becoming an investable startup in east africa the pivot east criteria - april 2014
TRANSCRIPT
Becoming an investable startup in East Africa:The PIVOT East Criteria
twitter: @pivoteastwebsite: pivoteast.com
facebook: facebook.com/pivoteast
A startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model - Steve Blank
A startup is a human institution designed to deliver a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty - Eric Ries
A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value
A. Osterwalder et al.
Useful Reading material from Ash Mauryapracticetrumpstheory.com/2011/08/customer-development-getting-started
Problem interviews
Solution interviews
MVP interviews
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!
2014 Partners
But., ... to win or not may not matter much ...
(1) Problem and Customer Segments○ What top customer pains have you identified?
○ What customer segments are affected by the problem ? Early adopters identified ?
○ Is problem big enough for a viable business case?
○ $100m+ annual turnover in 5 years?
2) The solution○ How are you solving the customer's
problem?
○ What special features of the solution that directly address the customer’s pain?
○ How can you confirm that your solution resonates with customer’s problem
○ High-level concept pitch - ie “new product X”: “Y for Z” eg. “MkulimaMax”: “Oracle ERP for smart farmers”
(3) Revenue Streams Envisaged and Tested
○ How will you make money by providing the solution given the nature of the current market place?
○ Have you conducted experiments to test any of the revenue streams? if so what lessons have been learnt so far?
(4) The Technological Advantage
○ Why is the technological solution and revenue model expected to work?
○ What unique technological approaches or platforms have you opted for that make it workable and scalable?
(5) Analysis of Competitive Landscape
○ What are the existing alternatives to your solution? Show thorough knowledge of competitors / collaborators
○ What differentiates you from the alternatives? We can - they can’t, We can’t - they can
(6) Customer Acquisition & Channels
○ What customer segments are early adopters?
○ How will the customer segments become aware?
○ How will you achieve customer activation? (first instance of gratifying experience)
○ Does product have viral characteristics?
(7) Team Composition & Commitment Level○ What skills & experience does the team have?
i. Team member complementary strengthsii. Additional skills required? self diagnosis ..
○ Commitment & motivation of the team i. Co-founder, employee, advisory roles?ii. Existence of founders’ agreement, vesting
schedule?
(8a) Market Traction and Secondary Achievements● Growing Revenue
○ # of paying customers, ○ # Gross monthly revenue
● Growing / Sticky User-base○ # of Downloads / Pageviews / Requests, ○ # of active / repeat users
(8b) Market Traction and Secondary Achievements● Customer discovery progress
○ Prototype iterations made, ○ MVP soliciting customer insights,○ Customer interviews made
● Intellectual Property Assets● Key partnerships or investments secured - content,
distribution, marketing, funding etc● Awards, accolades, media mentions earned
(9) Projections for Milestones and Key Metrics How’s the roadmap for growth within the next 12 months for :-
● Revenue● Users● Customer discovery / development● Key partnerships & Investments
What does it take to achieve desired milestones?
(10) Pitch Video● A video (max 5 minutes) that demonstrates :-
○ Passion among founders / key employees to pursue the startup’s mission
○ A clear call to action on what the startup is pursuing at PIVOT East 2014 - ie Visibility, Networks, Partners, Funding etc
Basic video quality is acceptable. Professional shooting or editing not necessary
(11) Demo Video or ScreenShots
The Demo video should showcase :-
● Key features of the solution
● How intuitive the user experience is
● How well polished the user interface is
General Competition Notes○ Competition portal - startups.pivoteast.com○ Minimum number of team members is two (2)○ Tag startup entries in a maximum of two (2)
competition categories○ Team members to update personal profiles on
their key skills and include a LinkedIn profile
Recommended Reading○ The Lean Startup - Eric Ries○ The art of the start - Guy Kawasaki○ Running Lean - Ash Maurya○ The Founder’s Dilemma - Noam Wasserman○ Brad Feld's blog - feld.com○ The Four Steps to the Epiphany - Steve Blank○ OnStartups.com
email: [email protected]
twitter: @mlabeastafrica
@pivoteast
websites: startups.pivoteast.com
pivoteast.commlab.co.ke
facebook:facebook.com/mlabeastafrica
facebook.com/pivoteast
Let mobile startups catalyse economic growth in East Africa!