Life lessons from an entrepreneur.

1. Lessons from
an
entrepreneur
Fábio Póvoa
May/14

2.  Fábio
 Lean startup
 Thoughts on being an
entrepreneur Things I know to be true
 A word on traction, scale & smart
money Q&A

3. Fábio Póvoa

4. Lean startup

5.  A document that your investors make you write
that they don’t
 A place to collect guesses
 A template for you to look like everyone else

6.  Builds increasingly false sense of
certainty
 Raise money -> now execute as
planned
 Learn the hard way that
customers … suck

7. No one – aside from VCs and the former Soviet
Union – requires 5 year plans to forecast a
series of unknowns.
Plans are generally a piece of fiction, and
conceiving them is almost always a waste of
time.

8. Business plans for startups do NOT
SURVIVE first contact with customers.
“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the
mouth”

9. Startups are not
smaller versions
of large
companies.

10. A startup is a temporary organization
designed to search for a repeatable,
scalable and profitable business
model.

11. Lean Canvas

13. “A pivot is a change in
STRATEGY without a
change in VISION.”

15. Art
and/or
method ?

16. Can entrepreneurship be
taught ?
Wrong question and mindset.

17. Entrepreneurship is so
f*** hard that it shall
be...
… learned !!

18. So you (think you) are/wannabe
an…
…
entrepreneur
?

20. Customers are not
God.
God
forgives.

26.  Solve a problem, a pain. Even
yours !
 Impact, meaningfullness
 “There’s gotta be a better way”
 Trends, technologies, changes
 Your skills + innovation +
an unmet mkt need
 Enjoy the ride

28. Solve a problem, a pain
Enjoy the ride
Impact, meaninfullness
“There’s gotta be a better way”
Trends, technologies, changes
Your skills + innovation + an unmet mkt need

38. Custom projects x scalable
prod/serv/platform
Needs -> requirement ->
common features

39. Recurring
Revenue$

40. Kiss

41. Fight for
productivity
.

51. Show up!

60. Growth f***ing matters!

66. Financing stages

68. Do you believe in
angels ?

69. You?

70. • Money
• Strategy
• industry specific knowledge
• entrepreneurial path
• product and tech expertise
• Networking
• Brand: certificate
• Leads / high level intro
• Fundraising effort

71. • Build a relationship
• Don’t ask for money: ask for hel
• Give back: dealflow
• Show traction
• Reveal strategy
• Highlight differentiation
• Send regular progress report

72. fabio@povoa.com