The document provides an overview of 500 Startups, a global venture capital firm and startup accelerator. Some key points:
- 500 Startups has invested in over 1,500 companies across 50+ countries through its $250 million fund and accelerator program.
- It employs 125 people across 30 partners and 25 languages to provide startups with investment, acceleration, marketing, events, and education.
- The document discusses changes in building tech startups and venture capital investing, highlighting trends like lower startup costs, global online platforms, and the rise of seed/angel funding.
- 500 Startups' strategy involves making many small, early-stage bets and doubling down on the most promising companies to target 25-
3. Dave McClure
Founding Partner, 500 Startups
00’s & 10’s:
• VC: Founders Fund, Facebook fbFund, 500 Startups
• Angel: Mashery, Mint.com, SlideShare, Twilio, Wildfire, SendGrid
• Marketing: PayPal, Simply Hired, Mint.com, O’Reilly
80’s & 90’s:
• Entrepreneur: Aslan Computing (acq’d by Servinet/Panurgy)
• Developer: Windows / SQL DB consultant (Intel, MSFT)
• Engineer: Johns Hopkins‘88, BS Eng / Applied Math
4. [ This Talk ]
• What is 500 Startups?
• Changes in Building Tech Startups
• Changes in Venture Capital Investing
• The “Lean” Investor + Portfolio Approach
• Engineering Investor Ecosystems in Emerging Markets
• Q&A
12. 500 Startups Mission
• Provide capital, community, education
to smart people (founders, investors)
• Build functional startup ecosystems
(founders, team, angels, accelerators, VC
funds, capital, exits, liquidity, etc)
• #HFGSD: Have Fun, Get Sh*t Done.
13. [ This Talk ]
• What is 500 Startups?
• Changes in Building Tech Startups
• Changes in Venture Capital Investing
• The “Lean” Investor + Portfolio Approach
• Engineering Investor Ecosystems in Emerging Markets
• Q&A
14. Changes in Tech Startups
• LESS Capital required to build product, get to market
– Dramatically reduced cost for servers, software, bandwidth
– Funding Platforms: KickStarter, Angel List, Funders Club, etc
– Access to online platforms for 100M-1B+ consumers, smallbiz, etc
• MORE Customers via ONLINE platforms (100M+ users)
– Search (Google, Baidu)
– Social (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)
– Mobile (Apple, Android)
– E-Commerce (Amazon, PayPal, Alibaba)
– Media (YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram)
– Comm/Msgs (WeChat, WhatsApp, SnapChat, Email, Voice, SMS, etc)
• LOTS of little bets: Accelerators, Angels, Angel List, Small Exits
– Capital + Co-working + Mentoring -> Design, Data, Distribution
– “Fast, Cheap Fail”, network effects, quantitative + iterative investments
15. Before & After 2 Dot-Com Crashes
LEAN Startup: Simpler, Faster, Cheaper, Smarter
Before 2000
”Big, Fat, Dinosaur Startup”
• Sun Servers
• Oracle DB
• Exodus Hosting
• 12-24mo dev cycle
• 6-18mo sales cycle
• <100M people online
• $1-2M seed round
• $3-5M Series A
• Sand Hill Road crawl
After 2008
”Lean, Little, Cockroach Startup”
• AWS, Google, PayPal, FB, TW
• Cloud + Open Source SW
• Lean Startup / Startup Wknd
• 3-90d dev cycle
• SaaS / online sales
• >3B people online
• <$100K incub + <$1M seed
• $1-3M Series A
• Angel List global visibility
18. [ This Talk ]
• What is 500 Startups?
• Changes in Building Tech Startups
• Changes in Venture Capital Investing
• The “Lean” Investor + Portfolio Approach
• Engineering Investor Ecosystems in Emerging Markets
• Q&A
19. Industry Changes
• Financial Market Crises (2000, 2008)
• Startup Efficiency, Lean Startup Movement, Reduced Capital Costs
• Growing Market, Global Distribution Platforms, “Growth Hacking”
• Improved Monetization, Payments Infrastructure
• Developing Startup Ecosystems, Global M&A
• Micro VC: Seed Funds (ex: First Round Capital)
• Incubators & Accelerators (ex: Y Combinator, 500 Startups)
• Funding Platforms (ex: Angel List, Kickstarter)
• Global Market of Angel Investors, Accelerators, Seed Funds
more info: http://PreMoney.co
27. 500 Strategy: Lots of Little Bets*
1) make lots of little
bets on pre-traction,
early-stage startups
3) wait 5-10 years for returns:
-10-20% small exits @1-5X ($5-25M+)
-5-10% larger exits @5-20X ($25-250M+)
-1-2% unicorns @20-50X+ ($250M-1B+)
*See Peter Sims book: “Little Bets”
2) over the next five years,
double-down on top 20-30%
~500 co’s @ $100K 1st checks
100-200 co’s @ $200-500K
2nd/3rd checks
(target 25-50 exits @ $100M+)
(assume high failure rate ~50-80%)
28. [ This Talk ]
• What is 500 Startups?
