Lead to Win

Lead to Win

Confessions of a Serial EntrepreneurJuly, 2009

Dave Vicary

Lead to WinSlide 2

Lessons Learned

• Don’t be afraid to fail

• Build a plan

• Adapt and execute

Lead to WinSlide 3

Don’t be Afraid to Fail

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Fear of failure•Unwillingness to try new things•Unwillingness to commit•Embracing excuses

I think I can•Embrace change/risk•Commit to a plan•Work relentlessly towards a goal

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Lead to WinSlide 4

Lessons Learned

• Don’t be afraid to fail

• Build a plan

• Adapt and execute

Lead to WinSlide 5

Build a Plan

Knowing the other and knowing oneself,

In one hundred battles no danger.

Not knowing the other and knowing oneself,

One victory for one loss.

Not knowing the other and not knowing oneself,

In every battle certain defeat– Sun Tzu – The Art of War

… AND KNOW THE TERRAIN

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats•Know yours•Know theirs

Lead to WinSlide 6

The First Company

• Nakina Systems– Founded in 2002

– VC financed

– Domain – Telecom

– Product – Multi-vendor Network Management• Price - $millions/copy

– Customers – Verizon, AT&T, Bell Canada etc.

– Competition – Equipment Vendors and in-house solutions• Price – Free

– Terrain - Tech bubble burst

WITHIN MY DOMAIN EXPERTIZE

Lead to Win

Learning - The Cost of Money

Time to ROI

Time to Market

Ret

urn

on

In

vest

men

tC

ost

of

Mo

ney

PersonalFinances

VCSoprano'sLending

Services

Friends&

Family

Angel

Government

DebtFinancing

Costs as measured by:

• Expected return

• Control of the company

Find a better way– Change the business model

– Reduce the Time to Market

– Cut the “Proof of Concept” costs

Lead to Win

The Founder’s Dilemma – VC Backed

Company Maturity

Fo

un

der

’s I

mp

ort

ance

Financing commitments:– Build a product

– Build a team

– Build a customer base

– Build revenues

– Build a business

And if you are successful

…work yourself out of a jobInitial

financing secured

Lead to Win

Learning - Geographic Perceptions

The Bay Area Startup

Business acumen – A

Technology acumen – B

The Venture Capitalist

Top Quartile

Incentive to win

Go-to-market

Prototype the concept

Market the concept

Refine the product

The Ottawa Startup

Business acumen – B

Technology acumen – A

The Venture Capitalist

Novice and unproven

Incentive not to lose

Go-to-market

Develop the product

Test/refine the product

Introduce the product

TRUE OR FALSE – PERCEPTION IS REALITY

Lead to WinSlide 10

You Couldn’t Pay Me Enough

• To build another company backed by Canadian venture capital– The money is too expensive

– Capital allocation by stage is inefficient, financings are too small

– Their contacts/relationships do not exist

– Their “help” is plentiful

• To build another Telecom company– The customer is too large

– The market development costs are too high

• To build a product with a $millions price tag– The sales cycle is to long

MYTH BUSTING – VC MONEY IS SMART MONEY

Lead to WinSlide 11

Lessons Learned

• Don’t be afraid to fail

• Build a plan

• Adapt and execute

Lead to WinSlide 12

Adapt and Execute

• Cornerstones of a business plan– You need something to sell

• A product or service

– You need someone to buy• Preferably a growing demographic

– You need a plan to market• Minimizing time to market

– You need an operating plan• Focusing on repeatability

Technology vs. Market Plan•Windows vs. Linux•Microsoft vs. Apple•Nortel vs. …

MAXIMIZE FOOTPRINT

Lead to WinSlide 13

The Current Company

• Weyes Eyes– Founded in 2008– Self financed with government and university assistance – Business model – Software as a Service– Domain – Information Technology – Video– Market – SMBs and Consumer– First product – not disclosed

• Application – security & surveillance• Price - $30/month

– Competition – Third party service providers• Price – $30/month

– Differentiation – not disclosed– Corporate focus – market introduction

• Channel Development

AND EXECUTE…