Fred is a rockstar in the VC industry. He has been a board member for companies including Dailymotion, Deliveroo and PriceMinister. He’s led many rounds and observed startups from early stages to global expansion. He gives us his unique take on how to survive the critical first 24 months as a startup.

1. @fdestin
SURVIVING
YOUR FIRST
24 MONTHS
@fdestin

2. 25 Seeds, 17 Series A, 7.5BN+ in EV
10 Exits : Zoopla (seed to IPO, $3BN),
Pillpack ($1BN to AMZN),
IntegralAds ($850M to Vista),
DailyMotion, PriceMinister, KDS,
Lagoa
Upcoming:
Deliveroo, SecretEscapes, Carwow
@fdestin

4. VC
LP
C
TRACTION
TECH
TEAM

5. COMPANY RANK
INVESTMENTRETURN
PERCEIVED
ACTUAL
1
1x
5x
10x
10 20

6. UPSIDE
GLIMMER OF GREATNESS
IMPACT
CAPITAL CONCENTRATION

8. GET OUT OF THE
BUILDING
YOUR COMFORT ZONE
THE MAGIC HAPPENS HERE

9. START UP KILLERS
TALENT
TIME
CHOICES
CASH

10. DEFEAT STARTS @
HOME

11. RETHINK TIME
$$$$
Q1
RECRUIT
Q2
LAUNCH
Q3
METRICS
$
Q3
LAUNCH
Q1
REHIRE
Q2
BACKEND
$
Q3
METRICS
SERIES A
#ftw
SERIES SEED
#forsurvival
Q1
RECRUIT
Q2
LAUNCH

12. BEAT THE CRUNCH
$$$$
DEVELOP PRODUCT
$
ANGELLIST
SERIES SEED
$$
SERIES A #ftw
F&F
KICKSTARTER
CAMPAIGN
$ $

13. YOUR JOB
MAKE DECISIONS UNDER
CONDITIONS OF UNCERTAINTY
DEFINE THE MISSION
FOCUS ONLY ON THE MISSION
MOVE THE BALL DOWN THE FIELD
EVERY DAY

14. CIMITYM

15. FOCUS

16. START UP
SURVIVAL
MAKING IT THROUGH
YOUR FIRST 24 MONTHS
@fdestin
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