Startups 5 Lessons Learned From Working with a VC for 6 Months

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• 5 Lessons Learned From Working with a VC for 6 Months
• Beginnings of a startup. Pre development of MVP. How to split equity?
• How do you hire a CTO?
• Learning About Startups For Beginners?
• How do you evaluate SaaS pricing for your solution?
• have you heard or enrolled in MIT ENTREPRENEURSHIP ONLINE BOOTCAMP?
• Pros/Cons of starting a business in the bar industry at a young age?
• Export Products from India
• Best way to drive traffic to e-commerce site
• will launching my project too soon harm it in the future ?
• Copyright law - can you be sued for interaction model likeness?
• 3 Reasons Your Brand Name Is Very Important (Part 2)
• Building an MVP for discovered Market Fit
• Some insights into Sega's failures

5 Lessons Learned From Working with a VC for 6 Months Posted: 03 Dec 2017 07:42 AM PST Note: Here's a link to the original post. A VC's most valuable resource is the same as an entrepreneur's valuable resource — TIME. As someone who has been through a few fundraising processes myself, I'm familiar with the mental ups-and-downs that come with investor meetings. Why haven't they gotten back to me right away even though I have a term sheet? What are the reasons the process is not moving faster? The reason is simple — in the same way you feel a sense of urgency about your own deal, a VC might feel that same sense of urgency about multiple deals in different spaces at once. Diving deep on companies, making reference calls, and going throughthe diligence process in general is extremely exhaustive. My advice to entrepreneurs — don't panic if a VC doesn't get back to you right away, but at the same time, realize this: it's difficult to get a deal done unless your company is doing well in a market that's known to be big, and there is some sort of sense of urgency around doing the deal now. The best entrepreneurs know how to do things WITHOUT resources.I was fortunate enough to meet dozens of companies over the past 6 months, and the best entrepreneurs all had one thing in common: they knew how to execute without resources. Don't get me wrong — big company experience is great. It helps with the basic blocking and tackling around managing employees, and gives you a sense for for what it's like being part of an organization that is "working". With that being said, if your entire career was being a product manager for Microsoft that doesn't necessarily mean you'll know how to execute at a startup. Many of the big-company folks I knew spent time talking about how they will spend resources on marketing, sales and customer acquisition at the seed stage. The BEST folks I met all talked about scrappy ways of getting early customer traction without using resources in the process — instead investing the money in building a great product experience. At a large company where you have unlimited resources, it's not clear whether you were good, or your organization was good, or if either were good. Could a different team have accomplished the same achievements with 1/3 of the resources? Yes, the markets are getting tighter. When I started with Foundation Summer of last year, the markets were still red hot and the mood was positive and bright for entrepreneurs and investors. Deals are still getting done, and the market isn't totally cratering, but a "cooling" has definitely taken place — especially with regard to late stage companies. A lot of entrepreneurs come in confident and ready to join the "Unicorn Club" as their seemingly primary objective. My advice to entrepreneurs would be to stop optimizing for valuation — especially at this stage in time. You are better off raising some money at a slightly worse valuation, and having the resources to live/fight another day, rather than die. Unit Economics are coming under a lot of scrutiny. Many of you probably read the recent news that Zirx is shutting down its consumerapp to focus on enterprise due to unit economics — we've also all heardthe saga of Homejoy. Similarly, on both sides of the table, there has been an increased emphasis on unit economics at EARLIER stages. A year and a half ago, it was a lot easier to raise money for an on-demand company on the promise that someday you will reach scale, and make up for crappy unit economics today. I'm seeing investors focus a LOT more on unit econ at the Seed and A round these days. This is to ensure that when you invest in a company, you are not committing to a years-long-tens-of-millions-of-dollars type fight that may never turn into a unit-econ-positive endeavor. At the end of the day, business is about people. My friend Sam Arnold, a former colleague of mine at Scripted, talked about this at length the other day and it holds true for startups: at the end of the day, business is about people. Smart, tenacious people who are passionate about a shared vision will succeed. VCs care about the quality of the company and the product, but also the quality of the character of the people they invest in. By investing, VCs are basically agreeing to take an 8-year-long journey with a team of great people. Similarly, entrepreneurs should think about it that way, but often times they don't. They take the attitude that "the money is all green anyway", which is a huge mistake that I've seen come back to bite many. Vet board members, and break bread with them before you decide to add someone to your company's journey. I've seen many businesses thrive, and many businesses fail during my time at FC. Success or failure in ANY endeavor (but startups in particular) is about whether the people can work together under extremely intense circumstances to solve a problem. It's like flying an airplane while repairing a wing mid-air and counting on your teammates to all do their jobs flawlessly. submitted by /u/GunnyF [link] [comments]

