Problems all first-time entrepreneurs face. Talk given at Thiel Foundation's 20 Under 20 program, based on course corrections of the 2011 class.

1. MISTAKES YOU‟RE
ABOUT TO MAKE
Bill Hunt
bill@thomlex.com

2. Why This Talk?
Worked with 10 of the first Fellows
These are the biggest
areas of course correction
I observed.

3. DON‟T THINK SO MUCH!

4. I Want My Idea to be Perfect!
“I better dedicate lots
of time to planning
and getting it right.”
Right?

5. Plan Less, Do More
If you work everything out up front
• You will waste time
on un-important parts
• You will miss
important parts

6. Learning Loops
Reduce the time to learn by tightening loops

7. Build an MVP
Be small and focus on the real value
Focus on early adopters.
• NOT full-featured
• Potentially ugly
Remember: This is an experiment, where
the goal is to validate the
business model

8. YOU ONLY THINK YOU KNOW
WHERE YOU‟RE GOING

9. I Have a Great Idea!
“I need to hunker
down and build it.”
Right?

10. Your Idea is Only a Hypothesis
Your Idea is a first-stab at what you believe
the market needs.
Treat it like an experiment,
not a long-term plan.

11. Markets are Discovered
Typical thought process:
“I have an idea. I need to build it
and convince people to buy it.”
Reality:
A market need
exists.
You need to
discover what it is.

12. Before any human knew that
1+1=2, it was already true.
Someone didn‟t
invent addition
and convince others.
They discovered an
existing principle.

13. Your Only Goal:
Discover What the Market Needs

14. IN THE DARK

15. My Idea is Wicked Cool!
“I better keep it
a secret.”
Right?

16. Stealth is Generally Really Bad
Many first-time founders think
“If I tell people, someone will steal my idea.”
“I need to highly refine my idea or even build a complete offering
before showing the world.”
The value you gain by sharing your idea
is enormous.
The risk you take is minimal.
Getting someone to steal your idea
is really hard. Try it.

17. Get Feedback
Share your vision - keeping it secret will fail!
Speak with confidence, but be
listening for what is broken
Getting others involved gets
them engaged and makes
them part of the process

18. Talk to People that Matter
Your friends will all say you have a cool idea
Find the people that will have to pay money for your idea to
succeed
• Potential customers
• Investors
• People who have a vested interest in saying
„no‟. (or „yes‟ if you have what they need).
You need potential customers
to say something like
“If only I had the XYZ widget, I would
buy 50 today. I need a solution to my
problem and XYZ has the best/only way
to solve it.”

19. Feedback Specifics
Get real feedback!
“Would you use this?”
“Would you pay to use it?”
“What is most interesting to you?”
“What is not important to you?”
“Do you use a competitive product?”
“What do you pay?”
Bad is Good
There are bad spots in your idea.
The faster you can uncover them,
the better.

20. Trial Close Them
“If I can deliver this, would you buy it?”

21. Understand how the money flows
Which party actually has the need?
Do they have money?
How does the money
flow today?

22. Be Prepared to Change
9 of 10 Ideas are Crap – be open to change!
It‟s rare that a successful
company ends up
where it started

23. FOREVER ALONE

24. It‟s My Project!”
“I better do it all
by myself.”
Right?

25. Get a Co-founder
• Distribution of responsibilities
• Peer pressure
• Support
• Idea validation

26. Conclusion
Plan Less – Do More!
Engage Customers - Discover Your Market!
Tell Everyone Who Will Listen About Your Idea!
Get A Partner!

27. Questions?
Bill Hunt
bill@thomlex.com