Lessons from a successful but unscalable startup

Lessons from a successful but unscalable startup October 11th, 2011The Founder Institute, Amsterdam

Lessons from a successful but unscalable startup October 11th, 2011The Founder Institute, Amsterdam @fnauta

1993 1997 1999 2000 2003 2005

Startup =Greatest tool to realize your dream

My dream: Catalyst for a smarter country"Vision in action":• Think Tank creates new vision for Netherlands• Translates it into projects• Help with kickstarting projects• Give them away• Organize learning around it

My dream: Catalyst for a smarter country"Vision in action":• Think Tank creates new vision for Netherlands• Translates it into projects• Help with kickstarting projects• Give them away• Organize learning around it Target: 2002 elections knowledge economy is central in coalition agreement

On the The Founder Institute scale• Meaningful: certainly, but on local scale• Enduring: hardly• Technology: no

Digital Playground

Lesson:Ask for real commitment

2002: Fit• We got a CFO• Restructures in first month• Businessmodel clear - From Sponsor-model, to Consultancy, to service- & projectbureau• Research in other countries, such as Finland• First substantial profit

2003: Mission accomplished• We create Knowledge economy hype• and we become a hype• Knowledge economy is part of the coalition agreement• I start working in The Hague as secretary of innovation for the Prime Minister

Lesson:Acquisition is not holy

Lessons on money• Avoid what seems easy money (subsidy, sponsors), it makes you stupid and creates huge transactional costs (and find a launching customer)• Even if you think money is not important, you still need a scalable business model, or you will get bored

Lessons on me• Startup is the best way to discover your strengths and weaknesses, make sure you find great people to cover your weaknesses• Working > 80 hours structurally is not cool, it means youre not organized effectively and wearing yourself out• A startup is a marathon: see yourself as a top sporter, and take care of yourself that way

Lessons on people• Its amazing how easy it is to get people to listen to you if you truly believe in something• Your team is by far your most important asset, so never accept anyone in the team because hes a friend of a friend or because hes just OK• Find truly great coaches and mentors (not famous ones, they are to busy)

More lessons• Look outside the Netherlands• Design is crucial, the love for detail shows you are really serious about your dream• Youll be pretty incompatible with large organizations after doing a startup

Lessons from a successful but unscalable startup

by Frans Nauta on Oct 13, 2011

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