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دموع شركات اليوني كورن : (الشركات الناشئة) أسباب فشل الشركات الناشئة وكيفية تجنبها
على مدار السنوات العشرين الماضية، أسست وموَّلت العديد من الشركات التكنولوجية الناشئة، وخلال هذه الفترة لاحظت انتشار ظاهرة جديدة؛ فقد أصبح فشل الشركات الناشئة شيئًا مقبولًا ومعتادًا في مجال الأعمال التجارية؛ الأمر الذي تخطى أثره مجرد الخسارة المالية التي يتكبدها المستثمرون، فذلك الفشل -الذي عانيته أكثر من مرة خلال رحلتي في تأسيس الشركات- قد أثَّر فيَّ، وفي أسرتي، وزملائي تأثيرًا حقيقيًّا، وعميقًا، وشخصيًّا.
فبينما كنت جالسًا في منزلي أضمد جراحي بعد فشل مشروعي الأخير، أخذت فكرة تأليف هذا الكتاب تُداعب خيالي، وسرعان ما استبدت بي هذه الفكرة، وتحولت إلى هاجس؛ فبدأت أتحدث إلى مؤسسي بعض الشركات، ولم أندهش مما أطلعوني عليه، فالعديد من المؤسسين الجدد الذين تحدثوا معي كانوا تائهين، ويسيرون في طريقهم بغير هدى ولا دليل، كما أن المؤسسيين ذوي الخبرة كانوا في حالة من الانهيار والتوتر، ويتملكهم شعور بالوحدة والعزلة، بعدما انقطعت بهم سبل الحصول على الدعم، فاتخذت قرارًا بتأليف كتاب عن فشل الشركات الناشئة؛ لأنقل خبرتي في تأسيس الشركات إلى مؤسسي الشركات الآخرين.
وسرعان ما اكتشفت أن فشل الشركات الناشئة أمر متأصل في المنظومة ككل، فهناك مفاهيم وتطبيقات خاطئة كثيرًا ما تُطرح عن فكرة "الفشل السريع" دون تفكير عميق، فالنهج التقليدي للمستثمرين المغامرين في مواجهة الفشل هو وضع الكثير من الرهانات، اعتمادًا على الفكرة التي مفادها أن معظم الشركات الناشئة تفشل، ولكن القليل منها يتحول إلى "شركة يوني كورن" وتحقق نجاحًا ساحقًا، وتدر أرباحًا عظيمة تعوض كل الخسائر، ولكنَّ هذا النهج مدمر للغاية.
إن أمر الخسارة المالية الناتجة عن فشل الشركات الناشئة معروف ومفهوم إلى حد ما لدى الجميع، ولكن الأمر الخفي الذي يجهله الكثيرون هو حجم الخسارة البشرية التي تُمنى بها هذه الشركات الناشئة الفاشلة، ولقد رأيت ذلك الجانب المظلم للشركات الناشئة: فقد ذكرت دراسة استقصائية أن 94% من مؤسسي الشركات قد أصيبوا ببعض المشكلات النفسية، فقد اعترف أكثر من 03% منهم بأنهم أصيبوا بالاكتئاب، كما اعترف 72%منهم بأنهم يعانون قلقًا حادًّا، فهل كنت تصدق أن مؤسسي الشركات منهكون إلى هذا الحد؟!
ولكن، أليس من المفترض أن يكون تأسيس الشركات الناشئة عملًا ممتعًا ومثيرًا ومرموقًا؟ ألم نعهد رؤية تلك الابتسامة التي تعلو وجوه مؤسسي الشركات الناشئة الناجحين الذين تتصدر صورهم صحف الأعمال عندما يحققون نجاحًا رأسماليًّا، أو يطرحون شركاتهم للاكتتاب العام؟ إن ثقافة "أستطيع أن أحقق النجاح بكل سهولة" تجعل من الصعب على المؤسسين الاعتراف بالمعاناة.
فبينما كنت جالسًا في منزلي أضمد جراحي بعد فشل مشروعي الأخير، أخذت فكرة تأليف هذا الكتاب تُداعب خيالي، وسرعان ما استبدت بي هذه الفكرة، وتحولت إلى هاجس؛ فبدأت أتحدث إلى مؤسسي بعض الشركات، ولم أندهش مما أطلعوني عليه، فالعديد من المؤسسين الجدد الذين تحدثوا معي كانوا تائهين، ويسيرون في طريقهم بغير هدى ولا دليل، كما أن المؤسسيين ذوي الخبرة كانوا في حالة من الانهيار والتوتر، ويتملكهم شعور بالوحدة والعزلة، بعدما انقطعت بهم سبل الحصول على الدعم، فاتخذت قرارًا بتأليف كتاب عن فشل الشركات الناشئة؛ لأنقل خبرتي في تأسيس الشركات إلى مؤسسي الشركات الآخرين.
وسرعان ما اكتشفت أن فشل الشركات الناشئة أمر متأصل في المنظومة ككل، فهناك مفاهيم وتطبيقات خاطئة كثيرًا ما تُطرح عن فكرة "الفشل السريع" دون تفكير عميق، فالنهج التقليدي للمستثمرين المغامرين في مواجهة الفشل هو وضع الكثير من الرهانات، اعتمادًا على الفكرة التي مفادها أن معظم الشركات الناشئة تفشل، ولكن القليل منها يتحول إلى "شركة يوني كورن" وتحقق نجاحًا ساحقًا، وتدر أرباحًا عظيمة تعوض كل الخسائر، ولكنَّ هذا النهج مدمر للغاية.
