From Idea to Exit: The Entrepreneurial Journey (Jeffrey Weber, 2010)

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  • In your bank account there is $86,400 everyday and if it is not invested, it is gone at the end of the day. These are the time you have.
  • Uncertainty classification
    • Risk: statistically measurable
    • Ambiguity: difficult to measure
    • True uncertainty: impossible to estimate or predict statistically
  • Activation = Innovation. Desire. Effort. Ability (IDEA) + Situation + Opportunity
  • Risk hindrance walls:
    • Possessions
    • Position
    • Age
    • Health
  • Startup pitfalls
    • Inadequate education and training
    • Poor preparation and planning
    • Inadequate management skill
    • Imbalances in personal and professional priorities
  • Personal relationship tips
    • Get their buy-in and support
    • Set personal life goals and a time table
    • Incorporate your personal life goals into the written business plan
  • Startup elements
    • Mission statement
      • Purpose
      • Goals
      • Why it exist
      • Addressable pain points
    • SWOT
    • Business plan
      • General description
      • Explanation of problem
      • Description of product
      • Why it is the right time
      • Market segmentation and engagement plan
      • Existing and future competition
      • Adoptable business model
      • Marketing and sales plan
      • Management team and strength
      • Estimated expenses
      • 3 year pro forma financial projection
      • 1 page executive summary
    • Further business plan analysis
      • Mentors and board of advisors
      • What failed and why
      • Intellectual property
      • Competitiveness differentiation and defend strategy
      • Bootstrapping vs financed
      • Facets milestones
      • Metrics to monitor performance, quality and goal
      • Meeting customer’s desire
      • 5 years market sentiment
      • The disruptive factor
      • Exit strategy for all
    • Goal setting
    • Key performance indicators
    • GAP (Good, Average, Poor) analysis
    • Exit strategy
  • Avoid such partners
    • The “other you” partner
    • The “f-words” partner (friends and family)
    • The “poverty level” partner
    • The “overcommitted” partner
  • Share’s tips
    • Do not give more than 51% of the company unless IPO
    • Put founder’s remuneration in agreement
    • Purchase shares to put skin in the game
    • Think long term
  • Leadership
    • Work towards making the business independent of you
    • Build controls that protect the assets of the company
    • Have a solid financial understanding of your business
    • Hire great talent
    • Create a clear, market-differentiating vision for your product
    • Develop an exit strategy to maximise the value of the business
    • Manage profitably
    • Don’t copy - be copied
    • Don’t starve yourself
    • Work “on” your business, not “in” it
  • Sales = confidence = knowledge = customers and product
  • Product knowledge
    • Problem it solves
    • Need of product answers
    • Strength and weakness
    • Minimise competitor’s strength
    • Exploit competitor’s weakness
    • How it is made, delivered and supported
    • Customer’s involvement in entire product life cycle
    • Opportunity for customer
    • Threat removed for customer
    • Why customer buy and not
    • Pain point resolves for customer
    • Helps customer save money
  • Customer knowledge
    • Type of customer
    • Customer’s influencers and decision makers
    • What motivates them
    • What their job is
    • What is the ultimate end user
    • Purpose of your customer’s customers
    • Why your customer exist
    • The nuance of your market segment
    • Why customer want your product
    • How customer use your product
    • Why customer use competitor’s product
    • Customer’s decision and buying process
    • Buying procedure
    • Financing options
    • The closing cycle and how to influence
  • Innovation garden
    • Prepare to plant the garden
      • An innovation budget
      • Define employees roles
      • Employee training
      • Rules and procedures
    • Dedicate resources
    • Plant the seeds
    • Water and weed
    • Harvest
    • Reward and acknowledge
  • Idea selection process
    • Define the idea clearly
    • Define the primary stakeholders
    • Define what idea will accomplish
      • Save money
      • Greater efficiency
      • Greater customer satisfaction
      • Differentiate the company
      • Add intellectual property
      • Address a stakeholder pain point
    • Define what resources the innovation will require
    • Is there budget
      • Can budget be created
      • Does it exceed the group’s authority
      • Does it exceed the group’s capability
      • Does it excess the company’s ability
    • Calculate an ROI
    • Provide a final analysis
    • Worth pursuing or is there alternative
    • Other innovations more worthwhile
    • Viability or forcing
    • Involvement of senior management or other stakeholders
    • Parked, killed or pursued
  • Scaling
    • Know the target market and establish reproducible and expanding methods to reach that market
    • Establish operational procedures to create a similar customer experience every time
    • Replicate the sales process in a predictable manner that can be forecasted
    • Invest in the capacity to scale
  • Exit plan reasons
    • The thrill is gone
    • The marketplace is changing
    • Risk has become a four-letter word
    • A change would be good for the family
    • There’s an unprecedented seller’s market
    • An eager buyer has offered a cash deal
    • The business is growing 
    • The business is flat
    • Managing people has worn you out
    • You have compelling personal reasons for selling
    • Putting your exit plan into action

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