A Presentation to Myself 5 Years Ago: Lessons from a Failed Start-up and 2 Years in Silicon Valley3 Rivers Venture FairApril 6th 2016

Agenda

• Target Audience: 25-35 year old first-time entrepreneurs• Backstory• Product/Market Fit• Think Big, Start Small• Data• Hiring• Founder Experience• Summary

• Stats and video software for sports teams

• Mike Ressler / Tom Matta• $1.2 MM funding• Killer team / board• 250 teams

• Equity software for private companies

• Henry Ward / Manu Kumar• $27 MM funding• Killer team / board• 4,000 companies

Backstory

Product / Market Fit

• StatEasy– MVP = highlight videos– Lynn Swann customer testimonial– Lies we tell ourselves

• eShares – MVP = electronic stock certificates– Network effects

• A great market will pull product out of the startup• The #1 company killer is a lousy market• Action Item: Focus obsessively on getting to

product/market fit. Don’t lie to yourself!

Think Big, Start Small

• StatEasy– HUGE VISION: social sports network– Start big = LOSE BIG

• eShares– HUGE VISION: solve liquidity for private companies– Start small = WIN SMALL

• Action Item: Think big, but start small, and WIN SMALL!

Data

• StatEasy– Underdeveloped data model– Work to collect and analyze data

• eShares– Data model built in product– Easy collection, focus on analysis– CEO Henry Ward: 90 slide company data review

• You’re not obsessing about your data enough• Be transparent / encourage others to obsess too!

• Action Item: Obsess about your data! Share the obsession!

Hiring

• StatEasy– Hired too quickly – Thinking new hires = good

• eShares– Very different thinking– “Hiring means we failed to execute and need help”– “Hiring is not a consequence of success (revenue and customers are)”– “Hiring is a consequence of our failure to create enough leverage to grow

on our own”

• Action Item: How did you fail to create leverage to grow on your own?

Founder Experience

• Few people talk about what it’s like to be a founder• It’s a marathon, not a sprint• StatEasy

– Emotional roller coaster– Stopped exercising

• “What charges your batteries?” Don’t stop doing these activities!

• Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor example

• Action Item: Find a sustainability sponsor! Schedule regular check-ins!

Summary (Contact = tom@esharesinc.com)

• Action Items– Get to product/market fit. Don’t lie to yourself!– Think big, but start small, and WIN SMALL!– Obsess about your data. Share the obsession!– How did you fail to create leverage to grow on your own?– Find a sustainability sponsor. Schedule regular check-ins!

• Essential reading and re-reading– THE LEAN START-UP– SPIN SELLING– HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE

• Follow on Medium– @henrysward– @manukumar