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Lead to Win
Lead to Win
Confessions of a Serial EntrepreneurJuly, 2009
Dave Vicary
Lead to WinSlide 2
Lessons Learned
• Don’t be afraid to fail
• Build a plan
• Adapt and execute
Lead to WinSlide 3
Don’t be Afraid to Fail
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Fear of failure•Unwillingness to try new things•Unwillingness to commit•Embracing excuses
I think I can•Embrace change/risk•Commit to a plan•Work relentlessly towards a goal
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Lead to WinSlide 4
Lessons Learned
• Don’t be afraid to fail
• Build a plan
• Adapt and execute
Lead to WinSlide 5
Build a Plan
Knowing the other and knowing oneself,
In one hundred battles no danger.
Not knowing the other and knowing oneself,
One victory for one loss.
Not knowing the other and not knowing oneself,
In every battle certain defeat– Sun Tzu – The Art of War
… AND KNOW THE TERRAIN
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats•Know yours•Know theirs
Lead to WinSlide 6
The First Company
• Nakina Systems– Founded in 2002
– VC financed
– Domain – Telecom
– Product – Multi-vendor Network Management• Price - $millions/copy
– Customers – Verizon, AT&T, Bell Canada etc.
– Competition – Equipment Vendors and in-house solutions• Price – Free
– Terrain - Tech bubble burst
WITHIN MY DOMAIN EXPERTIZE
Lead to Win
Learning - The Cost of Money
Time to ROI
Time to Market
Ret
urn
on
In
vest
men
tC
ost
of
Mo
ney
PersonalFinances
VCSoprano'sLending
Services
Friends&
Family
Angel
Government
DebtFinancing
Costs as measured by:
• Expected return
• Control of the company
Find a better way– Change the business model
– Reduce the Time to Market
– Cut the “Proof of Concept” costs
Lead to Win
The Founder’s Dilemma – VC Backed
Company Maturity
Fo
un
der
’s I
mp
ort
ance
Financing commitments:– Build a product
– Build a team
– Build a customer base
– Build revenues
– Build a business
And if you are successful
…work yourself out of a jobInitial
financing secured
Lead to Win
Learning - Geographic Perceptions
The Bay Area Startup
Business acumen – A
Technology acumen – B
The Venture Capitalist
Top Quartile
Incentive to win
Go-to-market
Prototype the concept
Market the concept
Refine the product
The Ottawa Startup
Business acumen – B
Technology acumen – A
The Venture Capitalist
Novice and unproven
Incentive not to lose
Go-to-market
Develop the product
Test/refine the product
Introduce the product
TRUE OR FALSE – PERCEPTION IS REALITY
Lead to WinSlide 10
You Couldn’t Pay Me Enough
• To build another company backed by Canadian venture capital– The money is too expensive
– Capital allocation by stage is inefficient, financings are too small
– Their contacts/relationships do not exist
– Their “help” is plentiful
• To build another Telecom company– The customer is too large
– The market development costs are too high
• To build a product with a $millions price tag– The sales cycle is to long
MYTH BUSTING – VC MONEY IS SMART MONEY
Lead to WinSlide 11
Lessons Learned
• Don’t be afraid to fail
• Build a plan
• Adapt and execute
Lead to WinSlide 12
Adapt and Execute
• Cornerstones of a business plan– You need something to sell
• A product or service
– You need someone to buy• Preferably a growing demographic
– You need a plan to market• Minimizing time to market
– You need an operating plan• Focusing on repeatability
Technology vs. Market Plan•Windows vs. Linux•Microsoft vs. Apple•Nortel vs. …
MAXIMIZE FOOTPRINT
Lead to WinSlide 13
The Current Company
• Weyes Eyes– Founded in 2008– Self financed with government and university assistance – Business model – Software as a Service– Domain – Information Technology – Video– Market – SMBs and Consumer– First product – not disclosed
• Application – security & surveillance• Price - $30/month
– Competition – Third party service providers• Price – $30/month
– Differentiation – not disclosed– Corporate focus – market introduction
• Channel Development
AND EXECUTE…