The KKV Disruptive Entrepreneur Series

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #42 ‘Building Your Business’ Part 16 : Staying Disruptive   Staying disruptive So we have got to the point where your business has been established, it has scaled and you probably have a repeatable set of processes and procedures. Things are now boring I would not say a growing sustainable business is boring, however you will have probably noticed that over time, things have settled down into a pattern and have become more predictable Growing company, predictable methods, stable staff. Boring, but sounds ok to me It can be, and sustainable growth with tried and tested methods is a great thing, what you have to be aware of is the fact that companies can get caught out when they are in this position when younger, disruptive and more agile competitors come up with new ideas So why should I stay disruptive? Al: Being disruptive allows you to ‘think out of the box’ , be prepared and able to tackle market forces and changes in technology so that you are always ahead of the curve and able to innovate. It’s the companies that don’t do this that go out of business. Are you saying, if I’m not disruptive, I will go out of business? Not necessarily, some businesses can last a long time before they are disrupted. The key to disruption is to be aware of what is going on around you, use technology, laws, situations and opportunities to your advantage and this can sometimes help you see through the “fog” to new horizons. If you don’t see a disruptive idea happening in your business, maybe someone else will. A good business stays on it’s toes and looks out for these things, so yes, your business could be safe and secure and nobody will come along and upset your business model, but ask yourself is it worth the risk of doing nothing and you going out of business. What can I do? I would advise you to keep the heart of your company and understand why you started in the first place. A creative and innovative mindset is crucial for disruption. Look at news advanced in technology which can save you money or allow you to release different products or services, or the ultimate disruption, replace your product or service offering with something new. Remember, this all sounds great, but make sure the ‘boring’ stuff still goes on and that you are continuing to run your company in a sustainable manner. If a huge game changer occurs which can threaten the business, use this as an opportunity to change  Can you give me some specific examples of being disruptive? The biggest examples, and the ones often quoted are AirBNB and Uber. They have turned their respective industries upside down by using disruptive methods. With AirBNB, they don’t own property, and yet are huge in the the property space, similar with Uber, they don’t own any cars, and are one of the fastest growing transportation logistics companies in the world. These companies found business models which change the status quo of how things work, remember when Apple released the first iPhone nearly ten years ago? This completely changed the perception of how a mobile phone should work. To be disruptive you need to upend the market and change the paradigm, not just because you want to be disruptive, but because the way, the product or the service you are offering will make a huge impact on the market. With the advent of things like IoT, AI, 3D printing, high speed internet and decreasing prices of technology, the opportunities and ways to disrupt are ever increasing and easier to do. I am just not disruptive, I don’t think I can do it or come up with that world changing idea What everyone sees is the end of the disruptive process, they don’t see the failures, the tests, the experiments, the hard work, the frustrations. It’s not easy to disrupt or come up with disruptive ideas, the best way is to try to think of new products, new ways, new services and experiment with these ways to test the market. Not every disruptive idea will work. If you are a start up, fail fast and move on. Simon’s Final thought: “By seizing the opportunities that disruption presents and leveraging hard times into greater success through outworking/ out innovating / outthinking and outworking everyone around you, this just might be the richest time of your life so far.” - Robin S. Sharma    Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in March 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #41 Weekly News 7th December 2016   In today’s show Al and Simon cover: What’s happening in the Kipling and Kirby Ventures world News from the web Links   With Station F, Paris will have the world’s biggest startup campushttps://techcrunch.com/2016/12/05/with-station-f-paris-will-have-the-worlds-biggest-startup-campus/ This is what artificial intelligence will look like in 2030, according to one of the world’s leading expertshttps://medium.com/world-economic-forum/this-is-what-artificial-intelligence-will-look-like-in-2030-according-to-one-of-the-worlds-faafca4619d8#.ba0mdly1n Stem cell therapy gives hope to MS patientshttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jun/09/stem-cell-therapy-gives-hope-to-ms-patients   First Cars, Then Space Travel, Now Elon Musk Is Powering An Entire Island With Solar Energyhttp://www.inc.com/nicolas-cole/first-cars-then-space-travel-now-elon-musk-is-powering-an-entire-island-with-sol.html   Simon’s Final Thought - “Every day may not be good… but there’s something good in every day” ? Alice Morse Earle   Links not used What Does Fake News Mean for Content Marketing?http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2016/11/fake-news-content-marketing/ Virtual reality lets you