NextGen

							  How not to Fuck Up the First
        Time Like I Did

Lessons from Both Sides
of the Table

 Mark Suster

 NextGen Conference, January 2011

 @msuster
Me
  Software development at
   Andersen Consulting

  BuildOnline, CEO in
   London at 31
   (sold to public company)

  Koral, CEO in Palo Alto
   (sold to Salesforce.com)

  VC in Los Angeles
  The Stupid Mistakes I Made the
            First Time

      (but not the second time!)



** there were no blogs, no instruction manuals ;-)
I Didn’t Start Young Enough
JFDI
I Wasn’t Passionate About My Idea
I Raised Too Much Money
I Had Too Many Cofounders
I Pushed PR Before Our Product Was Ready
I Launched Too Many Products & Overspec’d
I Internationalized Too Early
My Team Was Too Much Like Me
I Hired Too Senior of a Team
I Attended Too Many Conferences
I Didn’t Flip Burgers
I Charged Too Much
I Became a Prostitute for Revenue
I Never Thought About Selling the Company
I Stayed Too Long
                    Take Aways

1. Don’t be afraid to try when you’re young &
   unencumbered


2. Find a topic you’re passionate about


3. Start lean
                  Take Aways (cont.)

1. Flip burgers


2. Don’t be a ho


3. Focus on your customers – nothing else matters
               </end>

Mark Suster

NextGen Conference, January 2011

@msuster ; BothSidesoftheTable.com