I don’t need your money a**hole

1. I Don’t Need Your Money A**hole Chu Tzu Ming Persuasion Media www.impersuasion.com Note: Applicable for software/ web type companies only coz I know nothing much about anything else

2. Why I am Here I became moderately good at Excel after 10 years in the venture capital industry. I have scars and tattoos to share with you. I had to unlearn what I learned in the last 18 months. (Personal development BS here) I don’t want you to go through the same crap I did. “You don’t get extra points for learning things the hard way “ – Mr. Kawasaki

3. Textbook Model (Kilang Model) Write Bplan (30 pages and forecasts) Form Team What’s wrong with this? Nothing. It just doesn’t work very often. Get Funding Oh, that’s the risk inherent in early stage companies, too bad… Build Prototype Marketing The ones that succeed – know who to sell to somehow and end up doing what they did b4. Sell/Hire Sales guy RIP

4. How Things Get Screwy Investors: Buy into hype, invest into business plans, track record, greed. Have no idea how capable teams were for current project No understanding of leverage points or competitive advantage General understanding of business only – credit analysis not business analysis They don’t have visibility on when they should put more or leave. They invest in crooks Some think they can run the company. Many behave like they own the company.

5. How Things Get Screwy Founders: They don’t know what problem they’re solving, feature driven instead. (Kiasu style) They confuse a feature with a product. LACK OF FOCUS, Keep changing biz models. They don’t know if customer thinks they add value. (The “I think so” syndrome) They don’t know who’s going to buy immediately They always say I need the money first to start. Many end up getting old. Fighting with investorsFellow founders are lazy bastards/greedy/ team problem/ husband and wife/bf/gf

6. This Lean Startup* Thing… (1MSM) Evaluate Team/Equity contribution Write 2 page Bplan Form Team Small Funding/ Bootstrap/MSI Sell/Hire Sales guy Build Prototype/ MVP Repeat Orders/ Feedback VC Round: Optional Test Marketing Refining Sales Methodology Scale Note*: Eric Ries, Steve Blank’s Four Steps to the Epiphany

7. Tools & Leverage Minimum Viable Product (MVP) LAMP Unfuddle/ Github Wordpress APIs, GOOG, FB, ROR, Odesk PPC Survey monkey/Poll daddy Google Analytics/Crazy egg Website optimizer Cialdini Direct response Marketing Dan Kennedy/Joe Polish Harry Beckwith Negotiation Skills Viral Loop (Tell a friend), FB Automated Email marketing/sequences SEO/Online PR/Online PR Build Prototype Test Marketing Traffic, bootstrap FB groups, fan pages Refining Sales Methodology Scaling

8. Resources Eric Ries, Steve Blank’s blogs Quicksprout.com Viral Loop- Adam Penenberg Founders at work - Livingston Books on dealing with difficult people Praying Discipline through exercise Dave McClure’s prez on Slideshare Rework – Jason Fried/David Hansson The Web startup success guide- Bob Walsh www.impersuasion.com