see first your travel destination before bookinghttp://www.travelerstoday.com/articles/27355/20161123/virtual-reality-lets-see-first-travel-destination-before-booking-flight.htmKipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in early 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales.   www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby  Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com  Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #40 Weekly News 30th November 2016   In today’s show Al and Simon cover: What’s happening in the Kipling and Kirby Ventures world News from the web Links   My Dad was Bruce Lee - Here’s how he still inspires me and others to innovatehttps://www.fastcompany.com/3065979/work-smart/my-dad-was-bruce-lee-heres-how-he-still-inspires-me-and-others-to-innovate The world in 2045, according to Pentagon researchershttps://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/10/the-world-in-2045-according-to-pentagon-researchers Venture capitalists and the search for moonshotshttp://venturebeat.com/2016/11/26/venture-capitalists-and-the-search-for-moonshots/amp/ The Physics Defying EmDrive Just Passed Peer Review. Here’s What You Need to Knowhttps://futurism.com/the-physics-defying-emdrive-just-passed-peer-review-heres-what-you-need-to-know/   Simon’s Final Thought - “Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” - Bruce Lee   Links not used Stripe’s Valuation Nearly Doubles to $9.2 Billionhttp://www.wsj.com/articles/stripes-valuation-nearly-doubles-to-9-2-billion-1480075201 4 Ways to Handle a Boss Who Steals Credit for Your Ideashttps://www.entrepreneur.com/article/285484Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in early 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales.   www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby  Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com  Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #37 ‘Building Your Business’ Part 15 : Scaling your business for the future Part fifteen of the Kipling and Kirby Ventures weekly  ‘Building Your Business Series’  where Simon and Al discuss ‘Scaling your business for the future’   Scaling your business for the future    Scaling your business? What on earth does that mean? Simply put, scaling your business means growing it. After you have successfully started, it’s crucial to keep your business growing, scaling is the process of sustainably growing your business What are some of the steps I can take to scale my business? Have a plan to scale, for example, you might want to go from a $1m a year business to a $5m a year business, plan the process you need to go through so that you have a goal, and an aim, share this with your staff so that you are all aware and are helping each other. You might need to raise more money for key expansion, for example into new areas or sales territories, or perhaps you want to add to your product or service offerings to generate new revenue streams, scaling may also be simply adding more capable staff to your business. Choose maybe a mix off all these Customer retention becomes very important when you are scaling, so don’t forget to ensure your loyal customer base is looked after, as they provide the bulk of your repeatable income. What challenges will I face? One of the biggest challenges is developing the right processes and procedures, when you are small scale, you can mostly do things without much process, as people will be close and able to work together more effectively. Developing procedures and processes to ensure quality at scale is always a big challenge, so do this carefully. The hiring process when expanding your talent pool can be a big challenge too. Hiring can be a huge time suck, and this takes away from the day to day running of your business, a bad hire can be disruptive, so ensure you have the right people and know how to hire people with the right culture and skill set fit for your business. This all sounds a bit daunting, what can I do? You scale as comfortably and as quickly as you can. The key is to do this in a planned manner and not rushed or badly thought out. Have a key growth mindset and look for opportunities to add revenue streams, add capability in terms of staff or seize opportunities when the come along. A good way to assist you is to work or collaborate with others to help you, build a network of other entrepreneurs, potential partners and companies which you can work with to expand your horizons. Kipling and Kirby, while specializing in start-ups, have many years of blue chip experience and can help your company scale in the right way, so you never need be daunted or lost when trying to scale your business for the better Scaling can be about mindset, what kind of mindset, what kind of mindset do I need? Focus on growth, and identify the key areas you can work on to achieve this. The mindset you need is that of being proactive, take control of the situation. The temptation with running your business is to be reactive, but this way is a way of sustainability and not growth. When scaling your business it’s time to take a few calculated risks and delegate some more tasks, ensure you have a solid foundation in your business so you can build on this and move forward. Remember it’s growth you are chasing and sometimes trying new things, learn, test, tweak, repeat. How important is a marketing/sales strategy to scaling my business? Very, scaling your business should work in concert with a renewed marketing strategy, work on your branding and messaging, are you still talking as if you are a small startup or are you talking as if you are a bigger company? Look into things like PR, and a cohesive social media strategy, as well as investment in your sales and marketing teams to effectively bring more interest, interaction, and ultimately more business into your company.   