This presentation was delivered at Morning Startup on 25 Nov 2013. It covers principles learned through involvement in startups, and most particularly in working with a quite extraordinary mentor in Bill Daring. He had a great knack for a story, to get the best out of people and amazing vision as to the future in the digital space. I am most grateful for his friendship. The world is a more interesting place for him having been here, and I hope you enjoy the lessons he shared.

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@JUSTINKDAVIES
#SLEARND
11 PRINCIPLES STARTUPS SHOULD KNOW
FROM THE SMELL OF GOOD BUSINESS BLOG @
WWW.JUSTINDAVIES.COM.AU
DEDICATED TO BILL DARING
EMERGINATION.COM.AU
LINKEDIN.COM/IN/JUSTINKDAVIES
SLIDESHARE.COM/JUSTINKDAVIES
@JUSTINKDAVIES
Wednesday, 25 September 13

2. Wednesday, 25 September 13

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@JUSTINKDAVIES
ANCIENT HISTORY
CAN YOU REMEMBER
PRE CHROME
PRE FACEBOOK
PRE GOOGLE
PRE FIREFOX
WHERE EVERY WORD TOOK ON NEW MEANING BY ADDING “E” TO
THE FRONT OF IT
WHEN INTERNET EXPLORER WAS THE BEST BROWSER ON THE
PLANET?
WHEN EMAIL OUTSIDE OF THE ENTERPRISE WAS THE NEW FAD?
Wednesday, 25 September 13

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@JUSTINKDAVIES
MY BACKGROUND
DEGREE IN MARKETING, ENTERPRISE WORKSHOP, GAICD
ADVERTISING INDUSTRY FOR 12 YEARS (BANKWEST, ANZ,
TOWN AND COUNTRY, RACWA, BUNNINGS TREEFARMS,
JAMES HARDIE, PLUS GOVT)
STARTED E-BUSINESS CONSULTANCY KMPINTERNET.COM
4 WEEKS PRIOR TO TECH WRECK - MAJOR TURNING POINT,
AND SETUP E2B (STARTUPS EVENT) 4 WEEKS AFTER
OPENING THE DOORS
THE BUSINESS LASTED A PRETTY INTENSE 18 MONTHS - AND
IS THE SUBJECT OF THIS STORY
Wednesday, 25 September 13

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@JUSTINKDAVIES
MORE RECENTLY
RAN A SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT BUSINESS FOR 7 YEARS (THE
ONLY GUY WHO COULDN’T CODE…)
EMERGINATION FOUNDED IN 2008
STARTUPS INCLUDING GOPC, MARKIT, VIRTUAL OBSERVER
AND NOW PREZENTT
PLUS IGNITION, SYDSTART, STARTUP WEEKEND, OZAPPS, CEBIT
FOCUS ON BRINGING BUSINESSES INTO THE DIGITAL AGE, AND
ASSISTING TECH BUSINESSES GROW
WHY? WE NEED ROBUST BUSINESSES TO SUSTAIN OUR
STANDARD OF LIVING - AND TECHNOLOGY PROVIDES THE
COMPETITIVE EDGE
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@JUSTINKDAVIES
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@JUSTINKDAVIES
SHORTLY YOU WILL BECOME
UNEMPLOYABLE
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@JUSTINKDAVIES
SHORTLY YOU WILL BECOME
UNEMPLOYABLE
YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO WORK
FOR ANYONE ELSE AGAIN.
Wednesday, 25 September 13

9. Bill Daring & Justin Davies - Feb 2000
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@JUSTINKDAVIES
THE SMELL OF GOOD BUSINESS PRINCIPLES
SPINNING A PLATE
WE’LL TELL YOU AT 4PM
THE WORLD IS A WANKER
AND THE IMPLICATION OF
THAT IS?
TALK TO ME IN NUMBERS
CONFRONTING YOUR
DEMONS
HAPPINESS IS A TICKED
LIST
MANAGEMENT BY THE F
WORD
BRINGING THEM BACK IN
FROM THE LEDGE
GETTING ADVICE
YOUR TIME IS YOUR LIFE
Wednesday, 25 September 13

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@JUSTINKDAVIES
SPINNING A PLATE
ENTREPRENEURS DO WELL TO CONSIDER BUSINESS STARTUPS
LIKE SPINNING PLATES - YOU CAN KEEP A CERTAIN AMOUNT
GOING AT THE SAME TIME, AND YOU CAN’T LEAVE THEM TO FOR
TOO LONG
PERTH AGENCY - PRINCIPAL WENT TO MARGARET RIVER,
BUSINESS WENT DOWN THE TOILET
ANOTHER: BUSINESS GREW FROM 5 TO 50 AND THEN
HEMORRHAGED BACK TO 30
YOU MUST HAVE A FIRST AMONGST EQUALS
DON’T GIVE EQUITY AWAY UNLESS YOU REALLY REALLY HAVE TO
LOTS OF SMART PEOPLE WILL SAY NO.
THEY MAY BE WRONG
Wednesday, 25 September 13

