There were no tricks, only treats for founders at this special Halloween event co-hosted by Spice Startups and SeedLegals on 28 October 2021 at Arboretum in London. Here\u2019s a recap of the stories the founders shared and the Q&A.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":18301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[105],"tags":[],"event_tags":[],"class_list":["post-18374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-startup-guides-ie"],"acf":{"post_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"
There were no tricks, only treats for founders at this special Halloween event co-hosted by Spice Startups<\/a> and SeedLegals on 28 October 2021 at Arboretum<\/a>, London. Here\u2019s a recap of the stories founders shared and the Q&A.<\/p>\n \u2018Whatever your personality, no matter how introverted, as a founder you\u2019re going to have to get up in front of people and talk about your company. Years ago, I was working at a company doing 3D graphics. We were doing well, about 10% of people online had our plug-in.<\/p>\n \u2018We were asked to present at a big conference in the USA so I prepared a demo to blow everyone away. I was determined to do the presentation myself \u2013 partly because I knew how unstable the software was. Then I found out there would be 3,000 people in the audience. And to encourage speakers to stick to the strict three-minute time limit, the possibly-slightly-boozy audience would be armed with whoopee cushions and toy guns to shoot speakers with ping pong balls.<\/p>\n \u2018Despite the stress, I finished just under the time limit and the engine didn\u2019t crash. Since then, whenever I get up on stage, I remind myself that it can\u2019t possibly be as bad as that time in the US. And no-one has a ping-pong gun!<\/p>\n \u2018Whenever you\u2019re daunted about a presentation, remind yourself of how well you\u2019ve prepared and practised, how much worse it could be, and then you can relax. And to be extra sure, have everything triple-backed up to make sure there\u2019s zero chance of a blue-screen-of-death.\u2019<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong> TNW | How to Stay Calm and Smash Your next Public Presentation<\/a><\/p>\n ‘The Bad Leaver<\/a>‘ is a nightmare situation for startups that unfortunately we\u2019re asked about too often at SeedLegals.<\/p>\n ‘If a founder wants to leave, we always ask: did you sign a Founder Agreement? If not, it\u2019s going to get messy. The worst bad leaver we\u2019ve encountered was a CTO who ended up in jail for drug offences who was to be charged with murder. Awkward. To avoid this nightmare, always sign a Founder Agreement<\/a>!\u2019<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"cta","cta":{"type":"purple","subheading":"Spice Startups","heading":"FREE co-working","content":"November 2021<\/strong>: SPICESPACE pop-up workspace is now open at Techspace Aldgate East. 90 desks, 7 meeting rooms and a friendly, collaborative community. It's FREE for founders, scaling teams and investors.","bullet_points":false,"form":{"type":"none","hubspot_form":{"layout":"newsletter","hide_founderinvestor_toggle":false,"default_community":"founder","custom_form_id":"","gdpr_disclaimer":"By subscribing, you agree to receive information from SeedLegals. You can unsubscribe anytime. View our privacy policy<\/a>"},"custom":{"embed":""},"gtm_form_type":false,"gtm_form_location":false},"button":{"title":"Sign up","url":"https:\/\/margaretanne293322.typeform.com\/to\/UuSKwAZV","target":"_blank"},"image":18280}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":" \u2018The landlords of our first office were going to tear down the building so we had to move out. We moved nearby to a fancy office with free lunches \u2013 this raised our team\u2019s expectations and we knew the our next office had to be amazing.<\/p>\n \u2018We had some spare cash and were thinking about diversifying our income. One of our sales guy was keen to start a new project. He proposed we rent a building he\u2019d found and turn it into a startup hub. We could rent out desks, sublet floors, hold events and so on. We knew nothing about this market but it seemed a smart way to diversify. We held a vote: to do up the building and create a startup up, or to just rent a nice ordinary office in Aldgate. It came down to one vote: it was decided that we\u2019d go with the building to sublet.<\/p>\n \u2018The building needed a lot of work but we were happy to invest. My co-founder (who was actually my partner) and I were focused on the core business and didn\u2019t monitor the project. \u00a3300,000 went before we even noticed. We put a stop on the spending when it hit half a million. But we were still confident we\u2019d be able to rent it out straight away.<\/p>\n \u2018Filling the building proved difficult. There were three WeWork spaces nearby and companies who were interested pulled out for all sorts of reasons: one person didn\u2019t like the location, the landlord of their old place made them an offer and so on. Eventually, we rented it out at cost to MakersAcademy.<\/p>\n \u2018That\u2019s not the end of the nightmare. We\u2019re no longer in that building but we\u2019re still in discussions with the landlord for \u2018dilapidations\u2019 – changes to the building \u2013 and we\u2019re likely to lose our deposit.<\/p>\n \u2018Think about price before you diversify. We followed a dream, trusting one charismatic person but we didn\u2019t keep control of the spending. Diversification might be good for a bigger company but there\u2019s a reason why startups focus on being great at one thing.<\/p>\n \u2018Just because things are going well for you, don\u2019t live in a bubble – you could still make a very costly mistake. But if you do make a mistake, it might turn out to be your biggest lesson.<\/p>\n Paulina’s book, ‘Laid Bare: what the business leader learnt from the stripper’<\/a> is out in November.