A Year of
William Durand – btS eV, Freiburg – April 27th, 2017
Disclaimer
Views are my own.
Once upon a time… in 2014
Dr Julien Maupetit wanted to build a collaborative platform to ease scientific data sharing and improve openness in Science at large.
Not so MVP*
* = Minimum Viable Product
Incubator?
- Business plan ✓
- Investor pitch ✓
- Talking to customers ???
Get out of the building
Tip #1: talk to people, especially
to your (potential) customers.
June 2015
Julien was looking for business partners.
I (William) decided to join the project.
Finding the right partners is difficult
Tip #2: if you can tell your partners everything without discomfort, you likely found the right ones!
October 2015
TailorDev has been created \o/
Creating a company costs money
Tip #3: create the company once you have your first customer (i.e. do not start with a dream).
December 2015
Our problem was not to find users but to have customers. 2 options: pivoting or giving up.
The Lean Startup
Tip #4: solve problems, avoid building a product nobody wants, always validate and learn.
Q1 2016
The situation was pretty bad but we knew it, and that was key to avoid jumping into self-delusion.
It is not a sprint, it is a fast marathon
Tip #5: running a business is exhausting,
be prepared and stay motivated.
Q2 2016
We clearly defined the company's mission,
and decided to stop artich.io.
A clear vision is important
Tip #6: define the company's values and
its mission, then stick to them. (i.e. be focused).
Nowadays
Well, things are better now!
(I would not be there otherwise)
TailorDev
Our mission is to develop modern tools to ease scientific work and promote Open Data, Open Science and Open Source in research entities.
- Open Science pillars are TailorDev's culture
- Users' privacy is of utmost importance
- Openness & privacy must coexist
- Transparency & ethics first
- Investors must embrace this Manifesto
It is OK to create a company that actually makes money
Tip #7: avoid investors as long as you can.
Communication is key
Tip #8: talk about what your company does,
but stay humble and honest.
Running a company is awesome!
I never lose. I either win or learn.
Nelson Mandela
Thank You.
Questions?
twitter.com/couac
github.com/willdurand
tailordev.fr / @_TailorDev