Making Ideas Happen
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Sheetal Dube is a founder and user experience consultant who has helped companies build technology products. She shares her experience taking her own ideas to the next level by founding AudioName.com. She recommends validating your idea, finding a committed team, identifying your minimum viable product, getting feedback and iterating, staying calm, recruiting advisors and peers for support, and sticking with it through challenges as you take the plunge to turn your ideas into a startup. Portland offers many startup networking resources like Startup Weekend, incubators, and angel funds to support first-time founders.
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Making Ideas Happen
- 1. “Ugh! I thought of that first”!! Flickr - Stuck & sulking (09/04)By Claire-Louise75 Making Ideas Happen WebVisions 2011 SheetalDube, Founder AudioName.com @SheetalDube
- 2. Founder, AudioName.com (2 months) User experience consultant 14+ years Helped companies build technology products Knowledgeable about the development processes Scribbled many ideas for products/ services Couldn’t figure how to take my ideas to the next level being non tech didn’t help But kept trying to figure it out… Background SheetalDube, Founder AudioName.com @SheetalDube
- 3. I got lucky Helping companies build technology products Helping people by developing technology products Startup Weekend Portland Women 2.0Founders Labs (SF) WebVisions2010 WebVisions 2011 May 2010 Jan 2011 March 2011 May 2011 Audioname.com TetherPad.com SheetalDube, Founder AudioName.com @SheetalDube
- 4. Go outside your comfort zone Flickr - 83/365 Contradiction 10 I feel scaredByrayakins # 1 Validate your idea SheetalDube, Founder AudioName.com @SheetalDube
- 5. # 2 Find a committed team SheetalDube, Founder AudioName.com @SheetalDube
- 6. # 3 Identify your MVP, Minimum viable product {Familiarize yourself with lean startup if you haven't already } SheetalDube, Founder AudioName.com @SheetalDube
- 7. # 4 Build > get feedback > iterate SheetalDube, Founder AudioName.com @SheetalDube
- 9. # 6 Recruit your support network Advisors/ mentors, peers, friends {Portland’s strength} SheetalDube, Founder AudioName.com @SheetalDube
- 10. First time founders are likely to fail Peer networking proves otherwise
- 11. Startup Networks - Portland Startup Weekend - Portland Oct StarveUps - Launch Pad June - July PIE - Portland Incubator Experiment July ? Oregon Technology Business Center Ongoing Events PSU Business Accelerator Ongoing Events TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Ongoing Events Meetup: Lean Startup, Startup Nights Monthly Portland Seed Fund June Angel Oregon SheetalDube, Founder AudioName.com @SheetalDube
- 12. # 7 Stick to it SheetalDube, Founder AudioName.com @SheetalDube
- 13. Take the plunge Flickr - jumpBy EWAN MITCHELL. SheetalDube, Founder AudioName.com @SheetalDube
Editor's Notes
- Has this ever happened to you?Show of handsHow many people have had an idea they want to pursue?How many people have just founded a startup?Show of handsHow many people have a technology background?How many are UX or Business?Today I will talk about my experience in both those areas.There are many more startup topics, like funding and exit plan that we will not have time to go through.My intent is toTo inspire people with ideas to take their ideas furtherTo remind people who have taken the plunge to hang on
- Twitter listsQuoraMashable/ Tech crunchWomen2.0Startup WeekendBooks
- The number 1 reason that a startup fails is that it has no customersTalk to your potential customersTalk to friends and family about your ideasGo to meet-ups and hear other peoples ideasFind subject matter experts to discussWrite a blog postPut up a homepage – see if people sign up or click download
- The team composition could vary depending on the scenarioFounder, Co-founder situation, team members < could be any compositionMission, visions, values must matchEquity discussions must happen upfront and early onEngineering talent is very difficult to find in todays market
- Startup is different from a small businessThe extreme uncertainty requires you to be nimbleLean startup allows you to be nimble, flexible and efficientIt also mentally prepares you for *change* It prepares you for *pivots* you might need to take
- Track feedback and metrics closelyFor AudioName we changed the workflowDe-emphasized features that we thought would be valuableEmphasized features that users seemed more inclined to use naturallyAdded element that could help make it more viral
- Things don’t go in the order we just discussedBy this timeyou are figuring out what type of company you want to haveDo you need to look into IP?Some product features that you thought customer will find valuable are not valuable to themSome team members are finding it hard to commitI feel the knots in your stomach – doubting yourself is not unusual
- You need trusted advice and help to keep going onSteve Blank recently highlighted the importance of mentors/ advisorsStarve ups is a good case study for a successful peer networksLook for advisors/ mentors with relevant experienceThis was the biggest factor that got me to take the plungeThe Whitehouse roundtable for young Americans also highlighted this across other industries
- It is hard and statistics say that the first year is the hardestFind a peer network that works for youGet used to hearing NOGet used to not hearing anythingPivot till you have exhausted all your pivotsMost successful companies didn’t happen overnight – not even Angry BirdsSo be committed