to a Startup.From an idea
Stories, facts and best practices
GIULIANO IACOBELLI - @giuliano84Co-founder @stamplay
Me
Software Engineer. 28yrs old. Co-founder @Stamplay
What is a startup?
Usually it goes like.
And often seems to end like
But, guess what?
This is not reality.
9 out of 10 die
Startups are really hardand there is no secret ingredient to succeed
A good definition of startup
“A human institution designed to deliver a new product or service under conditions
of extreme uncertainty”
- Eric Ries
VISION
MISSIONand
Vision
What is gonna be?(so why we do our thing)
Vision
Chester Carlsoninvented a way to make copies of paper docs
IBM laughed at him.With Haloid created Xerox machines and today “to Xerox” is a verb.
Anatomy of a good Vision
• Short
• Easy to understand (also if arguable)
• Comes true quite fast (< 5yrs)
• Long lasting (decades)
Mission
What we do? For whom?
Mission
Wang Laboratories3 Billions in revenue in the 80s with Word processing oriented computers
Failed. Didnt foresee general purpose computers
(VC Since 1911 - 104 IPO Served)
Somthing from their Portfolio:
Something they discarded:
(VC Since 1911 - 104 IPO Served)
Startups
Everything but an exact science
“Don’t worry about failure you only have to be right once”
- Drew HoustonDropbox
Startup Myths
1. Cost nothing to build
2. Get funded with some nice slides and a lot of passion
3. It all about the idea
4. Its founders are hippie college dropouts
Myth 1
Lean or not, building something meaningful costs money and savings run out.
“Startups are cheap”
Myth 2“Make them dream you’ll get money”
You are already underestimating the number of times you will be rejected and how long it will take you to raise some funds.
Myth 3“The idea makes the difference”
Yes, a great idea with:
• a great execution,
• a great timing
• a great team
• great perseverance
Myth 4“A startupper is a hippie college dropout”
Anatomy of the average founder:
40yrs old, Married, with Children 6-10 yrs work experience. Bachelors or higher.
How to make it?
Find your product/market fit before you run out of money.
THAT’S IT.
Startup is not a linear path
..everything you think to know about your product and market
was wrong?
What if..
Burned$ 450.000.000
For smokeless cigarettes but...
Smokers dont give a f**k about smoke
Grocery home delivery within a 30-min window choosed by the customer but..
..they didnt considered that many working customers would like their groceries delivered at
home and at night.
Burned$ 800.000.000
CNET named it the largest dot-com flop in history
Burned
$ 5.000.000.000
For satellite-based phone system
that nobody wanted
Yes, satellites are that expensive..
You dont invent products. You solve problems
Setup the right milestones
1. How much you know customer’s needs?
2. Our product solve that need?
3. How much are they willing to pay for our solution?
4. How much this problem is a priority to the customer?
Customer Develoment
Customer Discovery
The lean startup circle
Get it done and get it done fast.
You’ll get plenty of doubt: analyze data
It’s all about speed and control
Business Model Canvas
Customer Segments
People and organizations addressed by our company
Customer Segments
• For whom are we creating value?
• Who are our most important customers?
Value proposition
Services and products that provides value to our customer segments
Value proposition
• Product satisfies a new need
• Product offers better perfomance
• Product is more tailor made
• Product costs less
• Product has a better design
Channels
How our company reach its customers and tell them its value proposition
Channels
• Through which Channels do our Customer Segments want to be reached?
• How are our Channels integrated?
• Which ones work best?
• Which ones are most cost-efficient?
• How are we integrating them with customer routines?
Customer Relationships
Types of relationships established between the company and customer segments
Revenue Streams
Represents the incomes of the company for every customer segment
• For what value are our customers really willing to pay?
• For what do they currently pay?
• How are they currently paying?
• How would they prefer to pay?
• How much does each stream contribute to overall revenues?
Revenue Streams
Key Resources
Strategic assets that the company need to mainatin its business model
Key Resources
• What Key Resources do our Value Propositions require?
• Our Distribution Channels?
• Customer Relationships?
• Revenue Streams?
Resources type: Physical, Intellectual, Human, Financial
Key Activities
Strategic activities to deliver the value proposition, reach customers and nurtrure
relationships.
Key Activities
• What Key Activities do our Value Propositions require?
• Our Distribution Channels?
• Customer Relationships?
• Revenue streams?
Categories: Production, Problem Solving, Platform/Network
Key Partners
Defines contractors and partners that are critics for company’s business model
Key Partners
• Who are our Key Partners?
• Who are our key suppliers?
• Which Key Resources are we acquiring from partners?
• Which Key Activities do partners perform?
Cost Structure
Where all the costs for the company in order to have its business model up and running
Cost Structure
• What are the most important costs inherent in our business model?
• Which Key Resources are most expensive?
• Which Key Activities are most expensive?
YOUR TURN?
Ask yourself
• What are the emerging trends I notice?
• What problem I solve?
• What does my product do?
• Who will buy it and why they buy it?
ENJOY THE RIDE.
http://giulianoiacobelli.com
@giuliano84
http://facebook.com/giuliano.iacobelli
Thanks.
Credits & Inspiration
• Augusto Coppola
• Tara Hunt
• Steve Blank
• Alex Osterwalder