an entrepreneurship tale - from lowly dev to funded founder and the missteps and lessons along the...
Post on 17-Oct-2014
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Background at http://rrwhite.com/an-entrepreneurship-taleTRANSCRIPT
Richard WhiteFounder, CEO
An Entrepreneurship Tale
Richard WhiteFounder, CEO
An Entrepreneurship TaleIf I Can Do It You Can Do It
Limited Life Experience+
Overgeneralization=
Advice
Paul BucheitCreator of Gmail, Co-founder of FriendFeed
my story
Market leading customer feedback & support solution
21 strong in San Francisco & Raleigh
90,000+ organizations have used us
$2M+ raised over 2 funding rounds
Tens of millions of registered users
182 people/sec see our product
Learning stuff. Having fun.
Had graduated from State school
Toiling as a developer at a local dev shop
Had never even visited Silicon Valley
Writing Java...
... to generate reports ...
... for companies that inspect urinals
Meh.
in 2005
3,000 miles
3 failed startups
Too many failed investor pitches to count
2 ex-cofounders
1 ex-girlfriend
2 months of homelessness
A lot of good stories
in between...
the startACT I
I see you’ve built a calendar. Cool!
It has a lot of functionality.
But it’s really ugly and hard to use.
I’ll fix that for you
Oh, Shit!
4 ideasACT II
AjaxScaffoldOpen Source Project
Simple Record UI
One line of Code
36K Downloads
725K Visitors
AjaxScaffoldOpen Source
Simple Record UI
One line of Code
36K Downloads
725K Visitors
The Team
AjaxScaffold
SlimTimerTime tracking for freelancers
AjaxScaffold
SlimTimerTime track for freelancers
I really hate timesheets
AjaxScaffold
SlimTimer
???
AjaxScaffold
SlimTimer
???
UserVoice
Prototype 6 weeks - December 2007
Prototype December 2007
Initial Test 1 week - December 2007
Prototype December 2007
Initial Test December 2007
Angel Funding$35K - February 2008
Prototype December 2007
Initial Test December 2007
Fool Funding$35K - February 2008
Prototype December 2007
Initial Test December 2007
Fool FundingFebruary 2008
LaunchApril 2008
Oh, Shit!
the mistressACT III
Stealth Startup
Stealth Startup
Amazing Team
Stealth Startup
Amazing Team
Raised $1MM
Stealth Startup
Amazing Team
Raised $1MM
Stealth Startup
Amazing Team
Raised $1MM
Starstruck
picture of Ron Conway / Mitch Kapor
Yes We CanACT IV
Cofounder Quits
Cofounder Quits
Girlfriend Too
Cofounder Quits
Girlfriend Too
Kinda Homeless
Cofounder Quits
Girlfriend Too
Homeless
Cofounder Quits
Girlfriend Too
Homeless
Market Not So Great
Cofounder Quits
Girlfriend Too
Homeless
Market Blows
Ahhhhh!!ACT V
I <3 Dad
I <3 Dad
Relocation
I <3 Dad
Relocation
Three’s Company
I <3 Dad
Relocation
Three’s Company
Momentum0
1750
3500
5250
7000
April May June July August September October November
Accounts - 2008
I <3 Dad
Relocation
Three’s Company
Momentum0
1750
3500
5250
7000
April May June July August September October November
Accounts - 2008
Breakthrough! Funded!$800K Seed Round - May 2009 - uservoice.com/blog/founders
the (re)startACT VI
Hiring Sucks
Founder Drama
We’re Spending What?!?
Now What?
lessons
Beware of people with all the answers
To a first-time entreprenuer everyone seems to have more experience than you but that doesn’t mean you should listen to them.
Start learning to go with your gut
Most successful people I know have never been afraid of making decisions about things they had absolutely no prior experience to prepare them for :)
Don't expect anyone to answer the hard questions for you
No MBA or expert advisor is going to drop of the sky and answer that difficult business model question for you. Make a decision. Build on it. Don’t wait for a white knight.
Be sure to check what domains you already own
I’m a dumb ass.
Market then Team then Product
You’re a creator so your tendency will be to rush into building something. Don’t **.
** but don’t write a 30 page business plan either
Be sure you love the problem you’re solving
My test: Am I helping people have more time to waste or wasting more of people’s time? YMMV
Passionate people can love all sorts of problems
More important than what you already love is finding new problems, even un-sexy problems like customer service, that you can pour yourself into.
When it comes to investors often no data is better than some data
Easier to craft a big story and not get bogged down with projections
Getting funded is a lot like losing your virginity
Except the TechCrunch article. Don’t get caught up with who’s (funding) whom. You’ll get yours.
Be sure to have a sense of urgency.
Create one if necessary. Getting outside investment, of any kind, keeps you “honest” and ensures you’ll take it things seriously.
Don’t be so fucking clever
In your product and in how you setup your company. Cleverness is the enemy of maintainability.
Be a joiner not a loner.
Going it alone is HARD. Check your ego and your “great” idea and find a good group of people to work with.
