Cube is Salesforce for Point of SaleBuilding a point of sale is hard. We’ve done it. We’ve done it right. And we’ve done it mobile.

What is Cube?

iPad Point of Sale Runner and Kitchen Display System

iPhone / iPod Credit Card Terminal Back-Office and Management

Modern, Beautiful, Mobile Point of Sale

How We Got Started…

• One shared vision: disrupt a big, bloated, slow-moving, non-innovative market – point of sale

• Funded by angels and YCombinator (incubator)

Helpful Tips on Getting Started…

• Three pieces of advice for starting any business:o Know what, why, for whom, know your competitors, and segment /

differentiateo Know how much it will cost – employees, capital, operationalo Know where – your exit strategy

• The most successful people are those that are “all-in”o Quit your jobo Fund if necessary – banks, angel investor groups, VCs, incubators

• The “Nathan” strategyo If you can’t go full-time, bootstrap it yourself part-timeo Be patient! Results are commensurate with effort, and focus

• One final thought on getting startedo It’s better to make decisions NOW than to waito Does not mean you shouldn’t plan or be thoughtfulo In most cases, it’s easier to correct a bad decision than to not do anything

• When is the best time to plant a tree?

Technology in Wellness

• Wellness technology is highly fragmented, and it takes decades for highly fragmented markets to evolve (which is why people use 10-year old point of sale products)

• Some disruption caused by changes in user behavior that solve specific problemso “Track My Workouts” -> Fitocracyo “Analyze My Workouts” -> RunKeepero “Monitor My Progress” -> Fitbit, LoseIt!

• Others leverage technology that may not be in the palm of the hand of the usero Logging programs and applications for trainerso “90-day challenge” programs with forums, social media

• If you’re building a wellness technology company, try to integrate into existing behavior rather than disrupt

Guidance on Technology Wellness

• For entrepreneurs:o Don’t disturb user behavior – “gaming” in Fitocracy

(great app!) is helpful but it’s still disturbing the user behavior

o Leverage social media – results of your product/program depend on people sticking to them -> social media = accountability to peers

o Leverage social media – it’s also the best viral marketing mechanism – but you need results first!

• For employers:o Leave the choice to your employeeso Encourage health and wellnesso Subsidize when possible, find discounts at a minimum

Cube’s Approach to Employee

Wellness

• Like many of our Silicon Valley peers, we encourage wellness and offer benefits in support of that:o Reimbursement for gym membershipso Workout equipment at the office (powerlifting rack, wrestling

mats, kettlebells)

• And, we share activities as teambuilding exerciseso Jiu jitsu, grappling, judoo Tough Mudder!!

• Lower-cost options are available that make it possible for *anyone* to do similar things:o Ask nearby gyms about special rateso Find public activities (yoga in the park, bike rides)o Discount programs – I highly recommend AnyPerk

Shameless Plug

(small sample)

Maintaining a Healthy Startup

Environment

• Startups are notoriously unhealthy – long hours, stress, no “shock absorbers” like big companies

• Cube encourages a healthy startup environment:o Work when you want – no set scheduleo Manage expectations as a team and agree to them – accountabilityo Work where you want – home, coffee shop, office, parko Take off time when you want – infinite vacation days – see item 2o Encourages consistent productivity and “spikes” after some downtimeo Gym and fitness activities together

• Give employees space they need and freedom they desire, and either:o They will find balance and meet/exceed their expectations, oro The group will make it abundantly clear that they aren’t

Approaching Startups as a Client

• Cold calls do not work. We are too busy. It will do nothing but upset a person that is engrained in an engineering-dominated business

• Use the network to get introductions and warm leads – engineers do not like meeting new people that are “pitching” them

• Use an indirect method: friends and family. I didn’t start using a specific brand of health/protein powder until my wife started selling it (and I was hesitant even then)

• Startups have limited budgets. If you want to sell to them, you have to show not only value, but also ROIo How will this make your business bettero How will this lead to happier employeeso How long will it take to recuperate startup costs, oro Do like law firms do – first $1000 is free, and deferred costs for 3 months (trial)

Summary

• If you need a point of sale or credit card processing, remember me! https://www.getcube.com

• Success is easier if your plan is thought out end-to-end – funding makes a difference but isn’t an indicator

• If you build a wellness technology startup, start with the use case and try to remain minimally disruptive to user behavior

• Encouraging wellness in employees doesn’t cost a lot – gym memberships are cheap, and discount programs exist for those that can’t fully subsidize

• Employee freedom translates to health which translates to wellness which translates to productivity

Final Thought for Entrepeneurs

• Advice we received from Paul Graham (YCombinator, very famous angel investor) – applicable to any entrepeneur:

“Don’t get distracted. Right now you shouldonly be writing code and talking to users.” ~Paul Graham

Translated for Clarity and

Understanding

“Don’t get distracted. Right now you shouldonly be writing code and talking to users.” ~Paul Graham

Stay focused,

build your product, make it better, and get people using it!

live in the moment,(you) take action,