إن أمر الخسارة المالية الناتجة عن فشل الشركات الناشئة معروف ومفهوم إلى حد ما لدى الجميع، ولكن الأمر الخفي الذي يجهله الكثيرون هو حجم الخسارة البشرية التي تُمنى بها هذه الشركات الناشئة الفاشلة، ولقد رأيت ذلك الجانب المظلم للشركات الناشئة: فقد ذكرت دراسة استقصائية أن 94% من مؤسسي الشركات قد أصيبوا ببعض المشكلات النفسية، فقد اعترف أكثر من 03% منهم بأنهم أصيبوا بالاكتئاب، كما اعترف 72%منهم بأنهم يعانون قلقًا حادًّا، فهل كنت تصدق أن مؤسسي الشركات منهكون إلى هذا الحد؟!
ولكن، أليس من المفترض أن يكون تأسيس الشركات الناشئة عملًا ممتعًا ومثيرًا ومرموقًا؟ ألم نعهد رؤية تلك الابتسامة التي تعلو وجوه مؤسسي الشركات الناشئة الناجحين الذين تتصدر صورهم صحف الأعمال عندما يحققون نجاحًا رأسماليًّا، أو يطرحون شركاتهم للاكتتاب العام؟ إن ثقافة "أستطيع أن أحقق النجاح بكل سهولة" تجعل من الصعب على المؤسسين الاعتراف بالمعاناة.
186 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2019
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March 24, 2021
เมื่ออ่านจบเล่มแล้ว สิ่งที่คาใจคือ
-คำโปรยหนังสือเขียนว่า ผลงานเจ้าของ Startup ที่สูญเสียเงิน 200 ล้าน USD ในเวลาเพียงสามเดือน ดังนั้นสิ่งที่คาดหวังคือ อยากรู้เรื่องราวว่า ใช้อย่างไรหว่า 200 ล้าน USD ประมาณ 6,000 ล้านบาทในสามเดือน แต่อ่านจนจบ พบว่ามีเพียงย่อหน้าเดียวที่เขียนว่า บริษัทหนึ่งที่เขา IPO ชื่อ Reffind นั้นเข้าตลาดแล้วมูลค่าหุ้นขึ้นไป 200 USD แล้วร่วงลงมา ดังนั้นเป็นเหมือนแค่การแกว่งของมูลค่าหุ้นเท่านั้นเอง ไม่ได้เกี่ยวกับธรุกิจเลย
my link text
-จากเนื้อหาดูเป็นการสรุปภาพรวมความรู้ จาก Content ในหนังสือดังๆหลายๆเล่ม เช่น Business model canvas, Zero to one, Business guide book ไม่ค่อยรู้สึกว่าผู้เขียนได้ลงลึก Insight จริงๆ เท่าไหร่นัก ระหว่างอ่านก็มีความรู้สึกว่า สรุปคนนี้ เขาใช้ตัวจริงใช่ไหมเนี่ย (ซึ่งอันนี้ก็เป็นการตัดสินที่ฉาบฉวยอยู่ไม่น้อย)
สำหรับเนื้อหาอื่นๆ ผมคิดว่าผู้เขียนก็สรุปเนื้อหา ได้ครอบคลุมดี โดยผมอ่านแล้วคิดว่าแบ่งเป็นสามส่วนด้วยกันคือ
1.ในการแบ่งจุด Fail ของ Startup เป็นสามด้านคือ
A.ทีมผู้ก่อตั้ง
- ความสามารถของผู้ก่อตั้ง ทั้งทักษะ ความฟิตของร่างกายและจิตใจ
B.Business model
- มันทำกำไรได้อย่างยั่งยืนจริงไหม
C.เงินลงทุน
-เงินพอไหม น้อยเกินไป หรือ มากเกินไป (อันนี้น่าสนใจ เพราะคนไม่ค่อยพูดถึงเท่าไหร่) แล้วก็ปัญหากับนักลุงทุน
ผมอ่านแล้วก็เห็นด้วยเพราะส่วนใหญ่ก็มักจะเจ๊ง จากสามหมวดนี้แหละ (ถ้าให้ผมเพิ่ม ผมอาจจะเพิ่มเรื่อง D ตลาด ว่าเราเลือกตลาดถูกต้องหรือไม่ ซึ่งมีสององค์ประกอบคือ มันใหญ่พอไหม แล้วมันถูกเวลาหรือเปล่า)
2.การทำ Product Startup แบบวิธี Hollywood - Hollywood method
ซึ่งผู้เขียนพยายามขายแนวคิดว่า เราสามารถพัฒนา Product ให้เหมือนการทำหนัง Hollywood ได้เพราะ Startup สำเร็จแค่ 2% เอง แต่หนัง Hollywood สำเร็จเกือบ 50% แต่ผมคิดว่าส่วนนี้ค่อนข้างน่าเบื่อพอสมควร เพราะเหมือนการพยายามจะขายแนวคิดนี้ โดยเอามาจับคู่กับ Lean Startup method หรือ Design Thinking คือเหมือนพยายามทำให้เรื่องเดิม แพคเกจให้เป็นเรื่องใหม่ (คหสต นะครับ)
3.การระดมทุน ส่วนนี้พูดถึงแนวทางการหาเงินลงทุน สิ่งที่ผมคิดว่าเป็นแนวคิดที่ดีคือ
-ควรมี Timeline ให้ชัด ไม่งั้นมันก็จะไหลไปเรื่อยๆ
-เข้าใจข้อมูลการเงินตัวเองให้ดี ว่าต้องการเท่าไหร่ มูลค่าบริษัทเท่าไหร่ เพราะอะไร ไม่ใช่เสกขึ้นมาเฉยๆ
-ช่วงเวลาที่ดีที่สุดในการระดมทุนคือ ช่วงที่ไม่ต้องการเงินทุนมากที่สุด
-เตรียมเวลาไว้ 6 เดือน เป็นอย่างน้อยกว่าจะได้เงิน
-คุยกับนักลงทุนตั้งแต่เนิ่นๆ ตั้งแต่เรายังไม่เริ่มระดมทุนจะดีที่สุด เพราะจะได้รู้จักกันอย่างสบายใจ
สรุป
หากคุณกำลังจะเริ่มทำ Startup แล้วใหม่มากๆ ยังไม่เคยอ่านหนังสือแนวนี้ ผมคิดว่า เป็นหนังสือที่ดีนะครับ