Beginnings of a startup. Pre development of MVP. How to split equity? Posted: 03 Dec 2017 09:26 PM PST Hey guys how it going. So I am the principal developer of our application with 3 business associates. And because I am the sole developer right now, I believe I deserve a high percentage of the soon to be company. At least more than the other two but less than the ceo. So, how should we all go about splitting the equity? Sorry if the question is kind of lame, the 3 others handle the business side. Also we are bringing on another developer, so how much equity should he/she have? And if we make it to a point where we can get funding or investment, should we have already decided upon what percentage of 100% that equity should be divided already amongst ourselves? Or should it be a "rough agreement amongst ourselves"? submitted by /u/Kimcheeboy1 [link] [comments]

How do you hire a CTO? Posted: 03 Dec 2017 03:47 PM PST Hi guys I am a university student based in london. Few friends and I have an idea and decided to create a startup but this idea requires a great deal of technical knowledge to develop. I am a self-taught programmer and one more guy has some experience in coding but we really need an experienced CTO by our side. We primary need now is to find a CTO but how and where do you find a CTO? What are some qualities & qualifications should we look for in a CTO? I did look at few websites like freelancer and codementor etc I'm not sure if hiring from these website is a great idea. Is there somewhere else I can look for a CTO specific to london? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! :) submitted by /u/rogersmith9 [link] [comments]

Learning About Startups For Beginners? Posted: 04 Dec 2017 12:17 AM PST At 18-years old and just finishing my schooling career, I have been interested in the idea of launching a startup. I thoroughly enjoyed economics at school, as well as dabbling in accounting. I love the idea of growing a business. However, obviously, to do so I must be adept in the knowledge of how a business runs, how to come up with a solid idea, etc. and that is where I need help. What are the best books to read for an absolute beginner? What good online courses, podcasts, YouTube channels etc. are there and where should I start? Any help would be greatly appreciated! 😄 submitted by /u/NJM50 [link] [comments]

How do you evaluate SaaS pricing for your solution? Posted: 03 Dec 2017 03:27 PM PST For the past few weeks, I have been really struggling with trying to narrow down to the best way to value a SaaS product. In the past, I have done the per-user pricing, but I don't feel like that fits very well with the product that I have created. In a nutshell, the product I created is a credential manager built for agencies who work with a lot of clients. I have a few teams who will be using the solution soon and will help provide some feedback on pricing as we prepare to launch something to start out with. All of that in mind - I don't really want the per-user pricing model for this product since I want more people to use the product and actually work to secure credentials in an agency setting. I have explored the pricing model of Basecamp - flat rate fee with no limitations. I have also explored the idea of a team-based pricing (splitting out clients and credentials based on a team level permission). If I go the route of what Basecamp did, how do you determine what that number is? Do you just guess and hope for the best? Any tips on properly getting to an ideal starting value amount? submitted by /u/failcookie [link] [comments]

have you heard or enrolled in MIT ENTREPRENEURSHIP ONLINE BOOTCAMP? Posted: 03 Dec 2017 02:06 AM PST I recently was recommended this by a friend. it costs about $3k and actually get a certificate, which might help me build a team in future. however looking at syllabus it'd just ask us to prepare a speech and since it's online classmates are going to be from all over the world. I think it's really MOOC but with more hands on. Classmates from being all over the place and online only means quality of connections would be way lower than say meeting in person. It's also pay to enter, and not selective at all. cost is basically $3k and 2 months. However, I've personally spent far more on shitty college classes. I want to go ahead and do it, but I want to get someone's opinion on it, especially if they have attended, really interested in knowing if it's just a MOOC course that you could do for free. I rather find out that before paying $3k. submitted by /u/techsin101 [link] [comments]

