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Launch a Startup with Alexis Ohanian + 9 other experts Course Workbook Course Experts Alexis Ohanian Alexis Ohanian is the co-founder of Reddit, one of the world’s most influential websites, and Initialized Capital, a VC firm with investments in companies like Instacart and Coinbase. Michael Preysman Michael Preysman is the founder and CEO of Everlane, a modern essentials fashion retailer challenging incumbents like J. Crew and Banana Republic. Eddy Lu Eddy Lu is the co-founder of GOAT, a category-defining sneaker retailer that raised $100M from Foot Locker in 2019. Tracy Lawrence Tracy Lawrence is the co-founder and CEO of Chewse, a food catering company rewriting the rules of company culture. Ben Jacobs Ben Jacobs is the co-founder of Whistle, the “Fitbit for dogs” acquired by Mars Petcare for more than $100M. Greg Bettinelli Greg Bettinelli is a Partner at Upfront Ventures, the VC powerhouse behind companies like Bird, Ring, and FabFitFun. ii Course Experts Éva Goicochea Éva Goicochea is the co-founder and CEO of Maude, a Vogue-touted startup reframing the conversation around sex. Peter Werner Peter Werner is a partner at top Silicon Valley law firm Cooley LLP, where he’s worked with startups like Allbirds, Opendoor, and Salesforce. Warren Shaeffer Warren Shaeffer is the co-founder and CEO of Knowable. Together with his co-founder, Alex, he’s raised over $12M from leading venture capital firms and scaled products used by 100M+ people. Alex Benzer Alex Benzer is the CPO and co-founder of Knowable and previously held the same roles at Vidme. Ryan Duffy Ryan Duffy is a member owf the founding team of Knowable and the writer of this course. Nancy Miller Nancy Miller is an editorial director at Pop-Up Magazine and former editor at WIRED and Fast Company. iii Table of Contents Lesson 1 — Meet Your New Mentor 1 Lesson 2 — About This Course 3 Lesson 3 — Are You Founder Material? 6 Lesson 4 — High-growth Startups 10 Lesson 5 — Your Idea 14 Lesson 6 — Competitive Analysis 18 Lesson 7 — What If You Can’t Code? 24 Lesson 8 — The Lean Startup Method 28 Lesson 9 — Minimum Viable Product 35 Lesson 10 — Co-founders 40 Lesson 11 — Going Full-time 46 Lesson 12 — Brand 50 Lesson 13 — Marketing & Community 58 Lesson 14 — Incorporation & Legal 62 Lesson 15 — Team & Culture 66 Lesson 16 — Fundraising & Venture Capital 74 Lesson 17 — Self-care for Founders 85 Lesson 18 — The Road Ahead 89 iv Launch a Startup — Lesson 1 Meet Your New Mentor Lesson 1 Meet Your New Mentor Experts in this lesson Alexis Ohanian — Founder of Reddit Boldly know Meet your new mentor, Reddit and Initialized Capital co-founder, Alexis Ohanian. Like many startup founders, his path was fraught with rejection, self-doubt, and unpredictability. But thanks to the generous support of mentors, he overcame those hardships and went on to build Reddit, one of the world’s most influential websites. Now, he’s paying it forward — sharing his own advice with a new generation of ambitious entrepreneurs like you. Join Alexis and a team of experts over 18 immersive lessons as they break down the winning strategies of successful startups, teaching the actionable info you should know to start your company. Experience a better way to learn with Knowable — screen-free, pressure-free, self-paced audio courses made for the podcast generation. Go deeper with curated resources, optional action items, and a companion workbook. Try risk-free with our 100% satisfaction guarantee. Welcome to Knowable. #boldlyknow 2 Launch a Startup — Lesson 2 About This Course Lesson 2 About This Course Experts in this lesson Warren Shaeffer — CEO of Knowable Alex Benzer — CPO of Knowable Ryan Duffy — Founding team of Knowable Nancy Miller — Moderator We’re here to help Consider this your unfair advantage. Consolidating the hard-earned wisdom of founders, million dollar investors, and other sages from across the startup spectrum, Knowable’s How To Launch a Startup is a tactical, step-by-step guide designed to take you through the process of launching a high-growth startup — forged from the feats and foibles of the folks who’ve been there. Over the next few hours, we’ll take you through the brass tacks of the startup cycle — an A to Z immersion into the lessons sure to impact every would-be founder. What you’ll learn We help you answer the big questions, like “How do I validate my idea?” and “How do I find investors?” — plus the questions you might not know you needed to ask, like, “How much money should I save before leaving my day job?” and “Should I go 50/50 with my co-founder?” 