This document provides an introduction and welcome from Bob Dorf to a journey to help build strong, profitable new businesses using startup tools and customer feedback. It notes that long term success in startups is very low and competition is challenging. The focus will be on finding customers before building products. Dorf shares about his experience starting 7 companies, 2 successes, investing in over 20 startups, and teaching entrepreneurship. The goal is to help reduce failure risk and support teams in building enduring companies.
1. An Introduction and WELCOME!
BOB DORF
allegedly retired serial entrepreneur
bob@kandsranch.com
www.steveblank.com
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2. WELCOME to our journey…
• To help you try to build strong, profitable new businesses
• NOT to guarantee success, but to minimize risk of failure
• …to teach you how to use “startup tools” on YOUR startup
• …get YOU “out of the building” to gain/use customer feedback
• …and to do all we can to help you WIN!
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3. This is
Damn Hard…
• Long term success rate in startups is very, very low
• It’s all about “traction…”- very hard to achieve
• Competition, investment both extremely challenging
• You will be outspent, out-engineered, outrun
• YOUR TEAM AND I will do all we can to help…
• But most of the success is on your shoulders
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4. Why are we here??
• The odds are very much against your success
• We want to reduce the risk of failure
• And provide support to help you and your team
build a strong, enduring company!
…What really matters most:
• GREAT companies with long-term potential
• Excited CUSTOMERS who tell their friends
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5. This is NOT a test…
• Customer Development is in use worldwide
• Thousands of startups use all or part of the process
• Adopted by 50+ leading Universities
• …but this is NOT a class…
• …the ONLY grade is how successful YOU are!
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6. More startups fail from
a lack of customers than from a
failure of product development
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7. Our focus is finding customers
for your product even before
you have built the product!
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9. A bit about me…
• “Unemployable” since age 22, 4 decades ago(!!)
• 7 startups: 2 homeruns, 2 base hits, 3 tax losses
• >20x startups Investor/coach: 7 IPO’s, 6 disasters
• 3 years almost living with Steve, writing, teaching
• Adjunct Professor, Columbia Business School
• 1 great kid, PhD, mom, proudest startup of all!
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12. A bit about you…
• First-time entrepreneurs?
• Engineers?
• Marketeers?
• Third startup?
• Cloners?
• “Keeping my Day Job” for now
• Ready to work 80 hours a week?
• ..for the glory?
• …for the $?
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18. There is one type of startup and
one type of entrepreneur
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19. What We Now Know:
There are many types of startups
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20. Scalable Startup
Why most of you are here today!
Search Execute
Scalable Large
Startup Company
Goal is to solve for:
unknown customer and
unknown features
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21. Scalable Startup
Search Execute
Scalable Large
Startup Company
Goal is to solve for: Exit Criteria
unknown customer and - Business model found
unknown features - Total Available Market > $500m
- Can grow to >$100m/year
- Can be Venture capital funded
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23. Lifestyle Startups
Work to Live your Passion
Startup
• Serve known customer with known product
• Work for their passion
• NOT “Mark Zuckerberg”
• YET can employ many in a very profitable
long-term enterprise
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24. Small Business Startups
Work to Feed the Family
Small
Startup
Business
• Serve known customer with
known product
• Feed the family
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25. Small Business Startups
Work to Feed the Family
Small
Startup
Business
Exit Criteria
• known customer - Business Model found
known product
- Profitable business
• Feed the family
- Existing team
< $500K in revenue
- Not venture-backable
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26. Social Entrepreneurship Startups
Social Large
Startup Non-Profit
• Solve pressing social problems
• Social Enterprise: Profitable
• Social Innovation: New Strategies
• Not venture-backable
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27. Buyable Startup
Search Sell
Scalable $2 to $50M
Startup Acquisition
Goal is to solve for: - Sell to larger company
Internet, Mobile, Gaming Apps - Angel or early stage VC
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28. :
what matters most
KNOW your GOAL at the start
SHARE it with coaches, team, investors
(it’s always easier to make it bigger later)
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46. Some Ground Rules
• Interrupt me ANYTIME
• This is HARD
– Unpredictable
– Accept and learn from failure
– All must agree we’re on a “search”
• YOU will customize our agenda as we go…using the
“Customer Development” process
• Try to generalize your issues/questions
• Please say “go faster,” “go slower,” or “wait a minute!”
• …and feel free to throw things if I don’t hear you!
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47. What’s A Startup?
Search Execute
Scalable Large
Startup Company
- Business Model found
- i.e. Product/Market fit
- Repeatable sales model
- Managers hired
A Startup is a temporary organization used to
search for a repeatable and scalable business
model
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48. Scalable Startup
Search
Scalable Large
Startup Company
Goal is to solve for:
unknown customer and unknown features
…New customers unknown in many markets
…Desired features unknown in many markets
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49. Scalable Startup
Search Execute
Scalable Large
Startup Company
Exit Criteria
- Business model found
- Total Available Market > $500m -$1B
- Can grow to $100m/year
Criteria: can it get BIG??
…not quite today…but is it on the path?
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50. Why 95+% of startups die?
• All product, no customers
• No problem
• The “lock step”
• Premature scaling
• No product/market fit
• No more dough
• …some of us will fail. Certainly it’s not YOU!
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