ส่วนถ้าเคยอ่านหนังสือเล่มนี้มามากมายแล้ว คิดว่าเนื้อหาไม่ได้มี insight ใหม่ขนาดนั้นครับ
-คำโปรยหนังสือเขียนว่า ผลงานเจ้าของ Startup ที่สูญเสียเงิน 200 ล้าน USD ในเวลาเพียงสามเดือน ดังนั้นสิ่งที่คาดหวังคือ อยากรู้เรื่องราวว่า ใช้อย่างไรหว่า 200 ล้าน USD ประมาณ 6,000 ล้านบาทในสามเดือน แต่อ่านจนจบ พบว่ามีเพียงย่อหน้าเดียวที่เขียนว่า บริษัทหนึ่งที่เขา IPO ชื่อ Reffind นั้นเข้าตลาดแล้วมูลค่าหุ้นขึ้นไป 200 USD แล้วร่วงลงมา ดังนั้นเป็นเหมือนแค่การแกว่งของมูลค่าหุ้นเท่านั้นเอง ไม่ได้เกี่ยวกับธรุกิจเลย
my link text
-จากเนื้อหาดูเป็นการสรุปภาพรวมความรู้ จาก Content ในหนังสือดังๆหลายๆเล่ม เช่น Business model canvas, Zero to one, Business guide book ไม่ค่อยรู้สึกว่าผู้เขียนได้ลงลึก Insight จริงๆ เท่าไหร่นัก ระหว่างอ่านก็มีความรู้สึกว่า สรุปคนนี้ เขาใช้ตัวจริงใช่ไหมเนี่ย (ซึ่งอันนี้ก็เป็นการตัดสินที่ฉาบฉวยอยู่ไม่น้อย)
สำหรับเนื้อหาอื่นๆ ผมคิดว่าผู้เขียนก็สรุปเนื้อหา ได้ครอบคลุมดี โดยผมอ่านแล้วคิดว่าแบ่งเป็นสามส่วนด้วยกันคือ
1.ในการแบ่งจุด Fail ของ Startup เป็นสามด้านคือ
A.ทีมผู้ก่อตั้ง
- ความสามารถของผู้ก่อตั้ง ทั้งทักษะ ความฟิตของร่างกายและจิตใจ
B.Business model
- มันทำกำไรได้อย่างยั่งยืนจริงไหม
C.เงินลงทุน
-เงินพอไหม น้อยเกินไป หรือ มากเกินไป (อันนี้น่าสนใจ เพราะคนไม่ค่อยพูดถึงเท่าไหร่) แล้วก็ปัญหากับนักลุงทุน
ผมอ่านแล้วก็เห็นด้วยเพราะส่วนใหญ่ก็มักจะเจ๊ง จากสามหมวดนี้แหละ (ถ้าให้ผมเพิ่ม ผมอาจจะเพิ่มเรื่อง D ตลาด ว่าเราเลือกตลาดถูกต้องหรือไม่ ซึ่งมีสององค์ประกอบคือ มันใหญ่พอไหม แล้วมันถูกเวลาหรือเปล่า)
2.การทำ Product Startup แบบวิธี Hollywood - Hollywood method
ซึ่งผู้เขียนพยายามขายแนวคิดว่า เราสามารถพัฒนา Product ให้เหมือนการทำหนัง Hollywood ได้เพราะ Startup สำเร็จแค่ 2% เอง แต่หนัง Hollywood สำเร็จเกือบ 50% แต่ผมคิดว่าส่วนนี้ค่อนข้างน่าเบื่อพอสมควร เพราะเหมือนการพยายามจะขายแนวคิดนี้ โดยเอามาจับคู่กับ Lean Startup method หรือ Design Thinking คือเหมือนพยายามทำให้เรื่องเดิม แพคเกจให้เป็นเรื่องใหม่ (คหสต นะครับ)
3.การระดมทุน ส่วนนี้พูดถึงแนวทางการหาเงินลงทุน สิ่งที่ผมคิดว่าเป็นแนวคิดที่ดีคือ
-ควรมี Timeline ให้ชัด ไม่งั้นมันก็จะไหลไปเรื่อยๆ
-เข้าใจข้อมูลการเงินตัวเองให้ดี ว่าต้องการเท่าไหร่ มูลค่าบริษัทเท่าไหร่ เพราะอะไร ไม่ใช่เสกขึ้นมาเฉยๆ
-ช่วงเวลาที่ดีที่สุดในการระดมทุนคือ ช่วงที่ไม่ต้องการเงินทุนมากที่สุด
-เตรียมเวลาไว้ 6 เดือน เป็นอย่างน้อยกว่าจะได้เงิน
-คุยกับนักลงทุนตั้งแต่เนิ่นๆ ตั้งแต่เรายังไม่เริ่มระดมทุนจะดีที่สุด เพราะจะได้รู้จักกันอย่างสบายใจ
สรุป
หากคุณกำลังจะเริ่มทำ Startup แล้วใหม่มากๆ ยังไม่เคยอ่านหนังสือแนวนี้ ผมคิดว่า เป็นหนังสือที่ดีนะครับ
ส่วนถ้าเคยอ่านหนังสือเล่มนี้มามากมายแล้ว คิดว่าเนื้อหาไม่ได้มี insight ใหม่ขนาดนั้นครับ
May 11, 2018
Summary:
This book is a great, informative, easily digestible discussion on the main causes of startup founder and some methods to avoid this. The author introduces "The Hollywood Method" as a four phase system to push forward with an endeavour and increase the chance your startup survives. It's important to note that startup success in the book is complimented by periods of testing, reiterating and proving your concept before you spend any real money or actually start the business. There are lots of ways to test your idea without dropping cash, and doing so is a great way to avoid failing.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking to start a business or currently engaged in business.
