Entrepreneurs’ Hits & Misses – Vator Splash 2016ARIEL POLER @ariel

Ariel’s Background Founder: IPRO (94), Topica (98) & TextMarks (06). Board Member: Kana, LinkExchange, Freedom Financial,

Odeo, StumbleUpon, Scan, Strava, Returnly. Investor: AdMob, Flixster, Slideshare, BrightRoll,

Instructables, VivaReal, Optimizely, Thumbtack, Viki, Pantheon, ApartmentList, Kueski, Kongregate, LendingHome, NexTag, Thync, Cornershop and more…

Personal: From Venezuela. BS at MIT (math), MBA at Stanford. Lives in San Francisco. Addicted to kitesurfing.

Miss: Trying to follow all the advice you get

Silicon Valley is very diverse and there are many philosophies and approaches that co-exist here

Context is keyYou must find the approach that works for youCustomize learnings to your situation

Hit: Focus on direction & execution over speed

Speed is overrated!What good is going fast in the wrong direction?The better you understand where you need to

go, the faster you can moveMove fast to determine the right direction! Then

get your execution right and step on it…But, never stand still!

Miss: Believing everything you read in blogs and booksMost success stories are made with 20/20

revisionist hindsightIt often takes time, e.g. StumbleUpon and

Twitter were not overnight successes as some people think…

20/20 Hindsight gives great strategic vision. Realistically, successes are built incrementally.

Hit: Take Risks. One at at time!

Make big bold bets. All of the most successful entrepreneurs do!

Diversify over time: focusing on one thing at a time. Don’t “hedge your bets”.

But, it is OK to experiment with different things for a while until you decide what you want to focus on. Just for a while…

Miss: Fast to hire, slow to fire

The moment you start thinking someone might not be working out, they aren’tBut letting someone go is difficult and painful for

everyone, so don’t cut corners when hiring.Same goes for co-founders, service providers, and

others.Talent Over ExperienceReferences!!! Or better yet, a trial period.

Hit: Buy Yourself TimeAlways have plenty of runway – do round

extensions if necessary (and viable)If you can’t raise more money, cut your burn.

The earlier you do it, the less painful it will be

Miss: Focusing on the pitch rather than the investor

It is all about investor fitThink about dating…Don’t chase the metrics or the checkboxesAnd, don’t get greedy

Miss: trying to solve investors excuses

Most investors do deals when they get excited by them. But they don't like to say “I am not excited", so instead they use an easy excuses, such as:

- You are too early- The deal is too small- I want to see more customers/revenues/technology

Be careful about trying to solve address their excuses, because once you do they are likely to find others. Instead, figure out how to get them excited. Or, better yet, focus on the business.

Investors like to keep their options open.

Hit: Control the timing of your financings

Once you have one term sheet, even a crappy one from a third rate investor, you have leverage

Three weeks or three months? Same outcome. Give investors a deadline! I’ve seen deals done in a week

If you don’t have a term sheet, try to create some other forcing function

Avoid a permanent state of fundraising. Focus on the business and fundraise when you are ready

Hit: Know how to ask for help

We have a very supportive culture in Silicon Valley.

Relationships rather than transactions.Do your homework

The right people to talk toThe topics you want to discuss

Be SpecificAdd value

LESSONS FROM SILICON VALLEYARIEL POLER @ariel

Cool stuff in Human Augmentation

Neosensory -> David Eagleman’s vestThync -> tDCSDoppler -> super hearingCapture emotional state -> Empatica, Sensaura,

Feel, LightwaveNeil Harbisson (cyborg) -> Extra senses: infra-

red, North, radarBetter sleep: faster to sleep, more deep sleep,

better wake-up…

How I choose my entrepreneurs?

Did I have fun during the meeting?Do I want to have dinner with the

entrepreneurs?Will the project have a meaningful impact?Is the business opportunity large enough?Can I help?