There are common pitfalls that startups face at different stages of growth. Team issues are often the biggest determinant of success or failure, with experience and learning agility being important factors. Market validation is also critical, as many startups fail due to producing products that no one wants or having poor unit economics. Financial issues like running out of cash too early or experiencing too much dilution can also cause startups to fail. Growing too quickly or taking on too much scope also contributes to failures during the scaling process. While there are no guarantees, understanding common patterns can help startups navigate the stages towards success.

1. the traps, pitfalls, mistakes, and best
practices on the journey towards the
summit
Startup Secrets

2. blockbusters,successes,and failures
There are 3 types of startups
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3. NO! But avoidingstupidityis easier than seeking brilliance
Is there a formula for success?
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4. team issues,market issues,resources issues,and growth
issues are determinant
But there is a clear pattern
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5. Team Issues

6. winners are 38 years old at founding (average),and 80% are
second-timers withexperience in tech
Experience is a key ingredient
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7. winners that have mentors,use OKRs, are
knowledge seekers raise 7x more capital and have 3.5x
better traction
Learning agility is a secret weapon
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8. winners are typically3-founders with history of
working together
It is a team game
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9. business-heavyare 6.2x better at enterprise software,
technical-heavyare 3.3x better at product-centricstartups,
and balanced teams are 2.9x better at marketplaces,
ecommerces
Picking the right battle
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10. lack of flexibilityon cap-table and understanding of how to
slice the pie
But 1 in 4 fails due to founder conflict
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11. Market Issues

12. ~50% of new product launches fail. Winners spend 41% of
their time deciding what goes in products
Product no one wants
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13. most of the times,first mover is a curse
Bad timing
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14. 1 in 6 fails for bad CAC, churn, gross margin,
working capital
Bad unit economics
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15. two types: david x goliathor the gorilla fight
Competitive fine tuning
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16. Money Issues

17. 1 in 3 startups fails for lack of cash. It takes 2-3x longer to
validate than expected
Too much optimism
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18. Seeds have 25% chances of raisingSeries A, which have
50% chances of gettingto Series B
It is a funnel (multi-turn game)
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19. less money reduces in 70% chances of next round, more
money reduces in 25% chances of next round
Too much or not enough money
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20. fat startups ends up with less than 10% of equity, lean
startups ends up with more than 40% of equity
Dilution kills
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21. Growth Issues

22. 1 in every 10 startups fails due to premature scaling(traffic
no conversion, product, no sales,sales no margin, CAC no
LTV, people no sales)
False positive (out of synch!)
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23. 1 in 5 fails when transformingfrom familyto tribe, to
village,to city, to nation
Organizational breaking points
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24. 1 in 10 fails for carrying too much weight (several personas,
products, markets,and channels)
Lack of focus
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25. Wrong talents reduce 2.6x the speed of startups (cultural fit x
technical fit, generalists x specialists,scope x autonomy, do
best x do worst)
Garbage in, garbage out
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26. Summing up

27. There are no formulas, but there are patterns
Stages can be measured with specific milestones
Learning is a fundamental unit of progress for startups
Most startup advice is wrong
The score takes care of itself (skill & luck)
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28. Sources
https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/02/welcome-to-the-unicorn-club/
http://avc.com/2011/06/there-arent-many-exits-over-100mm/
https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/startup-failure-reasons-top/
http://paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html
http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html
https://codingvc.com/startups-are-risk-bundles/
https://www.quora.com/Is-the-80-product-failure-rate-statistic-actually-true
https://speckyboy.com/2014/09/18/building-minimum-viable-products-spotify/
http://pmarchive.com/guide_to_startups_part4.html
http://startupmanagement.org/2013/08/23/productmarket-fit-is-a-continuum/
http://labs.openviewpartners.com/product-market-fit/
http://mediafiles.pragmaticmarketing.com/pdf/PragmaticSurvey2016.pdf
http://paulgraham.com/ds.html
https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/15/overdosing-on-vc-lessons-from-71-ipos/
https://mattermark.com/too-much-startup-seed-funding-bad/
https://mattermark.com/startup-graduation-rate-surprisingly-low/
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29. www.astellainvest.com
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