Highlights From The 2015 Launch Festival
Transcript
- 1. Powered by INSIGHTS FROM LAUNCH FESTIVAL 2015
- 2. This presentation consists of insights inspired by Launch Festival 2015, compiled by Jenna Abdou.
- 3. Table of Contents Page 4 Page 14 Page 17 Page 25 Page 32 Page 38 Page 42 Page 50 Page 57 Page 63 Page 68 Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn Halle Tecco, Rock Health Chamath Palihapitiya, The Social + Capital Partnership Peter Thiel, Founders Fund Yancey Strickler, Kickstarter Andrew Mason, Detour Gary Vaynerchuk, Vayner Media Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures Glenn Beck, The Blaze Joanne Wilson, Gotham Gal Marc Benioff, Salesforce
- 4. Jeff Weiner @jeffweiner LinkedIn
- 5. Jeff Weiner’s five tenets that all great products deliver on:
- 6. Jeff Weiner’s five tenets that all great products deliver on: Great products deliver on a single value proposition in a world class way. Do one thing, and do it really, really well. Example: Google.
- 7. Jeff Weiner’s five tenets that all great products deliver on: Great products are simple, intuitive, and anticipate users needs. Example: Waze.
- 8. Jeff Weiner’s five tenets that all great products deliver on: Great products exceed people’s expectations. Example: Sonos.
- 9. Jeff Weiner’s five tenets that all great products deliver on: Great products resonate emotionally. Example: Tesla - “It feels like driving the future.”
- 10. Jeff Weiner’s five tenets that all great products deliver on: Great products change your life. Example: iPhone 6 Plus. “My phone has become the control panel of my life.”
- 11. Prioritize the influence of your product over the number of users. Think Twitter giving birth to the hashtag.
- 12. The future of LinkedIn is about conversations. It’s not who you know. It’s what you know.
- 13. “There’s no doubt in mind we’re going to get this right. We’ve seen it when it works. We know how powerful it can be when it happens. We need to make it easier.”
- 14. Halle Tecco @halletecco Rock Health
- 15. The best form of startup training? “Get a job. Learn on the job.” You’ll get paid and have the upside of learning, regardless of the startup’s fate.
- 16. When it comes to the health industry, startups need to completely disregard the status quo.
- 17. Chamath Palihapitiya @chamath The Social + Capital Partnership
- 18. If we don’t bring intelligent individuals to the U.S. and give them the freedom to capitalize on new ideas we’re going to end up like MySpace in Facebook’s world.
- 19. Our job is to uncover the best in people and help them progress forward. More people should have an equal say in how the world works. It’s our job to give it to them.
- 20. “How many really smart people are there in the world who are being left behind?” It is our job to give them a seat at the table.
- 21. The two most impactful things we can do for the health space are equip powerful organizations with the tools to help the masses and build sensory products.
- 22. “If we don’t do it. Nobody will.” Take action today.
- 23. Intuitive VCs ask smart founders the non-asked questions and let them figure it out.
- 24. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are like crack for free distribution. Raise money on your own. Find people who want to use your product and ask them to review it.
- 25. Peter Thiel Founders Fund
- 26. There’s no ‘right time’ to start a company. The critical thing is to have the kernel of an idea, good product, and good business strategy.
- 27. Companies in Silicon Valley don’t follow traditional business models because they have the kernel of a revolutionary idea. Find your kernel.
- 28. Stop thinking of the future as a “what if.” Ask yourself how you want it to look and build it accordingly.
- 29. The future isn’t fixed. Agency is what matters. “I’m not a prophet. I don’t think that the future is fixed.”
- 30. “We are in the world of bits, not in the world of atoms. We should do more in atoms, not everything in the world of bits.”
- 31. Use complex coordination to combine factors in an entirely new form. Aim to have a monopoly instead of focusing on competition. What can you do that no one else is doing?
- 32. Yancey Strickler @ystrickler Kickstarter
- 33. People are excited to support independent entrepreneurs because it enables them to contribute to a better version of the future.
- 34. The highest grossing Kickstarter category is games, especially board games, with $320 million crowdfunded so far.
- 35. “For 8 years the studio said no. In 8 hours the fans said yes.” 91,585 backers crowdfunded $5,702,153 for the Veronica Mars movie.
- 36. “Brand is important and we have a very strong powerful brand.” Your highest priority as a founder is to maintain your integrity above all else. Want to drive repeat users? Demonstrate your value every day.
