Transcript Building a Company in Ten Easy Steps 1. The Idea     “Write what you know” “Let’s do the big thing.” “We’ll figure it out.” Every airplane.

Building a Company in Ten Easy
Steps
1. The Idea
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“Write what you know”
“Let’s do the big thing.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
Every airplane has something wrong with it
2. Roll Up Your Sleeves
Two types of entrepreneurs…
“What’s your prediction for the fight?”
Or, Put Another Way…
“Now, for some of you it
doesn't matter. You were
born rich, and you're going
to stay rich. But here's my
advice to the rest of you:
take dead aim on the rich
boys. Get them in the
crosshairs. And take them
down.”
3. Assemble a Team
Don’t
be a lonely freak
Build it and sell it
Find the maniacs & give ‘em a reason to believe
“You want to win a World Series? Give me nine
players in their contract year.”
4. Raise Money
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Pitch: keep it simple & short
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Customer validation
Presentation
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Lots of people will pay for it
We can build it & no one else can
We’ve thought about the financials
Wiffy’s: keep moving
Don’t leave without the ball
Answer the question (“why do you ask?”)
http://www.sequoiacap.com/process/stepthree_howtoformat.asp
Dilution: you have too much risk, plenty of upside (minimize risk)
5. Don’t Screw Up
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Undue concern over dilution, loss of control
COO, CFO, GC, BD: your friends
A large office, an assistant
Patented business models
The pogo stick, the futon
“It’s complicated”
Big-company DNA
6. Build a Culture
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Everyone is a leader
We are excited by ideas
We value speed in everything we do
Everyone sweeps the floors
Everyone is respected
We never say “I”
We put the customer first
We do the right thing
6. Culture: (Some Tactical Stuff)
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The lunch gadget
Safeway
Large monitors
Private offices
Scenic offsites
7. Build the Product
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A picture: worth a thousand words
1st and 2nd moments of customer delight
What can we do that they can’t?
8. Crazy, Do-it-Yourself S&M
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1st customer: find someone crazy
Radical openness: the truth will set you free
DIY PR: think like a journalist, after 2 beers
Start something: tradeshow, magazine
Be yourself
Be a competitive monster
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“Don’t worry about the competition”
“What do they not want me to do?” (speed)
“Why can’t we do that?”
9. Manage Others
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“Do you have a minute?”
“What’s wrong?”
Keep your door open; be available at consistent times
Plenty of sleep: No Hulk
Be on time, no e-mail or cell
Go to them
Gather information, make decision
Little-league rule
Shackleton rule
“Do you trust me?”
Fire early
“Be interested in everything, and nothing else”
“Give, control, sympathize”
10. Manage Yourself: You Don’t Have to
Have the Job
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“It’s my fault.”
“I don’t know.”
“What should I be doing?”
“What’s important now?”
11. If You Lose, Lose Nothing
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“The operative word is, I think, love”
“If I lose, I lose nothing.”
“There the fault lies all in the not-done, all in
the diffidence that faltered.”