Week Three Speaker Series Notes part 2.

Akina Foundation

Designing start ups that work

Social and environmental problems with a business, how to make the world a better place

Start ups:

How to

Ways to screw up

What works

Myths

What matters

Where to begin

Basics:

Desirability- proof that people want this thing? Problem, gap turns into an opppurtunity

Feasibility – can I make it?

Viability- can I make a business, often left til last to consider

Bringing intent, and removing the daunting feeling of a business, it doesn’t need to be a big business, just a start up

What you Need:

1. Purpose. Everything comes under this

2. Capability. What do I need in my team to makes this happen

3. Support. Stuff from other people, money etc

Business model (centre)

Execution

Resources

Business Models

Design of your business

Everything in a plan

1.     find a business model that already works and then adapt to fit you.

2.     Something completely new and never been done before

Ways to screw up:

10.Do it Solo. Needs to have a team, not one person in control driving it

9. Put the ego ahead of work. What you want is not more important than what the team and customer wants

8. Assume that it will sell itself

7. Want money to get started.

6. Don’t listen o advice

5. Listen to Advice. Seek it but don’t feel obliged to use it

4. Invent something that is already invented. Do a market scan, check with people in the industry. Look at it if it exist and see what you can do to make it better

3. Learn nothing from other people

2. Avoid the customer. Customers are full of rejection. Getting out there and doing it anyway

1. Avoid the hard stuff

Ways to make it work:

10. Run the numbers early. Get a rough idea of cost to makes, start and keep going

9. Master the art of compromise

8. Strive for awesomeness. Consumers are creatures of habit, make it ten times better, not 10%

7. Painkillers and Vitamins.

6. Make your users awesome. Help them to understand their ability to do the things they need to do

5. Know yourself Are good at? Like doing? Get paid for?

4.Empathise. Moments of inspiration to make customers life ten times better

3. Invest in relationships

2. Invest in a superhuman team

1. Do what you love

Myths:

Have an awesome idea, find rich investor, make great start up

Heroic entrepreneur

Business is just about making money

Start up world is fast moving

Success is about having the right idea at the right time

3 things that really matter:

Team

Customer

Execution