Presentation on lessons learned on how to build a lean startup. Tips, tricks, and tools for everyone.

1. 24 Hints to Build a
Super Lean Start-up
Dorian Selz – Squirro

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Namics (Leading CH/D Web Consultancy)

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http://www.local.ch
local.ch (local search)

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Memonic.com

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Get insights faster
Squirro is the most powerful solution for
search-based data discovery and advanced analytics.

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Squirro: A business transformation solution
Analytics
Automatically extract insights,
e.g. customer engagement
Visualization
Make your data accessible for
anyone in your organization
Cognitive
A learning system providing
relevant information in-context
Predictive
Anomaly and trend detection to
automate processes
Search
Combine all your data and
search in all your data

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The startup challenge

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A journey starts…

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§ Simple goals and a simple plan
à Focus on getting things done
§ At local.ch:
Best local search in Switzerland
§ Squirro:
Automate Data
Squirro provides the right information at the right
moment in context of your workplace – automatically.
1 - Start with a simple plan

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§ Rule 1 – Customer First, always!
§ Rule 2 – A great team is great people
§ Rule 3 – The solution is the team
§ Rule 4 – Long term over shortterminism
§ Rule 5 – And yet we count the time in months not years
§ Rule 6 – We're optimistic
§ Rule 7 – Creativity and communication are key
§ Rule 8 – Errors are ok, if...
§ Rule 9 – Getting things done
§ Rule 10 – Be nice!
2 - A few commonly shared rules

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§ Why?
à Money matters...
§ A techie is per se not credible with a
business person & vice versa
§ You need somebody to manage
the (growing) organization
§ 3a: Select intensely
(as with all appointees)
3 - Get a business person into the team

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§ Why?
à Money matters...
§ Cash is king
§ The first due diligence looms on the horizon
§ The first (tax, social security, VAT, etc.)
audit is just around the corner
§ In the end you’ll sell your business
based on Excel not on code
4 - Get a professional bookkeeper
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§ Why?
à Money matters...
§ What we put into the contract:
- Act as one team
- Pay-out if somebody leaves the team (voluntarily or not)
- Obligations (What happens to your shares if you divorce)
- Price of shares when sold internally
- Right of first refusal, pre-emptive right
- Basically it’s a prenuptial agreement ... ;-)
5 - Start with a good founding contract
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§ Your largest spending position: Hardware
à Frugality pays
§ Save on salaries:
- In case of founders funds: Already taxed money…
§ Save on equipment:
- Ikea will do,
- Standard pizza box servers, too
6 - Don‘t spend money

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§ Time is your most precious resource
à Spend time wisely
§ It’s not about control, it’s about an allocation decision of your most
precious resource
7 - Time tracking pays

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8 - Atlassian Starter Licenses
Best 10 bucks you’ll ever spend

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No upfront investment, way more flexibility
9 - Use Cloud Computing
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A call two days before the quarter ends…
10 - NEVER buy hardware at list prices

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11- Cheat a little...
(where you can get away with it)
© memonic
100 MB
1st year free
85.-
Private
Business
20 MB
150.- setup
98.-

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12- Use Virtualization
© memonic
VMware ESX is a
superb product and
is free.

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§ One single-fits-everything-system is prone to fail
à Avoid a Titanic effect
13- Split your system in blocks

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Yesterday all my backups seemed so far away…
14 - Forget tapes, do online backups

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15 - Don’t waste time on stuff that
others do much better for free or almost free...

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16 - Get early agreement, do mockups

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Before the launch that is.
17 - Do usability testing

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The truth comes out (e.g. Scrum)
18 - Consider using Agile Development
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18a – Correct errors fast

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Automated server management lets you sleep
19 - Use puppet!
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This initial additional effort means less downtime
20 - Automated testing

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21 - Catch those warning, use ELK

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22 - 80% of success is showing up

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§ A start-up experience is an expedition to unchartered territory
à Keep up good spirits
§ Apply the Stockdale Principle:
“Unwavering believe in a positive outcome
yet face the brutal facts of your current position”
23 - Learn to live with the ups and downs

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Success = HardWork * Opportunity * Luck
24 – Erfolg ist wenn harte Arbeit auf Opportunität trifft

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Thank you!

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