The main message I took from this book is the concept of founder fitness which can make or break a startup. You have to have capability and capacity to get the best outcome.
Some notable points:
- More than 100 million startups are founded every year, but 92 per cent of them will fail within three years. This is largely preventable Failure shouldn't be the natural way of things.
- For our society to progress we need innovators and risk-takers. We need startup founders. Too many of these innovators are wasted, chewed up and spat out, never to return to the startup ecosystem.
- 10 questions to ask before beginning your startup journey:
1. What is your motivation for starting your business?
2. What proof do you have that customers want your product?
3. What proof do you have that customers will pay for your product?
4. How long have you known your co-founders? Do you need them?
5. Have you ever had an argument with your co-founders? Are you friends?
6. What unique skills do your co-founders bring? Could you just hire someone instead?
7. Have you built a startup before? What do you think it will be like?
8. How do you react to criticism? How do you deal with stress or pressure?
9. What kind of investors do you want?
10. What will you say to your investors if you lose all their money?
- Three steps to startup success: question your motives, become a student of failure and find mentors.
- A startup is a temporary organisation in search of scalable, repeatable, profitable business model is occupies a space at the intersection of three elements: founders, funding and business model.
- The 10 main reasons why startups fail:
1. Founder(s) lack capacity.
2. Founder(s) lack capability.
3. Founder disharmony.
4. Ran out of cash.
5. Too much funding.
6. Investor-founder disharmony.
7. Solving an irrelevant problem (desirability).
8. Ineffective business model (viability).
9. Poor execution (feasibility).
10. External threats/competition (adaptability).
- A founder that is physically and emotionally fit will ensure that ethos of self-care permeates through the whole team - in their relationships with customers, in their dealings with co-workers and in their relationships with investors.
- Due diligence means spending the right amount of time, energy and money on checking out the facts before you act.
- 3 steps to avoiding founder divorce: get everything in writing early, try-before-you-buy boards and avoid those unwilling to share risk.
- An idea is a thought or suggestion around a possible course of action. A value proposition is the benefits customers can expect from your products or services. A business model is the rationale of how an organisation creates, delivers and captures value. Distilled further, a value proposition describes how you will create value for your customers; a business model describes how you will create value for your business. You need both.
- Four essentials of an investable idea: solve a relevant problem, have an effective business model, have the resources to get the job done and the ability to manage external threats.
- Three steps to a better idea: find a problem you care about, experiment with value propositions and experiment with business models.
- Your business is default dead if it's burning money to a point where it will need another funding round or it's default alive, where it is burning money but revenue is growing fast enough that the business break even before the money runs out.
- Complacency is the death knell of a startup.
- When establishing a relationship with investors, you should question what level of involvement in the business they are expecting, how and when they expect to be communicated with, what time frames they are thinking of in terms of capital return, what their attitudes to risk and reward are, what expectations they have for founder salaries and what their views about you taking money off the table are.
- Three steps to avoid funding failures: Do a reality check, determine if you are default dead or default alive and create a dashboard of the metrics that matter.
- To be a great founder you need both capacity and capability. Capacity is often worked on less while we try and build our capability (skills). Building capacity increases your adaptability, awareness and resilience. This is done by increasing your physical, mental and emotional health. Mental health through self awareness, empathy and coachability. Emotional health through mindfulness, stress management and bias, beliefs and bullshit. Physical health through exercise, diet and sleep. All of this puts gas in your tank and helps you go the distance.
- 10 questions to test your fitness as a founder:
1. How physically fit am I? Can I afford to lose some weight? When was the last time I went to a gym or did some exercise?
2. How good is my diet? Am I indulging in too many boozy work lunches? Do I eat comfort food when I am stressed?
3. What does my alcohol intake look like? Am I drinking too much to deal with the pressure?
4. Am I getting enough sleep? When was the last time I got a good night's sleep? Do I suffer from insomnia? Do I need to take pills to help me sleep?
5. How calm am I? Do I meditate? Am I willing to give it a try?
6. Do I have a hobby or outlet outside of work? Am I able to switch off or am I in a constant state of anxiety, waiting for the next email?
7. How are my relationships? Am I spending enough time with my partner and family and giving them the attention they deserve?
8. How have I historically dealt with stress and pressure? Can I recognise when I am stressed, and do I have strategies to deal with it?