Simon’s Final thought: “Don’t wait for the perfect moment, take the moment and make it perfect.” Zoey Sayward   Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in March 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #38 Weekly News 23 November 2016   In today’s show Al and Simon cover: What’s happening in the Kipling and Kirby Ventures world News from the web Links   Microsoft’s Speech Recognition Tech Is Officially as Accurate as Humanshttp://futurism.com/microsofts-speech-recognition-tech-is-officially-as-accurate-as-humans/   The video game that’s actually dementia researchhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38001773   Indiegogo’s new platform lets anyone become a venture capitalisthttp://mashable.com/2016/11/16/indiegogo-launches-private-equity-platform 8 predictions for the world in 2030https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/11/8-predictions-for-the-world-in-2030/ Simon’s Final Thought - ‘Normality is a paved road: It’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.’ - Vincent van Gogh   Links not used ‘Extreme surveillance’ becomes UK law with barely a whimperhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/19/extreme-surveillance-becomes-uk-law-with-barely-a-whimperiPhones secretly send call history to Apple, Security Firm sayshttps://theintercept.com/2016/11/17/iphones-secretly-send-call-history-to-apple-security-firm-says/Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in early 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales.   www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby  Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com  Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #37 ‘Building Your Business’ Part 14 : Recruiting your first team Part fourteen of the Kipling and Kirby Ventures weekly  ‘Building Your Business Series’  where Simon and Al discuss ‘Recruiting your first team‘   Recruiting your first team  This is where things get serious, you are ready to hire a team, what do you do first? We have mentioned this before on previous BYB shows, don’t hire your friends, unless they are perfect for what you need. Based upon your business plan, you will have an idea on what skills and positions you plan to fill, use your network to fill these positions and execute on your plan. Should I hire management, directors, or staff? Think about execution, and what you need to get your product or service released to market. Sometimes it’s better to have ‘people on the ground’ , having too many leaders in the group can often negatively impact productivity. Complex management structure can come later, focus on execution. Should I hire full time or temporary staff? Cost can be an issue in hiring full time staff, again the temptation is to hire plenty of staff full time so you can execute more quickly. You don’t have to. You can often find people who are very good, but who are willing to work with you part time, their experience is invaluable and can push your company forward. Weigh the options, mix your staff with younger, more energetic staff and more experience to make a good balance. Should I be paying large competitive salaries? If you can avoid it no, being frugal with wages is important, as this will likely be one of your larger costs. By having a mix of full and part time, experience and youth, you should not only have a great working culture   Money is tight, how can I find the right people to drive my business forward? Be smart how you hire, use your network to find the right people, incentivise people by using bonuses and share options, it’s not always money. How do I keep my team happy? Money doesn’t necessarily mean everyone is happy, have team building, build a great culture, ensure you have a happy workplace where people are productive, and are able to be in an environment where happy productivity ensures you reach your product and financial targets with ease. Simon: Final thought: “The achievements of an organisation are the results of a combined effort of each individual.” Vince Lombardi Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in March 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #36 Weekly News 16th November 2016   In today’s show Al and Simon cover: What’s happening in the Kipling and Kirby Ventures world News from the web Links Price of Lab-Grown Burger Falls from $325K to $11.36http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/answering-how-a-sausage-gets-made-will-be-more-complicated-in-2020   IT Drinking Its Own Automation Champagnehttp://data-informed.com/it-drinking-its-own-automation-champagne/ High-tech boxer briefs keep radiation out of your junkhttp://mashable.com/2016/11/14/spartan-radiation-blocking-underwear/   Chatbots are the most important technology in decadeshttps://smallbiztrends.com/2016/11/growthbot-chatbot.html Simon’s Final Thought - “If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be”  Maya Angelou   Links not used “Artificial Intelligence Does Not Justify Basic Income” https://www.cnet.com/uk/news/nfl-nextvr-highlights-virtual-reality-super-bowl/PwC launches new digital currency service https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/67038/pwc-launches-new-digital-currency-serviceKipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in early 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales.   www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby  Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com  Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #35 ‘Building Your Business’ Part 13 : Pitching to an investor Part thirteen of the Kipling and Kirby Ventures weekly  ‘Building Your Business Series’  where Simon and Al discuss ‘Pitching to an investor‘   Pitching to an investor   So you have done your business plan, arranged to meet an investor, but now you have to do a pitch, it’s a time to panic isn’t it?   