This document summarizes some hits and misses from Ariel Poler's experience as an entrepreneur and investor in Silicon Valley. Some key hits include focusing on direction and execution over speed, taking risks one at a time, and knowing how to ask for help. Some misses include trying to follow all advice, believing everything read online, being too slow to fire underperforming employees, and focusing too much on fundraising pitches. Overall, the document emphasizes the importance of customizing lessons to one's own situation and focusing on building a business incrementally through relationships rather than quick wins or transactions.

1. Entrepreneurs’ Hits & Misses – Vator Splash 2016
ARIEL POLER @ariel

2. Ariel’s Background
 Founder: IPRO (94), Topica (98) & TextMarks (06).
 Board Member: Kana, LinkExchange, Freedom Financial, Odeo,
StumbleUpon, Scan, Strava, Returnly.
 Investor: AdMob, Flixster, Slideshare, BrightRoll, Instructables,
VivaReal, Optimizely, Thumbtack, Viki, Pantheon,
ApartmentList, Kueski, Kongregate, LendingHome, NexTag,
Thync, Cornershop and more…
 Personal: From Venezuela. BS at MIT (math), MBA at Stanford.
Lives in San Francisco. Addicted to kitesurfing.

3. Miss: Trying to follow all the
advice you get
 Silicon Valley is very diverse and there are many
philosophies and approaches that co-exist here
 Context is key
 You must find the approach that works for you
 Customize learnings to your situation

4. Hit: Focus on direction &
execution over speed
 Speed is overrated!
 What good is going fast in the wrong direction?
 The better you understand where you need to go, the
faster you can move
 Move fast to determine the right direction! Then get
your execution right and step on it…
 But, never stand still!

5. Miss: Believing everything you
read in blogs and books
 Most success stories are made with 20/20 revisionist
hindsight
 It often takes time, e.g. StumbleUpon and Twitter were
not overnight successes as some people think…
 20/20 Hindsight gives great strategic vision.
Realistically, successes are built incrementally.

6. Hit: Take Risks. One at at time!
 Make big bold bets. All of the most successful
entrepreneurs do!
 Diversify over time: focusing on one thing at a time.
Don’t “hedge your bets”.
 But, it is OK to experiment with different things for a
while until you decide what you want to focus on. Just
for a while…

7. Miss: Fast to hire, slow to fire
 The moment you start thinking someone might not be
working out, they aren’t
 But letting someone go is difficult and painful for everyone,
so don’t cut corners when hiring.
 Same goes for co-founders, service providers, and others.
 Talent Over Experience
 References!!! Or better yet, a trial period.

8. Hit: Buy Yourself Time
 Always have plenty of runway – do round extensions if
necessary (and viable)
 If you can’t raise more money, cut your burn. The
earlier you do it, the less painful it will be

9. Miss: Focusing on the pitch
rather than the investor
 It is all about investor fit
 Think about dating…
 Don’t chase the metrics or the checkboxes
 And, don’t get greedy

10. Miss: trying to solve investors excuses
Most investors do deals when they get excited by them. But
they don't like to say “I am not excited", so instead they use an
easy excuses, such as:
- You are too early
- The deal is too small
- I want to see more customers/revenues/technology
Be careful about trying to solve address their excuses, because
once you do they are likely to find others. Instead, figure out
how to get them excited. Or, better yet, focus on the business.
Investors like to keep their options open.

11. Hit: Control the timing
of your financings
 Once you have one term sheet, even a crappy one from
a third rate investor, you have leverage
 Three weeks or three months? Same outcome. Give
investors a deadline! I’ve seen deals done in a week
 If you don’t have a term sheet, try to create some other
forcing function
 Avoid a permanent state of fundraising. Focus on the
business and fundraise when you are ready

12. Hit: Know how to ask for help
 We have a very supportive culture in Silicon Valley.
 Relationships rather than transactions.
 Do your homework
 The right people to talk to
 The topics you want to discuss
 Be Specific
 Add value

13. LESSONS FROM SILICON VALLEY
ARIEL POLER @ariel

14. Cool stuff in
Human Augmentation
 Neosensory -> David Eagleman’s vest
 Thync -> tDCS
 Doppler -> super hearing
 Capture emotional state -> Empatica, Sensaura, Feel,
Lightwave
 Neil Harbisson (cyborg) -> Extra senses: infra-red,
North, radar
 Better sleep: faster to sleep, more deep sleep, better
wake-up…

15. How I choose
my entrepreneurs?
 Did I have fun during the meeting?
 Do I want to have dinner with the entrepreneurs?
 Will the project have a meaningful impact?
 Is the business opportunity large enough?
 Can I help?