Conference Presentation
Elizabeth Iorns at Female Founders Conference 2014
- A three-year retrospective involving nine lessons learned is intended to be shared with the audience.
- Founders are expected to face risks of time waste on invalid problems if they fail to verify user needs early.
- Plans include talking to potential users immediately and launching a minimal viable product to secure real-time feedback.
- The outlook predicts that an online marketplace will resolve infrastructure and incentive barriers for researcher-technical expert collaboration.
- It is expected that a team aligned with the founder's vision will successfully solve the identified problem.
- Strategies involve recruiting outside one's immediate field to acquire necessary skills, as existing networks offer similar profiles.
- Company values are planned to be emphasized through monthly awards as the organization grows.
- Investors who align with the company vision and values are expected to provide critical assets for growth.
- Being action-oriented is predicted as necessary to create superior outcomes faster than competitors.
- An agile framework utilizing a two-week sprint cycle is planned to generate momentum and accelerate progress.
- Success is expected to depend on building deep relationships with the first 1,000 users to support the next million.
- Exceptional customer support is identified as a potential competitive advantage due to its neglect by most large companies.
- Persistence is expected to facilitate relationship building with labs, which serves as a core differentiator.
- The founding process is characterized as both incredibly difficult and incredibly rewarding.