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@JUSTINKDAVIES
E2B
entrepreneurs2business
the plug-in to the new e-conomy
Wednesday, 25 September 13

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@JUSTINKDAVIES
“WE’LL TELL YOU AT 4PM”
CROWD SOURCING IN THE YEAR 2000
POSTING QUESTIONS ON 100 NEWSGROUPS AND USING
SOFTWARE TO ANALYSE THE ANSWERS
CREATE A SELF DIRECTED, SELF EDUCATED MINDSET -
ALIGNED TO A COMMON GOAL => PEOPLE AND BUSINESS
ALIGNMENT = MASSIVE PERFORMANCE
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@JUSTINKDAVIES
PEOPLE RULES
NO ASSISTANTS
PAY IS MEASURED AGAINST PERFORMANCE
BONUS ALL STAFF ON GROUP PERFORMANCE
HAVE REGULAR TEAM MEETINGS
PROMOTE SELF HELP AND SURVIVAL TACTICS
DON’T HIDE THE BAD NEWS (OR THE GOOD NEWS) FROM STAFF
DO NOT TOLERATE SYSTEM ABUSE OR BULLSHIT FROM STAFF - GET
MARRIED SLOWLY AND DIVORCED QUICKLY (ALSO SEE F WORD
MANAGEMENT)
USE CONTRACT STAFF WHEREVER POSSIBLE (NO RISK, NO POLITICS, PAY
ON PERFORMANCE, NO TAXES, NO HASSLE)
Wednesday, 25 September 13

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@JUSTINKDAVIES
THE WORLD’S A WANKER
THE FURTHER UP YOU GO, THE LESS BULLSHIT YOU’LL FIND
MID LEVEL (EGO: WE DON’T NEED YOU) VS PARTNER (CLIENT
FOCUSSED: WE NEED YOU TO HELP US HIT THE GOAL)
JAN’RY, FEB’RY - IT’S GONNA BE GOOOOOD
EVERYONE SAYS THEY CAN DO IT RIGHT UP UNTIL THEY CAN’T DO IT
CULTURAL CRINGE: AUSTRALIA BEHAVES NOT AS ONE COUNTRY BUT
A COLLECTION OF CITIES THAT HATE EACH OTHER
YOU MUST PUNCH WAY ABOVE YOUR WEIGHT
YOU COMPETITORS ARE NOT THAT BRIGHT, AND ARE TYPICALLY
BURIED IN THEIR OWN CORPORATE BULLSHIT - IT BECOMES
SURPRISINGLY EASY FOR THOSE WANTING TO BE GREAT TO COMPETE
BE CONFIDENT - “I WAS WRONG ONCE…”
Wednesday, 25 September 13

16. emerginationJUDGING IS EASY, DOING IS HARD
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TOUGH CROWD!!!
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CEBIT TECHRAMP
7 PITCHES, 7 MINUTES
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@JUSTINKDAVIES
AND THE IMPLICATION OF THAT IS?
MAJOR #FLEARN
11 PRESENTATIONS IN ONE DAY
WILL NOT LEAD TO A SINGLE SALE
IF YOU DON’T LISTEN FOR CLIENT PROBLEMS
AVOID MY MISTAKE:
BUY, READ AND STUDY “SPIN SELLING FIELDBOOK”
AND “MAJOR ACCOUNT SALES” BY RACKHAM
LEARN TO MANUFACTURE MONEY
THE LEADER SHOULD SPEND AROUND 70% OF
THEIR TIME SELLING / PITCHING
BUILD A GREAT NETWORK
Wednesday, 25 September 13

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@JUSTINKDAVIES
TALK TO ME IN NUMBERS
YOU MUST BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN PLANS SIMPLY “I NEED A
NUMBER TO PUT IN THIS BOX, WHAT IS IT?”
THE BUSINESS CASES I LIKE USE PLAIN TEXT DESCRIPTIONS
WITH NUMBERS AS ASSUMPTIONS, WHICH THEN BUILD
CASHFLOWS
EG: THERE ARE 1000 BUSINESSES IN WA. 2.5% WILL BUY IN
YEAR 1, 5% IN YEAR 2
IF $BUSINESS_EXISTS =1, THEN MEASURE $CASHFLOW,
REPEAT
STARTUPS= CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR = ACQUISITION,
RETENTION, SIGNUP METRICS
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@JUSTINKDAVIES
CONFRONT YOUR DEMONS
WHAT IF I RUN OUT OF CASH? WHAT IF THE MARKET
WONT BUY? WHAT IF THERE IS A MARKET CRASH?
Wednesday, 25 September 13

