Entrepreneurial lifecycle

The Entrepreneurial Cycle of LifeStage-by-stage advice you don’t often hear

@chrisyehPBworks

AskTheHarvardMBA.com

Lessons from 19 years of startups

• How do I market my startup before I have a product?

• How do I market to investors *after* our meeting?

• How do I avoid getting fired by my board?

• How can I be an entrepreneur and live a happy life?

Marketing before you build product

Develop key relationships

Slowly build overnight success

“Timing, perseverance, and ten years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success.”

--Biz Stone

(Twitter founded in 2006)

7 Steps of Prelaunch Marketing

1. Identify the key issues your startup touches2. Become part of the conversation3. Cultivate the influencers (follows & replies)4. Produce (or borrow) compelling content5. Build a need in the marketplace6. Launch a product that fills that need7. Print out TechCrunch headline for your mom

Market to investors *after* you meet

4 Ways To Get Investors To Bite

• Remove uncertainty

• Drip marketing

• Follow up immediately when they show interest

• Ask for money, then be ready to take it

How to avoid getting fired

8 Principles For Staying CEO

• Don’t get caught by surprise.• Start planning your defenses early• Get everything in writing• Constantly work the key players• Realize that you are dispensable• The best defense is a good offense• Don’t sign anything during the coup attempt• Counterattack

How Can Entrepreneurs Live a Happy Life?

Entrepreneurship = Uncertainty

• “Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity beyond resources controlled.”–Howard Stevenson

(@HowardSHBS)

Accepting Startup Uncertainty

• Chances are, you’re going to fail• You always have too little time, money, and/or

information• At any moment, the landscape can change• Being smart and hard-working isn’t enough• Sometimes, the lazy, dumb, and crooked will

succeed

Uncertainty = Endless Possibility

Manage Life Uncertainty

• Eat, sleep, and exercise• Spend time with friends & loved ones• Take breaks and naps• Minimize your spending• Have interests outside the startup world

• Remember: Your startup is part of your life. It isn’t your entire life.