This document summarizes a presentation on digital startups and lessons that can be applied to charities. It discusses what the presentation will and will not cover. The presentation provides examples of successful startups and their development phases. It also discusses challenges charities may face in adopting startup approaches, including culture, tools, recruitment and scaling. The presentation concludes with questions around how charities can embrace innovation and a "fail friendly" environment to develop digital projects.

1. Learning from
Alastair Macmichael
27th October 2016
Digital Startups

2. This isn’t:
airbnb
Uber
Facebook
Pinterest
Snapchat
Whatsapp
etc. etc.
What this is, what this isn’t

3. This is:
Thought provoking
Provide real life examples.
What this is, what this isn’t

4. Going back to the beginning

5. Where have I come from.
The ups and downs
The present
Brief story
Making it personal

6. Startup Shhmmartup

7. http://www.startupcommons.org/startup-development-phases.html
IDEATING
Potential scale ..
How would it
create value
Vague team
No structure or
skills
CONCEPTING
Defining vision,
mission with intial
strategy
Core co-founders
team
May be additional
skills
COMMITTING
Shared vision and
attitude. Develop
initial offering
VALIDATING
Iterating, testing
demonstrate
value/purpose.
Start to attract
attention/additio
nal resources etc
SCALING
Focus on growth,
users/customers,
market traction.
Attract additional
funding,
recruiting
ESTABLISHING
Continued
growth.
Depending on
vision/mission
continue and
maintain culture

11. • Scratch an itch
• Spot a gap
• Passion over process
• Speed over accuracy
• Co-creation over
negotiation
• Is it a big deal to fail?
Do we want to embrace the
Startup Culture?

12. What’s stopping you?
Challenges and thoughts
• Current culture inside charity
• Established procedures that
are followed just because
• Risk averse
• Skills at the right level
• …AND as you grow

13. What’s stopping you?
Challenges and thoughts
• Education of trustees
• Acceptance that some digital
projects are high risk
• Start small and work fast
• Tools (legacy)
• Ambition

20. • Founded in March 2014
• 2 Founders
• September - team of 4
• November 2014 raised
€300k funding
• December 2015 – 11
people
• Today – 40 people
France (HQ), UK, Australia
Quick history

21. Their Challenges
• Cultu
• Re
• Comm
• Tools
• Grow
• Ad
• Pi
• Data

23. Culture
• Closely aligned to vision
• Sport lovers
• Interactive
• Young
• Get stuff done
Tools
• Pretty much all SaaS
Communication
• Use company wide tools
• Weekly standup (1min each)
• Product groups
Recruitment
• Harder as they scale
• Fit with culture
• Wider skillset
requirement = less like
minded people

24. • Alway
use, o
• Look f
• Data i
and m
impor
• Open
develo
system
• Low co
Their tools (current)

25. Learning / thoughts
• Culture
• Comms
• Tools
• Process
• Data/Security
• Cyber
Information kindly provided by
Quentin Auberger
UK Director

26. Thoughts

27. • Do we have the culture and vision that we
really want?
• Could we embrace a ‘Fail Friendly
Environment’?
• How do we, as Charities, question our
internal systems?
• How do we look for efficiencies in Business
Process Automation?
• Can we trial new systems and how?
• As growth continues how do you arrange the
departments? (think Spotify)
• How do we get the most out of everybody in
everything we do?
• We are all native innovators.
Questions

28. Further resources
Inspirational cartoons from
www.gapingvoid.com
Spotify Engineering Culture
https://labs.spotify.com/2014/03/27/spotif
y-engineering-culture-part-1/
Delivering with Digital - Eduserv
(in pack)

29. Alastair Macmichael
alastair.macmichael@eduserv.org.uk
27th October 2016
Thank you

30. Visit the CharityComms website to
view slides from past events, see
what events we have coming up
and to check out what else we do:
www.charitycomms.org.uk

31. 27 October 2016
London
#charitydigital
Digital
conference