Vc-startups.ppt
- 1. 1 Startups • startup company ("startup"): A company, partnership, or temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. – became very popular during dot-com bubble – often a company poised for rapid growth • must be able to reach many people, and make money from them – a new/small company != a startup, ... but most are – often based on technology • low cost to enter market • easy to reach many people • high risk, high reward – ... Could you make a startup??
- 2. 2 Your idea • Are you sure your idea is even any good? – Many successful ideas are "disruptive" to an existing market, or create a new market that was not seen before • example: Tivo disrupts TV market / creates DVR market • example: Facebook, Twitter disrupt online social networking • example: FourSquare creates location-based "check in" ad market – You may need to do market research to validate your idea. • assess / develop business ideas and concepts (what is it?) • assess revenue potential (can it make money?) • identify potential for growth (what is the future of the idea?)
- 3. 3 Do you own it? • You might not "own" your idea if: – the idea came from a course or project – you built it in a group (group may collectively own it) – it uses any university resources (servers, libraries, etc.) – it uses any university intellectual property • Many startups must acquire IP protection of their ideas. – Often close to 100% of the value of a startup is in its IP.
- 4. 4 A minimal startup team • A hacker – (developer, writes most of the code) • A hustler – (manager, handles business side) • A hipster – (designer) • Some teams have a few hackers instead of just one – but ignoring the other categories is perilous
- 6. 6 Prototypes • Hack out a prototype. – spend 2-10 weeks max – Investors are much more likely to fund you if you can show them some minimal initial version of your idea. • one source: hack-a-thons – Some universities run 24-hour hack-a-thons where groups build prototype apps to win prizes. – Sometimes investors or other groups watch these events and contact promising groups about turning these into startups.
- 7. 7 Iterating on a prototype • Even if started as a prototype/hack, software engineering principles are still important for a project – back-create a spec and requirements, rough feature list – set up version control repo – code review it, refactor poorly designed code – add unit tests and some system tests – daily builds and automated tests – speak to potential users, do UI/usability testing – re-examine code for security, performance, reliability, etc.
- 8. 8 Money • Do you need funding to build your prototype? – Growing a company typically requires money. – Can you afford to "bleed" till your demo hits? • Reasons you might need money: – pay core employees (devs, manager, designers) – purchase equipment (computers, servers, software, services...) – pay for licenses to use intellectual property – rent office space
- 9. 9 Angel investors • angel investor: An affluent individual who provides initial capital for a business start-up. – amount is generally smallish (~$10-30k) – gets company off the ground to prototype stage – often decided quickly and on a fairly informal proposal – angels are accredited investors to comply with SEC regulations – in US, many angels (≥40%) are in Silicon Valley • other sources: NYC, Seattle, Austin, Boston, NC Research Triangle • angels are compensated with: – ownership equity (a percentage of ownership of the company) • implies company's value (e.g. $10k for 5% stock => $200k value) – convertible debt (options to buy stock in the company later)
- 10. 10 Venture capital • venture capital ("VC"): Financial resources given to early-stage companies. – given to startups by VC firms (groups) – VC firm gets % of profits or equity (stock) – different from bank loans; does not need to be paid back • stages of VC financing: – seed funding: initial minimal funds; often given by angels – start-up: early funds from VC firm for marketing/dev – growth ("series A"): large investment ($1-2M) for preferred stock – second round: company is successful, but not profiting – expansion ("mezzanine"): $ given to a newly profitable company – exit/bridge: VC firm sells stock once company matures
- 11. 11 Getting VC • VCs won't fund just anyone. You must convince them. – have a means of contacting/meeting a VC firm – pitch your product – convince the firm that: • you have a good idea • people want it • that you have addressed a problem or need and will solve it • it is profitable • it has growth potential • you have assembled a good team to execute it • you can beat any (potential) competitors • you have legal right to produce the product (own relevant IP, etc.) • you are open to suggestions, partnership with the VC firm
- 13. 13 Other funding sources • friends and family funding ("fff"): asking friends to borrow/donate money • grants or government funding • bank loans: taking out a standard business loan to be repaid • public equity: Selling stock in the company – IPO (initial public offering) often comes after VC funding • crowd funding: Asking the public for donations – e.g. Kickstarter
- 14. 14 Startup incubators • incubator: Program designed to support successful development of startups by providing business resources. – business, marketing, and networking advice – computing resources (computers, net access, servers) – financial advisors – management teams – access to loans and banks – access to angel investors and/or venture capitalists – legal advisors (such as for intellectual property rights) – Examples: Ycombinator, Techstars
- 15. 15 Working at startup - pros • motivation – work on something you believe in • autonomy – smaller team; you get to make decisions • ownership – you may be given stock in the company • compensation (long-term) – chance to get rich if company becomes a hit • casual workplace atmosphere
- 16. 16 Working at startup - cons • compensation (short-term) – somewhat lower pay than at big company • fewer perks – less free food, games, toys • job security – company might fail • long hours – entire company's fate rests on short-term milestones; may have to work long days and/or weekends to meet them
- 17. 17 Startup failure • Up to 75% of startups fail. Why? – can't raise enough initial angel/VC funding – wasting too much money at early stages – company doesn't begin with the best people – doesn't produce something people want – hires too many people too quickly – hires the wrong people, or people with the wrong skills – doesn't produce a working product in a timely manner – not able to successfully monetize the idea – beaten out by a competitor