Startup champions Andreas Bauer and Julian Hall share 50 tips on how to start up a tech startup, based on their experience on working with many startups companies.

1. ©
Andreas
Bauer
&
Julian
Hall

2. ©
Andreas
Bauer
&
Julian
Hall
2

3. “I’m
excited
to
announce
that
we’ve
agreed
to
acquire
WhatsApp
and
that
their
entire
team
will
be
joining
us
at
Facebook.”
Mark
Zuckerberg,
February
19
at
2:16pm
near
PaloAlto,
CA,
United
States
www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10101272463589561
“WhatsApp
is
well
worth
$19
billion”
CNN
Opinion:
By
Michael
Wolf,
February
24,
2014
-­‐-­‐
Updated
1924
GMT
ediYon.cnn.com/2014/02/21/opinion/wolf-­‐facebook-­‐whatsapp/
WHAT
MAKES
WHATSAPP
SO
VALUABLE
IN
OUR
OPINION?
1. A
popular
and
easy-­‐to-­‐use
product
2. A
large
market
and
user
base
(over
450
million)
3. A
well
funded
company
4. An
outstanding
team,
with
Jan
Koum
now
joining
Facebook’s
Board
WHAT
CAN
STARTUPS
LEARN
FROM
THIS
SUCCESS
STORY?
★
EXCEL
IN
ALL
OF
THESE
FOUR
ASPECTS…

50
TIPS
©
Andreas
Bauer
&
Julian
Hall
3

4. 1. Build
it
and
they
will
come…
is
a
no
no
2. Build
only
products
that
solve
real
customer
problems
or
saYsfy
real
customer
desires
3. Don’t
underesYmate
barriers
to
adopYon
&
barriers
to
entry
in
the
marketplace…
where
the
rubber
meets
the
road
4. Achieve
first-­‐mover
advantage
and
differenYate…
but
how
5. Tame
the
Yger…
miYgate
technology
risk
and
market
risk
6. Pivot
the
product
to
stay
alive
7. Make
product
innovaYon
a
reality
8. Outsource
your
development,
…or
don’t…
it
depends
9. Don’t
give
away
equity
for
technology,
…or
should
you?
It
depends…
again
10. Go
mobile
from
day
one
11. Scale
the
business
as
soon
and
fast
as
you
can
12. Protect
your
IP
4
©
Andreas
Bauer
&
Julian
Hall

5. ©
Andreas
Bauer
&
Julian
Hall
5

6.
13. MiYgate
the
market
risk
to
avoid
the
involuntary
exit
(going
bust)
14. Pitch
your
idea
and
get
your
message
across
15. Target
your
audience
to
create
share
of
mind
and
convert
it
into
conYnuous
sales
16. Control
your
customer
acquisiYon
cost
17. Define
and
develop
your
routes
to
market
wisely
18. Learn
how
to
sell
to
the
corporate
and
SME
market
19. Use
SEO/SEM
effecYvely
20. Understand
social
media
markeYng
and
use
it
to
your
benefit
21. Make
inbound,
outbound
and
guerilla
markeYng
work
22. Use
freemium
models,
…but
only
where
they
make
sense
23. Up-­‐sell
as
much
as
possible
24. Go
and
sell
abroad,
…but
when
and
how
©
Andreas
Bauer
&
Julian
Hall
6

7. ©
Andreas
Bauer
&
Julian
Hall
7

8.
25. Understand
what
investors
are
looking
for
26. Learn
how
to
get
investment
pre
and
post-­‐revenue
27. Find
the
right
investor(s)
for
you
28. Learn
how
to
approach
angel
investors
and
VCs
29. Consider
crowd
funding
30. Develop
your
funding
roadmap…
know
how
much
money
you
should
ask
for
31. Understand
valuaYon…
know
how
much
equity
to
give
away
32. Become
investment
ready
33. Prepare
your
investment
pack
34. Prepare
your
pitch…
and
go
pitching
35. Develop
your
business
plan
36. Learn
about
metrics
and
apply
them
to
your
business
©
Andreas
Bauer
&
Julian
Hall
8

9. ©
Andreas
Bauer
&
Julian
Hall
9

10.
37. Learn
how
to
become
a
lean
startup
38. Choose
your
CEO
wisely
39. Build
a
team
with
the
right
balance
of
technical
and
business
skills
40. Hire
your
CFO
41. Akract
the
best
people
to
grow
your
team
42. Get
non-­‐execuYves
and
advisors
on
board
43. Pay
your
staff
and
give
them
equity
44. Build
a
high-­‐performing
team
45. Don’t
boil
the
ocean
46. Keep
your
team
on
track
and
get
stuff
done
47. Lead
from
the
front
and
lead
from
the
back
48. Manage
your
company
properly
©
Andreas
Bauer
&
Julian
Hall
10

11. ©
Andreas
Bauer
&
Julian
Hall

12.
49. Read
our
book
and
learn
from
others
by
Andreas
Bauer
&
Julian
Hall
available
on
Amazon
see:
www.TheIgniYonBook.com
50. Apply
lessons
learned
and
be
successful!!!
©
Andreas
Bauer
&
Julian
Hall