This document provides advice for entrepreneurs on what starting a company is really like versus common misconceptions. It discusses that the reality is a grind with long hours spent on fundraising, recruiting, accounting, and more. Success requires traits like tenacity, resiliency, decisiveness, and an ability to pivot. The author suggests entrepreneurs take 50 coffee meetings, ship product early, and create a sense of urgency. Fundraising is also a full-time job, and it's important to meet investors early to build relationships over time. Overall, starting a company is like a roller coaster, so entrepreneurs should have fun with it and go for their ideas now rather than waiting.

1. Entrepreneurshit
The Real Story
Mark Suster
Seedcon – November 2012
@msuster

2. Me
 Software Developer
(Accenture)
 University of Chicago
alum (MBA)
 2x Startup CEO / Founder
BothSidesoftheTable 
VP Products,
Salesforce.com
 VC at GRP Partners in LA

3. So What It’s Really Like

4. What You Imagine When You Read
TechCrunch

5. What It Really Feels Like

6. How You Imagine You Might Spend Your Days

7. How You Will Actually Spend Your Days

8. Raising Money After Y Combinator

9. You Raising Money

10. Founders You Know

11. Most Founders

12. Entrepreneurshit: All Joking Aside, It’s a
Grind

13. We’re All Naked in the Mirror.
Don’t Think Everybody Else is “Killing It”

14. So What Does it Take to
Succeed?

15. Tenacity

16. Resiliency

17. Street Smarts

18. Decisiveness

19. Ability to pivot (with a small “p”)

20. Inspiration

21. Perspiration

22. Risk Tolerance

23. Attention to Detail

24. Competitiveness

25. Domain Experience

26. Technical DNA

27. Some Suggestions to Make it
Easier

28. Take 50 Coffee Meetings

29. Create a Sense of Urgency in Your Business

30. Ship Product

31. Manage What you Measure

32. Triangulate. Ask Lots of Opinions.

33. But In the End You Must
Trust Your Own Judgment

34. Solve Real Problems

35. On Fund Raising

36. You Need to Meet Investors Early

37. Otherwise They’re Just Judging Your
Presentation Skills

38. When I First Meet you, You’re a Dot

39. Over Time I Start to See a Patterns

40. And It’s OK if it’s Not Always Moving Up. I Get to
See Your Resiliency

41. ABR

42. It’s Part of the CEO’s Fulltime Job. Get
Used to It
Biz Mktg
Dev
Product
Recruiting Mgmt
HR
Raising
Customer Capital
Acctng
Tech

43. If Raising Angel / Seed, You Need an Anchor

44. If you show proof the rest usually follow

45. You Need to Create a Sense of Urgency

46. Cuz We All Still Act Like We Did in High School

47. All Too Often FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
Drives Deals

48. Too Many Entrepreneurs Try to Over Optimize
Company
Progress /
$ Valuation
Dilution
Time

49. When Markets Turn, Progress Might Not = Valuation
Company
Progress
$
Valuation
Time

50. And Some Good Companies Simply Don’t Get Funded
Company
Progress
$
Valuation Time

51. So Get As Long of a Runway as You Can
(within Reason)

52. And Finally

53. Startups Really Are Roller Coasters

54. It’s Not All Glamour But If you Love the Game
– Have Fun With It

55. There Will Never Be a Better / Easier Time to Go
For It. If Not Now, When?

56. Q&A