This document provides advice for starting a startup through a series of memes and short passages. It begins with an autobiographical sketch of the author's experiences from ages 10 to 30, including founding multiple software companies. Subsequent sections discuss ideating startup ideas, building a team, developing a product, acquiring cash flow, distributing the product, dealing with failure, and perfecting a pitch. The overall message is that starting a company requires passion, focus on execution over ideas, building the right team, getting a product in users' hands quickly through iterations, and being prepared for challenges along the way like running out of cash or having ideas fail.

1. Starting up
8 memes. 8 hints. Thousands of reasons.
(if you don’t know what a meme is, you’re in for some pretty weird pictures)
By @fmaertens

2. The first meme

3. A bit about my story
10 – 20 years
14 y/o: Turbo Pascal/C++ development ★ Selling my first software to a bank
17 y/o: SysOp BBS, Developer PBNews ★ Selling Software (oops, illegal)
18 y/o: Security research and wrote a lot of exploit code ★ Founded Securax
21 y/o: Dropped out of university ★ Acquisition of Securax by Big Five company
20 – 30 years
24 y/o: Became partner at Cyber Defense Firm w/ Dubai/US Agencies ★ MBO
28 y/o: End of VOIP company Attractel NV (bankruptcy) ★ Failed !
29 y/o: Surveillance & cyber weapons ★ Too big legal exposure (stopped, but still haunts me :p)

4. And now ?
Recent years
Angel investor at VOIP Depot ★ Built mobile banking channel for Fortune 500 bank
Founder of Argus Labs: The contextualization company
Fascinated by machine learning, transhumanism and anti surveillance technology
Opiniewolf ★ TEDx Speaker ★ Founder Institute Mentor
Currently writing a first book “The Age of Dream Machines”

5. Be committed
and on-board
1

6. Beware of the
1
startup cult

7. Why a
1
startup ?
✔ I am passionate about …
✖ I want to be rich !
✔ I can solve a problem
✖ I want to be powerful !
✔ I see an opportunity
✖ I am bored …
✖ I want flexible working hours
Enterpreneur
Wanterpreneur

8. Be committed ✪ It’s a marathon
Get rid of all distractions and develop laser-focus
Whatever you do, do it with your heart !
ADVICE
1

9. Holy shit, my
idea sucks
2

10. A story about
2
some ideas
“ Broadcast SMS style messages and limit them to 140 characters ”
Twitter is the result of a 2009 internal hackathon at Odeo, 500M daily tweets, now US$ 1B pre-IPO
“ Combine a selfie with every picture you take ”
Frontback started as a side-project by CEO of Checkthis, over 200,000 users in 4 months
“ Building the nth better social network in a overcrowded space “
Out of a dorm room, Facebook blew Myspace (and nearly everyone) out of the water with 1,1B users
“ I want to give dogs and dog owners more freedom “
Engineer quit his job and invented the retractable leash, owned by virtually every dog owner globally

11. How is an
2
idea born ?
Serendipity, Confucius and moments of enlightenment
Reality check: Ideas most likely come to you because you’re an expert working on some hard problems
The random brainfart (most likely alcohol-induced)
Reality check: Your idea will either be an embarrassment or a huge success (small chance, however)
The seek-and-destroy style (I love military precision)
Reality check: Call up industry players and figure out what they see as a problem. Then find a solution.

12. Some reflections
2
on ideation
✔ Ideas need to be researched
✖ Hey, that was my idea
✔ Test ideas on real people
✖ An incubator will help me
✔ Validating assumptions
✖ My mom thinks its great
✔ Needs to be well executed
✖ Needs to be new
Validate
Assume
It makes an ass of u and me

13. Ideas are nice ✪ Execution is better
Ideas without execution are dreams.
A mediocre idea well executed is better than a superb idea badly executed.
ADVICE
2

14. Only roll with the
A-team
3

15. How important
2
is a team ?

16. Building a great
3
team takes time
✔ Builder & Seller
✖ Outsourced development
✔ A highly diverse skill set
✖ Friends are not colleagues
✔ Executers, not executives !
✖ More than 3 (co)founders
✔ Two pizza’s for one team
✖ Teams of > 7 people
A-Team
B-Team

