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title: An Entrepreneur's Journey

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# An Entrepreneur's Journey
Vikram Chalana

## Learning Phase
EE->BioE->BioE company R&D

## Entre Phase
A pain to use SAP?
=> Make it easy for non-technical person
=> Connect excel to SAP?
> Find the right product for the right market.

### Steth IO
* Smartphone-based stethoscope that visualizes heartbeats
* Market?
	* X Doctors: Too used to the traditional one
	* O for patients / insurance companies
> How would somebody make money out of it?
> What's the motivation for them to (change their habit) and buy it?

### Current
1. Hackathon: Prove that your idea is feasible in a short time
3. New business!

=> Summarize the article into an automatically created video!

> The most interesting things happen where disciplines intersect

## Diff Paths?
> Your **team** is really important.

1, Just do it
2. Join an accelerator
3. Consult to discover idea
4. Work for a company and get experience -> Tiny job
6. Work for a *startup* and get experience -> Get exposed to diff things

## Kinds of Business
#### 1. Small business entre
* Non-investible
* Not designed to expand
* Designed to remain like that: Lifestyle business
* Usually not the goal of the VCs
* Service-oriented

#### 2. Scalable Startups
* Tech product oriented
* Vision based
* Can scale to hundred's of million to ... dollars
* **Ones that VCs usually invest in!**
> VCs are looking for something that can scale!
> Lookign for huge market size 

#### 3. Social entrepreneurship
* Mission oriented
* Solution rather than profit oriented
* Goal: Seof-sustainable!
* No VC funding but it is worth it!

## Rewards v/s Risks
### Rewards
* Change the world
* Experience
* Financial
* Create jobs
### Risks
* Financial
* Opporunity cost: Your original job
* Investments

> Everyone tells you the risks. Entrepreneurs see the rewards.

> Things are gonna go wrong for multiple times, but eventually you'll succeed.

## QA
#### Social Entre
Q: Investment? Donation?
A: Investers are also looking to do sth good :3

#### Checkpoints
Avenues in 3 months: (very rare!!!)
* Set a goal (number and time)
* Full time without salary for a while!

He got to pay himeself after 3 years!

#### Want to be rich or the king?
* Rich -> Hire another CEO to expand the company
* King -> Run it (but operating it may not be your expertise :3)

## Suggestions
1. Find the idea or the opportunity: 
	* Build a product to solve the problem
3. Commit to the idea:
	* Feasible? Quit what you're doing and do it full time
4. Find a mentor
5. Follow the *Lean Startup approach*: 
	* May spend some more time on the operation

> Ideas have no value until there's enough commitment on it.

> Ideas are a dime a dozen. They are worthless, but **people who put their ideas into action are priceless**.

* Don't let experience stand in your way
	* Fall in love with the problems? Take whatever it takes to solve the problem!
* Find your mentors!
	* While you're a student, everybody wants to help you / talk to you => take advantage of that! After you graduate, it gets much harder

### PACT
* People:
	* Connections of your value systems
	* Skills you don't have
* Action
* Continuous Learning 
* Trust

## Lean Startup
* Book recommended: The Learn Startup
* Waterfall model

### Buile-Measure-learn feedback loop:
1. Build -> MVP/product
2. Measure: Minimuze TOTAL time through the leap -> Data
3. Learn: Pivot -> Ideas

### Key Stages of a Startup: 
(**Answer these questions before you raise VCs' money!**)
1. Do I have a problem worth solving?
	* Not about if it's solvable!
3. Have I built something that people want?
	* Does the product solve the problem?
5. Can I profitably reach the addressable market?
	* Will people pay for it?
	* Large enough (that people will pay to sustain the business) market for it?
	* Is there a way to indentify them and somehow reach them?

### Misc
* Business = Customer Factory (See the [diagram](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/aarrr2-160601163307/95/pirate-metrics-20-aarrr-8-638.jpg?cb=1464799236))
* Lean canvas: One-page business plan!

* Reading list on the slides

> Always keep learning!


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S is from UW OAO