Quality is secondary

Many European innovators still have a strong tendency to prioritize product quality over product marketing.  This is quite different from our US counterparts.  Probably this is because in Europe, innovation is still strongly tied to the academic world, where certainty and predictability are the desired “constants”.  In the US, it’s foremost that entrepreneurs run an “innovation business” rather than simply have an innovative idea.  In Europe, I often see new businesses grappling with the notion that – in the end – quality will prevail and in order to achieve success, they need to launch products at a highest quality level, e.g. the richest feature set.

Src

Filed under  //  Business   Startup  
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Posted 29 days ago

The value of design to startups

"Design and marketing aren't just as important as engineering: They are way more important."

  • Addictive User Experience (Design) and Scalable Distribution Methods (Marketing) are the most critical components of success in consumer Internet startups, not Pure Engineering Talent.
  • If investors don't have operational backgrounds in design, development, or marketing from proven consumer Internet companies, you probably don't want their money.

Filed under  //  Design   Startup  
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Posted 1 month ago

Mint pitch

This is pretty cool: a 2007 Mint.com pitch presentation. They got acquired by Intuit last September (Intuit indeed was mentioned as a possible exit).

(download)

Filed under  //  Mint   PDF   Pitch   Startup  
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Posted 2 months ago

Starting up Mint

The straight shot: why should you raise money, and how much?

  • Step 1: When you're ready with an Idea: Raise $100K from friends and family, and use it to build a prototype.
  • Step 2: Once the prototype is done: Raise < $1M in seed capital, and get into market with an alpha launch.
  • Step 3: After that initial launch has traction: Raise $5-10M, and use it to prove/scale the model.

Garage phase: what are the costs and milestones? (MINT's first $100K)

  • Founders: $30K/year living expenses
  • Engineering 1st hires: $30-50K/year
  • Office: $400/cube/month
  • Tech: $10K
  • Legal: Deferred payments for 0.50 - 0.75% of company

Src / Src

Filed under  //  Mint   Presentation   Startup  
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Posted 5 months ago