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018When I\u2019d finished my Computer Science degree, I decided to find a co-founder. I went on AngelList<\/a> and met a guy at a pub. We had a pint together and decided then and there to start a business together. You already know this is going to end badly so the first lesson here is: don\u2019t start a business with someone you’ve only had one pint with.<\/p>\n \u2018Our product was an app that helped you decided what to study at uni. It wasn\u2019t great but with an accelerator, we managed to raise \u00a3150,000. The next year was the biggest struggle of my life. It never felt like it would be a success. We didn\u2019t have a clue what we were doing. I was arguing every day with my co-founder and in despair at what I\u2019d done with my life.<\/p>\n \u2018After 18 months, we realised we had a tool, not a business. The company was going nowhere. At this point, we had \u00a380,000 in the bank. One of our contacts at big company asked to talk to us about a partnership. At the meeting, it turned out they wanted to buy our company. We were excited – this would solve everything!<\/p>\n \u2018We entered the acquisition process. The price was good: investors were happy because they would make back 20%, and my co-founder and I would make a significant amount of money. I started house-hunting, dreaming about the life I’d have.<\/p>\n \u2018The acquisition process was stressful but we focused on the silver lining: how much money we’d earn. Six months passed and we\u2019d mentally checked-out of the business. The final day arrived \u2013 and the acquirer pulled out. It was all over. All that money we\u2019d mentally spent would never arrive. It was gut-wrenchingly painful. We\u2019d have to fundraise, or try again for acquisition, or pivot.<\/p>\n \u2018The lesson here is: a deal isn\u2019t done until you have the money – don\u2019t spend imaginary money before it\u2019s in your bank.’<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"cta","cta":{"type":"light","subheading":"SeedLegals","heading":"Be first to hear about events","content":"Missed this event? Sign up for our events newsletter for a weekly list of top events for founders, both online and in person. Arrives in your inbox every Tuesday.","bullet_points":false,"form":{"type":"none","hubspot_form":{"layout":"newsletter","hide_founderinvestor_toggle":false,"default_community":"founder","custom_form_id":"","gdpr_disclaimer":"By subscribing, you agree to receive information from SeedLegals. You can unsubscribe anytime. View our privacy policy<\/a>"},"custom":{"embed":""},"gtm_form_type":false,"gtm_form_location":false},"button":{"title":"Sign up today","url":"https:\/\/seedlegals.com\/resources\/","target":"_blank"},"image":false}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":" Here’s a few of the questions asked by attendees, and our speakers’ responses:<\/p>\n Paulina:<\/strong> Many good things are born from frustration. For example, at my company, our financials are totally transparent. This was because I was frustrated by how this worked at a previous company so I driven to create something radically different.<\/p>\n Joe:<\/strong> I started Landscape after a nightmare experience. During a truly rubbish funding round, I met lots of time-wasters and people who wanted awful terms, so I started a site where you can review investors. You can take a look at landscape.vc<\/a><\/p>\n Anthony:<\/strong> There are sliding doors moments where your life splits into parallel universes – you have to assess opportunities as they come along. For example, after I\u2019d sold a previous startup, one of my co-founders threw a party and if that hadn\u2019t happened, I\u2019d never have met Laurent my current co-founder.<\/p>\n Paulina:<\/strong> I like the Lean Startup<\/a> philosophy, to be in close contact with your target market. If your idea is wanted by the market, then it\u2019s time to pivot.<\/p>\n Anthony:<\/strong> As your company\u2019s \u2018fearless leader\u2019, your team will expect you to know what to do and to lead them. You risk losing the trust of your team if you mess up a pivot or ask them for suggestions. If you know what to pivot to, this is an easy problem to solve. If you don\u2019t, it\u2019s going to be more difficult – there\u2019s no easy answer.<\/p>\n Joe:<\/strong> It can help to switch your narrative: tell the story that the pivot is something you want<\/em> to do, not have<\/em> to do. And get used to pivoting, it’s likely you’ll have to do it again!<\/p>\n Joe:<\/strong> I know a guy who sold 50% of this company at a VC round…<\/p>\n Anthony:<\/strong> I\u2019m always thinking about new features, wondering whether we should or shouldn\u2019t build them. I\u2019ve found that I get my answer when I see competitors build the feature I was thinking about. If my reaction is \u2018meh\u2019, then that\u2019s how I end up glad I didn\u2019t commit time and money to build it myself.<\/p>\n Paulina:<\/strong> We rented one building \u2013 and you know how that turned out. But the guy who suggested we rent that building wanted to rent three or four\u2026<\/p>\n Lucky founders at this event received ‘treats’ such as special offers on SeedLegals services, freebies from Tally Market<\/a> and, in exchange for a one-minute pitch, two confident founders took away Dream Factory<\/a> vouchers for headshots and video content creation.<\/p>\nStartup Horror Stories<\/h2>\n
\n
The pitch from hell<\/h2>\n
Anthony Rose – Founder and CEO, SeedLegals<\/a><\/h4>\n
Beware The Bad Leaver<\/h2>\n
Anthony Rose – Founder and CEO, SeedLegals<\/a><\/h4>\n
When your idea for \u2018revenue diversification\u2019 turns into a financial black hole<\/h2>\n
Paulina Sygulska Tenner<\/a> – Founder, GrantTree<\/a><\/h4>\n
When a life-changing deal falls through at the last minute<\/h2>\n
Joe Perkins<\/a> – Founder, Landscape<\/a><\/h4>\n
Q&A<\/h2>\n
Q: Was there a hellish situation you were in that you later realised was a positive?<\/h3>\n
Q: How do you what to pivot to, and when to pivot?<\/h3>\n
Q: Startup schadenfreude: is there a startup mess-up you heard about that you\u2019re glad you didn\u2019t make?<\/h3>\n
Wish you’d been there?<\/h2>\n