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Entrepreneurial Lessons Learned the Hard Way
The document provides entrepreneurial advice from Scott Adams and Sam Beal. It emphasizes making yourself valuable by combining skills, failing forward, finding action, attracting luck, conquering fear, writing simply, and learning persuasion. It also warns of needing a plan B, being too early to market, building a team rather than being a sole founder, and that good ideas alone are not enough. Validation from customers is important but tricky, and a patent does not guarantee being able to make and sell an idea. Having deep pockets, partners, patience, and filing patents early can help if the market is not ready.
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Entrepreneurial Lessons Learned the Hard Way
- 1. “The first thingyou should learn in a course on entrepreneurship is how to make yourself valuable.” • Combine Skills • Fail Forward • Find the action • Attract Luck • Conquer Fear • Write simply • Learn Persuasion Scott Adams WSJ 4/9/11
- 2. Entrepreneurial Lessons Learned BySam W. Beal SCU Apr 11, 2012 Linkedin/in/SamWBeal @sambeal Sambeal.com
- 3. “The first thingyou should learn in a course on entrepreneurship is how to make yourself valuable.” • Combine Skills • Fail Forward • Find the Action • Attract Luck • Conquer Fear • Write Simply • Learn Persuasion Scott Adams WSJ 4/9/11
- 4. Catch a paradigmshift, if you can People tend to over estimate near-term change And under estimate long-term change expectation reality entry exit
- 5. What business areyou in? Technology Products Solutions Bigger Faster Cheaper Time to Marketantifuse
- 6. Plan on needinga Plan B Don’t bet all your capital on Plan A Conserve funding until you validate assumptions with real users.
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- 8. People tend to“see” evidence that confirms beliefs but overlook what doesn’t. Does the customer refer the product to friends? Is she still using it 3 or 6 months later? Anything that takes money or attention away from your target customer is competitive. Validation is tricky
- 9. Plan B examples AOLYahoo Google Facebook ISP Search Search edu directory walled garden + Netscape sold - $$$ yahoo 2.0 ? display ad Portal verticals Plan D? adwords search + video + mobile + social walled garden the future web A B C
- 10. Can’t do PlanB, our patent is on Plan A Xilinx 2010 A patent doesn’t mean you can make it or sell it 1998
- 11. You can betoo early Right idea – Wrong time
- 12. If you aretoo early, you need Deep pockets Partners – Alliances, Evangelists Patience Patent filed in 2007 issued on 2/21/12
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- 14. Summary Good ideas aren’tenough Find a mensch Be a Samurai
- 15. Ideas, people and$$$ are not enough.
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- 17. Instagram CEO KevinSystrom @kevin was an intern under @Jack – the founder of Twitter and Square
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