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10+1 Lessons from Serial Entrepreneur Justin Kan
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2019May 17
a16z General Partner Andrew Chen (@andrewchen) talks with serial entrepreneur and co-founder & CEO Justin Kan (@justinkan) about lessons he's learned as a founder. Justin is a repeat entrepreneur who co-founded Kiko Software (a Web 2.0 calendar that pre-dated Google Calendar by 4 years), Justin.tv (a lifecasting platform), Twitch.tv (a live streaming platform for esports, music, and other creatives, now part of Amazon), Socialcam, and now Atrium, a software-powered law firm for startups. Justin reflects on his journey and shares 10 + 1 lesson he’s learned along the way:
  • The paradox of choice: choosing a focus
  • Tradeoffs between B2B versus B2C companies
  • Market risk vs execution risk
  • Fundraising strategy: go big or stay lean?
  • Managing the stress of being a startup CEO (again!)
  • Seeking out mentors, coaches, and peers for help
  • Intentionally designing a culture to avoid the pitfalls of “culture eating strategy”
  • Things he’s still doing in his latest startup—and things he’s doing very differently
  • Managing higher expectations now that he's not a first-time founder
  • What he’s reading and listening to
  • Bonus (+1): advice he’d give his 20-year old self just starting out in tech

Follow along using the transcript.

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