How to move forwardfaster, smarter

7 Myths of Business Speed

Who am I

10 Start-ups, 6 countries, 8 wins, 1 loss, 1 I am trying to figure out

Professor new product marketing (KU Leuven) and Entrepreneurship (Solvay)

Fast Bridge: I didn't have a good business idea, so I decided to help others

▫A network of people that want to help start-ups▫ I see lot's of business plans and hopeful entrepreneurs▫We work with about 1 in 40▫We don't have the right business model yet (I am open

to suggestions !)

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Pick a direction Be committed to your ideas Get cash now Get partners you can trust Make sure you are first Go as fast as you can Do more and more

And success will follow…

What you’d expect me to say about speed ..

“If things seem under control, you’re just not going fast enough.” —Mario Andretti

Wrong ....

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These are comfortable, logical ideas and what we have been

taught….

But, they are not the whole story

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IT’S NOT WHAT WE DON’T KNOW THAT

IS REALLY DANGEROUS…

IT’S WHAT WE KNOW

THAT AIN’T SO…

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Focus on needs, keep your options open

Myth:Pick a direction and stick to it.1

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Needs first, not ideas first !

Develop a solution

Find a need Find a marketIdeasFirst

SuccessRate*

5-10%

Find a needDevelop a solution

Find a marketNeedsFirst

70 %

* According to Strategyn research on outcome driven innovation…

A test... Who are these companies

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personal podcasting and sharing audio content

Answers…

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personal podcasting and sharing audio content

Paypal

Facebook

Flickr

Twitter

“If people are not buying they are not stupid… they might not want what you’re selling.”

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Don’t drink the Koolaid

Myth:Be committed to your ideas

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The biggest 2 mistakes of Entrepreneurs/ Innovators

1. Investing in the wrong business

2. Staying too long in the wrong business.. (after you should know it is time to change…)

•Lots of products only a mother could love•Think in terms of base rates: 9 out of 10

products fail•Be prepared to be wrong (more than once)

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The big innovation Paradox

Whoever Makes the Most

Mistakes WinsRichard Farson & Ralph Keyes

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Costs per stage

Ideas, screeningConcept, analysis

Prod. devel

Test mktg commercialization

The time toMake mistakes !

Budget

Time

Introduction 19

A checklist …

Talk to 20 people (that are not your friends)

If no one hates the idea, be scared

Ask people “if this fails” why would it fail (you’ll get a lot more information than asking what they think of the idea !)

Keep it simple … check do people really understand

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Stay lean, until your business model is proven

Myth:Get cash now

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You lose money

Lessons learned (the hard way)

•Way too much time spent looking for cash

•Fail fast, fail cheap•Go for cheap and easy on

the cash, prove your business then cash will come to you

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Failure is easy !!!Are you spending more time looking formoney than building your business model

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Learn to trust almost everyone

Myth:Get partners you can trust

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The facts...

• Ideas are cheap•Original ideas are rare•Great ideas are built through friction

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A question:

Is there any idea someone hasn’t talked about on the Internet

(If they haven’t talked about yours be scared… )

Innovation = Size ^ power value

Power value Cities Companies

1.3 0.7

Innovation output

1 100% 100%Size 5 690% 309%

25 4759% 952%

Innovation per person

1 100% 100%Size 5 138% 62%

25 190% 38%

Source: Geoffrey West: The surprising math of cities and corporations

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The Power Laws of Innovation

As cities grow and contactincreases… innovation increases (25 X bigger = 2X more innovative)

Why: contact increases …

As companies get biggerand have more resources… innovation falls (25 X bigger = 60% less innovative )

Why: contact decreases

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Imagine this…

BMW has some of the best designers in the world and sells their designers by the day below cost

Why: to build creativity…

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Fast seconds are also a viable option

Myth:Make sure you are first

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The glory of fast seconds …

• A fast second lets other companies innovate and experiment to create new market.

• Entry just as the dominant design is about to emerge, helps create dominant design, and uses its [size] position to capture the market

• Famous fast seconds– Desktop printers (HP)– Disposable diapers (Pampers)– Discount shopping (Walmart)– Search (Google)…

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Build in pauses and time to reflect

Myth:Go as fast as you can

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Operational speed vs. strategic speed

•A study by Economist intelligence unit 312 companies▫Go, go, go▫Companies that paused at strategic moments▫40% higher sales, 52% higher profits

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Build in tripwires to stop and think

• Set up times for decisions• Define how you will be decision before the time

comes... (1000 sales might be great, but not if you predicted 25,000)

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A detailed contract for companies setting up the installationsBuried deep “M&Ms, but no brown ones”If they found a brown M&M they wouldn’t play

Do less to do more (write a do not do list)

Myth:Do more and more

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The productivity Paradox

•Even good people, spend most their time doing the wrong things or things wrong

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Right thing Right thing

Done wrong Done Right

Wrong thing Wrong thing

Done wrong Done Right

“With so many things to do and so many great ideas… what we decide not to do is infinitely more important than what we decide to do”

– Steve Jobs

Research on innovation211 companies

Worst Avg BestTop vs. bottom

% of revenues from new products 17% 28% 47% 2.76

% of profits from new products 11% 25% 44% 4.17

% of products that meet profit targets 43% 48% 66%

1.53

Go / Kill criteria set up front 26% 57% 85% 3.28

Decisions are objective / fast based 15% 42% 57% 3.85

Decisions are made in review meetings 26% 51% 60%

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Cooper, Robert G. "Perspective: The Stage‐Gate® Idea‐to‐Launch ProcessUpdate, What's New, and NexGen Systems*." Journal of Product Innovation Management 25.3 (2008): 213-232.

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Summary

Pick a direction Focus on needs, keep your options openBe committed to your ideas Don't drink the koolaidGet cash now Stay lean, until your business model is provenGet partners you can trust Learn to trust almost everyoneMake sure you are first Fast Seconds are a not badGo as fast as you can Take some time to thinkDo more and more Do less to do more (write a do not do list)

And success will follow...