This document discusses lessons learned from startup failures and things that are rarely talked about regarding entrepreneurship. It notes that the main reasons startups fail are due to not finding customers or spending too much time building instead of testing ideas. It cautions that most venture capital firms and accelerators provide little value, as only a small percentage of successful companies are backed by VCs. The document also acknowledges that startup life can be miserable if it lasts too long without revenue or funding. It advocates using tools like lean methodology and business model canvases but not obsessively at the expense of testing ideas. Finally, it raises questions entrepreneurs must consider regarding business goals, markets, funding decisions, culture, and trying unconventional approaches.

1. To the designers in the room…
This presentation will
Be UGLY!
—@peignoir / Franck Nouyrigat

2. But Tailored!
And interactive
(If the gods of internet are with us!)

3. Our $970M Success story!

5. Shannon number
10
81
10
123 7 billion people
really complex game!Atoms in the known universe
Welcome to the
Entrepreneurial Game!

6. DISCLAIMER/SURVIROSHIP BIAS:
I DON’T KNOW HOW TO BUILD SUCCESSFUL STARTUPS
WITHOUT HUGE UNFAIR ADVANTAGES
(NO ONE KNOWS!)

7. THE RIGHT PEOPLE + $
NO REGULATION AT THE EARLY STAGE IMPLIES INSIDER TRADING
ADVANTAGES
UNFAIR ADVANTAGE =

8. THEREFORE

9. IF YOU GET TO CHOSE A SUPER
POWER FOR INVESTMENT AND
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
THE ONE SKILL YOU WILL NEED:
PREDICT THE FUTURE

10. My way of doing startups
• 1. Building a great team (Ex google / top dev / the best / people I
have fun working with / deeply passionate ) -> unfair advantage
• 2. Always follow natural traction (even if it goes in the wrong
direction) -> customer north
• 3. I d rather have a small piece of something big -> scale
• 5. Learn by doing the latest techno as soon as possible (AR/
Crypto) -> get a taste of the future early on
• 6. Grow great community / give forward as much as I can / trust
by default -> we’re chimpanzees :D

11. Agenda
1. Startup Crashes lessons learned
2. Things no one talks about
3. Get Real / Interactive session

12. Q&A
0 to 10 minutes
Ask questions in Chat!

13. 1. Startup Crashes lessons learned

14. Success does not mean anything if it is not
associated to a goal
In the case of Startups the goal is to have
1.A stable Business Model (BM)
2.A scalable BM
if revenue > cost we can consider the startup BM stable
Example:

15. TIME0
$1b
GRASSROOTS
CLASSIC
the .001%
REVENUE

16. DON’T LOOK AT SUCCESSES!
Since Blaise Pascal (17th century) we can apply the
scientific method to any unknown phenomenon...
When a plane crashes we don’t look back at why the other one did
not crash we focus on why the plane crashed!
Interesting enough planes rarely crash because of one reason. Rather
than that they crash because of an alignment of conditions (ie engine
failing + bad weather + pilot sleeping)
After each crash, the learnings are taken and applied to avoid them
again... WE SHOULD DO THIS WITH STARTUPS!

17. Why ice-creams fail?
Ben and Jerry’s Graveyard...

18. Why Startup Fail?
1. Steve Blank :The main reason is failure to find customers
2. Eric Ries :The main reason is spending to much time developing vs testing early
(Answer : Customer Development)
(Answer : Lean Startup Methodology)
3. Noam Wassermann : 65% of failures are due to founders drama
Other Category : Jim Collins : Separating the good from the great...
(Jim did focused on success vs failure and large corp vs startup)

19. Failure does not go away after success
TIME

21. DISCOVER
You are here ->
6 chances out of a million!

22. STARTUP=TEAM^2 * IDEA
SCALE-UP = (TEAM*IDEA)^2
CHAMPION = TEAM * IDEA^2
3 VERY DIFFERENT ANIMALS
(SEARCH ENGINE / BUSINESS MODEL / FAST CYCLE)
(SCALE ENGINE / WIN EARLY STAGE RACE)
(EXECUTE ENGINE / OPTIMIZE / STAY RELEVANT)

23. THINGS
NO ONE
TALKS ABOUT

24. 0. WE ARE IRRATIONAL
AND A SOCIAL SPECIE

25. NOW WE ARE
CONNECTED!

26. A LOT OF US!
A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES!

27. 1. WTF
MENTORS?

28. Startup Mentors are like mushrooms
Good ToxicTrippy
-Success story as a founder
-Unfair advantage provider
(best friend with Jeff Bezos…)
-Potential investor
(real $ or Bitcoin :)
-Love your idea and has all
These great ideas
-Never really created anything succesful
But was close to it when it happened :)
-Talks a lot at conferences /
Wrote a book-High Achiever in their field
(world class: NBA / Hacker…)
-Professional Mentor
-Ask for $ or Equity
-Creates Drama
-They don’t want to be mentors

29. PITCHING
= SELLING
(To mentors/Investors/employee/co founders/customers…)

30. 2. (most)VC / ACCELERATORS
ARE USELESS

31. 1500 VC firms -> 20 returns 95%!
BUT…
50%+ OF PUBLIC COMPANY WERE VC BACKED
% OF HIGH GROWTH COMPANY VC BACKED? -> 5%

32. 3. STARTUP
LIFE IS
MISERABLE
(if it last too long)

33. No one should want to be in the
Startup Phase : No $, work insane
amount of hours etc.. This is a
necessary condition not an end goal!
But yes you can and should have fun
While in it :D

34. 4. LEAN /
BM CANVAS
ARE JUST
TOOLS

35. Don’t Spend your days staring
At post-its and models and
reading 100s of Startup
Books!

36. AVOID THE HYPE
STICK TO THE FACTS!

37. PS: The odds of starting a company that achieves $100
million or more within six years are 3.5 in 10,000.
A NUMBER TO KEEP IN MIND!
There is a 6 chances out of a million to build
a billion dollar company

38. STARTUP = TEAM^2 * IDEA
THEORY TO PRACTICAL

39. 3. Getting real

40. Choices you have to make
a. Lifestyle biz?
b. Local Market?
c. How to spend $?
d. Try Crazy Things?
e. Culture?
f. Raising or not?

41. Good Luck!