Keynote from Silicon Valley come to Lisbon 2012 conference (http://svc2lx.com/2012/)

1. Top 10 Startup Lessons
(I learned the hard way)

2. Background
16 years, 3 startups
– AtWeb (1996) – Web Tools
• Acquired by Netscape in Dec 1998 for $100M
– Simply Hired (2003) – Job Search Engine
• Raised $22.3M in funding
• 30M+ Monthly Unique Visitors
Peter Weck
– Keepsy (2009) – Photo Products
• First to Market with Instagram Books and Calendars
• First to Market with Print Books from Mobile

3. 10. Know your boundaries
“The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself.” – Thales
• What income do you need to live?
• What hours are you comfortable working?
• How are you measuring success?
• How long will you give yourself to succeed?
• Does your family support you?

4. 9. Select an idea you love
“Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions.”
– Albert Einstein
• Choose a growing market
• Pick something you’re interested in
• Research the landscape
• Understand the customer
• Pick a painkiller, not a vitamin

5. 8. Build a complete team
“No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing
a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team.” – Reid Hoffman
• A complete team is Engineering, Product & Sales
• Determine what happens if someone leaves
• Stay lean – each hire adds overhead
• Don’t be afraid to fire people
• Great environment and location help you hire

6. 7. Define your culture
“The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to
create and manage culture.” – Edgar Schein
• Culture is defined by the founders & leaders
• Your culture is what you expect and tolerate
• Values are demonstrated when it’s inconvenient to do so

7. 6. Focus, focus, focus
“Put all your eggs in one basket, and watch that
basket!” – Mark Twain
• Do one thing and do it really well
• Adapt and execute quickly
• Assume everything takes 2x time and 2x money

8. 5. Fundraising: Tell a story
“The key to closing deals is never to stop pursuing
alternatives.” – Paul Graham
• Plan on at least 3 months to raise money
• Build a great presentation – keep it short
• Practice, practice, practice
• Network, network, network
• Have plan A, B and Z

9. 4. Test revenue early
“Never test the depth of the river with both feet.” –
Warren Buffett
• Always harder to monetize than you think
• Test monetization while scaling audience
• Test before you build – sell vaporware

10. 3. Measure, Iterate, Repeat
“Not everything important can be measured, and not
everything that can be measured is important.” - Einstein
• Let the data guide your decisions, not make them
• If you can’t measure it, think twice before you do it
• Continuous tuning (e.g. Amazon, Google, Shopping.com)
• If something is working, make it work better.

11. 2. Be persistent
“I haven't failed, I've found 10,000 ways that don't work” –
Thomas Edison
• Give an idea enough time to be successful, but not too
much time
• First version of a product usually doesn’t work (e.g.
Instagram, Twitter, MySpace)
• Be optimistic – failure is progress

12. 1. It’s about the journey
“A failure is a man who has blundered, but is not able to
cash in on the experience.” – Elbert Hubbard
• You will learn a lot
• You will have tough times
• You will grow as a person
• You will be better prepared for your next startup

13. Summary
10. Know your boundaries
9. Select an idea you love
8. Build a complete team
7. Define your culture
6. Focus, Focus, Focus
5. Fundraising: Tell a story
4. Test revenue early
3. Measure, Iterate, Repeat
2. Be persistent
1. It’s about the journey

14. Top 10 Startup Lessons
(I learned the hard way)
Thank you!
Peter Weck Co-founder and CEO
Keepsy, Inc.
648 Menlo Ave, Ste 12
Menlo Park, CA 94025
www.keepsy.com