Opening presentation for the 14-week accelerator program for startup entrepreneurs -- offered by the Founder Institute. https://fi.co/overview

1. Crafting a Startup Vision
Alex Gault
Small World Ventures
alex@smallworldventures.com
September 30, 2020

2. “If you have to ask whether you have
Product/Market Fit, the answer is simple:
you don’t.”
– Eric Ries, The Lean Startup
“If you are not embarrassed by the first
version of your product, you’ve launched
too late.”
– Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder of LinkedIn

3. 1. Problem/Solution Fit
❑ Articulate the Problem/Solution Fit.
2. Path to Exponential Growth
❑ Must be an IDE not an SME.
3. Market Opportunity
❑ Identify the potential market and size.
4. Platform Distribution
❑ If distribution of your product/service isn’t enabled by means of a
proprietary platform, consider designed it such that it integrates
seamlessly with others that have global reach.
5. Business Model Canvas
❑ Represent your model by means of a single graphic.
6. Innovation Ecosystem & Innovation Loops
❑ Join an i-ecosystem, and target prospective customers/partners with
whom to execute Innovation Loops.
Qualify Your Vision

4. 1. Articulate the Problem
❑ Identify the pain points.
❑ Identify competition offering existing alternatives.
2. Your Solution
❑ Articulate your value proposition.
3. Validate Qualitatively
❑ Summarize a plan for building a Minimal Viable Product
(MVP).
Problem/Solution Fit

6. Market Opportunity

7. Must be an IDE (innovation-driven enterprise)
- not a SME (small or medium-sized enterprise)
Path to Exponential Growth
SME IDE
Market Focus SMEs place emphasis on addressing
regional markets only.
IDEs are built on a type of innovation (e.g.,
technology and business process) that can scale
globally or across regions.
Tradable vs non-
tradable jobs
Non-tradable jobs. These jobs must be
performed locally (e.g., in restaurants, dry
cleaners, and service industries)
Tradable jobs don’t have to be performed locally.
Manufacturing, consulting and engineering are all
examples of tradable jobs.
Ownership Family businesses are common in SME
entrepreneurship. People who start these
businesses commonly seek to sustain
control, not to create high growth .
IDE entrepreneurship has a more diverse
ownership base, as the founders’ focus is on high
growth and increasing wealth.
Company Growth The company grows at a linear rate. When
a stakeholder puts money into the
company, the system (revenue, cash flow,
jobs) responds quickly in a positive manner.
The company requires investment, and starts by
losing money, but will have exponential growth.
When a stakeholder puts money into the company,
the revenue, cash flow, or job numbers do not
respond quickly.

8. Platforms are reshaping industry ecosystems
❑ If you’re not building a platform, design and optimize your service to
integrate with leading platforms and leverage associated network
effects.
Industries based on sharing information – which can be
digitized with lower production and distribution costs – are
prime for platform transformation
❑ A high proportion of value from information – Media.
❑ Precise, modular output – Retail.
❑ Few regulations – Twitter.
❑ Spare capacity – Empty passenger seats enabled Uber;
spare rooms created Airbnb.
Platform Distribution

11. Potential investors and other possible stakeholders are much
more likely to pay attention to a single infographic or diagram
which represents your vision, rather than a business plan.
Business Model Canvas
The “Business Model Canvas” is a widely used template for
visually representing a business model, and incorporates the 9
building blocks highlighted in the following infographic (next
slide):

13. Join An Innovation Ecosystem
Stakeholder status
Becoming a stakeholder in organizations
in any of these 5 categories can
potentially give you access to beta
customers, partnerships, financing and
market intelligence.
An innovation ecosystem, ideally local, can facilitate and
accelerate validation of your vision – and open the door to
early stage customers, partners and investors

14. Use innovation loops to quickly experiment with and evaluate
the match between potential problems and solutions.
Seek relationships within your ecosystem to determine if your innovation
might solve a problem they’re currently trying to address.
If you can solve such a problem expeditiously, that will:
❑ Identify what works and what doesn’t.
❑ Validate your technology and/or business model.
❑ Secure that stakeholder as a stakeholder in your business.
❑ Empower you with metrics and intelligence (including market metrics and
intelligence) with which your can iterate, upgrade or pivot if necessary.
Innovation Loops

15. Innovation Loops

16. Zero to One. Peter Thiel
❑ Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
Startup Tools for Entrepreneurs. Steve Blank
❑ https://steveblank.com/tools-and-blogs-for-entrepreneurs/
The Lean Startup. Eric Reis
❑ http://theleanstartup.com/
Machine, Platform, Crowd. Andrew McAfee & Erik Brynjolfsson
❑ Harnessing Our Digital Future
Angel. Jason Calacanis
❑ How to Invest in Technology Startups
Resources