Pros/Cons of starting a business in the bar industry at a young age? Posted: 03 Dec 2017 02:03 PM PST I know the bar industry is a failing industry - but I have been wanting to follow through with my bar idea for the last few years. I have a solid marketing plan and a pretty strong grasp of bar operations. One thing I don't have a ton of is money... I'm 24 and would need to apply for bank loans (decent credit) find investors, etc. My biggest worry is that nobody will take me seriously because I'm young and I'll fail. My city is very up and coming and I feel like the time is now. Anyone here start a bar (or similar) at a young age? What was your experience like? Anything you would have changed timing-wise, or hurdles you had to cross that you perhaps wouldn't have had to if you'd waited? submitted by /u/Beersharks [link] [comments]

Export Products from India Posted: 03 Dec 2017 07:05 PM PST Hey, I am starting a business where I want to export products from India and sell them in the U.S. I have someone in India who goes around and negotiates the rates of these products from several vendors and then aggregates everything together. My partner in India has an export license. From a legal perspective, I wanted to know the tax nuances behind importing products from India. Specifically in regards to paying customs. Can I just ask him to ship the products to my house? Pretty new to the import/export business world, but would appreciate any advice or maybe point me to the right direction to where I can get the best information? Thanks! submitted by /u/WelcomeToThe301 [link] [comments]

Best way to drive traffic to e-commerce site Posted: 03 Dec 2017 11:21 AM PST Hi r/startup. I think this is a question which probably gets asked frequently, as I'd imagine people have the same issue. I have just launched a new e-commerce store and I'm happy with the site, spend a fair amount on stock etc, however the site has been live for 5 weeks and I hardly have any visitors, and have a grand total of 0 sales. Obviously slightly worrying, but I haven't done too much marketing as of yet so I hope that's why. I have tried to learn as much about SEO as possible but that's not the traffic driver which I need it to be. So, what do you guys suggest is a good way to drive traffic to a new site? Cost is obviously a consideration...Facebook ads seem expensive for the number of estimated clicks etc. Does anyone have any experience and tips about this? Thanks all! submitted by /u/JAYMI2017 [link] [comments]

will launching my project too soon harm it in the future ? Posted: 03 Dec 2017 01:12 PM PST i had an idea of a social web-app and for the last four months i have worked really hard to finish the basic functionalities for the website and checking the security flaws but i feel that there is more need to be done like notifications for unread messages in chat-groups or showing who is currently online and much more but i don't have time to work on it until i finish my exams so basically after 3 months, i would like to put it online right now but will this harm it's growing opportunities in the future ? submitted by /u/mehdignu [link] [comments]

Copyright law - can you be sued for interaction model likeness? Posted: 03 Dec 2017 12:02 PM PST I was wondering if someone can sue (and win) you for copying a interaction model.   Example: this is a hypothetical scenario that doesn't correspond to reality:   Some marketing automation software uses a similar interaction model as CRM and CMS (data fields, widgets and buttons)   Example of marketo: https://blog.capterra.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Marketo-Lead-Nurturing.png   Then imagine that another company develops something easier to use, like Mautic: https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/2000/1*wjuiCpOUjnD_WiQ1FODAxw.png   Which uses a flowchart interaction model.   What happens if Marketo copies this interaction model and replaces its model for something like Mautic. Can Mautic sue and win a lawsuit against marketo?   Many years ago I had a class of intellectual property with lawyer that worked with musicians and hip hop artists and he told me that you can't protect an idea,but the actual execution. Which means if you do something similar that doesn't look like you copied the exact way, you are "protected". However, I don't know how this works with software.   submitted by /u/hiperhiper [link] [comments]

