Presentation on lessons in starting a company

1. Lessons on Starting a Company From Both Sides of the Table Mark Suster Stanford ETL, October 2010 @msuster

3. Getting Started

4. Have an idea

5. You don’t have to be a genius

6. You just need to get started

7. You need to be passionate about it

8. And you need to do research

9. Get a prototype built

10. The Team

11. Assemble a diverse team

12. Biggest dilution comes before you start

13. Huge premium for taking the first leap

14. Co-founder myth reinforced by selective bias

15. Make sure technology is part of your DNA

16. Raising Capital

17. Raise capital, but not too much

18. Start Lean 1. without much flesh or fat; not plump or fat; thin 2. of edible meat containing little or no fat 3. lacking in richness, fullness, quantity, etc.; poor: a lean diet; lean years. 4. spare; economical

22. If possible avoid the three F’s (Friends, family & fools)

23. Angels vs. VCs? The people you work with matters more than the classification of investor

24. How do you access investors? Intros: portfolio, entrepreneurs, lawyers, etc

25. Getting their money is hard

26. You need an anchor investor

27. If you show proof the rest usually follows

28. Critical Success Factors

29. Skate Where the Puck is Going

30. Ship Product The death of many companies is the inability to ship frequently enough

31. Test monetization early

32. The Sausage Factory is Never Pretty From the outside it looks pretty. From the inside? Not so much

33. Have fun Startups are roller coasters, enjoy the ride!

34. Q & A