Process and Perspective

1. Process and Perspective Overcoming the odds in business Development

2. Process Eric Reyes’ Lean Startup Model: • Find a problem (Reyes, 14) • “The very best startup ideas tend to have three things in common: they’re something the founders themselves want, that they themselves can build, and that few others realize are worth doing.” (Graham, “How to Get Startup Ideas”) • Live in the future build what is missing. (Graham, “How to Get Startup Ideas”) • If you aren’t already there get to the cutting edge somewhere, anywhere. • Pay attention to what annoys you, it might do so because you’re living in the future. • Be ambitious (Graham, “Frighteningly Ambitious Startup Ideas” and “Black Swan Farming”) • The most successful companies seemed impossible to build. Think Walmart, Google, Netflix, Apple, or Ford

3. Process • Come up with a solution and attempt to “sell it as soon as possible (Reyes, 56) • Getting an “I’d probably use that” is easy, getting a dollar is not. • If you can get people to part with their money you are onto something; build it. • If not bring in members of your target audience, get feedback and incorporate it. That said, your problem may not exist and in that case you need to pivot. • Once you’ve gained traction continue getting feedback, incorporate it, get feedback, rinse and repeat (Reyes, 65)

4. Perspective • Process based (Graham, “What We Look For in Founders”) • The outcome is secondary to the process. • Failure is acceptable so long as the process you are following is sound. • Imagine having invested in Swiss Re, a reinsurer, on the day before 9/11. • Evidence based • Not strictly measurement based • Every decision is made based on quantitative and qualitative data (Reyes, 14).

5. Perspective • Altruistic (Graham, “Be Good”) • Successful businesses solve problems • Help people and the money will come • Assist other businesses • Being altruistic builds a good reputation and paves the way for unexpected gains • Start by doing things that aren’t scalable (Graham, “Do Things That Don’t Scale”) • Reddit solved the chicken and egg problem by posting content themselves under a bunch of ‘fake’ accounts (“How Reddit Got Huge: Tons of FakeAccounts”) • Paypal increased their popularity by buying a bunch of stuff on eBay and insisting on using Paypal

6. References Graham, Paul. “Be Good”. Paul Graham. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 December 2013.<http://paulgraham.com/good.html>. Graham, Paul. “Black Swan Farming”. Paul Graham. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 December 2013.<http://paulgraham.com/swan.html>. Graham, Paul. “Do Things That Don’t Scale”.Paul Graham. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 December2013.<http://paulgraham.com/ds.html>. Graham, Paul. “What We Look For in Founders”. Paul Graham. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 December 2013.<http://paulgraham.com/founders.html>. Graham, Paul. “Frighteningly Ambitious Startup Ideas”. Paul Graham. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 December 2013.<http://paulgraham.com/ambitious.html>. Graham, Paul. “How to Get Startup Ideas”. Paul Graham. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 December 2013. <http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html>. “How Reddit Got Huge: Tons of FakeAccounts”. Motherboard. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 December 2013. http://motherboard.vice.com/read/how-reddit-got-huge-tons-of-fake-accounts-2. Ries, Eric. The leanstartup. New York: Crown Business, 2011. Print.

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