Presentation at Octopus Wealth event about the role of failure in business.
•
0 likes•208 views
This document discusses failure in startups and provides advice. It summarizes: 1) The author discusses his own experience failing with his startup SpeedSell, which raised less than £200k but returned nothing to investors. 2) Common mistakes that lead to failure include poor unit economics, insufficient customer lifetime value, lack of willingness to tackle hard problems, and not addressing potential issues proactively. 3) When failure is inevitable, the author advises being honest with investors and staff, trying to find jobs for staff, and paying creditors if possible to maintain honor and reputation despite failure.
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to Presentation at Octopus Wealth event about the role of failure in business.
Similar to Presentation at Octopus Wealth event about the role of failure in business. (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (11)
Presentation at Octopus Wealth event about the role of failure in business.
- 1. Failing: By an expert George Bevis
- 2. How it (nearly) never is: Tide
- 4. How it usually is: SpeedSell (2008-2011) • 150+ pitches • Total raised: <£200k • Returned to investors: £0
- 5. Why SpeedSell failed Good Customer proposition Execution Marketing / distribution Management (obvs) Bad Unit economics (Hard)
- 6. What failure looks like 1. Slow 2. Everyone takes it better than you a. Staff b. Investors c. Customers d. Partners (if they aren’t unpaid) 3. A relief
- 7. Why failure happens (mistakes you won’t make twice) • Unit economics • Customer lifetime value > 3x marketing cost • Willingness to do something hard • Management inertia • “Board already agreed X” • Insufficient paranoia • Why won’t customers like this? • Why will partnerships go wrong? • Why might this hire be wrong? • How can this stakeholder screw things up?
- 8. What to do when you’re failing • Be honest • With yourself (10% chance? 30% chance?) • (Consider insolvency obligations) • With investors: make it their problem too • Be honourable • Try to find jobs for all staff • Insist on paying all staff salaries • Pay creditors if you can (even out of own pocket) • Look for a sale
- 9. After failure happens • Well done! You got your “MBA” • Cheaper than a real MBA • Much more employable • Investors won’t mind (unless they are jerks) • No guilt (once you’re on £20k/month you’ll understand) • EIS / SEIS • Take 1-2 years, sort the bank balance, then do it again • Your reputation won’t suffer if you’ve been honourable
- 10. Questions?