Advice for Entrepreneurs from an Internet Startup Enthusiast, Brian Link

Advice for Entrepreneurs
(From an Internet Startup Enthusiast)
Brian Link
Fisher College of Business,
Jan 14, 2010

Who am I?
Brian Link
Currently CEO of Toobla (1 year)
Currently Partner at weBuild (1 year)
3 Years at Digg.com (Dev/QA/R&D)
CTO at NSB Group (1 year)
13 Years at Cambridge Technology Partners (20 full SDLC)
Connect: linkedin.com/in/brianwlink

Add Value for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Guts, Culture, Determination
Do Something Awesome
Pay Attention, Measure and Adjust
Lean, Smart, Practical
Network, Connections, Advice
Pitch Smart, Capital Access Plan
Funding and Exits

Guts, Culture, Determination
Ready to take the leap?
Founders matter. True colors shine.
Startups take over your life
Passion+Persistence > Intelligence
It takes time, be realistic, fail fast
Flickr, Blogger, Play-doh

Do Something Awesome
Simple product, great value
Solve a critical need, cure a pain
Painkillers not Vitamins
Make users happy, make money
Kill a feature, focus on used features
Great product first, then market + $

Pay Attention, Measure and Adjust
Connect with users, ask questions
Do your own support (feel their pain)
Identify your critical metrics
Activation, Acquisition, Retention, Referral, Revenue
Be nimble, adjust, radically if needed

Lean, Smart, Practical
Hire generalists before specialists
Motivate with equity wisely
Don’t waste time on lengthy biz plan
Find a lawyer that knows startups
Innovate to survive, push then test

Network, Connections, Advice
Who do you know? LinkedIn fanatic
Everyone you meet might help you
Could you have coffee every morning?
First, don’t pitch, ask for advice
Build relationships, don’t waste time

Pitch Smart, Capital Access Plan
Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30
More on business, less on product
Know what you need, plan for it
Don’t get hung up on valuation
Product roadmap, hiring plan, marketing plan, tight runrate

Funding and Exits
FFF: Friends, Family and Fools
Angels
Grants, Programs, Government
Venture Capital
Preserve % but don’t be stupid
twitter.com/blinkdaddy/vc-and-angels

People in Columbus
twitter.com/cbusimPRessions/columbus
thegillespielawgroup.com

Resources
The Art of the Start
Guts and Borrowed Money
The Deadline, A Novel about Proj Mgt
Tipping Point
The Long Tail
Viral Loop
Tribes
The Cluetrain Manifesto

Resources
http://500hats.typepad.com / Dave McClure - startup metrics for pirates
http://www.jasonnazar.com
http://venturehacks.com /
http://onstartups.com / (triplets list)
http://www.paulgraham.com/startuplessons.html
http://www.paulgraham.com/really.html
http://howardlindzon.com /
http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2008/03/startup-advice.html
http://www.startuplessonslearned.com /
http://startup-marketing.com /
http://andrewchenblog.com/list-of-essays

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Advice for Entrepreneurs from an Internet Startup Enthusiast, Brian Link

by Brian Link on Jan 14, 2010

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