Startup Velocity - Challenges of Student Entrepreneurship
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Transcript of Startup Velocity - Challenges of Student Entrepreneurship
Challenges of
StudentEntrepreneurship
Sam "Frenchie" StewartCofounder www.Sapient.com.au
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Who is thisguy?
BSc(Science Informatics) French & Comp Sci. Nightfly @ 19y.o. Raised investment, went to SF &the valley. No idea what we were doing. Came home with extra drive & no money. Deferred Uni.
YBF & AC. Now Sapient. Current driver: Student entrepreneurship.
Challenge 1:Time
Management
...boring.Most important things are thoroughly boring. As a result, most people don't listen. Goal of this
talk: Hype + boring message.
Manage Distractions Militantly.Macro & micro. Social life at the pub & social life on facebook. We are the first generation to growup with push notifications. I'm not saying become a hermit, your friends are an important support
network. But consider the opportunity cost of your time. Time spent at the pub is time notworking, doublyso if you spend the next morning hungover. Choose your time according to what
you KNOW you should be doing.
Startup vs Studies.Go to class vs should I go pitch for investment for my startup. Lack of time invested in studying =>
higher failure rate.
Guess when?
Average marks/semester. Axes removed for my own self confidence. Guess when I started my firststartup? The initial dip. Rebound: I learned how to effectively manage my time & had MY
HIGHEST MARKS. The big dip is actually when I stopped managing my time effectively & letmyself get completely consumed by my startup, YBF & Work. Moral of the story: Go hard, in
moderation. Be smart about it.
Startup Studies
ANDvs
False dichotomy. Do both. Go hard, in moderation.
Solution:
Get Harvestwww.getharvest.com
Challenge 1 Time Management
Summary
Spend time on the right things.Constantly. This is something you need to constantly work on.
Go hard, in moderation.Track your time.
Challenge 2:Lack of
Experience
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
― SocratesCheesy quote
Uni has failed to prepare you.probably should say this at uni.
You are not skilledup by industry standards.
Self Doubt.Confidence is key. You need to protect your confidence. Your pyschological state is a key business
metric. People want to believe in the "proigal child" meme. Help them out.
Incredibly steep learningcurve
getting dumped into the greater population. Not classmates a free for all. 50 yrs + exp. THEONLY THING THAT MATTERS IS OUTPUT. no "Extenuating circumstances" and "supplementary
exams".
Solution:
Track YourOutput
saying "learn everything" isn't useful
justintimelearning
Challenge 2 Lack of Experience
Summary
Confidence is key.Go hard, in moderation.
Justintime learning.Track your output.
Challenge 3:Budgets
Disclaimer:
If you have 50kin the bank &can seed fundyourself, this
advice isn't for
Everyone sucks at budgets. StudentsBoring Warning. A proper budget is absolutely magical. Seriously.
You have no Δt.Most budgets advocate a saving of 10%20% of your pay check. Even a small slice will add up to
something over time. You don't have the 'over time' so you don't have that 'something'.
Solution:www.youneedabudget.com/myclass
discount
25% Discount:
Challenge 3 Budgets
Summary
Budgets are magical.Track your money.
Go hard, in moderation.
Optimism, right.
The Pros: (Many)Norisk scenario.no mortage, no kids, no house. You have nothing to lose. even if you lose it all anyway, stillgood on the CV.
Physical resilience. Long hours without it taking a toll. Grind through the tough parts. Sprint at speed during thegood parts.
Low financial requirements.No "golden handcuffs".
Safetynet: worst case scenario.Your friends/family will forgive you.
Prodigal child thing.People are impressed & want to help you.
Looks awesome on your CV.Gives you full perspective on the business.
Familiarity with new & trendy.Grown up with this, viscerally understand vs "I'll take three facebooks."
Cheesy Quotes“[Innovation] does not triumph by convincingits opponents and making them see the light,but rather because its opponents eventuallydie, and a new generation grows up that is
familiar with it” Planck
“Opportunity is missed by most people,because it is dressed up in overalls and looks
like hard work.” Edison
[email protected]: @nfFrenchie