Do you feel like all you hear is the relentless noise of advice from everyone around you? Entrepreneurs are constantly the target of "expert" advice. How do you stay focused on what is critical to your businesses success? In this session Patrick Comer, entrepreneur and Federated Sample CEO, will discuss the value and challenges of the constant advice handed to entrepreneurs and give you the tools needed to focus on what is truly important to find success. Check out the article: http://hub.am/1m6JV5n

1. Noise Cancellation
Patrick Comer
Founder & CEO, Federated Sample
@comerpatrick

2. @comerpatrick

3. Filtering
Startup Killers
What Breeds Success
Shrinking Pie and Rising Tide
@comerpatrick

4. My Path
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2003
2004
2005
2010
2014
Carpenter / Music Teacher
Money Nexus
govWorks
Instant Gravity
Business School – Paganini Foods & Video Game Financing
iFILM
SampleCzar
OTX
Founded Federated Sample
@comerpatrick

5. Filtering
@comerpatrick

6. 1998, was a long time ago…
@comerpatrick

7. @comerpatrick

8. In 1998, noise looked like this:
@comerpatrick

9. Now, it looks like this:
@comerpatrick

10. Now, it looks like this:
@comerpatrick
Who should you
listen to?

11. You have no idea!
@comerpatrick

12. @comerpatrick

13. Worst Offenders
• Business Executives
• Lawyers
• Bankers
• I worked for Google, Facebook, etc…
@comerpatrick

14. Same goes for
entrepreneurs
@comerpatrick

15. So who should you listen to?
• Entreps who have failed
• Your spouse
• Your parents and family
@comerpatrick

16. My Path – wins and losses
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2003
2004
2005
2010
2014
Carpenter / Music Teacher
Money Nexus - BUST
govWorks – raised $65m - BUST
Instant Gravity – killed by 9/11
Business School – Paganini Foods & Video Game Financing
iFILM – WIN! Sold to Viacom for $49m
SampleCzar - BUST
OTX – WIN! Sold to Ipsos for $71m
Founded Federated Sample
@comerpatrick

17. @comerpatrick

18. Questions?
@comerpatrick

19. Startup Killers
@comerpatrick

20. This is a marathon not a sprint
@comerpatrick
Emotions
Cash

21. Got to eat
@comerpatrick

22. Survival of the prepared…
Min cash on hand
Raise at least 3x –
5x of your cash
minimum
Revenue
Costs
Cash
@comerpatrick

23. So how do you
get that cash?
@comerpatrick

24. All money comes with strings
@comerpatrick

25. VC funding is NOT a win…
@comerpatrick

26. Execute, execute, execute!
@comerpatrick

27. Questions?
@comerpatrick

28. Failure Breeds
Success
@comerpatrick

29. Takes more than 1
“You can do
it!”
“That’s OK,
try again.”
@comerpatrick

30. Doesn’t have to be your baby…
NEW CO
FAILED CO
@comerpatrick

31. Startups quickly teach
you how to execute
and “get it done
anyway”
@comerpatrick

32. A startup community is judged by
“successful failures”
@comerpatrick

33. My Path – wins and losses
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2003
2004
2005
2010
2014
Carpenter / Music Teacher
Money Nexus - BUST
govWorks – raised $65m - BUST
Instant Gravity – killed by 9/11
Business School – Paganini Foods & Video Game Financing
iFILM – WIN! Sold to Viacom for $49m
SampleCzar - BUST
OTX – WIN! Sold to Ipsos for $71m
Founded Federated Sample
@comerpatrick

34. Questions?
@comerpatrick

35. Shrinking Pie
and
Rising Tide
@comerpatrick

36. How we measure matters
How big is Los Angeles?
Greater LA
Market –
18.2M
Los Angeles
Metro –
13.0M
Los Angeles
County –
9.9M
City of Los
Angeles –
3.8M
@comerpatrick

37. Orleans Population 1840-2012
@comerpatrick

38. GNO Population 1970-2012
(in 000s)
100K higher than 1970
@comerpatrick

39. Southeast Super-Region 1970-2012
NOLA + Baton Rouge (in 000s)
Only 50K from our 2005 peek of 2.2 million
@comerpatrick

40. Back on top – Portland, Charlotte,
Orlando, San Antonio
@comerpatrick

41. REBOOTING NOLA
@comerpatrick

42. The Situation
1960
2012
Katrina
2005
Shrinking Pie Rising Tide
@comerpatrick

43. Tension
between the
old and the
new
@comerpatrick

44. Responsibility of the Entrepreneur
@comerpatrick

45. How big is the 2050 pie?
@comerpatrick

46. Ode - by Arthur O'Shaughnessy
We build up the world's great cities,
And out of a fabulous story,
We fashion an empire's glory
@comerpatrick