After 15 business angel investments in tech and media companies, I shared 5 traits of successful entrepreneurs at the SEED Forum in Singapore on June 8, 2012. More than 100 entrepreneurs and investors came to hear startup pitches from 8 Norwegian and Singaporean start-ups!

1. Wanna be
successful?
Can you say yes to these 5 things?
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2. From engineer to angel
• California: Core engineering team at US
search engine Excite Inc.
• Norway: Co-founded Kelkoo.com;
acquired by Yahoo for around S$1b
• Singapore: Started Tigris Capital in 2003
to invest in tech / media start-ups

3. A few failures…
…and some amazing
success stories

4. So, around 15 companies
later, what did I learn about
successful entrepreneurs?

5. Be flexible (and foolish!)
• No shame in being a copy-cat
• … but keep re-inventing to provide real value
• Scrap the crap if it doesn’t work
• Do one thing at a time
• “God is in the details”

6. Lean, mean, fighting machine
• Bootstrap; Avoid cash commitments
• Use free / cheap services
• Get to know journalists, PR is cheap
marketing
• Small revenues = Small expenses
• Focus on growth, not volume
• Make use of government grants

7. Marriage with no sex
• No man is an island
• Choose your co-founder(s) wisely
• Opposites attract
• Each founder should lead in his / her area of
expertise
• Similar commitment levels

8. “Always two there are, a master and
an apprentice,” - Yoda
• Listen to your mentors / investors
(You have no clue about all the things you don’t
know)
• Don’t listen to your mentors / investors
(They have no clue about the bit you know)

9. All work, no play
- makes Jack a dull boy
• Organise your time – What do you want to
achieve today?
• Prioritise based on impact
• Use tools that let your business scale
• Hire people better than you

11. Have fun with your start-up!
Send your ideas to william@klippgen.com