9. How do I handle criticism? Am I open to it, or do I shut down and get defensive?
10. Have I ever suffered a major setback? How did I react to it? How did it affect me emotionally and physically? What did I learn from it?
- The four phases of Hollywood movie making (and now startup phases): development, pre-production, production and post-production. The development phase includes establishing problem fit and creating a value proposition and business model. The pre-production phase includes establishing solution fit and validating a prototype. The production phase includes establishing product/market fit and polishing a minimum viable product. The post-production phase includes establishing business model fit and implementing your go to market plan.
- The following ad-lib statement is useful for developing your value proposition:
Our (product)
helps (customer segment)
who want to (jobs to be done)
by reducing (customer gain)
and increasing (customer gain),
unlike competing value proposition).
- Some wire framing/prototyping sites: balsamiq.com, keynotopia.com, sketchapp.com and invisionapp.com
- Stoicism is a useful philosophy in the startup environment by seeking to control only what you can control, responding and not just reacting and by changing your perception of adversity by using it to grow.
This book is a great, informative, easily digestible discussion on the main causes of startup founder and some methods to avoid this. The author introduces "The Hollywood Method" as a four phase system to push forward with an endeavour and increase the chance your startup survives. It's important to note that startup success in the book is complimented by periods of testing, reiterating and proving your concept before you spend any real money or actually start the business. There are lots of ways to test your idea without dropping cash, and doing so is a great way to avoid failing.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking to start a business or currently engaged in business.
The main message I took from this book is the concept of founder fitness which can make or break a startup. You have to have capability and capacity to get the best outcome.
Some notable points:
- More than 100 million startups are founded every year, but 92 per cent of them will fail within three years. This is largely preventable Failure shouldn't be the natural way of things.
- For our society to progress we need innovators and risk-takers. We need startup founders. Too many of these innovators are wasted, chewed up and spat out, never to return to the startup ecosystem.
- 10 questions to ask before beginning your startup journey:
1. What is your motivation for starting your business?
2. What proof do you have that customers want your product?
3. What proof do you have that customers will pay for your product?
4. How long have you known your co-founders? Do you need them?
5. Have you ever had an argument with your co-founders? Are you friends?
6. What unique skills do your co-founders bring? Could you just hire someone instead?
7. Have you built a startup before? What do you think it will be like?
8. How do you react to criticism? How do you deal with stress or pressure?
9. What kind of investors do you want?
10. What will you say to your investors if you lose all their money?
- Three steps to startup success: question your motives, become a student of failure and find mentors.
- A startup is a temporary organisation in search of scalable, repeatable, profitable business model is occupies a space at the intersection of three elements: founders, funding and business model.
- The 10 main reasons why startups fail:
1. Founder(s) lack capacity.
2. Founder(s) lack capability.
3. Founder disharmony.
4. Ran out of cash.
5. Too much funding.
6. Investor-founder disharmony.
7. Solving an irrelevant problem (desirability).
8. Ineffective business model (viability).
9. Poor execution (feasibility).
10. External threats/competition (adaptability).
- A founder that is physically and emotionally fit will ensure that ethos of self-care permeates through the whole team - in their relationships with customers, in their dealings with co-workers and in their relationships with investors.
- Due diligence means spending the right amount of time, energy and money on checking out the facts before you act.
- 3 steps to avoiding founder divorce: get everything in writing early, try-before-you-buy boards and avoid those unwilling to share risk.
- An idea is a thought or suggestion around a possible course of action. A value proposition is the benefits customers can expect from your products or services. A business model is the rationale of how an organisation creates, delivers and captures value. Distilled further, a value proposition describes how you will create value for your customers; a business model describes how you will create value for your business. You need both.
- Four essentials of an investable idea: solve a relevant problem, have an effective business model, have the resources to get the job done and the ability to manage external threats.
- Three steps to a better idea: find a problem you care about, experiment with value propositions and experiment with business models.
- Your business is default dead if it's burning money to a point where it will need another funding round or it's default alive, where it is burning money but revenue is growing fast enough that the business break even before the money runs out.
- Complacency is the death knell of a startup.
- When establishing a relationship with investors, you should question what level of involvement in the business they are expecting, how and when they expect to be communicated with, what time frames they are thinking of in terms of capital return, what their attitudes to risk and reward are, what expectations they have for founder salaries and what their views about you taking money off the table are.
- Three steps to avoid funding failures: Do a reality check, determine if you are default dead or default alive and create a dashboard of the metrics that matter.
- To be a great founder you need both capacity and capability. Capacity is often worked on less while we try and build our capability (skills). Building capacity increases your adaptability, awareness and resilience. This is done by increasing your physical, mental and emotional health. Mental health through self awareness, empathy and coachability. Emotional health through mindfulness, stress management and bias, beliefs and bullshit. Physical health through exercise, diet and sleep. All of this puts gas in your tank and helps you go the distance.
- 10 questions to test your fitness as a founder:
1. How physically fit am I? Can I afford to lose some weight? When was the last time I went to a gym or did some exercise?
2. How good is my diet? Am I indulging in too many boozy work lunches? Do I eat comfort food when I am stressed?
3. What does my alcohol intake look like? Am I drinking too much to deal with the pressure?
4. Am I getting enough sleep? When was the last time I got a good night's sleep? Do I suffer from insomnia? Do I need to take pills to help me sleep?
5. How calm am I? Do I meditate? Am I willing to give it a try?
6. Do I have a hobby or outlet outside of work? Am I able to switch off or am I in a constant state of anxiety, waiting for the next email?
