Echelon 2010 Part II

-During Panel Discussion : Startup 2.0-

The keynote presentation was started by Dave McClure (@davemcclure). Has been geeking out in Silicon Valley for over twenty years as a software developer, entrepreneur, startup advisor, angel investor, blogger, and internet marketing nerd, he shared a story whereby such an environment provides a rich learning-ground for up-and-coming internet startups and that a Silicon Valley-like model can exist elsewhere, given the advancement of the internet and the lower cost of development, and it is possible to grow a successful business any where in the world with reasonable internet connection, a team who knows what they are doing and some angel funding. 'At Silicon Valley, we have a willingness to believe, (IOW)we're crazy!'

Some points here from his sharing are:

* It's not about a product, forget about it, it's about connecting to the customers. Talk to them, know what they do, what they like and what's their reaction. Design & Marketing are most important than engineer.

* Keep as lean startup : less feature, get more feedback
focus on user experience
keep it simple + actionable
fast, frequent iteration
measure conversion

* Product development is circular
It doesn't go linear, but rather a circular (ideas-build-code-measure-data-learn-back to ideas)

* Marketing/Sales must keep their high volume, low cost, high conversion
* Most importantly, prioritize the users(acquisition and referral), feature(activation and retention), and lastly money (revenue)

Once, we have made a profit, we're no longer a startup .