This document provides an overview of the Startup Engineering curriculum offered through Georgia Tech's Flashpoint program. It summarizes the program's goals of reducing startup risks through experiments and testing hypotheses to validate business models and product assumptions. Key aspects covered include identifying and prioritizing different risk categories, conducting inner loop experiments to disprove theories, and focusing on metrics that affect funding and pitching abilities rather than technical processes. The timeline outlines the weekly workshops, events, and expectations for mentor participation throughout the 3-month batch program.
2. We Create Startup Value
Better Startups Faster™
• Reduce Risk
• Reduce Cost
• Higher Quality Successes
3. Let Me Give You the Dish
Founders tell us a zillion customers are going to
pay a gazillion dollars for what they are building.
We know they don’t know or
are most likely wrong.
How do we know?
4. Only Four Things to Get Right
Business Model
Technology
People
Financing
If only it was so simple …
5. Startup Risk Categories
• Ambiguity
– We have no idea … what could happen?
• Uncertainty
– Something could happen, but will it?
• Inaccuracy
– It will happen, but even close to my plan?
6. Inner Loop
Identify Next Most Important Risk
Ambiguity
Come up with theories
Develop hypotheses
Experiments to disconfirm
Uncertainty
Define events
Tests for likelihoods
Inaccuracy
Define Indicators
Runs for measurements
7. Startup Engineering
Start with a “Theory”
Until there is a real model (or 4 months up):
Pick next biggest risk
Ambiguity or Uncertainty or Inaccuracy?
Experiment or test or measure
Reconsider the theory and the model
[Lots of these are running in parallel]
Rapidly accumulate value by reducing risk
Aim for a funding milestone
8. Timing Demo Days
(clever squiggle is Paul Graham’s)
Ideal
Must Cross
9. What We “Teach” at Flashpoint
Startup Engineering
• How to generate theories about markets, channels, relationships, resource
needs, activities, partnerships, revenues and costs
• How to recognize and identify the most important risks
• How to construct hypotheses and run experiments (these
are, e.g., “structured meetings and calls”)
• How to describe events and test likelihoods (eg, “call led to a meeting”, “we
closed an x”, “a user activated”, …)
• How to take measurements, and what indicators to measure
How to reverse engineer model & product™ and calculate pivots™
Unique to Flashpoint and Startup Engineering
Business meets Science crossed with Behavioral Decision Theory
10. What We Concern Ourselves with
During Flashpoint
• Things that affect funding
– Team Dynamics
– Cap Tables
– Corporate Identity
– Ability to Pitch
– Pitches
– Ability to Sell
– Sales
– Unbounded Risks
11. What We Have Not Taken Interest In
During Previous Flashpoint Batches
• Product Engineering Processes
– Agile
– Platform and API choices
• Recruiting New Founders
• Hiring Service Providers
12. Mentor Expectations
Participate in all Flashpoint Nights
We ask you to let us know if you have to miss more than 3
If you are “officially” connected with a team
Keep us informed about how the relationship develops
Don’t worry about Mentor Whiplash
Stay above the fray
Be open with Life Advice, General Expertise & Domain Knowledge
We are making no implied call on your Plaxodex
We constantly remind teams that your relationships are valuable
Don’t feel obligated to make introductions, unless you want to
Thanks to Paul Ollinger for renaming the Rolodex!
13. Flashpoint Process Time Line
• 1st MTW: Flashpoint Process 3-Day Start
• Weekly Schedule
– Mondays 2-5pm: Startup Engineering Workshops
– Tuesdays 5:30-8:30pm: Flashpoint Nights
– Thursdays Noon: Informal Sharing Lunches
– Every Day: Office Hours, FP Advisors & Mentors 11-1
– Mondays and Tuesdays and at least one office hour
are mandatory for all team members
• Early June: Demo Days. PROGRAM DOES NOT
END AT DEMO DAYS.
