Startupping 2.0: Lessons Learned Birthing and Building Web Startups Mark Fletcher http:// www.wingedpig.com September 13, 2007

Startup Experience Founder ONElist (acquired by Yahoo) Bloglines (acquired by Ask Jeeves) Startupping Advisor One True Media Techdirt Wesabe Early stage employee Diba (acquired by Sun Microsystems) Pixel Media

Founder

ONElist (acquired by Yahoo)

Bloglines (acquired by Ask Jeeves)

Startupping

Advisor

One True Media

Techdirt

Wesabe

Early stage employee

Diba (acquired by Sun Microsystems)

Pixel Media

Kitchen Table Web Business More and easier capital Free/low-cost tools, storage, equipment World wide outsourcing, virtual teams New business models

More and easier capital

Free/low-cost tools, storage, equipment

World wide outsourcing, virtual teams

New business models

In the beginning, you have … Identified a genuine pain point A passion for the idea A business model Become educated Another job

Identified a genuine pain point

A passion for the idea

A business model

Become educated

Another job

Assembling your team Outsource Elance Rent A Coder Amazon Mechanical Turk Collaborate using Internet tools Harness users – extended team members Hire a lawyer

Outsource

Elance

Rent A Coder

Amazon Mechanical Turk

Collaborate using Internet tools

Harness users – extended team members

Hire a lawyer

Building the Service Be Cheap!! No office overhead Free tools Storage Rent, don’t buy, servers Release Early/Release Often (3 Month Rule) Doesn’t Have to be Perfect Involve Your Users

Be Cheap!!

No office overhead

Free tools

Storage

Rent, don’t buy, servers

Release Early/Release Often (3 Month Rule)

Doesn’t Have to be Perfect

Involve Your Users

The Result of Being Cheap From Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures http://avc.blogs.com/a_vc/2006/12/web_20_is_a_gif.html

From Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures

http://avc.blogs.com/a_vc/2006/12/web_20_is_a_gif.html

The Design Don’t reinvent the UI Expose as much content as possible Show activity on the home page Do some SEO Make registration easy (do you even need it?) Room for ads Amy Jo Kim’s presentation at Etech - Putting the Fun in Functional: http://shufflebrain.com/etech06.htm

Don’t reinvent the UI

Expose as much content as possible

Show activity on the home page

Do some SEO

Make registration easy (do you even need it?)

Room for ads

Amy Jo Kim’s presentation at Etech - Putting the Fun in Functional: http://shufflebrain.com/etech06.htm

Raising Money Get educated on the types of financing Friends and family Traditional angels VC New funding sources Y Combinator & Techstars in USA Seedcamp in Europe How Much? Raising Money Takes Time

Get educated on the types of financing

Friends and family

Traditional angels

VC

New funding sources

Y Combinator & Techstars in USA

Seedcamp in Europe

How Much?

Raising Money Takes Time

Marketing PR is cheapest marketing you can do Pursue on-line opinion makers Blogs Digg & Reddit Slashdot Let traditional press find you Focus on viral aspects and user growth Get a blog Social network piggybacking

PR is cheapest marketing you can do

Pursue on-line opinion makers

Blogs

Digg & Reddit

Slashdot

Let traditional press find you

Focus on viral aspects and user growth

Get a blog

Social network piggybacking

Partnering DON’T

DON’T

The Exit Do you need one? ONElist vs Bloglines experience Don’t sell – be bought Investment bankers What they are Finding/Interviewing them Negotiating with them The sad truth about being acquired

Do you need one?

ONElist vs Bloglines experience

Don’t sell – be bought

Investment bankers

What they are

Finding/Interviewing them

Negotiating with them

The sad truth about being acquired

Examples SmugMug No outside funding Used Amazon’s S3 to save $1M iLike Piggybacked off Facebook 11M users total 7M Facebook users in 5 months

SmugMug

No outside funding

Used Amazon’s S3 to save $1M

iLike

Piggybacked off Facebook

11M users total

7M Facebook users in 5 months

Startup Commandments Your idea isn't new. Pick an idea; at least 50 other people have thought of it. People will tell you they know more than you do. If that's really the case, you shouldn't be doing your startup. You will have at least one catastrophe every three months. If you don't pay attention to your competition, they will turn out to be geniuses and will crush you. If you do pay attention to them, they will turn out to be idiots and you will have wasted your time. Abject Terror. Overwhelming Joy. Monstrous Greed. Embrace and harness these emotions you must. You have to be wrong in the head to start a company. But we have all the fun.

Your idea isn't new. Pick an idea; at least 50 other people have thought of it. People will tell you they know more than you do. If that's really the case, you shouldn't be doing your startup.

You will have at least one catastrophe every three months.

If you don't pay attention to your competition, they will turn out to be geniuses and will crush you. If you do pay attention to them, they will turn out to be idiots and you will have wasted your time.

Abject Terror. Overwhelming Joy. Monstrous Greed. Embrace and harness these emotions you must.

You have to be wrong in the head to start a company. But we have all the fun.

Resources Google Docs and Spreadsheets Skype for chatrooms 37 Signals Backpack/Campfire Yahoo Groups Elance, Rent A Coder, Amazon Mechanical Turk Startupping Y! Combinator News Open Coffees, Meetups Google Analytics for web metrics Feedburner for feed metrics

Google Docs and Spreadsheets

Skype for chatrooms

37 Signals Backpack/Campfire

Yahoo Groups

Elance, Rent A Coder, Amazon Mechanical Turk

Startupping

Y! Combinator News

Open Coffees, Meetups

Google Analytics for web metrics

Feedburner for feed metrics

Go forth, and may the best t-shirt win! Join the conversation at http:// www.startupping.com

Go forth, and may the best t-shirt win!

Join the conversation at

http:// www.startupping.com