9 unconventional startup lessons

9!unconventional startup lessons

There is no shortage of great startup advice

Eric Ries Steve Blank

Guy Kawasaki

Brad Feld Jason Fried

Jeff Bezos Ben Horowitz Drew Houston

Fred Wilson Paul Graham

Dave McClure

Reid Hoffman

Seth Godin

Richard Branson Mark Cuban

David Cohen

Michael Arrington Joel Spolsky

Bill Gates

Mark Suster

Dharmesh Shah

Larry Page

I am not qualified!

to give conventional advice

But I will share

some

I learned

tough!lessons

Me in San Francisco pitching my startup, March, 2013

Do not wait for someone to build your idea for you

1!

1!If you want to lead a

learn how to build company

technology!

technology!

2!Become an storyteller!awesome

2!Tell your story with words!

images!videos!demos!

passion *learn photoshop, you are going to need it

Some

fair!things

are not with it deal

3!

3!“I need money to build a team, but I need a team to raise money”

with it deal “I am hungry”

“No one will help me”

“VCs are mean” “He promised to write me a check

then disappeared”

“This is really hard”

Klout!Your 4!

score

sh*t mean doesn’t

4!No one gives a damn

great!about your personal “brand”

Go build a company

sucks!Raising money

5!

5!Raising Money is difficult slow stressful frustrating time-consuming

exhausting

Finding the right investor is hard Getting that investor to listen to you is really hard Getting a check from that investor is hard insanely!

6! holes!Have no

in your game

6!You cannot hide

deficiencies!from your

Address them!!

ask!Do not for attention

someone’s

Take It!

7!

7!Do something amazing!Leave them no choice but to look at you

investors customers

recruits

8!All-In!Go

8!No one will take even a

small!chance

if you are not taking a HUGE!chance

on you

on yourself

9!punched!You will get in the face

9!fail!You only truly

when you give up!

Jamie Bailey @MrJamieBailey