Triin LinamagiAlexandre Covello

@triinlinamagi @angels_cube

How to avoid Startup Failure?

Triin Linamagi @triinlinamagiFounder & Brand Strategist, Bahoui Head of Product at Jobatar and UK correspondent for Startup magazine Co-Founder.

Alexandre Covello @angels_cube

Founder & CEO, AngelsCubeCo-Chair - Screening Committee,

Harvard Business School Angels of London

Why startups fail?

Bubble or not bubble?

Too much money chasing to few deals… or too many deals?

European VC backed companies raised $2.5bn on 264 deals

Early-stage deals reach highest quarter in 2 years: $1.5bn/462 deals

So you want to be an entrepreneur?

The Bad News

80-90% of the startups fail

The Good News

You have not failed, but just found 10,000 ways that didn’t work!

Failure leads to success but it’s always better to learn from others mistakes and make less of

your own!

Our Survey Reveals…

• Single founder• Complementing each other in skill-set• Different visions and level of commitment • Hiring wrong people• No trust in your people/micromanagement• It’s nobody’s job

Wrong Team

How to prevent this?

1. Align yourself with individuals who have the right combination of:–Knowledge–Ability–Motivation

2. Empower them with the right tools3. Keep them motivated and engaged

(Hint: be a leader!)

Ideas change, products are redesigned, markets can take unexpected turns, but people tend not to change that

much.

Great founders attract great teams and that’s how you create great company culture!

YOU DON’TBUILD A BUSINESS

-YOU BUILD PEOPLE-AND THEN PEOPLE

BUILD THE BUSINESS

Not asking simple questions

Not talking to enough prospective customers

Avoiding already existing market

Selling a product that is not ready or waiting for too long to sell

Product/Market fit

#Failure 1

#Failure 2

#Failure 3

#Failure 4

If your startup never existed, the world would be worse off

because ….

How to prevent this?

1. Before starting a business spend time researching the market, its size, its needs and pain points2. Conduct focus groups, market interviews, surveys, etc.3. Be candid: conduct your research with people in the know (not yes-sayers)

(Hint: do your homework!)

Running Out Of £££ Too Fast

#Mistake 1 – relying on investment and not generating revenue

#Mistake 2 – carelessly spending money on useless features

#Mistake 3 – spending your marketing budget with no control

#Mistake 4 – investing in wrong people

#Mistake 5 - founders don’t want to give up a piece of pie

#Mistake 6 – budgets were not planned properly

Hot to prevent this?

1. Identify what element of your product you can charge for2. Determine who will pay, why they will pay and when they will pay!3. Understand what revenue model works best for your target audience4. Devise go to market strategy to reach out to your customers5. Allocate the resources needed to execute on the strategy6. (Not an option, or for the happy few:… keep fundraising!)

(Hint: show me the money!)

Not Being Able To Support Growth

Can your business model sustain growth?

Is it bringing more in than out?

How do you support growth?

How to prevent this?

1. Focus on retention first2. The product is not everything3. There is no silver bullet (except for hard work)4. Be focused5. Measure (invest in data and analytics)6. Experiment7. Dig and learn8. Don’t be afraid to double down9. Allocate the right resources10. Be ready to change and adapt

What does the investor say?

Would you back these guys?

What investors look for…

1. Large addressable market size2. Effective business model3. Company uniqueness4. Background and experience in the industry5. Financial performance

What did billion dollar companies (really) looked like at Series A

• 1. Easy to dismiss ideas

• 2. Competitive Markets

• 3. Reinventing Customer Behaviour

• 4. Untested Founders

• 5. Zero Monetisation

Thank you!