- 37. Imagine every possible way to scale but only implement the features that uphold your higher vision. Yancey on the future of Kickstarter: “I believe that we are at the very, very beginning of it.”
- 38. Andrew Mason @andrewmason Detour
- 39. The more organized and efficient things are the farther away you are from innovation. Embrace messy situations.
- 40. Be conscious about maintaining a rookie’s mentality. Don’t let today’s wisdom restrict tomorrow’s innovation.
- 41. People who work on producing content continuously launch their products. Each day is a new opportunity to revitalize your brand. Take advantage of it.
- 42. Gary Vaynerchuk @garyvee Vayner Media
- 43. When it comes to personal branding, especially on social media, we’re too concerned with width. Focus on depth and actually get to know people.
- 44. Scale the unscalable.
- 45. Every business is a media business; The smartest brands will employ Chief Media Agents to stay relevant.
- 46. Startups biggest opportunity today is time. Find a way to give it back to people and they’ll be your biggest fans.
- 47. You don’t have to be like people in Silicon Valley to succeed. Ask yourself what you’re best chance of winning is. Go after it every day.
- 48. “I just love the process. As long as I’m able to keep playing I just want to keep doing this.”
- 49. “The day I buy the New York Jets will be the worst day of my life because the process of buying the New York Jets is my oxygen.”
- 50. Fred Wilson @fredwilson Union Square Ventures
- 51. Great venture capitalists care more about the company than their investment. Demonstrate your commitment by equipping founders with the strategies to build world class products and teams.
- 52. “The only way to make a lot of money is to believe something that everyone else believes is wrong.”
- 53. When giving feedback, start with the positive and lead into a few hints on ways to improve.
- 54. “I reply to 20 people a day who I don’t know. It’s random...I do that because I believe there are people out there who are amazing, who just aren’t part of the establishment...If you know someone nobody else knows, you’re going to make money.”
- 55. Entrepreneurs have to hustle. You have to be able to make things happen.
- 56. When an entrepreneur says it doesn’t matter if we become a unicorn. What’s your response? “It matters to me.”
- 57. Glenn Beck @glennbeck The Blaze
- 58. The Silicon Valley group is a group of people who still believes that tomorrow can be better.
- 59. Journalism as we know it is over. Media companies competition is “a 16 year-old kid who has something authentic to say.”
- 60. Convincing the American people is more important than convincing the government.
- 61. “Too many people have too much to lose and not enough spine.”
- 62. Trust the American people to do the right thing and we’ll get it done in the end. “Take the fear away. It will be better tomorrow than it is today.”
- 63. Joanne Wilson @thegothamgal Gotham Gal
- 64. Women believe that slow and steady wins the race. “They will do anything they need to succeed. If it takes longer they don’t care.”
- 65. “If more women said ‘Fuck you, I don’t want you in my business’ the more this stuff wouldn’t happen anymore.”
- 66. “Every industry is changing. There isn’t an industry in the universe that isn’t changing.”
- 67. “I don’t invest in ideas because I’m not smart enough. How do I know what the crowd is going to like?”
- 68. Marc Benioff @benioff Salesforce
- 69. The intentions that you set from day one will result in the future of your company.
- 70. “We are entrepreneurs because we believe that we have impact.”
- 71. Model your company with the 1-1-1 mentality: 1% equity, 1% profit, and 1% employees. Take the pledge here.
- 72. On the first day of work Salesforce employees spend the day volunteering. Additionally, they have four hours a month and six days a year of paid work to volunteer.
- 73. “We have a huge issue in our industry that women are not rising up fast enough.” Make it a priority to employ a diversified group at your startup from day one.
- 74. “The shift from anxiety to trust is the most important thing that you can go through as an entrepreneur.” Embrace the shift for yourself, your employees, investors, partners, and the community.
- 75. “You are making your company better by making the world better. There is no separation.”
- 76. Congratulations to 2015 Launch Festival winners! 2015 Launch Festival Overall Winner: Abra 2015 Launch Hackathon Winner: PreHire.io
- 77. Tune into the livestreams here: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
- 78. A big THANK YOU to Jason Calacanis and The Launch team for an exceptional conference! Click here to learn more about Launch. Subscribe to Launch Ticker Watch This Week in Startups Sign up for [INSIDE]
- 79. LEARN MORE
- 80. CONNECT WITH US! Tell us what you think Jenna@33voices.com Presentation by Chase Jennings Insights by Jenna Abdou