1. The Entrepreneurial Cycle of Life
Stage-by-stage advice you don’t often hear
@chrisyeh
PBworks
AskTheHarvardMBA.com

2. Lessons from 19 years of startups
• How do I market my startup before I have a product?
• How do I market to investors *after* our meeting?
• How do I avoid getting fired by my board?
• How can I be an entrepreneur and live a happy life?

3. Marketing before you build product

4. Develop key relationships

5. Slowly build overnight success
“Timing, perseverance, a
nd ten years of trying will
eventually make you look
like an overnight
success.”
--Biz Stone
(Twitter founded in 2006)

6. 7 Steps of Prelaunch Marketing
1. Identify the key issues your startup touches
2. Become part of the conversation
3. Cultivate the influencers (follows & replies)
4. Produce (or borrow) compelling content
5. Build a need in the marketplace
6. Launch a product that fills that need
7. Print out TechCrunch headline for your mom

7. Market to investors *after* you meet

8. 4 Ways To Get Investors To Bite
• Remove uncertainty
• Drip marketing
• Follow up immediately when they show
interest
• Ask for money, then be ready to take it

9. How to avoid getting fired

10. 8 Principles For Staying CEO
• Don’t get caught by surprise.
• Start planning your defenses early
• Get everything in writing
• Constantly work the key players
• Realize that you are dispensable
• The best defense is a good offense
• Don’t sign anything during the coup attempt
• Counterattack

11. How Can Entrepreneurs Live a Happy Life?

12. Entrepreneurship = Uncertainty
• “Entrepreneurship
is the pursuit of
opportunity
beyond resources
controlled.”
–Howard Stevenson
(@HowardSHBS)

13. Accepting Startup Uncertainty
• Chances are, you’re going to fail
• You always have too little time, money, and/or
information
• At any moment, the landscape can change
• Being smart and hard-working isn’t enough
• Sometimes, the lazy, dumb, and crooked will
succeed

14. Uncertainty = Endless Possibility

15. Manage Life Uncertainty
• Eat, sleep, and exercise
• Spend time with friends & loved ones
• Take breaks and naps
• Minimize your spending
• Have interests outside the startup world
• Remember: Your startup is part of your life. It
isn’t your entire life.