A talk I gave at the Entrepreneurs Roundtable on November 3, 2011 in San Francisco.

1. Adventures in
Entrepreneurship
Margaret Wallace, CEO, Playmatics
Twitter: @MargaretWallace

2. Margaret Wallace Shirley Lin
Trust Us.
We’re Dressed as Pirates.

3. Entrepreneur
Adviser
Inventor
Twitter: @MargaretWallace
Tech, Media, Gaming

4. Entrepreneurs Must Juggle Many Things.

5. …and people.
Users
Friends/
Employees
Family
Investors

6. Entrepreneurs Must Wear Many Hats.

7. Rainmaker

8. Therapist

9. Visionary

10. Enforcer

11. Inventor

12. We Do Whatever
it Takes.

13. That Goes for
Funding.

14. Different Funding Options
Different Considerations

15. Understanding The Impact
of Funding Choices
Important.

16. Five Start-Ups I’ve Worked
With or Founded
Lessons Learned

17. Start-Up #1: PF.Magic

18. Be Passionate or Go Home.

19. Excel in at Least
One Thing.
Then innovate….

20. Create Meaningful
Rituals

21. Offering to Software Gods at GMC.

22. Diversity in the
Workplace Matters

24. Funding Options
Venture Capital
Angel / Super-
Angel
Friends & Family
Bootstrap

25. Start-Up #2:
Skunk Studios

26. Start-Up #2:
Skunk Studios

27. Start-Up #2:
Skunk Studios

28. Start-Up #2:
Skunk Studios

29. Start-Up #2:
Skunk Studios

30. Timing is
Everything

31. “Own” Your
Audience

32. Own Your IP

33. Create Ongoing
Revenue Streams

34. Don’t Get Stale.

35. Funding Options
Venture Capital
Angel / Super-
Angel
Friends & Family
Bootstrap

36. Start-Up #3: Rebel Monkey
Raised $3.5 million in VC
Copyright 2010. Margaret Wallace. Please Attribute Proper Credit if You Use These Slides

37. Understanding VC
Psychology

38. Strength of Idea
Market Size
Strength of Team
Competition
Takeaway: VCs are all about managing risk. The more
risk you remove, the more comfort they have with you.

39. How VCs Rate Your Chance of Success
5%
15%
80%
Takeaway: VC & Start-Up Goals Are Not Always in Alignment.

40. Verbal Cues Can
Be Misleading

41. Non-Verbal Cues Can
Be Misleading

42. Pivoting Takes Runway,
Strength & Shared Vision.

43. Choose your Investor (or
VC firm) carefully.

44. Choose your individual
VC carefully.

45. Choose your attorney
carefully.

46. Guard Board Composition
with your Life!

48. 1. Cover Page
2. Company Snapshot
3. Numbers
4. Timeline & Runway
5. Demo
6. Traction
7. Trajectory
From: 365 Days, $10 Million, 3 Rounds, 2 Companies, All With 5 Magic Slides

49. “Stop Using the projector
for initial meetings.”
-- Tim Young

50. Accept Failure
Swiftly &
Gracefully

51. Start-Up #4: Playmatics

52. Funding Options
Venture Capital
Angel / Super-
Angel
Friends & Family
Bootstrap

53. Breaking Bad: Cost of Doing Business
http://www.amctv.com/shows/breaking-bad/cost-of-doing-business

55. Gamification

56. Start-Up #5: Shadow Government

57. Funding Options
Venture Capital
Angel / Super-
Angel
Friends & Family
Bootstrap

59. Find a
Completely
Unique Niche

60. The “Truth” is
Not Out There.

61. Questions?
Margaret Wallace
margaret@playmatics.com
@margaretwallace