The first in a series of lectures & workshops titled "Nuts and Bolts of doing a startup". Hosted by T2F and presented by Abdulrahman Rafiq & Danish Mun

1. Nuts & Bolts of Starting
a Company
Finding An Idea - Building A Team
by
Abdulrahman Rafiq (@arrafiq)
Danish Munir (@dtmunir)

2. Abdulrahman Rafiq
• Cisco Systems
• Inspurate Systems
• PristineSignals.com
• SARelief.com
• OPEN Silicon Valley

3. Danish Munir @

4. Why are we here?
• Because you're crazy?
• To make living
• Solve an unsolved problem
• Fulfill a passion

5. Agenda
• Finding the right startup idea
• Finding the right founding team
• Building the Product
• Raising Capital
• Building a customer base
• Scaling your business
• Navigating an exit

6. The Right Idea
• Solves an unsolved problem
• Affects a lot of people
• You have the expertise & passion for
• People are willing to pay for

7. Solves an unsolved problem
• What are you trying to change?
• What are you trying to make better?
• Does your idea meet an unmet need?
• Is it a product or service?

8. Affects a lot of people
• Who are your ideal customers?
• Are they enough of them?
• Is there an actual demand for it?

9. You have expertise & passiong for it
• Know Thy Self
o Myers-Briggs Test Indicator.
 Are you an extrovert or introvert?
 Have self awareness.
• What expertise & experience do you
have?
o Your domain knowledge
o Work experience

10. People are willing to pay for
• Are your customers willing to pay?
• Can your target be reached effectively?
• Who are your main competitors?
• What are their features/pricing models?

11. Building the right Team
• Finding the right co-founders
• Negotiating equity
• Defining goals
• Hiring your first employees

12. Building A Team: Your Co-
Founders
• Co-Founders
o Complement your skill sets
o People who won't kill each other
o Set sight on your personal & professional goals
• Types of people to avoid
o Distract-O-Matic
o Grillers
o Status Claimer
o Narcissists
o The non-learner

13. Building A Team: Neogtiating
Equity
• Fair
• Transparent
• Motivating
• Target driven

14. Building A Team: Hiring
• Hiring your first employees
o Sourcing candidates
o Interviewing
o How to figure out compensation/negotiate

15. Exercise 1
- New Ventures

16. Exercise 2
• Take 3 mins to pitch and briefly discuss
your idea to 3 people next to you
• Make mental notes their reaction
o Can you relate to this person