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“The first thing you should learn in a course on entrepreneurship is how to make yourself valuable.”
• Combine Skills • Fail Forward • Find the action • Attract Luck • Conquer Fear • Write simply • Learn Persuasion
Scott Adams WSJ 4/9/11
Entrepreneurial Lessons Learned By Sam W. Beal
SCU Apr 11, 2012
Linkedin/in/SamWBeal @sambeal Sambeal.com
“The first thing you should learn in a course on entrepreneurship is how to make yourself valuable.”
• Combine Skills • Fail Forward • Find the Action • Attract Luck • Conquer Fear • Write Simply • Learn Persuasion
Scott Adams WSJ 4/9/11
Catch a paradigm shift, if you can
People tend to over estimate near-term change And under estimate long-term change
expectation
reality
entry exit
What business are you in?
Technology Products Solutions
Bigger
Faster
Cheaper
Time to Market antifuse
Plan on needing a Plan B
Don’t bet all your capital on Plan A Conserve funding until you validate assumptions with real users.
Validation is tricky
People tend to “see” evidence that confirms beliefs but overlook what doesn’t. Does the customer refer the product to friends? Is she still using it 3 or 6 months later? Anything that takes money or attention away from your target customer is competitive.
Validation is tricky
Plan B examples
AOL Yahoo Google Facebook
ISP Search Search edu directory walled garden + Netscape sold - $$$
yahoo 2.0 ?
display ad Portal verticals
Plan D?
adwords search + video + mobile + social
walled garden the future web
A
B
C
Can’t do Plan B, our patent is on Plan A
Xilinx 2010
A patent doesn’t mean you can make it or sell it
1998
You can be too early Right idea – Wrong time
If you are too early, you need
Deep pockets
Partners – Alliances, Evangelists
Patience Patent filed in 2007 issued on 2/21/12
Build a team, don’t be the team.
Summary
Good ideas aren’t enough Find a mensch Be a Samurai
Ideas, people and $$$ are not enough.
Find a mensch
Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom
@kevin was an intern under @Jack – the founder of Twitter and Square
Jason Calacanis*