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