jason.trost@smarkets.comtwitter.com/jasontrostGeeknRolla London - April 2010

Nobody told me:

Practical Startup Advice

“Think big, think positive, never show any sign of weakness. Always go for the throat.”

The experience

• You marry your co-founders

• Roller coaster• Little things take up

the most time• You’re in it for the long

haul

“I'd like to explain a little bit about the Peter Blunt system.”

Lawyers

• Recommend Chris Grew (Orrick) and Barry and Danvers (Winston & Strawn)

• Legal cost should be less than 5% of the round

• Always ask for a flat rate• Be fair with their time• Ballpark £5-10k per round

Meeting Investors

“I got a meeting with the Bobs in a couple of minutes”

• Introductions!• Key angels in London:

Stefan Glaenzer, Saul and Robin Klein, Sherry Coutu, Brent Hoberman et al

• Balderton, Index, PROFounders, Eden, Mangrove, Dawn et al

• Seedcamp• Everybody wants to hear

something di!erent• “Interested” and “too

early” mean “no”

“We’re not just doing this for money! We’re doing this for a shit load of money!”

Raising Money

• Raise from friends and family first

• Figure out how much to raise -> burn * months

• Equity: pick a pre-money (£500k - £1m)

• Convertible Note: 1 year, 20-50% discount, 8-10% interest

• Always set a close date• Maintain a deck

Hiring

• Only hire closers• Get involved with local

hacking groups• First hire is almost as

important as co-founder • Trial your new employees• Interns good way to

groom talent• Ballpark pay £20-50k• Equity options vary

widely (0.01% - 10%) “Co!ee is for closers”

“We’re looking down on Wayne’s basement. Only that’s not

Wayne’s basement.”

O"ce Space

• Your flat• White Bear Yard,

TechHub, The Hub at Kings Cross, British Library, Moo, Songkick, TalkTalk

• £100-400 per desk

“Raised lettering. Pale Nimbus. White.”

Networking

• Seedcamp, Barcamp, MiniBar, Open Co!ee, DrinkTank, founder/VC poker, conferences, Digital Mission, Web Mission, launch parties, Open Soho, sponsored days, et al

• Have business cards (they matter)

• Somebody from your startup should always be networking

Marketing

• Think about this early• Biz dev partnerships• Newspapers• SEO• Facebook/Adwords

Advertising• Viral loop

“You think the pet rock was a really great idea?”

“That’s as good as money sir. Those are IOUs.”

Accounting & Insurance

• Pain in the butt• Peter Rogol (Goodman

Jones) or Complete Accounting Solutions

• Online: Xero or Free Agent Central

• £5k / year• Insurance: E&O, Key Man,

Liability, Property, Business Continuity

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing”

General Tips

• Be able to explain your business in a sentence

• Hang out with other founders

• Be ready for the hard knocks

• Don’t listen to anything I just said

jason.trost@smarkets.comtwitter.com/jasontrostGeeknRolla London - April 2010

Thanks!