Understanding and Supporting Startups
In today’s Super Entrepreneurs Podcast episode, I am joined by Dominique Sebastien, who works with a comprehensive team that takes an active role within an organization to generate revenue, raise capital, find the best talents, and set the correct communication channels. Dominique’s Background Dominique tells us about his tech world journey and how he built a tech platform and commercialized it. He tells us about his early years of developing a speed search engine, video games, and finally collecting data for advertisers. Mistakes and Learning from Them He says that he made his first mistake by not covering his fixed costs in 2001 as most of his partners died in the New York accident. He said that he learned that you couldn’t do business without knowing how to cover fixed costs as you can’t anticipate what will happen. Going to Startup Dominique states that six years ago, he went back to startup. There he focused on helping startups. He helps startups have a clear roadmap of the action plan. Working with Startups He says that the most important thing when working with a startup has trust. He says before they work with a startup. A startup has to address a real consumer issue and have a clear view of the potential market. Valuing a Company He talks about how a company is valued and how a company can improve its value. He talks about replacement value, intellectual property, the team, and the credibility of the company. He adds that your board of directors could increase your company’s value and credibility and help raise money. Patenting Dominique talks about the procedure taken to patent a company. He adds that you don’t have to patent a whole company or app, but small keys such as methods and processes are patented. Getting it Right He adds that at first, he made mistakes helping startups because his services were expensive. He figured this out and corrected it by starting a firm rather than working as an individual. He also adds that startups should not go for hourly rates when getting help but rather objection based Getting in Touch Dominique talks about how startups can get in touch with them and the costs. When startups approach them, he says they work on a road map, analyze the business, decide on the best action plan, and set terms. Recommendation He gives recommendations on how to run a successful start-up. He says that you should not try to invest in many problems at the same time. He also adds that it should be simple. He finishes by adding that raising money is a step to making money. Tune in and listen to Dominique talk about: [00:40] Dominique’s Background [01:56] Mistakes and Learning from Them [04:40] Going back to Startups [08:05] Working with Startups [12:30] Valuing a Company [17:05] Patenting [22:10] Getting it Right [25:19] Getting in Touch [29:42] Recommendation