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?