Success
@ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

The Myth of
Overnight
Success
2 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

“Oh, that guy / company just got lucky”
3 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

“Oh, that guy / company just got lucky”
3 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

Success leads to the creation of
a revisionist history.
4 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

Success leads to the creation of
a revisionist history.
Founders
4 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

Success leads to the creation of
a revisionist history.
Founders Press
4 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

Reality
is Different
5 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

6 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

6 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

Even GREAT companies have had NEAR-DEATH
experiences.
“Jack, what does it take to have a great company?” And he said, “It takes major setbacks
and overcoming those.”
I hesitated for a minute, and I said, “Well, we did that in ’93 and then we did it again in ’97
with the Asian financial crisis.” And he said, “No, John. I mean a near-death experience.” I
didn’t understand exactly what he meant.
Then, in 2001, we had a near-death experience. We went from the most valuable company
in the world to a company where they questioned the leadership. And in 2003, he called
me up and said, “John, you now have a great company.” I said, “Jack, it doesn’t feel like it.”
But he was right.
From: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/business/02corner.html
7 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

“Timing, perseverance, and ten
years of trying will eventually
make you look like an overnight
success.”
@Biz Stone, Twitter
http://www.bizstone.com/2010/09/timing-lessons.html
8 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

9 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

9 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

10,000-Hour Rule
“the key to success in any
field is, to a large extent,
a matter of practicing
for a total of around
10,000 hours.”
10 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

Delayed Gratification:
Stanford Marshmallow Experiment
“how long each child
resisted the temptation of
eating the marshmallow,
and whether or not doing
so was correlated with
future success”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Stanford_marshmallow_experiment
11 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

What works?
12 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

Spiral Model
Proposed by Barry Boehm in 1986
ANALYZE
DESIGN
BUILD
TEST
and REPEAT.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_model
13 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

Analyze:
Problem
User
Business
Product
14 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

Design
1de·sign verb di-ˈzīn
Definition of DESIGN
transitive verb
1 : to create, fashion, execute, or construct according to plan
: devise, contrive

Design
1de·sign verb di-ˈzīn
Definition of DESIGN
transitive verb
1 : to create, fashion, execute, or construct according to plan
: devise, contrive
2 a : to conceive and plan out in the mind <he designed the perfect crime>
b : to have as a purpose : intend <she designed to excel in her studies>
c : to devise for a specific function or end <a book designed primarily as a
college textbook>
3 archaic : to indicate with a distinctive mark, sign, or name
4 a : to make a drawing, pattern, or sketch of
b : to draw the plans for <design a building>

Design:
Anything that has been
thought about, or
considered, has been
DESIGNed.
16 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

Design:
Visual
Product
Interaction / Experience
Concept / Idea
Team / Culture
Revenue Model
17 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

Build:
Scope
Timeline
18 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

TEST:
Does it work?
Why? Why not?
What can be improved?
& back to ANALYSIS.
19 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

BABY STEPS:
ANALYZE
DESIGN
BUILD
TEST
& Repeat
20 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

The Definition of Entrepreneurship:
“Insane perseverance in the
face of complete resistance”
As learnt from Prof. Jack Thorne
Blog post: http://k9.vc/k9perseverence
21 @ManuKumar)from)@K9Ventures)at)#MH2012

@ManuKumar