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@JUSTINKDAVIES
HAPPINESS IS A TICKED LIST
MONEY DOES NOT NEED TO BE THE MOTIVATOR
TAKE TIME TO UNDERSTAND YOUR PEOPLE AND WHAT
THEY EXCEL AT - AND WHAT IS HARD WORK
NOTHING INFURIATES PEOPLE MORE THAN APPLYING
EFFORT TO DISCOVER IT WASTED OR NOT VALUED
PAINT A VISION OF THE FUTURE, AND WHAT THEY WILL
BECOME - A STRETCH THAT THEY PERHAPS CAN’T SEE,
BUT YOU CAN
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@JUSTINKDAVIES
MANAGEMENT BY THE F WORD
THERE IS A BALANCE TO BE HAD - BUT NOTHING
SHAKES PEOPLE OUT OF BEING ORDINARY LIKE BEING
HELD TO A STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE BEYOND WHAT
THEY BELIEVE THEY ARE CAPABLE OF
Wednesday, 25 September 13

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@JUSTINKDAVIES
BRINGING THEM BACK IN FROM
THE EDGE
CONSULTANTS NEED TO BE KEPT ABOUT 105-110% UTILISED
TO MAINTAIN HAPPINESS
WHEN IT GETS MUCH BEYOND THIS, YOU COULD FIND YOUR
TEAM OR CERTAIN TEAM MEMBERS LINING UP TO THROW
THEMSELVES OUT OF THE WINDOW
STARTUPS CAN BE MORE MANIC - WHICH MEANS THE
INTENSITY OF MOOD IS MORE SIGNIFICANT
THE CAUSE: EXPECTATIONS THEY HAVE SET FOR
THEMSELVES AND HURDLES THEY HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO
JUMP OVER
THIS IS WHERE REMINDING THEM HOW FAR
THEY HAVE GROWN IS IMPORTANT
Wednesday, 25 September 13

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@JUSTINKDAVIES
GETTING ADVICE
YOU WILL ALWAYS GET CONFLICTING ADVICE
MANY WHO HAVE NEVER DONE A STARTUP ARE ATTRACTED TO THE
SEXINESS OF IT - BUT DON’T PUT THEIR OWN MONEY ON THE LINE
REMEMBER HOW PEOPLE ARE REMUNERATED
HOURLY = NO INCENTIVE TO FINISH EARLY
FIXED PRICE = POSSIBLE HIGHER PROFIT FOR RISK
TRUST YOUR GUT, WHAT DOES IT SMELL LIKE TO YOU?
GETTING ADVICE
Wednesday, 25 September 13

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DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE
THAT YOU LIKE, TRUST
AND RESPECT
WARREN BUFFET
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@JUSTINKDAVIES
YOUR TIME IS YOUR LIFE
PERCEIVE WHAT TO SAY NO TO. SET BOUNDARIES
EXPRESSED DIFFERENTLY F..KING FRIGHTENING FOCUS
READ POWER OF LESS, 4 HOUR WORK WEEK, POWER OF
FOCUS, THE TIME TRAP
PEOPLE WILL ASK FOR YOUR TIME FOR FREE - YOU MAY GIVE
A DIFFERENT RESPONSE IF THEY ASKED YOU FOR $200
PAYING IT FORWARD IS ALSO A GOOD THING - WHAT IS THE
RIGHT BALANCE?
IT IS YOUR MATES AND FRIENDSHIPS THAT REALLY COUNT,
SO KEEP THINGS, PARTICULARLY EGOS, IN PERSPECTIVE
Wednesday, 25 September 13

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@JUSTINKDAVIES
GET UNIVERSAL AND
CONTEMPORARY SKILLS
SOME THINGS ARE TIMELESS
STRATEGY, TEAM BUILDING, LEADERSHIP,
NETWORKS
WHEN YOU GET LOST ALONG THE WAY, READ
DRUCKER, TSUN TSUI, AND BIOGRAPHIES -
AND LEAN ON A MENTOR / ADVISORY BOARD
SOME THINGS ARE MORE TEMPORARY
TECHNICAL PLATFORMS, FLAVOUR OF THE
MONTH IN TECH (CLOUD, MOBILE, BIG DATA)
Wednesday, 25 September 13

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STORIES ARE REMEMBERED
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@JUSTINKDAVIES
ONCE YOU’VE CRACKED IT
YOU CAN DO ANYTHING….
SO GET ON WITH IT!
GOOD LUCK!
Wednesday, 25 September 13