tech startup day 2015: 4 failures and 1 hit

© 2015, iText Group NV, iText Software Corp., iText Software BVBA© 2015, iText Group NV, iText Software Corp., iText Software BVBA

4 Failures and 1 HitBruno Lowagie @ Tech Startup Day, March 12, 2015


Maturity

My first experience as an entrepreneur (1982-1986)

© 2015, iText Group NV, iText Software Corp., iText Software BVBA

Tech Startup Day — Bruno Lowagie @bruno19703

Lessons learned after failure #1

Find out what people needShow people what they needYou need to scale if you want to be successful


Timing

The Belgium Applet (1996)




Technology needs time to matureIdeas need time to matureEngineers are usually bad at marketing their ideas


Market

PERL Server Pages (1998)




Perl: what we do ourselves, we do betterDon’t waste time if nobody is interestedDon’t copy what already exists (ASP, JSP)


Passion

[email protected] (2000-2002)



Lessons Learned after failure #4

It’s OK to look up to successful peopleIt’s not OK to try to copy what they doDo something you’re passionate about


Be Innovative!

Bringing PDF to the Web with iText



Fighting the FUD

Open source is not documentedThe IP of open source isn’t clearOpen source isn’t backed by a company


Focus and discipline

Book (2006), IP review (2007), Company (2008)



Lessons learned

Document your product from the startDocument your IP from the startCreate a company from the start


Be disruptive

Eventually, you’ll win…



Conclusion

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

Henry David Thoreau, “Walden; or, Life in the Woods” (1854)