The document presents a guide on launching a startup tailored for non-technical founders, focusing on alternative strategies rather than traditional approaches. It emphasizes the importance of prototyping, user engagement, and effective branding, along with actionable tips and tools at each startup stage. The presentation also includes a special offer for a free design session valued at $2,500.

1. PRESENTED BY:
Myths & Truths - Building a
Product
APRIL 29, 2015
PRESENTED BY:
PRESENTER:
JERROD BAILEY
PARTNER & PRACTICE
LEAD, TALLWAVE
NEED TITLE GRAPHIC
LAUNCHING A STARTUP LIKE A BOSS
How to Launch a Company When You’re Not a Coder

2. AGENDA
WWW.TALLWAVE.COM/SPRINGBOARD INFO@TALLWAVE.COM
● Conventional Wisdom: How Most Startups Start
● An Alternative Approach for Non-Technical
Founders
● Tips, Tricks and Tools at Each Stage
● Big Free Give-away ($2,500 value) at the End!

3. INTRODUCTION
JERROD BAILEY
Partner, Tallwave LLC
15 yr start-up operator and
enterprise. 3 start-ups, 3 exits.
Works with Tallwave portfolio and
client companies to build scalable
systems for growth (but hacks his
way to get there).
In a previous life:
● UUNET (first Tier 1 ISP), sold to
MFS for $2B
● Virtela ($70M venture backed,
sold to NTT for $520M)

4. PART 1: Conventional Wisdom
How Most Startups Start

5. Conventional Wisdom
$
$100K Bet #1: Product
Bet #2: Go-to-Market
2.0!3.0!4.0!n.0!
Product-
Market
Fit!!
Idea Scale

6. Conventional Wisdom
$
2.0!3.0!4.0!n.0!
Idea Scale
1. Pivot Certainty: 100%
2. 1,000:1 [Startups:Capital]
3. Not Viable for Non-
Technical Founders

7. Part 2: An Alternative Approach
for Any Startup but
Especially for Non-Technical Founders
Image: CandylandM
Hasbro

8. An Alternative Approach
$
Idea Scale

9. An Alternative Approach
$
Idea Scale
$
Sales &
Marketing
Website &
Brand
Software
(MVP)
Prototype
Product-
Market
Fit

10. Prototyping
$
Idea Scale
Prototype
Product-
Market
Fit

11. Prototyping
Tips, Tricks + Tools
Image: Google Ventures War Room: https://www.gv.com/lib/tour-the-google-ventures-war-room-in-san-francisco

12. Why Prototype?
1. Demonstrate your User Experience in a tangible way
for investors
for users
for developers
for yourself

13. Why Prototype?
2. Use it to raise Capital

14. Why Prototype?
3. Use it to test your assumptions with end users

15. Why Prototype?
4. Use it to decrease your development costs
(hone your MVP)

16. Why Prototype?
5. Use It to Develop Your Business Model
Your MVP Should Accomplish Each of These to Some
degree:
★ Activation (download, install, signup)
★ Engagement (daily active and monthly active
usage)
★ Retention (reason to never leave, never stop)

17. Activation > Engagement > Retention
Forget 10,000 users. Give me 100 total strangers…
If all 100 download my app (activation), use it every day
(engagement) and never leave (retention), then I have
the foundation for an amazing company.

18. Instagram’s Product-Market Fit
Activation Engagement Retention
Invitation from Friends
(social integration)
I see friends on it (social
login integration)
I see a stream of interesting
things (discovery)
I see a big button just
begging me to create my first
post (activation goal).
Creating and sharing (core
loop) is drop-dead simple
I get push notifications that
bring me back to the app
regularly
Word of Mouth is buzzing
app store photos, copy and
ratings are compelling
Saw an interesting photo
from someone on Social
Networks (social
integration)
Growing list of followers
(investment)
Regular referrals / business
from posts (income)
Personal sense of expression
(intrinsic)
Where I communicate with
my social sphere
(involvement)
Search and invite my friends
to join me (social
integration)
Virality
Core Loop
Passive Engagement

19. Prototyping: Tips, Tricks + Tools
Design Interact

20. Prototyping: Tips, Tricks + Tools
#PenBeforePixel
http://inkwell.io/
Design Thinking

21. Prototyping: Tips, Tricks + Tools
2 Week Sprint Clickable Prototype +
User Testing

22. Building Your Software
$
Idea ScaleSoftware
(MVP)
Prototype
Product-
Market
Fit

23. Building Software
Tips, Tricks + Tools

24. Rules for Building
1. Find a CTO
★ Architects the Solution
★ Helps vet the Dev partner
★ Ties the Business to the Technology
★ Can be part time. Paid or equity.

