Tandem

Introduction

Entrepreneurship

Opportunity

Funding

Introduction

michael@PixileStudios.com

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

About Tandem

Tandem invests in strong teams...

...building something for or .

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding

• Originally from Vancouver, Canada

• Business & Computer Science Majors

• UI/UX Designer, iOS Developer, Founder

Closing / Q&A

About Me

Building a Mobile Business

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Build a strong team

Focus on the experience

Know your market

Build a business,not an app

Building a Mobile Business

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Building a Startup

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• You’ve already got the skills to build something on your own• Need to pair engineering skill with a strong business sense• Start by bootstrapping your dream project• Look for funding when you want to scale

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

How do I start one?

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• Start lean with a minimum viable product, then iterate• Test your assumptions with metrics

• Execution is most important• Idea should be unique, butgeography alone can make it unique

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Tandem Companies

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Opportunities

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• In the US, there is a lot of opportunity on tablets

• New market that still has space for innovation• The smartphone software market is still much larger, but is more crowded

• The challenge: designing a great user experience for the new form factor

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Opportunities

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

0

10,000,000

20,000,000

30,000,000

40,000,000

Q1 2011Q1 2012

Mac iPad iPhone

Opportunities

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

0

17,500,000

35,000,000

52,500,000

70,000,000

Q1 2011 Q1 2012

iPod TouchiPadiPhone

• iPad is growing very quickly• Showing the same growth patterns as the iPhone, but faster

Opportunities

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

51%

24%

12%

9%2%3%

Android iOS Symbian RIM Microsoft Other

Q4 2011

Worldwide Smartphone Sales

Why Mobile?

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• So why do we think there is a big opportunity in mobile right now?

3 Big Reasons.

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

1. Growing Market

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• Billions of new people are gaining access to computing power and network connections

• In many countries, people are skipping computers and going straight to mobile

• Devices are inexpensive, powerful, mobile

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

2. New Platform Opportunity

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• New platforms create opportunity for disruption

• Completely new use cases, and even old tasks are being transformed...• Location-based services• New ways to shop and browse• Communicating and socializing

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

3. Democratization of Mobile

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• Startups have the advantage in mobile:• Nimble, quick to iterate and pivot• Low barrier to build something yourself• Powerful tools available for free• Great teams have easy access to funding

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Areas Ripe for Disruption

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• Social on mobile• Local (geo-location)• Mobile payments & shopping• Mobile content creation• Communication between devices

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Almost every industry is going to be disrupted significantly by mobile.

Gaming

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• Less open for disruption, but still has opportunity• Cross-platform & HTML5 will be very important• Build communities and social features• Completely new business models in mobile• My personal specialty, so I’ll talk about it more later

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Mexico

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• Growth in mobile has been massive worldwide• Not having as much entrepreneurial heritage is a challenge, but also an opportunity

• You are the people who can take advantage of it without others nipping at your heels

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Mexico

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• Lot’s of fast followers in Silicon Valley• U.S. market is saturated and competitive• You can be the first to go after the biggest under-served needs in Mexico• The market could grow even faster than in the U.S.

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Mexico

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• Might not need to be something revolutionary...• Look around the world to see what works, and adapt it for Mexico• Just start building, and worry about funding later• Focus on the needs of your users, and build great product

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Funding

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Seed Funding

Funding

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• Investors invest in momentum and traction

• Prove your concept with relevant metrics

• Build a prototype and test it on real users• Focus on building a strong team; you’ll be married to them

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

What We Look For

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• Tandem invests in strong product teams, going after large market opportunities• We like markets that are ripe for disruption

• We look to make an impact quickly and cost effectively

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Mobile Gaming?

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• Tandem focuses on big market opportunities, but games tend to fall into a separate category.• For funding, you have to think bigger than just releasing a few standalone titles.• Tech and gaming are complementary, but they’re also pretty unique.

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Mobile Gaming

• In my spare time, I’ve also been working on a mobile game, so you can fit in a side project!• But don’t expect much sleep, and plan to go full time eventually if you want to see it through

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Our first game:Pixel Wars

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Mobile Gaming

PixileStudios.com

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

• Biggest opportunities for innovation in gaming:• Rethinking pricing and downloadable content• Bringing multiplayer and social to mobile• New touch-focused experiences• Cross-platform gaming

Mobile Gaming

Closing

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• Know your market: build for them• Build a business, not an app• Focus on creating great products/experiences• Look for needs that are not yet met in Mexico• Build a strong team• Use metrics to show traction

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Be Prepared

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• To start your own business you need to be prepared to work hard

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Be Prepared

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• To start your own business you need to be prepared to work hard

• Very hard!

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Be Prepared

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• To start your own business you need to be prepared to work hard

• Very hard!

• Really, you can say goodbye to sleep

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Be Prepared

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator

• To start your own business you need to be prepared to work hard

• Very hard!

• Really, you can say goodbye to sleep• But if it’s what you’re passionate about, you will love every second of it

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Thank You, Gracias!

Introduction Entrepreneurship Opportunity Funding Closing / Q&A

Questions?

Apply by April 1st TandemCap.com

Send me a tweet at:

Silicon Valley’s Mobile Industry Accelerator