A good pitch needs preparation, if you are panicking, you are not ready to pitch. Prepare, learn about the investor, are they an investor who is purely interested in the financial side of your business? Are they an active investor in the industry you are in? Do your research and prepare a pitch that speaks to them. As a founder who is intimately aware of your business, you should be able to speak with confidence   What should I prepare?   You will need to understand how much time you have to do a pitch, some are short, 5 minutes or so, some are longer, maybe 30 minutes. If you have a short pitch, prepare the pitch with the maximum impact that leaves the investor wanting more. If you have more time, prepare how to make your case, eg problem -> size of market -> your unique solution -> your amazing team. Illustrate that you not only understand the industry, but the competition and the numbers   There are ten questions you should really prepare to answer, so you are able to pitch properly according to Jane Porter from Entrepeneur - https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225155   1. What do your customers need and how do you?2. What evidence can you provide of prior business success?3. Who’s on your team?4. How well do you know your competitors?5. What’s your competitive advantage?6. How do you define your target market?7. What is your business most sensitive to?8. What’s your sales and distribution model?9. What have you already accomplished?10. What do you need the money for? I’m not good at presenting, infact I’m nervous, what do I do?   The key is practice, even a natural, confident presenter, such as Steve Jobs, praticed for hours before he presented, the more you do this, the better it gets. You may also have a great presenter in your team, so use these people to your advantage. You can host the presentation, and use the finance person to cover the numbers, and the developer to cover the product,  you can share the responsibility   Do I have to use Powerpoint?   Absolutely not, the deck is something that you use as a guide, what is important is how you speak and communicate, the mistake a lot of people make is to put too many words on the screen and stare at the screen and read off the presentation during the pitch. This is not a compelling way to present. Speak from the heart, know your material and use the slides as a guide to speak passionately about your business. Try and stand out   What sort of questions can I expect after a pitch?   There will be great interest in your idea, and why it is better than the competition, expect specific questions about your team and your background, investors want an experienced team, so past achievements are important.   Where can I find opportunities to pitch?   There are many startup incubators, meets and networking events that offer pitches and pitch practice, I would encourage you to practice pitch as many times as possible.   A great game played in Silicon Valley is pitch karaoke, pick a random pitch on the internet and present it to your team, this can often help you relax and is also great practice.   Simon’s Final thought: “The beautiful thing about setbacks is they introduce us to our strengths.” Robin Sharma Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in March 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #34 Weekly News 9th November 2016 In today’s show Al and Simon cover: What’s happening in the Kipling and Kirby Ventures world News from the web Links Adobe experiment slips new words into your voice recordings https://www.engadget.com/2016/11/06/adobe-experiment-adds-words-to-recordings/ Benedict’s Newsletter http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=b98e2de85f03865f1d38de74f&id=8d69481635 Feces could be the fuel of the future, scientists say http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/6/13544176/feces-fossil-fuel-poop-crude-oil Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are So Important to the U.S. https://hbr.org/video/5193920791001/why-immigrant-entrepreneurs-are-so-important-to-the-us Simon’s final thought : “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined”  Henry David Thoreau Links not used “Artificial Intelligence Does Not Justify Basic Income” http://futurism.com/ai-expert-artificial-intelligence-does-not-justify-basic-income/ The Telegraph is tightening its paywall http://digiday.com/publishers/telegraph-dropped-metered-paywall/ Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in early 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby  Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com  Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #33 ‘Building Your Business’ Part 12 : Targeting Investors Part twelve of the Kipling and Kirby Ventures weekly  ‘Building Your Business Series’  where Simon and Al discuss ‘Targeting Investors’ Targeting Investors It’s easy isn’t it? Fire off a few emails to well known VCs and let the money roll in Although we have a growing investment scene in Europe and the US, and arguably access to money is easier than ever, it’s not that simple. More startups mean that competition for money is fierce, which means that as a startup you are competing with more companies for money. This means everyone has to up their game, and having a great team, a good route