25. Rules for Building
1. Find a CTO
★ Use LinkedIn Advanced Search and Connection
Requests
★ Target the larger tech employers in town (Titles:
“Architect”, Director or Head of Development, CTO)
★ Target senior employees at app development shops

26. Rules for Building
2. Investigate Offshoring but be careful
★ Design & Test domestically
★ Multiple Pre-vetted Bids from http://www.
accelerance.com/
★ eLance and oDesk: Expect Hit & Miss
★ TopTal is a great resource for great freelance dev
talent

27. Rules for Building
3. Test New Designs/Features Constantly
★ Build Prototyping & User Testing into your Agile
Schedule
★ Find users on Craigslist, LinkedIn, Mechanical Turk,
or pull from your Beta Signups!

28. Website & Branding
$
Idea Scale
Website &
Brand
Software
(MVP)
Prototype
Product-
Market
Fit

29. Website + Branding
Tips, Tricks + Tools
Image: Triad Branding http://www.triadadvertising.com/blog/7-tips-for-successful-rebranding/

30. Rules for Branding
1. If your segment already has a leader, make a new
segment

31. Rules for Branding
2. Source and Validate Your Brand Attributes with Real
Users

32. ClueApp.com
Branding: Tips, Tricks + Tools
Before Branding:
Send Questionnaire
to Real Users
After Branding:
Test Which Attributes
They Actually See

33. Rules for Websites
1. Single-Page Website + Blog + Landing Page
Solution!
★ Creates an Online Presence
★ Establishes Basic Content Strategy (blog)
★ Provides Flexibility to Experiment w/ Campaigns
★ No Developers Needed

34. Website: Tips, Tricks + Tools
Single-Page
Website
Landing-Page
Solution

35. Website: Tips, Tricks + Tools
Single-Page
Website
Landing-Page
Solution

36. Website: Tips, Tricks + Tools
Landing-Page
Solution
● Event Pages
○ User Launches
○ Webinars
● Email Marketing Campaign
destination
● Pay-per-Click Experiments
Messaging Experiments
A/B / Multivariate Tests
● Social Media Marketing
Experiments
● Investor Landing Page
● Interest Gathering
● Lead Generation
○ Content offers
● Talent / Recruitment Pages

37. Branding: Tips, Tricks + Tools
3 Week Sprint Visual Brand, Market
Positioning

38. Sales & Marketing
$
Idea ScaleSales &
Marketing
Website &
Brand
Software
(MVP)
Prototype
Product-
Market
Fit

39. Sales & Marketing Systems
Tips, Tricks and Tools
Image: Entrepreneur.com http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226889

40. Marketing & Sales
1. Build a list of all your buyers
★ For B2B, Use LinkedIn Advanced Search +
LinkedInTool.com + SellHack to append
emails/phone numbers
★ See our Webinar on hacking LinkedIn

41. Marketing & Sales
2. Establish Your Core Marketing Tools
★ Email: Mailchimp
★ Landing Pages: Unbounce
★ Social: Bufferapp + Sniply
★ Analytics: Google Analytics

42. Marketing & Sales
3. Claim Your Social Outposts
★ There are more than you think

43. Launching Like a Boss
Pulling It All Together with a Go-to-Market

44. Preparing for Launch
1. Talk to 100 Users

45. Preparing for Launch
2. Sequence Your Next 90 Days with Parallel Efforts

46. Preparing for Launch
3. Set Up a Launch Page and Get Early Adopters
★ Try ProductHunt and Betalist and Reddit Startups,
but there are many more!
★ Try for 10 beta signups. Then 100. Then 1,000.
★ Calculate your CAC (Cost to Acquire)

47. Preparing for Launch
4. Build Contacts
★ Use LinkedIn and Twitter for Outreach:
Media
Advisors (to turn into investors)
Talent(to show investors)
Map of Early Stage Capital in the US [link]

48. Preparing for Launch
5. Plan for Closed Beta, Open Beta and Full Launch
★ Expect that Nothing Will Go as Planned
★ Don’t Set Investor Expectations for a Big, Successful
Launch

49. Preparing for Launch
Team
3rd
Parties
New
Hires
Dev
Complete!
Closed
Beta!
Big
Event!
Open
Beta!
Today

50. Preparing for Launch

51. Preparing for Launch
6. Launch Like a Boss!
★ “I knew all the rules, but the rules did not know me.
Guaranteed.” -Eddie Vedder. Guaranteed. (2007)

52. Special Offer
★ Free Design Studio from Tallwave
Half-day session with our World-class Design Team.
$2,500 value.
Ideate Your Concept and Design Your Core Loop!
Submit Here to Win!

53. PRESENTED BY:
Myths & Truths - Building a
Product
THANK YOU
PRESENTED BY:
PRESENTERS:
JERROD BAILEY
PARTNER, TALLWAVE
jerrod.bailey@tallawave.com
Myths & Truths - Building a
Product
NEED TITLE GRAPHIC
LAUNCHING A STARTUP LIKE A BOSS
How to Launch a Company When You’re Not a Coder