4 Lesson 2 About This Course What you’ll need Knowable isn’t in the get-rich-quick business. Our curriculum is designed with ease-of-use in mind, but we ask that all students come to class prepared with the following: – An entrepreneurial appetite – An industrious attitude – A decent pair of headphones Quick housekeeping Lessons are presented in a variety of shapes and sizes. Easy-to-follow tutorials, illuminating firsthand accounts, and more — with each concluded by Alexis Ohanian’s key takeaways. You don’t have to take notes. We’ve included a trove of supplemental material in the Knowable app, including comprehensive lesson summaries, curated reading lists, recommended resources for founders, a PDF study guide, and more. Knowable courses are designed for listeners. There’s no need to look at your screen to get the full experience. Don’t worry about tests or homework. They’re not a part of Knowable courses. But if you want tips on how to put course instruction into action, we’ve included optional prompts, activities, and action items in your study guide. No pressure. Further study Startup Vidme raises $6 million to build “YouTube-Reddit” hybrid | Variety Goodbye for now | Vidme 5 Launch a Startup — Lesson 3 Are You Founder Material? Lesson 3 Are You Founder Material? Experts in this lesson Warren Shaeffer — CEO of Knowable Nancy Miller — Moderator Real talk for aspiring founders Founders must be prepared to make sacrifices. Forget about the creature comforts of conventional employment. Forget about structure. Forget about your dynamic social life. Consider the Spider-Man Principle: Great Power = Great Responsibility. As a founder, the health and viability of your company rests firmly on your shoulders; risk and uncertainty are integral to the entrepreneurial journey. The two key attributes every successful founder must possess: vision and relentless optimism. Diagnose a stubborn problem, believe in your solution, and be able to communicate it effectively to your employees, customers, and investors. Confidence is contagious. You’re going to make a lot of mistakes. A lot. Learn from what doesn’t work, adjust accordingly, and keep moving forward. Great founders are relentless, driven by the desire to make the world a little bit better for their customers. On the plus-side: the barrier to entry for startup entrepreneurship has never been lower. Investors are increasingly looking outside of traditional tech hubs for new talent; software is evolving to help democratize the product development process; and though there’s still a long way to go, a growing number of investment funds are dedicated to bankrolling companies founded by historically underrepresented makers. 7 Lesson 3 Are You Founder Material? Common fears and misgivings “I don’t have enough money to start a company.” Good news: it’s never been less expensive to get a company off the ground. There are countless variables that factor into a business’ basic bottom line, but as a rule of thumb, you should expect to spend at least five thousand dollars in your first year for the most basic of bootstrapped products. “I don’t know how to code.” Until recently, a lack of tech prowess might have been insurmountable. Thankfully, powerful new software platforms have made it possible for founders to bring a polished, affordable MVP to market quickly — no coding necessary. We explore this further in Lesson 7 – What if I can’t code? “I have a full-time job.” That’s what nights and weekends are for! Many great companies have started as side projects. More on this in Lesson 10 – Going full time. “I don’t have an idea.” The idea is merely a starting point. Most rookies overemphasize the importance of the world-changing idea, but it’s process that’s paramount — the execution and evolving iterations of your idea. It’s likely the key components of your idea will change as you learn more about your users and the problem you’re solving. “I don’t have any business training.” Formal business training isn’t required to start a business — the nuts and bolts of business operations can be learned as you go. In the early stages of this work, your focus should be on understanding your customer, building your product, and getting it in front of as many people as possible. 8 Lesson 3 Are You Founder Material? Further study How to be successful | Sam Altman Do things that don’t scale | Paul Graham The founder’s guide to discipline: Lessons from Front’s Mathilde Collin | First Round Review Suggested books for aspiring founders The Hard Thing About Hard Things | Ben Horowitz Zero to One | Peter Thiel with Blake Masters The Lean Startup | Eric Ries Crossing the Chasm | Geoffrey Moore Start with Why | Simon Sinek 9 Launch a Startup — Lesson 4 High-growth Startups Lesson 4 High-growth Startups Experts in this lesson Warren Shaeffer - CEO of Knowable Ryan Duffy - Founding team of Knowable Nancy Miller - Moderator High-growth startups are scaleable Throughout this course, we’ll be discussing the formation of a particular kind of company: a high-growth startup.
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