to market and a fantastic business plan are all incredibly important. Firing off emails rarely works Should I go for a large amount of money? The temptation is to ask for a bigger amount, however the amount you raise should be equivalent to the amount stated in your business plan, so have an idea how much you want to raise, and exactly what you will spend it on Where can I find those investors? There are many ways you can find investors, and many ways to raise money. For the seed round it is probably better to target the people you know, often early stage investments are done via friends and family, so make sure you use those contacts well. Outside of that, network, form relationships, use things like LinkedIn, Twitter and Angel List to figure out who is actively investing and who best to contact. Is it true VC’s are less likely to invest in the seed round? This is true, VC’s are becoming more cautious, but in their place we are getting more angel investors and startup incubators, who are offering money, office space and professional help and mentoring. Sometimes getting help in the form of getting office space, or access to mentors contacts can have a bigger impact than a pile of cash. Choose wisely We should wow the investors and focus on the style rather than the substance, is this true? It is true that investors, like anyone, can be swayed by fancy presentations, videos or a great looking product, but this is only part of the story, due diligence will show if you have any substance behind the style. If there is no substance behind the style, you will be quickly found out  Once you have your money, get office space, buy loads of equipment, spend all the money, right? Wrong, showing that you are able to budget and spend wisely is important, you don’t have to get expensive offices or spend a lot on equipment, buy what you need and be frugal, having some spare cash ready for emergencies is a good thing. Simon’s Final thought: ‘Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try’ - Jack Canfield Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in March 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #32 Weekly News 2nd November 2016 In today’s show Al and Simon cover: What’s happening in the Kipling and Kirby Ventures world News from the web Links BlackBerry signs deal with Ford to work on cars of the future http://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2016/11/1/13485370/blackberry-ford-deal-self-driving-software iPod: How It Changed Apple https://mondaynote.com/ipod-how-it-changed-apple-d516086c31a3#.ju3xrhiz2 Microsoft Is Looking Like the New Apple https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602750/microsoft-is-looking-like-the-new-apple/ Richard Branson: Why Every Budding Entrepreneur Needs a Full-Time Job First https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/284355 Al’s final thought : ‘Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold’ W.B. Yeats - The Second Coming Links not used 21 signs your best employee is about to quit http://uk.businessinsider.com/signs-your-best-employees-are-going-to-quit-2016-10 American Millennials Don’t Get Credit Cards Because They Literally Can’t http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/10/28/millennial-credit-cards_n_12695040.html Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in early 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby  Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com  Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #29 ‘Building Your Business’ Part 11 : The Team Part eleven of the Kipling and Kirby Ventures weekly  ‘Building Your Business Series’  where Simon and Al discuss ‘The Team’ The Team We have covered some of this before, but how important is it to build the right team? It’s incredibly important, the team is the vehicle you use to execute your business plan and turn your idea into a business. Assembling the right team is an essential part of the process. A poorly managed and assembled team lowers the chances of having a successful company The team is important, what role should the founder play? I like to use the analogy of being captain of a ship. The founder, who typically takes the role of CEO, should be in a position of ‘steering the ship’ and being able to effectively co-ordinate all the important activities going on. So what if I’m not a good leader? Do I still have to lead my team because it’s my company? We all have to play to our best strengths, perhaps you might be better suited to a product development, sales or marketing role and another leadership candidate. Fill the team roles not based ability to do that role. Do we go for a mix of experience or build a team around people we trust? It has to be a good mix, experience counts for a lot, however from a startup perspective this can be expensive, but weigh this properly. An experienced sales person hired for just a few days can make a bigger impact than an inexperienced salesperson working full time, balance your team with a mix of inexperienced, but enthusiasm and more expensive effective team members. Focus on getting the best people to execute your business plan, and not just starting a company with your friends. Where can we find the ideal team members? These days we are more hyper connected than ever, and the ability to connect and contact people is more dynamic than ever. Don’t be afraid to approach others for advice in a certain industry if you are trying to find team members for. Network and connect with people, offline at industry meetups is a great way to do this. Immerse yourself in the industry your startup is part of and find people that way. Don’t discount friends and family members