7 characteristics of successful startups murat aktihanoglu
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BackgroundEE Undergrad
Computer Science Graduate Degree
ERA2 sessions a year, 10 companies per session, 80 companies so far, each session 4 months, since 2011
$40,000 initial investment with potential follow-on investments ($50,000 to $250,000)
Free collaborative 10,000sf office space (includes other ERA alumni companies)
Strongest and most hands-on program with 10 Venture Partners, Lead Mentors and 250+ mentors (investors, domain experts, successful entrepreneurs and industry executives)
Free legal services, software services, hosting, flights (from American Airlines)
Biggest Demo Day in New York
Strongest post-program support and alumni network
TRAIT 1: THEY LEARN AND KNOW EVERY FRAMEWORK BUT THEY ADAPT AND IMPROVISE
There is no single algorithm/process
that works for every startup,
not even close.
Know all frameworks.
Come up with yours for your startup.
TRAIT 2: THEY PICK THE RIGHT IDEA/POSITIONING USING DATA
Create specific Landing Pages for separate targeted SEM campaigns to see conversions on how your product converts with different features, positioning.
Example: DogWalkers NYC:
Target high-end? High-touch or cost-conscious?
Create two landing pages, one for high-touch service, one for cost-effective
Run two separate SEM campaigns.
Compare conversions.
BUT you need enough data – at least 1,000 impressions.
TRAIT 3: THEY KEEP TRACK OF THEIR STARTUP USING THE RIGHT KPI
Key Performance Indicator: A number that helps you get a quick grasp of how things are going for your company.
Pick ONE KPI specific for your company, goals, nature of your product.
Examples: #Monthly Unique Visitors, #Active Users, Revenue, Engagement (#Logins/month, etc)
When things go wrong, the KPI value should change in a noticeable way.
When things go right, the KPI value should quickly improve.
Medium picked Total Time Reading instead of Monthly Unique Visitors.
Bad KPI’s for Ecommerce: # of visits, # of Page Views, Time On Site
Set up goals for this KPI for every 2 weeks.
Be disciplined, email weekly and make a dashboard for everyone in the company to see.
TRAIT 4: ONBOARDING: THEY GET THEIR USERS TO THE “AHA MOMENT” AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
AHA moment: The moment that a visitor or member actually feels the truth of your promise, and sees the obvious benefit of your product.
Facebook: Famous “7 friends in 10 days” goal.
Twitter: They know that an account that doesn’t follow anyone is kind of useless, so Twitter made following others a part of the signup/onboarding process.
TRAIT 5: THEY LEARN ANALYTICS DEEPLY AND GET SUPERPOWERS
Even if you are not technical, you should know how to use Google Analytics and MixPanelat a minimum.
Know what is your standard/expected in your industry to compare with your results.
The Growth Hacker Funnel
http://www.totango.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/2012-SaaS-Conversions-Benchmark2.pdf
TRAIT 5: THEY LEARN ANALYTICS DEEPLY AND GET SUPERPOWERS
TRAIT 6: THEY KNOW HOW THEIR PRODUCT IS DOING WITH THEIR USERS AT ALL TIMES
Net Promoter Score: %Promoters - %Detractors
Every company’s customers can be divided into three categories:
Promoters, Passives, and Detractors.
Question: How likely is it that you would recommend [company] to a friend or colleague?
Promoters (score 9-10) are loyal enthusiasts who will keep buying and refer others, fueling growth.
Passives (score 7-8) are satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who are vulnerable to competitive offerings.
Detractors (score 0-6) are unhappy customers who can damage your brand and impede growth through negative word-of-mouth.
TRAIT 7: FUNDRAISING – THEY KNOW INVESTORS INVEST IN PEOPLE, NOT DECKS, BUSINESS MODELS, IDEAS
It’s not the public markets. There is not much data. There is no algorithm for startup investing. No algorithmic investing in startups.
It all comes down to individual perception and relationships.
Be confident, know your market, be open to listening.
Build something that people want.
