A smart start
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Transcript of A smart start
Eleven fundamental
principles for successfully
bootstrapping your
startup.
Gustaf Brandberg
@gustafbrandberg
thefutureisalreadyhere.se
The Times They
are a-Changin‘ Powered by disruptive technology
Prelude from Cuba: 1. Is it really your dreams you
are following?
2. At what price do you sell
your integrity?
El Medico – The Cubaton Story
Improve the word
through social and
commercial
entrepreneurship.”
No. 1
Get a mission.
”
markshuttleworth.com
No. 2
Build a brand.
Your brand is not about you.
It’s about your customers’ self
perception. Niche thyself.
Build a plan
• Minimum Viable Product
• Clear milestones
• Keep it simple, lean and mean
• Make it foolproof
No. 3
No. 4
Be stubborn on vision.
Be flexible on details.
”No plan of operations survies
the first encounter with the
enemy.”
-- Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
Example:
The whole business plan of Svensk
Fordonsförmedling was founded on
two main assumptions.
Both were wrong.
No. 5
Start with the customer,
work backwards from there.
IKEA:
• Children taken care of.
• Expensive things first.
• One extremely cheap
item in each department.
• A bag or carriage just
when you need it.
• A hot dog for SEK 5
when you leave.
• Generous return policy.
Think hard about all aspects
of the customer experience.
geomeer.com
eavtal.se
Digitally signed agreements
• Dramatically shorter processes.
• No snail-mails.
• No paper originals to archive.
• Less risk for fraud.
Learn to sell a € 1 coin
for € 100 or more. Always price on value and competition,
never on your own production cost.
No. 6
A better alternative for the customer
is not necessarily a cheaper alternative.
Instead, compete on:
• Customer Service
• Product / Service
• Availability
• User Experience
• ...
Green Cross Vending machines with age
control for non-prescribed
drugs that competes on
availability.
Preserve your
resources.
Be prepared
for a marathon.
No. 8
No. 9
Hate to fail.
But don’t fear it.
No. 10
Bootstrapping startups
is like Texas Hold’em
1. Only bet on the best
hands, when you are
prepared to go all the
way.
2. If you don’t know who
the loser at the table
is, then it’s you.
3. Save your chips
4. ... but sometimes you
should go all in.
5. You can bluff
sometimes
6. ... but if you do it
often, people will
learn and tell others
7. ... and it is expensive
to have your bluff
called.
kiva.org globeforum.com
No. 11
Think global.
Final words:
Start young • No big fixed expenses.
• No preconceptions of how things
”should” be.
• Lots of time to fail forward.
/ citerus.se
Exchange ideas with me on Twitter:
@gustafbrandberg
Read and comment on my blog:
thefutureisalreadyhere.se
More about my engagements:
tfiah.se/engagements
Public Domain images from Wikimedia
Commons: commons.wikimedia.org
Thanks!
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