7. How are my relationships? Am I spending enough time with my partner and family and giving them the attention they deserve?
8. How have I historically dealt with stress and pressure? Can I recognise when I am stressed, and do I have strategies to deal with it?
9. How do I handle criticism? Am I open to it, or do I shut down and get defensive?
10. Have I ever suffered a major setback? How did I react to it? How did it affect me emotionally and physically? What did I learn from it?
- The four phases of Hollywood movie making (and now startup phases): development, pre-production, production and post-production. The development phase includes establishing problem fit and creating a value proposition and business model. The pre-production phase includes establishing solution fit and validating a prototype. The production phase includes establishing product/market fit and polishing a minimum viable product. The post-production phase includes establishing business model fit and implementing your go to market plan.
- The following ad-lib statement is useful for developing your value proposition:
Our (product)
helps (customer segment)
who want to (jobs to be done)
by reducing (customer gain)
and increasing (customer gain),
unlike competing value proposition).
- Some wire framing/prototyping sites: balsamiq.com, keynotopia.com, sketchapp.com and invisionapp.com
- Stoicism is a useful philosophy in the startup environment by seeking to control only what you can control, responding and not just reacting and by changing your perception of adversity by using it to grow.
May 14, 2023
I admire Jaime's work, so I was initially confused with the direction taken with this book; I wasn't sold on the title since it implies that Unicorn Tears represents the number of startups that don't make it to that US$1 billion valuation checkpoint rather than serving as a new term to categorise the 92% of failed startups later defined in the book.
In addition, it is the first time I've encountered someone who referred to themselves as a SERIAL entrepreneur and a venture capitalist. I would have edited it to be less ego-centric to appear more humble, but if you're truly successful, you get off on rubbing it in other people's faces. However, I did expect testimonies from Matt Church and Jack Delosa since it was a decent read overall, especially with the Hollywood Method, giving it an edge ONCE YOU GET TO THE END OF THE BOOK.
I stand by the approach of educating people on what to do and not the opposite (aka what not to do), so reading an entire book on literally what not to do had me sitting sceptically. However, I'll cut it some slack since there are no startup founder guides. This book serves as a second-hand experience for those who need the lessons without necessarily committing expensive failures in their startup.
A timesaver overall, however, I encourage experiencing some of the losses first-hand rather than forming a habit of avoidance, for startup failure is ingrained in the ecosystem for a reason. If misinterpreted, it could give a potential founder the illusion of controlling expectations and a sense of false hope that they can avoid failure simply by being aware of all the decisions not to make.
Half of this book was generic info about startups for me. Wiley could've done a better job editing as a fair amount of sections were super receptive and constantly referred to topics that will be covered in later chapters. It is difficult to ask the reader how long they've known their co-founders and if they need them (yes, you could hire someone as an alternative, but this question section could've focused on all stakeholders instead). Like every other business book, I laughed when Jaime added a stoicism takeaway at the end.
I appreciate the healthy take on ensuring founders care for their physical and mental health in a sector where you convince yourself you must sacrifice everything to succeed. The parallel between making a movie and founding a startup was initially a far-fetched concept. However, drawing the similarities made sense once explained, such as Jurassic Park being a transmedia franchise and how team dynamics in Hollywood ensure reasonable timelines and effective utilisation of capital to minimise cost and risk. This section was the most unique concept I've seen in a startup book, so I commend Jaime on his perspective. Curious to see how the second book turns out.
Favourite quotes:
- Unicorn tears: the 92 per cent of technology startups that fail within the first 3 years of launch.
- The irony is that most startup failure is preventable. In its simplest form, startup failure is often a consequence of 'self-harm': rather than crumbling in the face of overwhelming external competition, startups typically implode.
- Most founders I know are nonconformists. They don't thrive in the corporate world. They are passionate about bringing their ideas into the world, but they are struggling.
- If in any other area of your business or personal life, 92 times out of 100, a course of action didn't work, you'd think of doing something quite different. yet in the startup world, these high failure rates are accepted with a shrug because 'that's how it is'. why?
- A startup is no more special than any small business.
- . . . investors can move on and make another investment. It's not the same for those who put their blood, sweat and tears into the business.
- You'll most likely end up spending more time with your co-founder than with your spouse. So how well do you really know them?
- . . . every founding team needs a hustler, a hipster and a hacker. The hustler is your sales and marketing focused founder; the hipster is your product design focused founder; and the hacker is your coder.
- I've seen people invest in a business deliberately to make it fail because they have invested much more in a competing business. I've seen some very unethical behaviour. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
- Do you charge a subscription price? Do you go for a 'freemium' model (T'll give you a little for free, then I'll charge you')? Do you charge an annual fee? Do you charge a one-off fee? Looking at those possible variations of your business model will help you to explore different combinations.
- You will be constantly trading off time (cash) for outcomes. Framing decisions that way can be liberating. It allows you to cut through the noise and get to the essence of a decision. You are essentially on a burning platform.
- Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, likens starting a company to jumping off a cliff and building a plane on the way down. It's a beautiful metaphor. Knowing if you are default alive or default dead will focus you and your team. It's not about creating a sense of fear or dread; it's about approaching the problem realistically. All businesses ultimately need to generate or raise cash to survive.
- Some founders go straight on the offensive, hitting back without even listening to what I've said. Others fall silent. The answer I am looking for is 'Why do you think that?' I'm looking for a sense of curiosity and openness, as demonstrated by founders who try to understand why I am criticising their idea. Those founders are coachable. Being able to listen and respond to criticism will help your startup, especially if the critique is coming from someone who has experience in your field. It doesn't mean you can't be passionate.
