Keynote - The One Metric That Matters (and Other Things You Should Know About Building Startups): Gina Bianchini, Mighty Networks Building a startup is hard, so hard that it’s easy to question the sanity of those that do it -- never mind more than once. And yet, those are the people who succeed, again and again. Gina Bianchini is one of those serial entrepreneurs. Bianchini digs deep into building startups, from initial idea, to creating a lasting culture, and a real business.

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Keynote
The One Metric That Matters (and Other Things You
Should Know About Building Startups)
Gina Bianchini, Founder, Mighty Networks

2. © 2018, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
Why do it?
Irrational tendencies and finding your mission
1. Have you tried to do everything but this?
2. Can you imagine yourself doing anything else?
3. Does your logic for building a company include “wouldn’t it be fun if …?”
4. Are you clear that building a startup is irrational?

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What does the world look like when I
am successful?
The details matter
1. Rich is not an answer.
2. When you walk down the street, what is different?
3. When you enter a store, what is different?
4. When you pick up a phone, what is different?
5. When you ride on BART, what is different?

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Who are your first 20 customers?
Start small, learn, grow
1. Don’t focus on the long-term (yet), focus on the next 6 months.
2. Who occupies your first niche?
3. What will they pay for? And how much?
4. How am I going to find them (because they won’t magically find you)?
5. Why will that first group of customers buy from me?
6. Measure early and often. Course correct deliberately.
7. There is only one metric that matters – to anyone – REVENUE.

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You gotta have a hook, so what is it?
Be memorable
1. Posting your launch to Twitter and Facebook is not a strategy. Assume that
no one sees your stuff.
2. If you are not memorable in what you are doing, you will fail.
3. Find a hook, that memorable thing, that will draw in those first 20
customers.
4. Turn those early customers into your launch squad – help them to spread
the word.

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Why do it again? The founder’s rush
Yes, you are a little crazy, and that’s okay
1. Remember, this is not always fun, but there are rewards.
2. It’s the rush you get when you land those first customers.
3. It’s the pride you feel when your picture of success becomes real.
4. It’s bringing change to the people you work with, and the broader culture
of startups around you.
5. You might actually get rich.

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Q&A