Crash course on delivering value to a startup

Stuart Brameld (@stuartbrameld), Sub10.co and Colt Technology Services

Richard Hughes-Jones (@FireLDN), The Boss at Fire

Imperial College Business Labs 5th December 2013

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO TALK ABOUT:

The startup landscape

Observations from the startup ecosystem

Let’s talk lean!

5 things you don’t (necessarily) need for a startup

Top consulting tips

Questions before we start?

• BIS / TCIO • EIS / SEIS• Startup Loans

• BIS / TCIO • EIS / SEIS• Startup Loans

• Accelerators• Innovation teams• Entrepreneurs in

Residence / Intra- preneurship

• Accelerators• Innovation teams• Entrepreneurs in

Residence / Intra- preneurship

• Angel• VC• Corporate VC• HNWI

• Angel• VC• Corporate VC• HNWI

• Google Campus• Hub Westminster• BL-NK

• Google Campus• Hub Westminster• BL-NK

• Individuals – ‘Bootstrapped’

• Accelerators – corporate backed

• Individuals – ‘Bootstrapped’

• Accelerators – corporate backed

STARTUPS

WORKSPACES / HUBS

CORPORATES

INVESTORS

SUPPORT GOVERNMENT

• Hackthons & Startup Weekends• Pitching - Don't Me Bro• Meetups - Silicon Drinkabout• Education - General Assembly

THE STARTUP LANDSCAPE

5 OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE STARTUP ECOSYSTEM

'STARTUP' MEANS LOTS OF THINGS TO LOTS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE

• Startup V Small business

“A startup is a human institution designed to create a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty”

• Core tech startups (emphasis on disruptive business models) through to more traditional business propositions

Eric Ries, The Lean Startup

• Tip: use generic language in early conversations to get a feel for what type of ‘startup’ they are. Use the wrong language and you will lose credibility quickly!

RANGE OF AGE AND EXPERIENCE

• Generation Ys

• Established VCs and Angel Investors

• Increasing involvement of corporates and venture programmes

• Limited business experience but tremendous ambition• Utilising the accessibility of establishing a startup

• Distinct triangle / hierarchy of experience (and finance)

EXPLORING THE CORPORATE / STARTUP RELATIONSHIP

• Two worlds are colliding in a way that no one yet fully understands

• Driven by a number of factors, including:

• CSR agenda and desire to be seen to be supporting enterprise• Innovation outsourcing (IP)• The rise of intrapreneurship (what can the corporate world learn?• In professional services, desire to build relationships early

• Corporate venture• Sponsored accelerator programmes• Sponsored hackathons

• A recognition that ROI is not yet fully understood

A FOCUS ON PRODUCT

• In the tech world this is often where founders expertise lies

• Links to lean startup methodology / thinking that business is product led (driven by MVP and Customer Development)

• Be mindful that an MBAs experience is (probably) more helpful in a general business sense

BE PREPARED TO TALK TO LEAN...

... or face losing credibility!

LEAN BY EXAMPLE!

Why Lean?

• You don’t have VC funding• You don’t have Angel funding• You don’t have any funding• You don’t have any money• You need some customers• Getting customers is about execution, not about product or

engineering (mostly)

“The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else” Eric Ries

The Pirate Metrics

• Acquisition– Where users come from

• Activation– They have a happy first experience

• Retention– They come back

• Referral– They tell other people

• Revenue– You make money

Measure C

onversion

“If a metric won’t change how you behave, it’s a bad metric” Ben Yoskovitz, The Lean Entrepreneur

Targeted Marketing (Ads)

• Job Title and Function• Age Range• Skills• Interests & Groups• Gender• Marital Status• Location & Radius Targeting

Targeted Marketing (Social)

• Your competitors followers

Targeted Marketing (Social)

• Events your competitor attends

• People that attend those events

• Turn Twitter handles into Email addresses

Detailed Analytics

• Who, When, Where– Visits, Clicks, Referrals

• Interests– Click-Through & Downloads

• Engagement– Time spent on site & Bounce

• Effectiveness– Conversion & Goals

Detailed Analytics (Landing Pages)

• 2.8m emails @ $21/email = $60m donations• from £12/month

Content/Inbound Marketing

• XaaS – Everything As A Service– Whitepapers, Blogs, Tweets– Photographs, Videos– Voiceovers– Micro Tasks

User Engagement

• “if Current URL is yoursite.com/services, and visitor has already visited 3 pages, and has spent over 30 secs on the current page, and is in the UK send this message ……. ”

Real-Time Reporting

• Qualified Leads• Support response/fix times & calls• Mailchimp subscribers• SMS, Calls + Durations, & Costs• Follows, Likes & +1s• And lots more …..

“If a metric won’t change how you behave, it’s a bad metric” Ben Yoskovitz, The Lean Entrepreneur

TOP CONSULTING TIPS

Build the Trusted Advisor relationship

EARN TRUSTEARN TRUST

GIVE ADVICE EFFECTIVELYGIVE ADVICE EFFECTIVELY

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

Read the David Maister book

• Active listening with open questions – “what’s going on here?”

• Subject matter expert – credibility, trust and reliability

• Remember that the client is buying confidence not just a service – NEVER look panicked even if you are!

• Act with the upmost integrity at all times – ‘sell’ the client what they really need (and not what they don’t) and they will return

• Personality is key – need to be likeable, trust worthy whilst at the same time able to constructively challenge

• Get client’s attention with quick wins – demonstrate your capability, build the relationship and business will follow

• Sell solutions i.e. solve the clients problems or pain – more than just mentoring

• Nail down your engagement management skills – contract negotiation & writing, project planning, open communication etc

• Remember that you are the expert at what you do, but that the client is the expert at what they do – relationships should be collaborative not combative

• Appeal to basic human nature – work with a client to both arrive at the solution, rather than imposing your solution on them

5 THINGS YOU DON’T (NECESSARILY) NEED FOR A STARTUP

1. A great idea

2. Engineering/development expertise

3. Venture capital financing

4. The willingness to take risks

5. The ability to scale

QUESTIONS (AND ANSWERS)