Presentation on Slush 2010 startup conference in Helsinki

1. 6 startup lessons learned(One more than promised ) Allan Martinson Managing Partner MTVP

2. Background Baltic

4. incl 12 companies invested or launched by MTVP

5. Out of 3000:

6. Only 2-3 home-runs (valuations >$1b)

7. ~15 companies with valuation potential >$100m

9. Lesson 1: It’s all about people

10. It’s all about people People, not business plans or technologies 2 founder rule (Leader & skeptic) Multi-skilled talents Values and teamwork are more important than business plan Successful companies have bias towards action

11. Lesson 2: Incubation takes years

12. Incubation takes years Most successful teams have been together 3-5 years… … working on some rubbish Phoenixes rising from ashes are possible Most successful companies are launched by people aged 30+ … … but truly disruptive companies need the young

13. Lesson 3: Why elevator pitch?

14. The What 30 seconds to tell (your mum) Who is your customer What does your company do for this customer Why are you better than competition Do the “Google test” Most great companies: Copy existing business model to new markets Seek better solution to existing problems Seek unknown solution to unknown problems Most new ideas come on cross-roads of trends and disciplines

15. Lesson 4: The art of pivot

16. The art of pivot Not a single great company follows its original business idea You shall turn back when: Your solution seeks a problem, not vice versa Nobody wants to use your product – even you You have ceased to believe into your company for >1 month Don’t be afraid of failure but try to fail fast! Importance of milestones One year, one million principle

17. Lesson 5: Need for speed

18. Need for speed A startup is a human institution designed to deliver a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty (Eric Ries) Startups, by very definition, are probabilistic Success seems intentional only in retrospective – impossible to compute Speed is the best factor to increase success rate Hunger is the best speed-boost

19. Lesson 6: Importance of right signals

20. Importance of the right signals With whom do we compare ourselves? What do our customers, investors, partners really think? Are we insiders or foreign? Nothing replaces human interaction even in internet era Silicon Valley is the focal point of information, emotions and ideas Finnish (or Estonian) references are wrong and negative information It is not only place. It is mental state Go West.

21. Extra free lesson: pick the right investors

22. Thank you! allan.martinson@mtvp.eu