This document summarizes a presentation about starting a lean startup. It discusses forming a team of co-founders who are better than you and ensuring everyone is vested from the beginning. It also covers fundraising, focusing on customer discovery over sales, testing everything and listening to results, and being willing to pivot if the initial idea is not working. The presentation emphasizes the importance of partners, an engaging product, and avoiding conflicts with co-founders.

1. The
Story
of
a
Lean
Startup
The
Junc)on
-­‐
Thursday,
Dec
8th

2. Stuff
we
might
cover
• Group-­‐gi>ing
romance
• Things
you
just
might
wanna
tryreadconsider
• Fundraising,
revenue
&
anything
in
between
• Key
metrics,
self-­‐analysis
&
the
ability
to
start
anew
• Customer
discovery
Vs.
Sales
• Q&A

3. Me
in
10
sec
• Brave
Inbox
fighter
• Frustrated
guitar
player
• Proud
Zell
Alumni
• Happy
group-­‐gi>er
• Vicious
social
commerce
warrior
hVp://about.me/rongura

4. Team
• 11+
dog
• Mean
and
lean
• Small
Tel-­‐Aviv
hideout
• Our
team
is
cooler
than
yours
• This
deck
is
actually
all
about
team
forma)on

5. so,
what
is
group
gi>ing
anyway?

6. Group
Gi>s
1 Start
a
gi>
2 Friends
3 Get
the
gi>
chip
in

7. who
wants
a
gi>?

8. 11/10
Holiday Season
610 eBay launch
rcial
Comme
ent
Agreem
310 311
rs Exclusivity period 6/11
First use
910
ing ended Launching a
AB test VC round
B2B platform
110
Beta
Closed
money
a nd seed
eBay 9/11
a cq u
isitio
n

9. Jan
2010
–
FB
app
as
POC

10. Ini)al
trac)on
“What
makes
The
Gi>s
Project
compelling
in
my
opinion
is
not
only
the
size
of
opportunity
in
social
commerce,
but
that
it’s
designed
to
sit
rather
cozily
within
the
online
purchase
flow”.
“do
in
three
minutes
what
is
otherwise
a
)me-­‐consuming
and
painful
process
that
can
take
weeks
to
complete”.
“Pitch
in!”
10

11. eBay
Group
Gi>s

12. my
two
cents

13. Co-­‐Founders
• Truth
be
told
-­‐
nothing
else
really
maVers
• Partner
with
people
who
are
beVer
than
you
• You
must
genuinely
like
one
another
• You
should
want
to
see
them
a>er
work
• This
is
not
really
“work”
• You
should
all
be
vested.
All
of
you
• Be
fair
with
equity
as
you
are
with
rou)ne

14. Fundraising
• It’s
2012,
you
don’t
need
tons
of
$
to
build
a
POC
for
your
consumer
app
• You
want
value-­‐add
as
much
as
want
cash
• Cap
tables
are
not
wriVen
in
pencil
• Always
be
in
demand
• Manage
your
investors
carefully

15. The
commitment
line
• You’re
sure
you
are
100%
in!
• You
guys
signed
a
co-­‐founders
agreement
• You
quit
your
day
job
• The
product
looks
awesome
• Did
this
dude
just
gave
us
a
check
for
real?
• Your
new
office
space
is
the
absolute
best
• You
understand
you’re
145%
in..maybe
more?
• 1st
real
board
mee)ng
• Your
1st
paid
employee
• 1st
paying
customer
(!)
etc.

16. selling
online
is
hard

17. No
one
is
buying
:
?
• Think
what
can
you
do
beVer
• Pivot
accordingly
• Be
determine
yet
flexible
• Try
to
modify
dreams
on
the
fly
• Maybe
it’s
not
the
right
modelidea)me
• Good
thing
you
know
it’s
not
the
team..
cause
your
team
is
a
bunch
of
rock
stars.

18. AB
tes)ng
1. Test
everything
2. Listen
to
results
3. Offer
solu)ons
4. Test,
test,
test
5. Be
consistent
6. Be
in
control
7. Do
it
again

19. Customer
discovery
• Beware
of
the
“crocodile”
salesmen
• “How
about
4pm
PST?”
–
sales
from
TLV
• What
alpha?
you’re
good
to
go
• Design
partners
Vs.
beta
customers
• Early
success
Vs.
sustainable
pipeline

20. I
wasn’t
listening
can
you
cut
to
the
chase?

21. Do’s
• Partner
with
co-­‐founders
that
are
beVer
than
you
and
make
sure
everyone
are
vested
from
the
get-­‐
go
• Raise
money
from
people
you
actually
like
• Work
from
a
place
that
you
love
on
a
product
you
admire
• You
learn
much
more
about
how
other
people
think
when
you’re
asking.
• Try
to
be
nicer
than
the
guy
next
to
you

22. Don’ts
• Say
you
can
work
alone
• Raise
too
liVlemuch
money
• Launch
without
a
specific
user
in
mind
• Manage
your
investors
poorly
• Be
afraid
to
get
your
hands
dirty
• Get
into
fights
with
co-­‐founders

23. Reading
list
• The
Art
of
the
Start
• Outliers
• Mark
Suster’s
Both
sides
of
the
table
• The
Funded
• Paul
Graham’s
blog
• Ben
Hhorowitz’s
blog
• Your
own
notebook

24. Ques)ons?
Thoughts?
Ron
Gura
Head
of
Center
rgura@ebay.com