- It's not a fear of failure. It's not a fear of being unable to do it. It's more a sensation of getting away with something, a fear of being discovered, that at any time someone is going to figure it out.
- And business is something Hollywood is very good at. They have been perfecting their model for almost 100 years, and there's no doubt it works. It is estimated that between 50 and 64 per cent of Hollywood movies make a profit, a far cry from the 8 per cent for technology startups.
- If you are not familiar with the way Hollywood makes movies, the entire process is encompassed in four broad phases — development, pre-production, production and post-production . . .
- It is much better for you to be producing two, three, four great startups and doing what you're good at than thinking you have to sit here and do all these things you don't enjoy. It's a team endeavour, and it's all about getting specialists together for the different aspects of the project.
- The ad-lib structure looks like this: Our [product] helps [customer segment] who want to [jobs to be done] by reducing [customer pain] and increasing [customer gain], unlike [competing value proposition]. An example of this might be: Our ride-sharing service helps the mass market, who want to travel from A to B, by reducing the pain of owning a car and dealing with terrible taxi drivers, and increasing convenience and quality of service, unlike using regular taxi cabs.
- A persona is not a demographic representation of your customer, though it may include demographic data - age, sex and so on. A dependence on demographics usually leads to stereotypes, whereas a persona should genuinely represent your customers.
- There are a number of great wireframing tools on the market. I personally prefer Balsamiq Mockups (www.balsamiq.com) and Keynotopia (www.keynotopia.com), and there is also the industry standard, Sketch (www.sketchapp.com).
- My personal favourite is InVision (www.invisionapp.com), which is an affordable tool that allows you to connect your wireframe screens together to create a 'fake app' that you then download to your phone or simulate in a web browser. If done properly, these prototypes can often be indistinguishable from the real thing, making them a hugely valuable tool for customer testing.
- The best time to raise capital is when you don't need it.
In addition, it is the first time I've encountered someone who referred to themselves as a SERIAL entrepreneur and a venture capitalist. I would have edited it to be less ego-centric to appear more humble, but if you're truly successful, you get off on rubbing it in other people's faces. However, I did expect testimonies from Matt Church and Jack Delosa since it was a decent read overall, especially with the Hollywood Method, giving it an edge ONCE YOU GET TO THE END OF THE BOOK.
I stand by the approach of educating people on what to do and not the opposite (aka what not to do), so reading an entire book on literally what not to do had me sitting sceptically. However, I'll cut it some slack since there are no startup founder guides. This book serves as a second-hand experience for those who need the lessons without necessarily committing expensive failures in their startup.
A timesaver overall, however, I encourage experiencing some of the losses first-hand rather than forming a habit of avoidance, for startup failure is ingrained in the ecosystem for a reason. If misinterpreted, it could give a potential founder the illusion of controlling expectations and a sense of false hope that they can avoid failure simply by being aware of all the decisions not to make.
Half of this book was generic info about startups for me. Wiley could've done a better job editing as a fair amount of sections were super receptive and constantly referred to topics that will be covered in later chapters. It is difficult to ask the reader how long they've known their co-founders and if they need them (yes, you could hire someone as an alternative, but this question section could've focused on all stakeholders instead). Like every other business book, I laughed when Jaime added a stoicism takeaway at the end.
I appreciate the healthy take on ensuring founders care for their physical and mental health in a sector where you convince yourself you must sacrifice everything to succeed. The parallel between making a movie and founding a startup was initially a far-fetched concept. However, drawing the similarities made sense once explained, such as Jurassic Park being a transmedia franchise and how team dynamics in Hollywood ensure reasonable timelines and effective utilisation of capital to minimise cost and risk. This section was the most unique concept I've seen in a startup book, so I commend Jaime on his perspective. Curious to see how the second book turns out.
Favourite quotes:
- Unicorn tears: the 92 per cent of technology startups that fail within the first 3 years of launch.
- The irony is that most startup failure is preventable. In its simplest form, startup failure is often a consequence of 'self-harm': rather than crumbling in the face of overwhelming external competition, startups typically implode.
- Most founders I know are nonconformists. They don't thrive in the corporate world. They are passionate about bringing their ideas into the world, but they are struggling.
- If in any other area of your business or personal life, 92 times out of 100, a course of action didn't work, you'd think of doing something quite different. yet in the startup world, these high failure rates are accepted with a shrug because 'that's how it is'. why?
- A startup is no more special than any small business.
- . . . investors can move on and make another investment. It's not the same for those who put their blood, sweat and tears into the business.
- You'll most likely end up spending more time with your co-founder than with your spouse. So how well do you really know them?
- . . . every founding team needs a hustler, a hipster and a hacker. The hustler is your sales and marketing focused founder; the hipster is your product design focused founder; and the hacker is your coder.
- I've seen people invest in a business deliberately to make it fail because they have invested much more in a competing business. I've seen some very unethical behaviour. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
- Do you charge a subscription price? Do you go for a 'freemium' model (T'll give you a little for free, then I'll charge you')? Do you charge an annual fee? Do you charge a one-off fee? Looking at those possible variations of your business model will help you to explore different combinations.
- You will be constantly trading off time (cash) for outcomes. Framing decisions that way can be liberating. It allows you to cut through the noise and get to the essence of a decision. You are essentially on a burning platform.
- Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, likens starting a company to jumping off a cliff and building a plane on the way down. It's a beautiful metaphor. Knowing if you are default alive or default dead will focus you and your team. It's not about creating a sense of fear or dread; it's about approaching the problem realistically. All businesses ultimately need to generate or raise cash to survive.
- Some founders go straight on the offensive, hitting back without even listening to what I've said. Others fall silent. The answer I am looking for is 'Why do you think that?' I'm looking for a sense of curiosity and openness, as demonstrated by founders who try to understand why I am criticising their idea. Those founders are coachable. Being able to listen and respond to criticism will help your startup, especially if the critique is coming from someone who has experience in your field. It doesn't mean you can't be passionate.
- It's not a fear of failure. It's not a fear of being unable to do it. It's more a sensation of getting away with something, a fear of being discovered, that at any time someone is going to figure it out.
- And business is something Hollywood is very good at. They have been perfecting their model for almost 100 years, and there's no doubt it works. It is estimated that between 50 and 64 per cent of Hollywood movies make a profit, a far cry from the 8 per cent for technology startups.
- If you are not familiar with the way Hollywood makes movies, the entire process is encompassed in four broad phases — development, pre-production, production and post-production . . .
- It is much better for you to be producing two, three, four great startups and doing what you're good at than thinking you have to sit here and do all these things you don't enjoy. It's a team endeavour, and it's all about getting specialists together for the different aspects of the project.
- The ad-lib structure looks like this: Our [product] helps [customer segment] who want to [jobs to be done] by reducing [customer pain] and increasing [customer gain], unlike [competing value proposition]. An example of this might be: Our ride-sharing service helps the mass market, who want to travel from A to B, by reducing the pain of owning a car and dealing with terrible taxi drivers, and increasing convenience and quality of service, unlike using regular taxi cabs.
- A persona is not a demographic representation of your customer, though it may include demographic data - age, sex and so on. A dependence on demographics usually leads to stereotypes, whereas a persona should genuinely represent your customers.
- There are a number of great wireframing tools on the market. I personally prefer Balsamiq Mockups (www.balsamiq.com) and Keynotopia (www.keynotopia.com), and there is also the industry standard, Sketch (www.sketchapp.com).
- My personal favourite is InVision (www.invisionapp.com), which is an affordable tool that allows you to connect your wireframe screens together to create a 'fake app' that you then download to your phone or simulate in a web browser. If done properly, these prototypes can often be indistinguishable from the real thing, making them a hugely valuable tool for customer testing.
- The best time to raise capital is when you don't need it.
September 24, 2023
ซื้อแบบไม่คาดหวัง จากกองลดราคาของนายอินทร์ แต่โอเคกว่าที่คิด
น้ำตายูนิคอร์น โดย Jamie Pride อ่านเพลินๆ เหมือน text book เล่มนึง ตอนแรกคิดว่าจะได้อ่านเคส startup ที่เจ๊งหลายๆ เจ้าว่าทำไมถึงเจ๊ง แต่เคสมีน้อยมาก ที่เหลือเป็น theory การทำสตาร์ทอัพ ว่ามีปัจจัยอะไรบ้างที่ส่งเสริมความสำเร็จ และวิธีการเตรียมสตาร์ทอัพโดยเทียบกับ process การทำหนังของ Hollywood
เนื้อหาอธิบายเข้าใจง่าย ไม่ซับซ้อน บอกภาพใหญ่ของการทำสตาร์ทอัพได้ค่อนข้างดี อ่านไปก็สะท้อนใจไป
น้ำตายูนิคอร์น โดย Jamie Pride อ่านเพลินๆ เหมือน text book เล่มนึง ตอนแรกคิดว่าจะได้อ่านเคส startup ที่เจ๊งหลายๆ เจ้าว่าทำไมถึงเจ๊ง แต่เคสมีน้อยมาก ที่เหลือเป็น theory การทำสตาร์ทอัพ ว่ามีปัจจัยอะไรบ้างที่ส่งเสริมความสำเร็จ และวิธีการเตรียมสตาร์ทอัพโดยเทียบกับ process การทำหนังของ Hollywood
เนื้อหาอธิบายเข้าใจง่าย ไม่ซับซ้อน บอกภาพใหญ่ของการทำสตาร์ทอัพได้ค่อนข้างดี อ่านไปก็สะท้อนใจไป
November 1, 2018
Great book, easy read, basic principles to follow. Never quite knew what goes on in the start up world but this book shares some insights as to why most start ups fail and how they can have a better chance at succeeding.
Great read for anyone considering getting involved in a start up.
Great read for anyone considering getting involved in a start up.
January 22, 2021
I literally dogeared every page and am using this as a handbook in my consulting practice.
It's suscinct, engaging and we'll written a textbook for success and a playbook to win the Entrepreneurial lottery.
It's suscinct, engaging and we'll written a textbook for success and a playbook to win the Entrepreneurial lottery.
March 29, 2023
An excellent guide for what it covers. Most of the advice presented is simply common sense but I can imagine founders forgo that when caught up in their enthusiasm. Still, it's invaluable advice and it's a book I'll keep handy.
July 19, 2018
Well-written & self-guided book for startups and entrepreneurs guiding through the different stages of product life cycles to avoid startup failures.
February 14, 2019
A quick, easy read filled with great information!
February 20, 2021
Rarely how-to book that shares the opposite side of the Startup journey. A great book to read and learn from a real experienced Startup founder and VC.
May 19, 2021
It's the first time that I saw the comparison between Hollywood and Startup. Good point!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews