam Altman’s Slides

– Bala Kamallakharan

“Some of the exceptional Founders that I have seen in action have this Intensity, the sense of

urgency to get stuff done, it is addictive and extremely effective”

There is one key strategy that will enable you to out execute everyone else in the marketplace

and that is…

Communication is the key

• The concrete actions we observe that affect our well-being

• How we feel in relation to what we observe

• The needs, values, desires, etc. that create our feelings

• The concrete actions we request in order to enrich our lives

Startups are counter intuitive

• Your intuition serves you well when hiring people

• However, in everything else your intuition always messes you up

• Putting first things first

• Knowing the path vs walking the path