Lean Methodology explained - why lean ? new methods , mistakes to avoid , Palestinian context ( Yamsafer - 5QHQH, Batouta) , Arabic , English , with figures and numbers . Ahmad Shalabi - Lean adviser .

1. The Lean Startup
Ahmad Shalabi
Programs Coordinator -PICTI
Suggested hashtag for Twitter users: #lsestartup
‫الريادي‬ ‫مشروعك‬ ‫تبدأ‬ ‫كيف‬
‫شلبي‬ ‫أحمد‬
‫البرامج‬ ‫منسق‬–‫المعلومات‬ ‫لتكنولوجيا‬ ‫الفلسطينية‬ ‫الحاضنة‬-‫بيكتي‬

2. What is start-up?
Business Vs Startup ??
Startup = Experiment .

6. Why StartupsFail
• Most startups fail
• Within 3 years, 92% of startups fail
• Of failed startups, 74% failed due to
premature scaling
Startup Genome Report

7. SomeStartupFailureis Avoidable
“Startups die in many ways, but in the past couple of years
I’ve noticed that the most common cause of death is what I
call ‘Startup Suicide ’,anonemonehpa hcihw niputrats’ s
founders and its management kill the company while it’s
still very much breathing .”
Justin Kan

8. TopReasons forStartup
Failure
Why startups fail,
according to their
Founders,
Erin Griffith,
Fortune,9/25/14

9. #1 Product/MarketFit
• 42% of failed startups cite to lack of market demand for their
product or service
• Need to achieve product/market fit

10. # 2 – Runningout of Money
• Inadequate funding is a frequent source of failure
•Cash flow management is key

11. #3 – Not the Right Team
• Inadequate management team
• Poor leadership
• Poor team dynamics
• Poor hiring/firing practices

12. #4 – Poor ProductStrategy
• Improperly positioning the product
• Mispricing the product
• Poor quality control
• Poor cost control
• Poor timing of product release

13. #5 –Loss of Focus
• Poor marketing
• Inadequate attention to sales
• Inadequate attention to customers after sale

14. Successful StartupsRealize
• That the business model is the product
• That product failure is part of the startup process
• That product pivoting may be required
• The goal is to quickly achieve a product/market fit
• People are important
• That teamwork and focus
• That customer attention
• Cash flow is critical
• Funding
• Sales

16. The Business Model isthe
Product
• “If you Build It, They Will Come” only works in
the movies

17. Fail often, failfast
• Push ahead with a product as soon as possible to gather
feedback and learn about opportunities
• The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) may be used to test
product viability
• Quickly discard products that don’t have a good reception
(e.g. 40% say “they must have it”)

19. Product/MarketFitistheFoundation

20. People AreImportant
• Managers
• All key roles filled
• Not too many, not too few
• CEO, CFO, CTO are key for a tech startup
• Employees
• Right fit
• Hire slow, fire fast
• Customers
• Customer support
• Customer feedback

22. Cash FlowPitfalls
• Not documenting your cash-flow projections
• Being on budget but out of cash
• Being profitable but broke
• Seasonal sale fluctuations
• Unanticipated expenses & emergencies
• New businesses aren’t given much credit
• Sales volumes don’t keep up with marketing expenses
• Slow Accounts Receivable
• Growing too fast
• Withheld funds by missing banker/investor milestones

23. “What WeLearned”
• Biggest risk: making something no one wants
• Not launching is painful, but not learning is fatal
• Put something in user’s hands and get real
feedback ASAP
• Know where your target audience hangs out &
speak with them in an authentic way
Drew Houston, CEO Dropbox

24. KeyPoints
• Develop a business model, not a business plan
• Fast learning loops: build-measure-learn
• Business model validation – get out of the
building!
• MVP – it’s not what you think
• The Lean Startup Path Next

25. The LeanStartup
• Method for developing businesses and
products
• Steve Blank in mid-1990 created the
“Customer Development ”methodology
• Eric Reis (a student of Blank) popularized
the Lean Startup movement in 2011 as a
technique for “Validated Learning”

27. Three tips forsuccess
1) Realize that your business method is the
product
2) People are an essential ingredient for a
successful company
3) Cash flow is king

28. What about GAZA !!

29. Incubators
Palestine ICT Incubator (PICTI) and others .
Bader ICT Incubator (by Siraj/Rawabi)
Accelerators
Smart-X, FastForward, Gaza Sky Geeks
Seed+ Funds
Arabreneur, Bader, Ibtikar
Entrepreneurship events &
activities (some offer
awards/grants)
Startup Weekend, Startup Grind, StartMeUp (defunct), Game Jam,
GEW Palestine (& others)
Pre-Seed & Seed
29

30. Growth $1M
+
Series A $250
K
Seed
$50K
Pre-Seed
$20K
Incubation
PE/VC Tech investment
Mapping
30
Sadara
Siraj PGF
Arab-
preneur
Sharakat
Ibtikar
Bader
BIC
PICTIBTIUCAS
GSG

31. Capital Breakdown
31
$95
$45
$67
$10
$217M Capital Raised/Allocated, $77M
Deployed, $140M Available
Available Non-Tech
Available Tech
Deployed Non-Tech
Deployed Tech

32. Investments mapping in “Tech”
Startups
32
WebTeb Anoud Batouta CallU
Souktel Transcend Yamsafer AidBits
Edunation Pinchpoint Farikaq Krazy Goat
Fresco Imagry NoteTaker StoreE

33. Success stories
https://www.yamsafer.com/en

34. From Gaza