3 Reasons Your Brand Name Is Very Important (Part 2) Posted: 03 Dec 2017 05:59 AM PST In Part 1 of this series, we established the fact that your brand name introduces your business to your target audience and the world. Going further, we want to establish another fact as far as your brand name is concerned. What's the fact? Your brand name is one of the most valuable assets of your business. Most of the time, when they talk about business assets, our minds only go to the tangible assets of the business. Such tangible business assets include the following: • Offices • Cars • Employees • Profits • Business website But do you realize there are other business assets that are intangible in nature? Such intangible, but equally important, business assets include: • Brand names • Business goodwill Now, out of the above-mentioned business assets (tangible and intangible), the most valuable asset you have as an entrepreneur just starting out is your brand name! Why? All that your business does (and will do in the future) is incorporated into your brand name. • People discover about your business (online and offline) first through your brand name. • You have your brand name before you begin to have other business assets. • Most of the time, your brand name will outlive other assets of your business, including you. • Your brand name is the first brand ambassador of your business. • People often attach your business goodwill to your brand name. Hence, your brand name isn't just a business asset, but one of the most valuable assets of your business. Also, to further buttress the fact that your brand name is one of the most valuable assets of your business, let's briefly consider the issue of trademarks. More startups, small businesses and companies are trademarking their names to legally prevent others from using them. Why do you think they are doing so? Let's be personal now: If you decide to trademark your brand name today, why will you do so? That's because you know how valuable it is to your business, isn't it? Many entrepreneurs are being sued for using trademarked brand names for their businesses. These law suits are not free at all. That means the sued entrepreneurs would spend the money, time and efforts needed to grow their businesses, on law suits. What is the lesson here? Attach equal importance to your brand name, and you will save yourself from wasting money, time and efforts in the long run. If well-established and globally recognized brands don't joke with their brand names, why should you joke with yours if you intend to attain their status one day? Furthermore, to further prove that your brand name is one of the most valuable assets of your business, below we have listed seven most expensive domain names of all time. The interesting thing about the domain names is the fact that they are also the brand names of the companies that originally registered them. Please, note that the buying companies only bought the domain names from the selling companies --- nothing more! Below is the list: 7. Fund(dot)com was sold for $9.9 million (2008) 6. Hotels(dot)com was sold for $11 million (2001) 5. Insure(dot)com was sold for $16 million (2009) 4. Internet(dot)com was sold for $18 million (2009) 3. Privatejet(dot)com was sold for $30.1 million (2012) 2. Vacationrentals(dot)com was sold for $35 million (2007) 1. Insurance(dot)com was sold for $35.6 million (2010) Before the dot com boom, who would have said a domain name would be worth a million dollars and more? But that is what has happened and is still happening! Now, let's take Google for example. Google as a company is Worth hundreds of billions of dollars. How much do you think its domain name (or brand name) would cost, were it to be sold? Billions of dollars? Possibly! Conclusively, do you see your brand name as a business asset? Plus do you see it as one of the most valuable assets of your business? How you view your brand name will determine how you will treat it and how far it will go to work for you. Thanks for reading! submitted by /u/BranndHub [link] [comments]

Building an MVP for discovered Market Fit Posted: 03 Dec 2017 04:44 AM PST Hey Reddit, I'm trying to figure out an approach to startups development, which involves a market research before building an MVP. This way a lot of waste can be eliminated. The question is if there are any known technics to validate the demand for the stages when there is no product built yet. I don't mean googling, keywords research or competitors studying. This is quite some obvious. I rather mean if you know any methods on how to run early experiments that can give you the validated info. Proven demand. Any thoughts are highly appreciated. Thanks! submitted by /u/dileping [link] [comments]

Some insights into Sega's failures Posted: 03 Dec 2017 03:12 AM PST submitted by /u/thebritisharecome [link] [comments]

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