17. Hire fast
3
fire fast !
When the team is not invested in the vision
Check: A vision rarely changes, a strategy could change and tactics must constantly change
When the team is not agile or is reluctant to change
Check: It’s surprising how many people hate change and chaos, however that’s a startup’s playground
When the team is detached from the product
Reality check: Every startup must always dogfood its own product, continuously looking to improve

18. A team defines success ✪
Think about functional responsibilities instead of titles
* Finance and Administration are essential roles
ADVICE
3

19. Don’t wait for
perfection. Ship product!
4

20. Some quotes to
4
pump you up
î

21. Putting product in
4
the hands of users is hard
✔ Build on user feedback
✖ Build according to specs
✔ Two week Sprints for everyone
✖ Waterfall project mgmt
✔ Iterate and improve
✖ Big bang launch
✔ Lean methodology
buildin
now what you’re
¢ K
Shipped
g
Tanked

22. The client’s problem ✪ is your problem
Build a user-centric product. Keep him in the loop.
* Sometimes the client doesn’t know what he wants
ADVICE
4

23. Decide if you want to
make or raise cash
5

24. A typical story
about cash flow
5
?
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%4000000.0%€%%
%3000000.0%€%%
Crossing the chasm / Buying time
%2000000.0%€%%
“Patience” or “Guts”
Cash-need
%1000000.0%€%%
%!%%%€%%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
10%
11%
12%
13%
14%
15%
16%
17%
18%
“Balls” 21%
19%
20%
22%
23%
!1000000.0%€%%
!2000000.0%€%%
FFF
Seed
Series
A
Series
B
…
24%
25%
26%

25. How you acquire
5
cash defines you
✔ Cash flow: Revenue/Loan
✖ Cash flow: Angel/VC/IPO
✔ Small teams, founder centric
✖ Growth oriented, team centric
✔ Founder: 100% of 100M
✖ Founder: 10% of 1B
✔ Profit driven
✖ Exit driven
Lifestyle
Equity

26. 5
29,6% owner of US$ 29M income
70,000,000 Google hits
100% owner of EUR 15M profit
72,100 Google hits

27. Raising money ✪ Making money
It defines your business and vice versa
Your priority should be generating turnover!
ADVICE
5

28. Figure out how you will
distribute your product
6

29. Putting product in
6
the hands of users is hard
✔ Understand CAC & LTV
✖ “We are viral, don’t worry”
✔ Understand distribution model
✖ “Our product sells itself”
✔ Prioritize your market entry
✖ We do B2C and B2B and …
✔ Simple marketing mix
✖ Channel conflict
user
r/
¢ Be your custome
Success
Failure

30. An unused product ✪ is called waste
Apply general distribution mechanics, to modern means
Web, mobile, internet of things, … many new tools!
ADVICE
6

31. Failure will happen. Deal
with it and move on.
7

32. If you haven’t failed
7
you haven’t tried enough
✔ You will most likely fail
✖ Out of cash before traction
✔ Keep focused on your business
✖ Fail as a team
✔ Understand your runway
✖ Be so scared to fail, you
✔ Monetize immediately
ur
¢ Be able to kill yo
Win
didn’t try
idea
Fail

33. Failure is part of innovation ✪
Separating the boys from the men. It hurts. Get over it.
Makes you become fearless. Not reckless !
ADVICE
7

34. Learn how to pitch to
everyone and everywhere
8

35. Practice makes perfect.
✔ Who are you ?
✔ What do you do ?
✔ What does it improve / solve ?
✔ How is it unique ?
✔ How does it make money ?
✔ How will you distribute ?
✔ Know your numbers !
8
Perfect your pitch.

36. Don’t waste time on a business plan ✪
Keep your pitch < 10 slides and to the point
Know when to stop pitching !
ADVICE
8

37. Thank you,
But you should’ve been working on your startup