The Art of the Start

The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything

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Guy Kawasaki

Notes

GIST – Great Ideas for Starting Things

  1. Make Meaning
  2. Make Mantra
  3. Get Going
  4. Define Your Business Model
  5. Weave a MAT
    • Milestones
    • Assumptions
    • Tasks

Mantra – a sacred verbal formula repeated in prayer, meditation, or incantation, such as an invocation of a god, a magic spell, or a syllable or portion of scripture containing mystical potentialities.

  • Authentic Athletic Performance – Nike
  • Fun Family Entertainment – Disney
  • Rewarding Everyday Moments – Starbucks
  • Think – IBM
  • Winning is Everything – Lombardi

Major tasks to focus on:

  • renting office space
  • finding key vendors
  • setting up accounting and payroll systems
  • filing legal documents
  • purchasing insurance policies

Observe the 10/20/30 rule:

  • 10 slides maximum
  • 20 minutes maximum
  • 30 pt font text minimum

Pitch types:

  • Title
  • Problem
  • Solution
  • Business model
  • Underlying magic
  • Marketing and sales
  • Competition
  • Management team
  • Financial Projections and Key Metrics
  • Current Status
    1. Title
    2. Problem
    3. Solution
    4. Sales Model
    5. Technology
    6. Demo
    7. Competitive Analysis
    8. Management Team
    9. Next Steps/Call to Action
    1. Title
    2. Problem
    3. Solution
    4. Partnership Model
    5. Underlying Magic
    6. Demo
    7. Competition
    8. Management Team
    9. Next Steps

(When presenting) you should start off by asking these 3 questions:

  1. How much of your time may I have?
  2. What are the 3 most important things I can communicate to you?
  3. May I quickly go through my presentation and handle questions at the end?

Under-staff and Outsource

Sweat the Big Stuff

  • developing your product/service
  • selling your product/service
  • collecting money
    • office space
    • furniture
    • computers
    • office equipment
    • office supplies
    • business cards and letterhead

Questions to ask References:

  • How do you know this person?
  • How long have you known him?
  • What are your general impressions of him?
  • How would you rank them against others in similar positions?
  • What contribution has he made to the organization?
  • How do others in the organization view him?
  • What are his specific skills? What is he best/worst at?
  • What are his communication and management styles?
  • In what areas does he need improvement?
  • Is he capable of functioning effectively in a small organization?
  • How would you comment on his worth ethic?
  • Would you hire/work for/work with him again?
  • Should I speak with anyone else about him?

Boards:

  • Customer – Understands the needs of your customer
  • Geek – Provides a reality check on your development efforts
  • Dad – brings a wealth of experience and maturity to help mediate issues
  • Tight Ass – bad guy that pushes for totally legal and ethical processes
  • Jerry Maguire – brings industry contacts
    • Less paper is better than more paper. Don’t bury them in documents
    • Provide useful metrics
    • Send reports with metrics to them 2 days before meetings
    • Never surprise a board
    • Get feedback from each member in advance