who may know people in certain industries. Should we be afraid of approaching people with more experience than ourselves? It’s the old adage, if we do not ask we do not get . If you have identified an experienced potential team member you are seeing that you believe would not be interested, ask for advice or help. The worse they can say is no, there have been many occasions when these people may point you to someone great, or even join your startup How do we work out the team dynamic and equity stakes? The temptation here is to award large percentages of equity to the team. The problem arises when team members leave. Ensure you have a solid shareholder agreement in place. I am an advocate of using a option to incentivize team members to perform. Use milestones such as technical achievements or time spent in the company to award employees shares. This way, the more they do for the company, the more shares they earn. Those who perform get to enjoy the rewards and those who don’t don’t get the equity. Are there any things we should avoid when building a team? Avoid building a team with your friends, it’s a business, not a social club. This can lead to issues when people do things wrong, or get promoted. Don’t promote to high positions too soon, often you will hire a junior developer, who early on becomes the CTO. this is often a position that they are not able to do yet. At some point you will have to bring someone in to manage them, but to do this, you would have to fire or demote them. Fill the senior positions at a later date What do investors look for when building a team? Investors look for a varied and capable team, who has the background, talent and ability to be able to execute on the business plan Al’s Final thought: ‘Good fences make good neighbours’ - Robert Frost Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in March 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #30 Weekly News 26th October 2016 In today’s show Al and Simon cover: What’s happening in the Kipling and Kirby Ventures world News from the web Links Finally, that tech fad’s over: Smartwatch sales tank more than 50% http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/10/24/smartwatch_sales_tank_over_50_percent/ Innovation is a gift worth getting: Competing for the future starts with letting go of the past http://www.briansolis.com/2016/10/innovation-gift-worth-getting-competing-future-starts-letting-go-past/ Pizza Hut Tattoo Lets You Place An Order From Your Body http://www.psfk.com/2016/10/topline-pizza-hut-tattoo-lets-you-place-an-order-from-your-body.html Where the (founder’s) mind is without fear https://www.nextbigwhat.com/where-the-founders-mind-is-without-fear-297/ Simon’s final thought : ‘Creativity is contagious, pass it on’ - Albert Einstein Links not used Meet the 13-year-old entrepreneur who wants to raise $100 million for Washington schools http://www.geekwire.com/2016/meet-13-year-old-entrepreneur-wants-raise-100-million-washington-schools/ The 20 habits of eventual millionaires http://image-store.slidesharecdn.com/f07e9191-8f42-410c-b53a-4070a4534dfc-large.jpeg Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in early 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby  Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com  Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #29 ‘Building Your Business’ Part 10 : The Valuation and Investment Opportunity Part ten of the Kipling and Kirby Ventures weekly  ‘Building Your Business Series’  where Simon and Al discuss ‘The Valuation and Investment Opportunity’ The Valuation and Investment Opportunity What is a company valuation? To quote Wikipedia it is defined as: Business valuation is a process and a set of procedures used to estimate the economic value of an owner’s interest in a business. Valuation is used by financial market participants to determine the price they are willing to pay or receive to affect a sale of a business.  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_valuation Essentially, the valuation is the price at which someone is willing to pay to invest in your business Simon - Why is a valuation of your startup important? As a business owner you need to understand how much your business is worth. When starting up or seeking investment, being able to quantify this and communicate this clearly in your business plan is important How would you go about calculating your valuation? There are several methods: The Discounted Cash Flow - DCF - method - this estimates valuation based on future cash flow, which is discounted back to the present day, the father out you go the bigger discount you have to place on the valuation  The Multiple Market method is more popular, this doesn’t look at cash flows, instead it looks at the businesses in the same sector that have recently sold and compares this to your position, taking into consideration sales, revenue and earnings   There isn’t a right or wrong method for calculating the valuation, however it is important to make sure that your valuation is realistic so that it makes you credible to an investor, wild valuations and crazy figures can put people off.   