Startup Founders are awesome. They are visionary, convincing and ambitious. Let me explain why this sucks.

1. FOUNDERS
Why we do
what we do
flickr: pictureperfectpose #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

2. @andreasklinger
#howtoweb
slides: http://slideshare.net/andreasklinger

3. INVESTORS
Carmen Busquets
Dave McClure
Eden Ventures
Sherry Coutu
Tom Hulme
Seedcamp
500 Startups
LOOKK
Social Discovery &
Shopping of emerging
Fashion Designers.

4. NOT HERE TO PITCH
I am “in-between startups”
Time to reflect…
#howtoweb – @andreasklinger

5. STARTUPS
ARE
AWESOME
flickr: an_untrained_eye #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

6. IT’S THE BEST TIME
EVER TO START
A WEB STARTUP
This is an industrial revolution.
“Software eats the world…”
~ Marc Andreessen
foto: wired #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

7. (YOU) FOUNDERS
ARE AWESOME.
VISIONARY
CONVINCING
AMBITIOUS
flickr: stuckincustoms #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

8. FOUNDERS ARE
VISIONARY
flickr: spengben #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

9. BuildTheEnterprise.org
wants to build a real spaceship
‘Gen-1 Enterprise’
Project Plan: 20 years, $1 trillion
CRAZY?
VISIONARY?
STUPID?

10. LOOKK in 2009.
(Back then we were called Garmz)
Bird-eye view of
our processes.
3 Meters long
Flowchart.
“Start your own fashion
label. You design. We do
the rest.”
CRAZY?
VISIONARY?
STUPID?

11. fanbase crowd- proto- pre- prod-
logistics
building sourcing typing ordering uction
First Launch!
We started right with the big vision.
An unique business model to
revolutionise a whole industry.

12. fanbase crowd- proto- pre- prod-
logistics
building sourcing typing ordering uction
We didn’t know if these parts will
actually catch ground.
But linked them together.
Pivot nightmare.

13. fanbase crowd- proto- pre- prod-
logistics
building sourcing typing ordering uction
Our competitor. Just preordering.
Same press. Same VC interest.
Same learnings. Faster iterations.

15. BEING VISIONARY
IS NOT AN EXCUSE FOR
NOT HAVING TRACTION
START SMALL…
FOCUS ON ESSENTIALS
DELAY SUPPLEMENTALS
flickr: tonivc #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

16. FOUNDERS ARE
CONVINCING
flickr: stephenpoff #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

17. We don’t know our
business/product yet…
But we tell our customers
they need it…
And they believe it…
flickr: good_day #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

18. “A startup is an organisation
formed to search for a
repeatable and scalable
business model.”
~ Steve Blank
foto: startupbootcamp #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

19. “Startups don’t fail
because they lack a product;
they fail
because they lack customers
and a profitable business model”
~ Steve Blank
(yes i am a s_blank fanboy)
foto: LEAN LA #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

20. Still…
Instead of asking
we try to convince.
flickr: good_day #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

21. “Ask your customers!”

22. “Ask your customers!”
Meh.

23. We ask our customers!
But their feedback sucks.
It’s vague & imprecise…
They don’t do what they tell…
And opinions…
So many opinions…

24. Even if we don’t pitch.
We are asking the wrong way.
We want to build solution Y?
What do you think?
Would you use it?
Would you pay for it?
VS
Tell me about your day.
Tell me about X?
So X is a problem?
How do you solve X now?
How much you pay for that?

25. We are biasing &
misunderstanding them…
Plus we don’t ask the
uncomfortable questions…
Please watch Rob’s Talk:
http://bit.ly/rf-custdev

26. This was us following
his methods…
Turns out… We had no idea.
Pink = assumptions
Yellow = new learned facts
<- Sea of Sorrow
aka Invalidated
Assumptions

27. FOUNDERS ARE
AMBITIOUS
flickr: neilarmstrong2 #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

28. We all want this
flickr: stuckincustoms #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

29. Achieve Achieve
Problem / Solution Fit Product / Market Fit
Discover Validate Efficiency Growth
We all get this.
Source: custdev.com
flickr: stuckincustoms #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

30. All phases of company building have different key challenges.
#1 Reason of startup failure:
Believing you are further along. “Pre-mature scaling”
Source: startupgenome project
flickr: stuckincustoms #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

31. We all want to scale! Hollywood style!
#1 Question i hear:
“How do i get funding for tech & do
marketing?”
flickr: neilarmstrong2 #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

32. No Press nor VC is
going to tell you this…
Building an non-working company is
as hard as building a working one.
(then the non-working one dies)
You can will be busy “scaling”
without any product worth scaling.
flickr: bombeador #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

33. VCs have no friggin’ idea.
Never ask a VC what you should do.
They don’t know.
Your customers know (look at your
Only the good VCs will admit that.
Bad VCs will give vagueness + homework.
flickr: bombeador #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

34. Investors are under
more pressure than you.
9/10 startups fail.
Startup follow a power law distribution .
What about VCs? Accelerators? Local investors?
They need to proof more than you do.
Many are startups too, but play experts.
flickr: nasamarshall #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

35. No VC will tell you.
Getting money is “easy”.
Getting traction _hard_
Focus on the right things
while your learning is cheap.
flickr: jdhancock #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

36. “My goal [..] is to keep
the business low overhead,
until we have something
that I feel is a breakout hit”
~Justin Kan, Exec
foto: wikipedia #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

37. Founders! Your biggest Just avoid the most
strength is that you are common mistakes in
visionary, convincing being so.
and ambitious.
flickr: eole #howtoweb – @andreasklinger

38. Thanks!
Feedback &
Questions please.
#howtoweb – @andreasklinger
flickr: pictureperfectpose