bill gross ceo of idealab
TRANSCRIPT
There has never been a better time in history to start a companyWhat makes a
Startup Successful?
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Bill Gross Founder & CEO, Idealab
I’ve been starting companies since I was 12 years old…
Started my 2nd business when I was in High School
Started my 3rd business when I was in College
I graduated from Caltech the month IBM released the PC
Began writing PC software, Tools for Lotus 1-2-3
Lotus Development acquired in 1985 for $10 Million
After seeing first Multi-Media PC, started Knowledge Adventure when my son started Kindergarten in 1991
Grew Knowledge Adventure to #3 Educational Software Company
Netscape Browserand IPO in 1995,30M Global Users
Started Idealab as a technology incubator in 1996
Idealab is a “business” designed to create businesses
First 12 Ideas in 1996
More than 100 companies founded in our 1st 18 years
• Helped the companies raise more than $3.5B• Completed 45 successful IPO’s and
acquisitions• 30 current operating companies• Experienced 50 failures• Created more than 10,000 jobs
Of those 100 Companies, Idealab has:
•Everyone is looking for a simple formula (I’m sorry)— As Peter Thiel says in his book:
The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system
The next Larry Page won’t make a search engine
The next Mark Zuckerberg won’t create a social network•Every bold new company is new and
unique, no one can prescribe HOW to be innovative•Successful people find value in unexpected places•So if I can’t give you a formula, what can I give you?
What Matters Most To Make A Startup Successful?
5 Essential Elements that Lead to Success
Ideas Team BusinessModel
Funding Timing
Idea
Team / Execution
Business Model
Funding
Timing
Looked at factors of success / failure in 130 companies
Efficiency/EffectivenessAdaptability
Novelty/Differentiation“Truth” that no one else seesCompetitive Moats
Way Too EarlyEarlyLate
Clear Path to Generating Customer Revenues
Raising Money for Initial Funding, Follow-on & Growth
Unicorn Successes and Failures
Unicorn Successes and Failures
Timing
Team / Execution
Idea “Truth” Outlier
Business Model
Funding
Looked at factors of success / failure in 130 companies
42%
32%
28%
24%
14%
No Market Need
Ran Out of Money
Not the Right Team
Got Out-Competed
Pricing Cost Issues
Top 5 Factors Leading to Failure
42%
29%
23%
19%
18%
Execution Matters a LOT, but Timing Really Matters
Maybe even more than the idea itself!
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• Apple’s Newton
• YouTube• Facebook• Instagram
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2 Recognize your Strengths and Build a Complementary Team• Design a structure around
strengths, and balance your weaknesses by hiring complementary skills
• You need multiple viewpoints to interpret your learnings wisely
All truth passes through 3 stages.
• First, it is ridiculed.• Second, it is violently opposed.• Third, it is accepted
as being self-evident.
You may be ridiculed for having a great idea ahead of its time3
Arthur Schopenhauer19th century Germanphilosopher
• Startups can change the world.• I have started companies in good times and in bad• Now is definitely the best time ever to start a company
Startups are understood Attracting talent has never been better Attracting capital has never been better Reaching a global market has never been easier
• It’s easier than ever to START a company, but just as hard as ever to BUILD a great company
• I believe if you focus on the 5 factors to make your company strong, and avoid the 5 factors that make most companies fail, you can improve your odds of success
Summary
