Entrepreneurs’ Hits & Misses – Vator Splash 2016

ARIEL POLER @ariel

Ariel’s Background Founder: IPRO (94), Topica (98) & TextMarks (06).

Board Member: Kana, LinkExchange, Freedom Financial, Odeo,

StumbleUpon, Scan, Strava, Returnly.

Investor: AdMob, Flixster, Slideshare, BrightRoll, Instructables,

VivaReal, Optimizely, Thumbtack, Viki, Pantheon,

ApartmentList, Kueski, Kongregate, LendingHome, NexTag,

Thync, Cornershop and more…

Personal: From Venezuela. BS at MIT (math), MBA at Stanford.

Lives in San Francisco. Addicted to kitesurfing.

Miss: Trying to follow all the

advice you get

Silicon Valley is very diverse and there are many

philosophies and approaches that co-exist here

Context is key

You must find the approach that works for you

Customize learnings to your situation

Hit: Focus on direction &

execution over speed

Speed is overrated!

What good is going fast in the wrong direction?

The better you understand where you need to go, the

faster you can move

Move fast to determine the right direction! Then get

your execution right and step on it…

But, never stand still!

Miss: Believing everything you

read in blogs and books

Most success stories are made with 20/20 revisionist

hindsight

It often takes time, e.g. StumbleUpon and Twitter were

not overnight successes as some people think…

20/20 Hindsight gives great strategic vision.

Realistically, successes are built incrementally.

Hit: Take Risks. One at at time!

Make big bold bets. All of the most successful

entrepreneurs do!

Diversify over time: focusing on one thing at a time.

Don’t “hedge your bets”.

But, it is OK to experiment with different things for a

while until you decide what you want to focus on. Just

for a while…

Miss: Fast to hire, slow to fire

The moment you start thinking someone might not be

working out, they aren’t

But letting someone go is difficult and painful for everyone,

so don’t cut corners when hiring.

Same goes for co-founders, service providers, and others.

Talent Over Experience

References!!! Or better yet, a trial period.

Hit: Buy Yourself Time

Always have plenty of runway – do round extensions if

necessary (and viable)

If you can’t raise more money, cut your burn. The

earlier you do it, the less painful it will be

Miss: Focusing on the pitch

rather than the investor

It is all about investor fit

Think about dating…

Don’t chase the metrics or the checkboxes

And, don’t get greedy

Miss: trying to solve investors excuses

Most investors do deals when they get excited by them. But they don't like to say “I am not excited", so instead they use an easy excuses, such as:

- You are too early- The deal is too small- I want to see more customers/revenues/technology

Be careful about trying to solve address their excuses, because once you do they are likely to find others. Instead, figure out how to get them excited. Or, better yet, focus on the business.

Investors like to keep their options open.

Hit: Control the timing

of your financings

Once you have one term sheet, even a crappy one from

a third rate investor, you have leverage

Three weeks or three months? Same outcome. Give

investors a deadline! I’ve seen deals done in a week

If you don’t have a term sheet, try to create some other

forcing function

Avoid a permanent state of fundraising. Focus on the

business and fundraise when you are ready

Hit: Know how to ask for help

We have a very supportive culture in Silicon Valley.

Relationships rather than transactions.

Do your homework

The right people to talk to

The topics you want to discuss

Be Specific

Add value

LESSONS FROM SILICON VALLEY

ARIEL POLER @ariel

Cool stuff in

Human Augmentation

Neosensory -> David Eagleman’s vest

Thync -> tDCS

Doppler -> super hearing

Capture emotional state -> Empatica, Sensaura, Feel,

Lightwave

Neil Harbisson (cyborg) -> Extra senses: infra-red,

North, radar

Better sleep: faster to sleep, more deep sleep, better

wake-up…

How I choose

my entrepreneurs?

Did I have fun during the meeting?

Do I want to have dinner with the entrepreneurs?

Will the project have a meaningful impact?

Is the business opportunity large enough?

Can I help?