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BETTER DEAD THAN RED: FIVE WAYS TO KILL AN E-COMMERCE STARTUP, Sean Percival, Venture Partner, 500 Startups
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BETTER DEAD THAN RED: FIVE WAYS TO KILL AN E-COMMERCE
STARTUP
SEAN PERCIVALVENTURE PARTNER – 500 STARTUPS
1) Passion Outstrips Experience
Pro tips:• Constantly be hiring smarter people than you• Know your arrogance is going to be expensive• Get some serious industry BFFs
2) Shipping Fail
Order Placed Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Customer Happiness/Patience Over Time
--
- Hap
pine
ss -
--
Stoked
Concerned
Pissed
You Ruined Christmas
Happy
Out for blood
We both said things we didn’t mean
2) Shipping Fail
Pro tips:• Go to a 3PL ASAP• Fight with your vendors more• Set good expectations with customers• Worth discounting when you screw up
3) Margins You Can’t Fix
Pro tips:• Test upfront (then test more) • Avoid discounting• Make the tough price switches early• Find secret unsexy revenue
4) Fundraising Screw-ups
Pro tips:• Ecom words to never use with a VC:
• Subscription commerce (or the trend of the moment)!• Lifestyle brand!• Curated artisanal experience!• Celebrity endorsement!• It’s Pinterest for…..!
• Never go out in Q4• Know your numbers
5) You Suck at Marketing
Pro tips:• You have try 10 things to get 1 that works• Learn to ankle bite the big dogs well• Assume 100% of sales come on a 2nd visit
…and if that all fails?
Thank you.
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