1. Don‘t become an
entrepreneur
Unless you are insane
Iserlohn, December 2012

2. Who wants to start a
startup?
Or has just started?

3. manuel koelman | dutch entrepreneur | living in
cologne | currently working on getcontext.de
and MailFred.de | practical philosopher |
involved with piratesummit.com | interested in
agile, lean and productivity | business angel |
ecommerce guy | startup mentor | caotina lover
| traveler | cheese addicted | proud father

4. PIRATES
WHY I DO WHAT I DO?

5. "Entrepreneurship is
throwing yourself off a cliff
and building a plane on the
way down."
Reid Hoffman, Founder of LinkedIn

6. Are you a pirate?
That thrill of your first hire, when you’ve convinced some
other crazy soul to join you in your almost certainly
doomed project. The high from raising venture capital and
starting to see your name mentioned in the press. The
excitement of launch and…gulp…customers! and the
feeling of truly learning something useful, you’re just not
sure what it is, when the company almost inevitably
crashes and burns.
- Mike Arrington, Techcrunch

7. Who still wants to do a
startup?

8. You will fail.
I have.

9. Startup =
Experiment
Startups act in an environment of extreme uncertainty.

10. Why do startups fail?
Rarely because the product doesn’t work.
Usually because there are no customers.

11. What does failure
mean?

12. The companies I founded:
farbquadrat
talential
getContext
?

13. Failure is not the enemy.
Fear of failure is. Not learning is. And not
trying. And not listening. And…

14. ENTREPRENEURSHIP
= MONEY & STATUS
NOT.

15. Chances are you will make less
money than your friends.
Assuming your friends have “normal” jobs.

16. You get no respect.
And no fancy cars, hotels etc.

17. Get out of your
comfort zone.
Successful startups aren’t build
by fat and happy people.

18. PASSION
THE FOUNDATION.

19. Passion ≠ Market.
Just to be clear: It should be
Your Passion = Chosen Market.

20. What are you
passionate about?

21. Chances are you can
build a business around
your passion.
It may not be easy, but at least it’s fun.

22. DNA
YES, I DO BELIEVE THERE IS
SOMETHING LIKE FOUNDERS DNA.

23. Probably more accurate than you’d think.

24. Entrepreneurs are
obsessed.
It’s a survival strategy for tough times.
There will be tough times. Be prepared.

25. PARTNERS
IT‘S HARDER TO FIND A CO-FOUNDER THAN YOU THINK.

26. Picking a co-founder is like
picking a husband/wife.
A co-founder is not an employee.

27. You will fight.
Just like in a marriage.

28. Tech guy
Product guy
Sales guy
Which one are you?
In a tech startup it is a good idea to have all three of these roles (not
necessarily three different people) in the founding team.
And no, you don’t need a strategy guy nor a CFO.

29. Commitment.
Especially the founding team.
If you are not committed why would anybody else be?

30. What does
commitment mean?

31. Some – not necessarily smart – examples of commitment:
Invest your own money.
If you are stupid: Invest ALL your money.
Be scrappy with everything.
Pay your employee’s salary first.
Pay yourself what’s left: Usually nothing.
Consequently: Eat (very) cheap.
Have the team work in your apartment.
Better yet: Sleep in your office.
Don’t go on vacation for years.
Enjoy the 7-day work week.
Go networking if you are not working.

32. Your social life will be over.
Be ready to disappoint friends and family.

33. Are you
an entrepreneur?

34. Beware!
Entrepreneurship is like a drug.

35. Never ever ever ever give up.

36. Don’t stop creating.
Shutting down one idea just means you have more
time to focus on the next one.

37. Enjoy the rush.

38. ?
Any questions

39. Find me around the net Websites
@manuelkoelman www.getcontext.de
www.leanentrepreneur.com
fb.com/koelman
www.23moments.com
de.linkedin.com/in/koelman