- The key factors for startup success are the market, team, growth potential, cycle time, and idea, in that order. The exact idea is not as important as talking to the right customers to identify needs. - Startups should build minimal viable experiments, understand themselves best in hindsight, and identify unknown factors. Additional funding beyond experimental needs and current market size are less important. - Counterintuitively, startups should start small in big markets, spend time developing skills in their focus area, allow their vision to spread organically, and not be surprised by developments. - Current core trends include machine learning, SaaS, data sharing, connected products, and mobile apps focused on small

1. Everything I know about
How to Start a Company
Anshu Sharma, co-founder & ceo, Prekari Labs
investor in 25 startups, 2 time founder, 1 time vc, a learning machine
HIRING. 10x ENGINEERS. STEALTH.

2. Prekari Labs
We are hiring

3. What Matters Most
- Market
- Team
- Growth
- Cycle Time
- Idea
- New Technology
- Competition
Note: I wish team was #1 but its not. Go blame Marc Andreessen.

4. Principles
● Build minimal viable experiments
● Startups are best understood post facto
● Make a list of Unknowns - there are always unknowns or
it’s not a real startup

5. What does NOT matter
- Exact idea is not that important as long as you are talking to the right
customers; so pick markets over specific idea
- Funding beyond what is needed to run your experiment
- Size of the market today, this evolves

6. What is counter-intuitively true
- Start Small, in a big market
- Time rewards you - you get good at whatever you spend time on
- Initial vision compounds - people listen and compound your vision
- Surprisingly, there are no surprises

7. Core Trends
- ML
- SaaS
- Data Sharing
- Connected Products
- Mobile Apps
- SMB-ification of Apps

8. What do we know that most others don’t?
- Companies are moving a lot of data inside and outside
- Network effects in business can be as strong as consumer networks
- Veeva, G2Crowd, etc.
- Digital transformation will disrupt even more industries
- Education is ready for change and technology
- Healthcare is looking for change but may not be ready to pay

9. IDEA SELECTION

10. Select an Idea based on CONVICTION
Why now? (inspires the basic ideas)
- Tech Change
- Market Change
Why this? (basic verification used to weed out ideas)
Viable Market (TAM, Growth)
Cycle Time
Our Insight & Unique Innovation
Why us? (needed before we START)
Team Fit (will be larger if in SaaS, Security, CRM, Enterprise Apps)
Personal Passion - may be driven from customer conversations

11. “START” criteria on selected Idea
- 10+ interviews and 3-5 committed Pilot customers
- Inspire & get commitments from 1-2 engineers based on our passion
When done:
- VC conversations
- At least 1 Tier 1 VC who will help with following rounds.
- VCs who will invest based on both
- Team
- Idea and Market

12. Like How We Think. Join?
Come join us first, learn this stuff, and then do your own
Hint: We are re-thinking the data economy: Data, Privacy, Analytics
I would love to hear from you at anshu.sharma@prekarilabs.com
or find me on @, In