Deck for talk by Chris Yeh @The Startup Conference 2013

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,
and 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.