Intro to Startup Ecosystem in SF

1. INTRODUCTION
TO THE SF
STARTUP
COMMUNITY
Zavain Dar
VC @ Innovation Endeavors

2. ‣ Early Stage Technology Investor at Innovation Endeavors
‣ Entire life in Bay Area (Hometown: Berkeley, University: Stanford, Current: SF)
‣ Founded Geo-Social Network in 2010
‣ Early employee at Search Engine Startup acquired by Twitter in 2013
‣ Taught Stanford’s first Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) Seminar in 2014
‣ Will join you for a drink or pickup basketball 9 out of 10 times
‣ Email: zavain@innovationendeavors.com
‣ Twitter: @zavaindar
INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
HI. I’M ZAVAIN DAR.
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3. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
WELCOME TO
SAN FRANCISCO.
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4. Manifest
Destiny & The
Dream:
MOVE WEST AND
FIND YOUR
RICHES
INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
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5. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
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AND
OTHER
MYTHS

6. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
SO, WHAT IS IT
REALLY?
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7. A LOT OF
HARD WORK
INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
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Cocktail-making robot:
This sign:
This energy drink:
This billboard:
These hiring signs:
And getting there like this:

9. 9
GIVE BACK TO
THE
COMMUNITY.
INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
Help other people achieve their goals and aspirations. Generate karma. Bring people
together. Give back.
To a certain extent, we’re all in this together.

10. 10
LEARN,
PRACTICE, AND
PARTICIPATE.
Roll up your sleeves and learn new skills. Try your hand at building something —
anything — and share it with people. Think about how to best position your
abilities & interests. Be Humble.
Try to become a thoughtful creator, not an arrogant thinker.
INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY

11. 11
WHAT DO YOU
(REALLY) WANT?
There’s no “one size fits all” experience in startup world. Think hard about what
kinds of environments suit you.
Vertical, company size, team culture, role, time commitment, and product are just
some of the factors to consider when pursuing opportunities.
There are better ways to make money, not everyone is a founder or CEO, it’s grind
+hustle+follow through >>> sexy and intellectual work (most of the time)..
INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY

12. 12
IT’S NOT ALL
ABOUT THE
SCENE.
Don’t get into the startup world because it’s cool, or because it’s an easy way to
make money. (Most of the time, it’s neither.)
Instead, join a startup or start something new for reasons that resonate with you on a
deeper level. What will keep you going when times get tough? (They will.)
INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY

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IT’S A
MARATHON, NOT
A SPRINT.
You will fail. Probably multiple times.
Thomas Edison: “I’ve not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Don’t get discouraged though — this happens to everyone, and it’s what allows true innovation to
happen.
All successful entrepreneurs have been through tough times... but they kept building, kept learning,
and eventually found success.
INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY

14. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
MEETUPS, MENTORS,
CO-WORKING,
ANGELS,
HACKATHONS,CLASS,
INCUBATORS, & VCs
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15. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
MEETUPS
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16. PLUS +
‣ Wide variety
‣ Inexpensive
‣ Mostly in the evenings
MINUS -
‣ You will meet too many people to manage
‣ It is more social and not very action based
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MEETUPS

17. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
HACKATHONS
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18. PLUS +
‣ Action based
‣ Gain experience
‣ Potentially find a cofounder
‣ Prizes!
MINUS -
‣ MVP will likely be scrapped after weekend
‣ Requires nontrivial upfront time commitment
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HACKATHONS

19. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
MENTORS
19
Experienced, successful, & busy.
Tips:
‣ Target a few individuals
‣ Ask short and specific questions
‣ Show you’ve done your research
‣ Don’t give up
‣ Be respectful

20. PLUS +
‣ Gives you an extraordinary leg-up
‣ Access to people and potentially funding
‣ Learn from others’ mistakes
MINUS -
‣ Wrong person takes you down wrong path or wastes your time
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MENTORS

21. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
INCUBATORS/
ACCELERATORS
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22. PLUS +
‣ Seed funding
‣ Structure for your startup
‣ Peer network
‣ Baked in mentorship + advisors
MINUS -
‣ Tough to get into
‣ Too many incubators, which one to choose?
‣ Take equity in your company (this isn’t always bad)
‣ Commit to a particular locale
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INCUBATORS/ACCELERATORS

23. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
CLASSES/TALKS
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24. PLUS +
‣ Structured and Focused learning
‣ Many times in the evening
‣ Great networking
MINUS -
‣ Some can be pricey
‣ Specific hours of access
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CLASSES

25. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
CO-WORKING
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26. PLUS +
‣ Work with other startups
‣ Build Network
‣ Attend classes and events
‣ Have an office away from home
MINUS -
‣ Pricey – Average Desk is $500/mo
‣ Some require seed funding
‣ Can be noisy
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CO-WORKING

27. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
ANGELS
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28. PLUS +
‣ Many do convertible notes or equity
‣ Great advisors
‣ Help with further rounds
MINUS –
‣ If you don’t get a seasoned investor, things could get ugly
‣ Diligence your investors! (Just like they diligence you!!)
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ANGELS

29. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
VCS
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30. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
But really…
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31. PLUS +
‣ Funding!
‣ Great Advice, will help you grow your company
‣ Will help with further rounds
MINUS -
‣ You have funding, but now you have more accountability
‣ Lose large ownership stake... and sometimes control of your company
‣ The clock is ticking
‣ Understand background of both personal investor and firm.
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VCS

32. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
TIPS FOR GETTING INVOLVED
Find your people. Build a community. Do your Research. Keep on testing.
‣ Talk to people. Ask
questions. Build your
network. Find your
community.
Treat San Francisco as an
ecosystem. Give as much
as (or more than) you
take. Everyone and
everything is connected. "
‣ Do your research. Learn
as much as you can. Go
to talks, go to classes,
sign up for a course, read
blogs online. Never stop
researching.
Apply the scientific method
to everything. Test your
idea, test your interest,
test your audience’s
interest. It’s all about
experimenting to see what
works. Iterate though
models of the World."

33. INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
IT SOUNDS LIKE A
LOT,
BUT SAN
FRANCISCO
IS A SUPPORTIVE
COMMUNITY.
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34. GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
Est. 2011

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GA is creating a global community of individuals
empowered to pursue work they love, by offering
classes, workshops and full-time immersive
programs on the most relevant skills of the 21st
century, from web development, to design, to
business fundamentals.
THE VISION

36. INNOVATION
ENDEAVORS
Est. 2009

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Innovation Endeavors combines an evergreen VC fund, a
unique approach to venture-creation, and the support of a
dynamic, international founder community to help
entrepreneurs build lasting companies that will have
significant financial and human impact. We are partnering
with people using emerging technologies in large and
growing markets, such as energy, healthcare, financial
services, cybersecurity, and retail. We are ready to rally
behind entrepreneurs developing first-of-their-kind
technologies.
THE VISION

38. GA + WHARTON: SAN FRANCISCO
THANK YOU
Drop me a note if you have any questions about VC, startup life, or living in SF!"

39. ‣ Email: zavain@innovationendeavors.com
‣ Twitter: @zavaindar
INTRODUCTION TO THE SF STARTUP COMMUNITY
ZAVAIN DAR
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40. ‣ Front-End Developer (CSS, HTML)
‣ Back-End Developer (Ruby, Python, Java, C++, C)
‣ UX/UI Designer (inDesign, Photoshop)
‣ Product Manager (Light frontend dev, design)
‣ Business Development (Sales, Partnerships)
‣ Marketing/User Acquisition (Email marketing, social media, SEO, data analytics)
‣ Data Scientist (Hadoop, Matlab, SQL)
‣ Sales (willingness to find and follow leads)
‣ Community Management (Social Media)
‣ Operations (Customer service, Office management)
‣ Other roles depending on vertical (education, fashion)
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COMMON ROLES

41. ‣ Chris Dixon — http://cdixon.org
‣ Fred Wilson (A VC) — http://avc.com
‣ BetaBeat — http://betabeat.com
‣ SAI — http://businessinsider.com/sai
‣ Paul Graham’s Essays — http://paulgraham.com
‣ Hacker News — http://news.ycombinator.com
‣ TechCrunch — http://techcrunch.com
‣ General Assembly — http://generalassemb.ly/blog
‣ Venture Hacks – http://venturehacks.com
‣ Bearded Brown Man (yours truly) – http://beardedbrownman.com
‣ VentureBeat - http://venturebeat.com
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APPENDIX: BLOGS TO READ

42. ‣ Startup Digest — http://startupdigest.com
‣ General Assembly — http://generalassemb.ly
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APPENDIX: NEWSLETTERS