As we have mentioned before on our BYB series, things like this need to be constantly measured, as you are more sure of your figures, then your valuation becomes more accurate What does an investor look for in early stage startups? It’s not an easy question to answer, as it depends on the investor, do your research about what drives the investor, are they more interested in the financial return, are they doing this for tax reasons? Are they an investor in your sector or passionate about particular products. Appeal to them personally and do you research Watch for some signs that your startup may be able to raise more easily, for example your sector may be particularly hot, eg IoT and AI startups are attracting lots of attention, you may have an amazing team, which can show the investor good faith that you have the talent to execute your business plan. It helps if you have a functioning product or at least a demo or MVP, and if you already have traction  - in other words, your company is already showing signs of revenue. Stack the deck in your favour so that investing is easier for any potential investor out there How do you ensure your company is a good investment opportunity? It’s like a recipe, the better the ingredients, the more chance you have of making a better dish. To present your company as having the best investment opportunity, ensure you have your figures right, your valuation, cash projections, sales figures and growth, but it also is important to have a great idea backed by a great team, which we cover next week. Of course, the further along you are as a business, the better, a pre-money start up is a much higher risk than a startup that has already made revenue is a much better bet. Investors look at risks. Later on in this series we will look at targeting investors Al’s Final thought: ‘To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. - Thomas Edison’ Shared by Julian Hall @theultrapreneur via Twitter https://twitter.com/theultrapreneur/status/788051489587617792 Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in March 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #28 Weekly News 19th October 2016 In today’s show Al and Simon cover: What’s happening in the Kipling and Kirby Ventures world News from the web Links Apple bolstering Siri intelligence by hiring expert to lead AI research team https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/17/apple-ai-research-lead-hire/ Technology leveraged for good https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/outsourcing-measurable-social-impact-datamotivate-kate-nicholl Your Failed Startup Isn’t as Big a Deal as You Think http://www.inc.com/quora/your-failed-startup-isnt-as-big-a-deal-as-you-think.html OBAMA: Now is the greatest time to be alive - Wired https://www.wired.com/2016/10/president-obama-guest-edits-wired-essay/ Simon’s final thought : ‘Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines’ - Robert H Schuller Links not used The 15 surprising things ultra-productive people do differently http://image-store.slidesharecdn.com/497610d6-0ac8-499e-bcf4-ff21a4164d1b-large.jpeg Marketeers need to be thinking long term relationship https://twitter.com/danielnewmanUV/status/788051460915429376/photo/1 Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in early 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby  Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com  Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #27 ‘Building Your Business’ Part 9 : The Marketing Strategy Part nine of the Kipling and Kirby Ventures weekly  ‘Building Your Business Series’  where Simon and Al discuss ‘The marketing strategy’ The marketing strategy Assets: Take stock of brand and content assets that you are freely able to use. Archives, images, exhausts, got nothing? Turn the journey from no marketing assets to some marketing assets into a narrative, use everything! Even the empty spaces… Resources: Take stock of what people and time and budgets you have to work with. Targets: Who? Spoken to them? Research? Gut feel? Channels: Where are they? Offline, social channels… Messages: What are you saying? Why? Language? Content: Using the above, where are the intersects? Partnerships: Who can you work with for mutual leverage? Strategy/Plan: Define! Plan to fail or fail to plan. Sense check: Assets? Resources? Key stakeholders Go: Execute the plan, but be mindful that some staff might need training Analytics: Measure everything. If you don’t measure, is it working? Don’t do it! Reporting: Meet, digest, autopsy! Disruption: What does everyone else do? Don’t do that! Final thought: “The computer can’t tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what’s missing is the eybrows.” Frank Zappa Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in March 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. Please tweet us your Name, Twitter handle and one word you think of disruption to @kiplingkirby to be featured on our special BIG QUESTION podcast www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #26 Weekly News 12th October 2016 In today’s show Al and Simon cover: What’s happening in the Kipling and Kirby Ventures world News from the web Links Ada Lovelace Day: Why we’re still talking about her - CNET https://www.cnet.com/news/ada-lovelace-day-why-were-still-talking-about-her/ Samsung Finally Kills the Galaxy Note 7 http://gizmodo.com/samsung-finally-kills-the-galaxy-note-7-1787651977 Is our world a simulation? Why some scientists say it’s more likely than not https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/11/simulated-world-elon-musk-the-matrix Could Your Startup Answer These 23 Pitch Competition Questions? https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/283462 Simon’s final thought : ‘The miracle is this, the more we share, the more we have’ - Leonard Nimoy Links not used Why Micro Venture Capital is Growing https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/10/micro-vc-growth.html Panasonic unveil an invisible TV that doubles as the heart of your connected home https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/panasonic-unveil-invisible-tv-doubles-heart-your-home-matthew-griffin Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in