Who am I
 10 Start-ups, 6 countries, 8 wins, 1 loss, 1 I am trying to
figure out
 Professor new product marketing (KU Leuven) and
Entrepreneurship (Solvay)
 Fast Bridge: I didn't have a good business idea, so I
decided to help others
▫ A network of people that want to help start-ups
▫ I see lot's of business plans and hopeful entrepreneurs
▫ We work with about 1 in 40
▫ We don't have the right business model yet (I am open
to suggestions !)
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3
 Pick a direction
 Be committed to your ideas
 Get cash now
 Get partners you can trust
 Make sure you are first
 Go as fast as you can
 Do more and more
And success will follow…
What you’d expect me to say about speed ..

“If things seem
under control, you’re
just not going fast
enough.” —Mario Andretti

Wrong ....
5

6
These are comfortable, logical ideas
and what we have been taught….
But, they are not the whole story

7

8
Focus on needs, keep
your options open
Myth:
Pick a direction and stick
to it.

9
Needs first, not ideas first !
Develop a
solution
Find a need Find a market
Ideas
First
Success
Rate*
5-10%
Find a need
Develop a
solution
Find a market
Needs
First
70 %
* According to Strategyn research on outcome driven innovation…

A test... Who are these companies
10
personal
podcasting and
sharing audio
content

Answers…
11
personal
podcasting and
sharing audio
content
Paypal
Facebook
Flickr
Twitter

“If people are not
buying they are not
stupid… they might
not want what you’re
selling.”

14
Don’t drink the Koolaid
Myth:
Be committed to your
ideas

The biggest 2 mistakes of
Entrepreneurs/ Innovators
1. Investing in the wrong business
2. Staying too long in the wrong business.. (after you should
know it is time to change…)

• Lots of products only a mother could love
• Think in terms of base rates: 9 out of 10
products fail
• Be prepared to be wrong (more than once)
16

The big innovation Paradox
Whoever Makes the
Most Mistakes Wins
Richard Farson & Ralph Keyes
17

Costs per stage

Introduction 19

A checklist …
 Talk to 20 people (that are not your friends)
 If no one hates the idea, be scared
 Ask people “if this fails” why would it fail (you’ll
get a lot more information than asking what they
think of the idea !)
 Keep it simple … check do people really
understand

21
Stay lean, until your
business model is
proven
Myth:
Get cash now

You lose money

Lessons learned (the hard way)
• Way too much time spent
looking for cash
• Fail fast, fail cheap
• Go for cheap and easy on
the cash, prove your
business then cash will come
to you
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Failure is easy !!!
Are you spending more time looking for
money than building your business model

24
Learn to trust almost
everyone
Myth:
Get partners you can
trust

The facts...
• Ideas are cheap
• Original ideas are rare
• Great ideas are built through friction
25
A question:
Is there any idea someone
hasn’t talked about on the Internet
(If they haven’t talked about yours be scared… )

Innovation = Size ^ power value
Power value
Cities Companies
1.3 0.7
Innovation output
1 100% 100%
Size 5 690% 309%
25 4759% 952%
Innovation per person
1 100% 100%
Size 5 138% 62%
25 190% 38%
Source: Geoffrey West: The surprising math of cities
and corporations
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The Power Laws of Innovation
As cities grow and contact
increases… innovation increases (25
X bigger = 2X more innovative)
Why: contact increases …
As companies get bigger
and have more resources…
innovation falls (25 X bigger = 60%
less innovative )
Why: contact decreases

27
Imagine this…
BMW has some of the best
designers in the world and sells
their designers by the day
below cost
Why: to build creativity…

28
Fast seconds are also a
viable option
Myth:
Make sure you are first

The glory of fast seconds …
• A fast second lets other companies innovate and
experiment to create new market.
• Entry just as the dominant design is about to emerge,
helps create dominant design, and uses its [size] position
to capture the market
• Famous fast seconds
– Desktop printers (HP)
– Disposable diapers (Pampers)
– Discount shopping (Walmart)
– Search (Google)…
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Build in pauses and
time to reflect
Myth:
Go as fast as you can

Operational speed vs. strategic speed
• A study by Economist intelligence unit 312
companies
▫ Go, go, go
▫ Companies that paused at strategic moments
▫ 40% higher sales, 52% higher profits
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6

Build in tripwires to stop and think
• Set up times for decisions
• Define how you will be decision before the time
comes... (1000 sales might be great, but not if you
predicted 25,000)
33

A detailed contract for companies setting up the installations
Buried deep “M&Ms, but no brown ones”
If they found a brown M&M they wouldn’t play

Do less to do more
(write a do not do list)
Myth:
Do more and more

The productivity Paradox
• Even good people, spend most their time doing
the wrong things or things wrong
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Right thing Right thing
Done wrong Done Right
Wrong thing Wrong thing
Done wrong Done Right

“With so many things to do and so many
great ideas… what we decide not to do
is infinitely more important than what
we decide to do”
– Steve Jobs

Research on innovation
211 companies
Worst Avg Best
Top vs.
bottom
% of revenues from new products 17% 28% 47% 2.76
% of profits from new products 11% 25% 44% 4.17
% of products that meet profit targets 43% 48% 66% 1.53
Go / Kill criteria set up front 26% 57% 85% 3.28
Decisions are objective / fast based 15% 42% 57% 3.85
Decisions are made in review meetings 26% 51% 60% 2.32
Cooper, Robert G. "Perspective: The Stage‐Gate® Idea‐to‐Launch Process
Update, What's New, and NexGen Systems*." Journal of Product Innovation
Management 25.3 (2008): 213-232.

39
Summary
Pick a direction Focus on needs, keep your options open
Be committed to your ideas Don't drink the koolaid
Get cash now Stay lean, until your business model is proven
Get partners you can trust Learn to trust almost everyone
Make sure you are first Fast Seconds are a not bad
Go as fast as you can Take some time to think
Do more and more Do less to do more (write a do not do list)
And success will follow...