16. TABLE OF CONTENT
"
CONCLUSION: GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL FOR STARTUPS!
"
1. ON ECOSYSTEMS"
2. BEING GLOBAL"
3. FINDING USERS"
4. RAISING MONEY"
5. ON ACCELERATORS"
6. THE CULTURAL OS"
21. ANNA KARENINA PRINCIPLE
• “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy
family is unhappy in its own way.”"
Anna Karenina, Tolstoi"
"
Also true for Startups?
• Deficiency in any one of a number of factors
dooms it to failure."
– Check your ecosystem!"
26. AND IN MY TC COLUMN
hCp://techcrunch.com/2012/09/01/ecosystem-‐101-‐the-‐six-‐necessary-‐categories-‐to-‐build-‐the-‐next-‐silicon-‐valley/
36. CASE OF CMUNE AND UBERSTRIKE
• 3D Multiplayer Shooter on Facebook"
• High tech, first in the world"
CHECK IT OUT > WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/UBERSTRIKE
37. WHAT IS THE NATIONALITY OF CMUNE?
• Team" " " "10 nationalities"
• Founders " "French + Australian"
• Investors " "Europe + US (and their LPs?)"
• Market " " "US is #1, but not "
• Company " "Based in Beijing and Berlin"
DOES NATIONALITY MATTER HERE?
42. WHEN TO EXPAND?
1. Platforms give reach (FB, Apple, Google)"
2. Users already there (best case, build on it)"
3. No choice (small home market)"
OFTEN, EXPANDING EARLY IS NOT GOOD ROI ON
MANAGEMENT BANDWIDTH (THE SCARCEST RESOURCE)
45. THE WESTERN FRONT
• Recent"
– Japan: DeNA, GREE, Rakuten"
• Casualties"
– Japan: Index, For-Side"
– Korea: Daum"
• Same mistakes as Western firms in Asia"
46. TYPICAL MISTAKES
• “Landing jet fighters in rice paddies”"
• Assuming ecosytems are similar enough"
– Payment, internet speed, devices, logisitics…"
• Ignorance of local competitors"
• Ignorance of must haves of local users"
• No autonomy to local team"
ENTERING A LARGE MARKET IS OFTEN MORE
LIKE CREATING A NEW STARTUP
47. SOME ARE GOING “UNDERCOVER”
• Tencent + Riot Games (LoL)"
– Most players probably don’t know the “new
World of Warcraft” is now a Chinese property"
• AppAnnie!
– HQ in Beijing, French CEO!"
• Dolphin Browser!
– Entire team is Chinese"
48. ALTERNATIVE: LICENSING OR LONG-TERM
• Especially suitable for Asian firms entering
Non-Western markets"
– Ecosystems closer to China’s (India, Brazil,
Indonesia, Russia)"
• Gaming companies"
– Nexon in China via licensing"
– NHN in Japan took many years"
– Chinese companies & emerging markets"
53. REALITY
1. Most great products die in oblivion"
2. Great = 10 bad then 1 good-to-great"
3. Distribution, Monetization, Funding"
54. WITH PLATFORMS
• Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon"
• eBay, Taobao, WeChat, LINE, Kakao…"
• Ideally"
– Have IP"
– Use new features"
– Have connections with platforms"
55. BY YOURSELF?
• Figure out what is left of “Viral”"
• Retention = Do Proper Cohort Analysis"
– Week-on-week growth"
– 1d, 7d, 30d retention"
– Lifetime value"
– This is VERY OFTEN DONE WRONG"
60. SO MANY REASONS TO SAY NO
1. No traction"
2. Wrong sector"
3. Not Delaware C Corp"
4. Team can’t execute"
5. Limited exit options"
6. Can’t understand you"
7. No money"
8. Don’t like or trust you"
9. Spouse against"
10. Not cool enough"
And
one
is
enough!
61. EXAMPLE: ELYSIUM SPACE
(SPACE BURIALS)
• Background"
– Space Burials"
– NASA founder"
• Fundraising"
– Pitched dozens of angels and early-stage VCs"
– VCs want TRACTION"
• Result of first round: Friends"
MY NASA FRIEND IS RAISING A ROUND FOR
HIS STARTUP. IT’S NEVER EASY.
62. GETTING ATTENTION
• ONE clear phrase about the PROBLEM"
• Your BEST FOOD FORWARD"
– TRACTION TRUMPS EVERYTHING"
– Crazy high retention?"
– Figured out viral?"
– Interviewed 100 clients?"
– Ex-Google?"
– Sold a startup?"
– Users pay?"
70. 3 TYPES OF STARTUPS?
STARS
WILL SUCCEED
REGARDLESS
?
MIGHT MAKE
IT WITH HELP
BOMB
NO AMOUNT
OF HELP WILL DO
IF YOU’RE AN INVESTOR, HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR TIME?
FINDING MORE STARS!
71. ADDED-VALUE OF ACCELERATORS
• (Money is generally small)"
• Connections " "Still your job to charm them"
• Environment " "Focus & Distraction"
• Demo Day " " "One opportunity on the road"
72. ACCELERATORS ARE SPRINTS WITHIN MARATHONS
• Market access"
• Take a long-term view"
• Do the work"
82. GET YOUR OWN GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL!
• Increase your skills (it’s a long-term
investment)!
• Understand distribution at scale (don’t let
your product die alone)"
• Figure your ecosystem strengths (and
weaknesses- and adapt to it or move)!
83. PICK WISELY, THEN WORK
“A good team in a strong market will beat
an excellent team in a bad market”!
– Song Li (ChinaHR, Zhenai.com)"
• So:"
– Pick a good market"
– Customers you love"
– Learn fast"
– Be patient"