early 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby  Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com  Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #23 ‘Building Your Business’ Part 8 : The reality check Part eight of the Kipling and Kirby Ventures weekly  ‘Building Your Business Series’  where Simon and Al discuss ‘The reality check’ Reality check What is a reality check? going over your plan and re-evaluating and making sure things are going well Building a business is often called an emotional roller coaster, what strategies can we use to cope with this? Get support from from friends and family and the startup community Fear FEAR often plays a big part in working on a startup, it can often paralyse you and affect your performance, ensure you manage this and have the support around you. Embrace the negatives but build for the first wave of supporters is vital rather than building to please everyone. Know who you are targeting in the early days and go for it. Confidence Fear and confidence are closely related, and can often work against each other, how can we ensure that even on an emotional roller coaster, our confidence in ourselves, our idea, and our team remains strong? stay grounded, stay focussed, be positive, have a plan, see progress against it, remember the wins, external opinion is less important than your own opinion of yourself. Productive work or overwork? As often with your greatest startup adventure, it almost seems like a badge of honour to forget our friends and family and work long hours, often into the night to get stuff done. However, this can lead to burnout, and can degrade your performance, instead focus on the quality work you produce, focus on the stuff that propels you and your company forward and not just huge amounts of work. Also, take time out to recharge and refresh It is important to take time out to be with your family, and to make sure you understand why you are doing this and don’t push yourself too hard. Do this by being mentally and physically fit, by being rested and having time out is as important as working, at KKV we actively promote this by life coaching you as well as working on your business Final thought: “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in March 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. Please tweet us your Name, Twitter handle and one word you think of disruption to @kiplingkirby to be featured on our special BIG QUESTION podcast www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #24 Weekly News 5th October 2016 In today’s show Al and Simon cover: What’s happening in the Kipling and Kirby Ventures world News from the web Links Santander partners Crowdfunder to back UK community projects https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/29540/santander-partners-crowdfunder-to-back-uk-community-projects?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=finextrafeed Apple is the UK’s top storytelling brand https://www.marketingweek.com/2016/09/29/apple-is-the-uks-top-storytelling-brand/#.V-5qFof0iLc.linkedin Transmitting logins through the human body http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/10/04/login_transmission_through_human_body/ IMF’s Christine Lagarde Says Banks Will Adopt Digital Currencies in 5 Years Time https://cointelegraph.com/news/imfs-christine-lagarde-says-banks-will-adopt-digital-currencies-in-5-years-time Simon’s final thought : ‘Start by doing what is necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible’ - Francis of Assisi Links not used My #1 advice for startups — Choose your ideal customer wisely. Ask Who is the person who sucks most at what I do best. - Ivana Taylor https://twitter.com/DIYMarketers/status/782892475748941824 Sentiment Analysis: The Next Big Thing in Business http://www.business2community.stfi.re/big-data/sentiment-analysis-next-big-thing-business-01477703?sf=addnjk#aa#XqwcbbczhXg384S2.97 Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in March 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com

The Kipling and Kirby Ventures Disruptive Entrepreneur Series Episode #23 ‘Building Your Business’ Part 7 : Market Analysis Part seven of the Kipling and Kirby Ventures weekly  ‘Building Your Business Series’  where Simon and Al discuss ‘Market Analysis’ What is market analysis? Understanding who your competitors are, what they do and how they do it Tips Take stock of the environment you are launching your product into Understand what your competitors are doing Take this as an opportunity to look outside of what you are doing Are your potential customers buying similar products? Showing undestanding of the industry you are selling into is crucial Become an expert in the industry you are selling into Look for similar industries to support your market offering Be prepared that the market analysis might prove that your idea isn’t viable A good compeitior analysis needs to have: What business models work and which don’t Who are your competitors How do you plan to differentiate Is the market big enough to support you and your product? Final thought: “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill Kipling and Kirby Ventures was formed in March 2016 by founders Al Tepper and Simon Barry, who together have been disrupting businesses for over 30 years. Join Al and Simon where they discuss business, startups, disruption, marketing and sales. Please tweet us your Name, Twitter handle and one word you think of disruption to @kiplingkirby to be featured on our special BIG QUESTION podcast www.kiplingandkirbyventures.com @kiplingkirby Al - al@kiplingandkirbyventures.com Simon - simon@kiplingandkirbyventures.com