1. Becoming an investable startup in East Africa:
The PIVOT East Criteria
twitter: @pivoteast
website: pivoteast.com
facebook: facebook.com/pivoteast

2. A startup is an organization formed to search
for a repeatable and scalable business model
- Steve Blank
A startup is a human institution designed to
deliver a new product or service under
conditions of extreme uncertainty
- Eric Ries

3. A business model describes the
rationale of how an organization
creates, delivers, and captures value
A. Osterwalder et al.

4. Useful Reading material from Ash Maurya
practicetrumpstheory.com/2011/08/customer-development-getting-started
Problem
interviews
Solution
interviews
MVP
interviews
GET OUT OF
THE BUILDING!

6. 2014 Partners

7. But., ... to win or not may not matter much ...

8. (1) Problem and Customer Segments
○ What top customer pains have you identified?
○ What customer segments are affected by the
problem ? Early adopters identified ?
○ Is problem big enough for a viable business case?
○ $100m+ annual turnover in 5 years?

9. 2) The solution
○ How are you solving the customer's
problem?
○ What special features of the solution that
directly address the customer’s pain?
○ How can you confirm that your solution
resonates with customer’s problem
○ High-level concept pitch - ie “new product
X”: “Y for Z” eg. “MkulimaMax”: “Oracle
ERP for smart farmers”

10. (3) Revenue Streams Envisaged and Tested
○ How will you make money by providing the solution
given the nature of the current market place?
○ Have you conducted experiments to test any of the
revenue streams? if so what lessons have been
learnt so far?

11. (4) The Technological Advantage
○ Why is the technological solution and
revenue model expected to work?
○ What unique technological
approaches or platforms have you
opted for that make it workable and
scalable?

12. (5) Analysis of Competitive Landscape
○ What are the existing alternatives to
your solution? Show thorough
knowledge of competitors /
collaborators
○ What differentiates you from the
alternatives? We can - they can’t, We
can’t - they can

13. (6) Customer Acquisition & Channels
○ What customer segments are early adopters?
○ How will the customer segments become aware?
○ How will you achieve customer activation? (first
instance of gratifying experience)
○ Does product have viral characteristics?

15. (7) Team Composition & Commitment Level
○ What skills & experience does the team have?
i. Team member complementary strengths
ii. Additional skills required? self diagnosis ..
○ Commitment & motivation of the team
i. Co-founder, employee, advisory roles?
ii. Existence of founders’ agreement, vesting
schedule?

16. (8a) Market Traction and Secondary Achievements
● Growing Revenue
○ # of paying customers,
○ # Gross monthly revenue
● Growing / Sticky User-base
○ # of Downloads / Pageviews / Requests,
○ # of active / repeat users

17. (8b) Market Traction and Secondary Achievements
● Customer discovery progress
○ Prototype iterations made,
○ MVP soliciting customer insights,
○ Customer interviews made
● Intellectual Property Assets
● Key partnerships or investments secured - content,
distribution, marketing, funding etc
● Awards, accolades, media mentions earned

18. (9) Projections for Milestones and Key Metrics
How’s the roadmap for growth within the next 12
months for :-
● Revenue
● Users
● Customer discovery / development
● Key partnerships & Investments
What does it take to achieve desired milestones?

19. (10) Pitch Video
● A video (max 5 minutes) that demonstrates :-
○ Passion among founders / key employees to
pursue the startup’s mission
○ A clear call to action on what the startup is
pursuing at PIVOT East 2014 - ie Visibility,
Networks, Partners, Funding etc
Basic video quality is acceptable. Professional
shooting or editing not necessary

20. (11) Demo Video or ScreenShots
The Demo video should showcase :-
● Key features of the solution
● How intuitive the user experience is
● How well polished the user interface is

21. General Competition Notes
○ Competition portal - startups.pivoteast.com
○ Minimum number of team members is two (2)
○ Tag startup entries in a maximum of two (2)
competition categories
○ Team members to update personal profiles on
their key skills and include a LinkedIn profile

22. Recommended Reading
○ The Lean Startup - Eric Ries
○ The art of the start - Guy Kawasaki
○ Running Lean - Ash Maurya
○ The Founder’s Dilemma - Noam Wasserman
○ Brad Feld's blog - feld.com
○ The Four Steps to the Epiphany - Steve Blank
○ OnStartups.com

23. email:
info@mlab.co.ke
pivot@mlab.co.ke
twitter:
@mlabeastafrica
@pivoteast
websites:
startups.pivoteast.com
pivoteast.com
mlab.co.ke
facebook:
facebook.com/mlabeastafrica
facebook.com/pivoteast
Let mobile startups catalyse
economic growth in East Africa!