• Changes in Building Tech Startups
• Changes in Venture Capital Investing
• The “Lean” Investor + Portfolio Approach
• Engineering Investor Ecosystems in Emerging Markets
• Q&A
29. Startup Investment Stages
• Concept
• Product
• Functional Prototype
• Early Users/Customers
• Other Investors
• Profitable Unit Economics?
• Scalable Cust Acquisition?
• Profitable Business
• Scalable Organization
• Exit / Liquidity?
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31. The Lean Investor
Make lots of little bets:
• Start with many small “experiments”
• Filter out failures + small wins
• Double-down on stuff that looks like it’s working
• Incubation: $0-100K (“Build & Validate Product”)
• Seed: $100K-$1M (“Test & Grow Marketing Channels””)
• Venture: $1M-$10M (“Maximize Growth & Revenue”)
32. Investment Stage #1:
Product Validation + Customer Usage
• Structure
– 1-3 founders
– $0-$100K investment
– Incubator environment: multiple peers, mentors/advisors
• Test Functional Prototype / “Minimum Viable Product” (MVP):
– Prototype->Alpha, ~3-6 months
– Develop Minimal Critical Feature Set => Get to “It Works! Someone Uses It.”
– Improve Design & Usability, Setup Conversion Metrics
– Test Small-Scale Customer Adoption (10-1000 users)
• Demonstrate Concept, Reduce Product Risk, Test Functional Use
• Develop Metrics & Filter for Possible Future Investment
33. Investment Stage #2:
Market Validation + Revenue Testing
• Structure
– 2-10 person team
– $100K-$1M investment
– Syndicate of Angel Investors / Small VC Funds
• Improve Product, Expand Customers, Test Revenue:
– Alpha->Beta, ~6-12 months
– Scale Customer Adoption => “Many People Use It, & They Pay.”
– Test Marketing Campaigns, Customer Acquisition Channels + Cost
– Test Revenue Generation, Find Profitable Customer Segments
• Prove Solution/Benefit, Assess Market Size
• Test Channel Cost, Revenue Opportunity
• Determine Org Structure, Key Hires
34. Investment Stage #3:
Revenue Validation + Growth
• Structure
– 5-25 person team
– $1M-$10M investment
– Seed & Venture Investors
• Make Money (or Go Big), Get to Sustainability:
– Beta->Production, 12-24 months
– Revenue / Growth => “We Can Make (a lot of) Money!”
– Mktg Plan => Predictable Channels / Campaigns + Budget
– Scalability & Infrastructure, Customer Service & Operations
– Connect with Distribution Partners, Expand Growth
• Prove/Expand Market, Operationalize Business
• Future Milestones: Profitable/Sustainable, Exit Options
35. [ This Talk ]
• What is 500 Startups?
• Changes in Building Tech Startups
• Changes in Venture Capital Investing
• The “Lean” Investor + Portfolio Approach
• Engineering Investor Ecosystems in Emerging Markets
• Q&A
37. We live in a World of ABUNDANCE
• There are LOTS of talented people in the world
• There are LOTS of entrepreneurs everywhere
• There is a LOT of capital sitting around, BUT….
• Not much is available for un-tested entrepreneurs :(
• 500 Startups plans to change that.
39. Who/What is an Entrepreneur?
• someone who WANTS to start a business
• someone who can RUN a business
• someone who can run a SUSTAINABLE business
• someone who can run a PROFITABLE business
that creates VALUE & employs LARGE # people
• someone who can run a $10M/yr business that
employs 100+people
41. Challenges for VCs & Angels
in Emerging Markets
• Smaller Markets than USA, UK/EU, CH/JPN
• Limited Internet / Mobile / Smartphone
• Tough Online Payments / Physical Logistics
• Small # of Early-Stage Capital / Firms
• Long Time to Exits /Liquidity (7-10 years)
• Small # IPOs (0?) / Small # Local Acquirers
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42. Solutions for VCs & Angels
in Emerging Markets
• Increase #, frequency of early-stage investors
• Increase portfolio size, Decrease check size
• Increase #, frequency of acquirers
• Fund of Funds for Countries / Regions
• Liquidity Funds for Repurchase of Series A/B
• Use of Real Estate as Hedge / Synthetic Liquidity
• Tax Incentives for Global, Local Acquirers
• Tax Incentives for Investing in Startups, Innovation
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