This week started with “shocking” news that every iPhone records location information of its owner (actually, user). My twitter world went nuts! Apple is the biggest brother! Apple is controlling us! Apple is evil! It was as if Steve Jobs was personally tracking every single user location.

Then yesterday came the PlayStation hack issue and suddenly my twitter world found out that worst things happen, like someone stealing actual money from people and not just the location of the motel where someone got laid with the underage intern.

The underlying question is: Who Cares About Privacy anymore? Do you? Then should you be reading this post, where you probably landed because you saw the twitter or Facebook linkt? What?! You’re on Facebook? I hope you have a fake name and, of course, I’m assuming you didn’t include any personal information there, let alone a photo of you drunk in high school.

Are you feeling the sarcasm? My actual point is, excess drives commoditization. The more information someone has about you, the less valuable each individual data point is. If I have 10 or 12 location data points, I can easily map them and tell whether or not you were at the aforementioned motel. What if I have 1000? Not so much.

I’m not excusing Apple, which may or may not know this is happening. And I’m well aware that my location blob as a whole is tremendously valuable, as valuable as my Facebook profile. But does that really justify the rage? My location blob says a lot about what I am but nothing about who I am. Is that really invading my privacy?

Lately, a few people lately have asked me why I made the decision to quit my job and become an entrepreneur. In particular, I feel people are mostly interested in understanding how, as a stranger who landed in the US a few years ago, I took the necessary steps to find a team, build a network and start a company.

Motivations

I think a lot has been written on the motivations to become an entrepreneur. I particularly like Mark Suster’s view on what makes an entrepreneur and Brad Feld’s more fundamental perspective (which I first heard when I was a student at MIT) on how to approach your career decisions.

I don’t think of myself as a serial entrepreneur that has to be permanently starting something new. I have worked for large and small companies and have been happy with that. But when I look back, I was happiest when I started my company and that’s for a combination of reasons – the learning experience, the satisfaction of building something novel, the personal growth, the emotional rollercoaster, the adrenaline rush anticipating big decisions. So the decision to quit my former job and start Piictu was a no brainer. How did I go from getting in the US to starting a company?

Read

As an immigrant who wanted to do business in the US, I felt I had to read more than normal. Let’s face it, I’m at disadvantage when it comes to understanding a market or industry. I can read a lot of market research and collect all the data I want and I will still miss the tacit knowledge that surrounds it. It’s inevitable. I’m talking about very broad topics – how business is done, the history of VC and entrepreneurship, what industries are strong where – and small details that locals take for granted – I still don’t get baseball metaphors but at least I’m getting better at tipping rules. Believe me, knowing these details helps a lot when you’re building a business (plus, you don’t sound stupid).

My recommendation is to read blogs, as that’s where tacit knowledge is articulated. Read everything you’re interested in, read a lot, and read regularly. You’re not going to learn these things in a day.

Socialize with locals

I don’t care if you’re a social person or not but the best way to learn the small details I was just talking about is by meeting local people. As a foreigner, it’s very easy to look for other foreigners and get closed in that community. The drawback is that you’re less likely to understand the local habits and culture.

In addition, socializing is networking and you’ll need a network once you start your business.

Network

Before you start a business you need a network but that’s not the only reason to network. Before you start a business you need to start discussing business. If you are an idea person you need to probe your ideas, ask for feedback, listen to external opinions. If you are not an idea person you want to start looking for ideas. Anyhow, networking means invaluable learning and great friendships.

I don’t recommend approaching networking from a utilitarian standpoint – it’s unnecessary pressure for yourself and it makes you sound less authentic. Again, it’s about socializing. Just start attending events and meeting people (you naturally will). Be willing to help in whatever capacity you can and you will soon see a snowball effect happening.

Put yourself out there

Finally, once you’re ready to make the jump, put yourself out there – start telling people you’re looking for a co-founder, or an idea, or money whatever it’s your case. People will try to help you, or they might remember you next time they hear a matching request from someone else. Leverage the network you’ve been building. Don’t be shy to ask for favors.

 

Some resources I found useful:

startupdigest.com – great to know what events are happening in your area

letslunch.com – great networking tool (for now only in the Bay Area)

meetup.com – look for informal meetups in your geography and area of interest

For blogs and written resources, I’ll default to the awesome list put together by Tom Eisenmann (all four posts on Launching Tech Ventures).

 

I like modern art and whenever I go see an exhibition and I often hear the comment "I could have done that". So why haven't you? There's one of two reasons: you're either full of shit or you're lazy. There's actually a third possibility that you think you did it and you end up suing Facebook but that's rare. Most likely you're full of shit. Let's be honest, you look at a painting for 30 seconds - have you really appreciated the details? Do you really know what it takes technically to accomplish that? Have you thought about the creative process behind it? The answer is probably not.

Seriously, think about the famous white painting. What support would you use? What treatment? What would you use to paint it? How can you make sure it's going to be really white? Think again about the last point. How big would it be? Would you add any creative detail or would it be just plain white? Think about it and then go here and compare. Do you think your idea is better?

A similar process happens with startups. People look at successful ventures and say, "I could have done it". Yeah, but you haven't. Why? Because it's all about execution, all about the details. I was thinking about this now that I'm starting a new venture. My task list keeps growing and I keep thinking 'but I had the vision and it seemed so easy, when did it become so complicated?’ The problem is that, even if you have the original idea and the vision of the final product, you still need to execute on that, prioritize, troubleshoot, manage conflict, manage yourself, and a long list of etc.

As with modern art, a lot of people look at startups and only see the plain white painting. They forget or they are not aware that behind simplicity or a great product there's hard work, sleepless nights, and lots of drama. It's a lot less sexy than it looks like and it requires a lot of passion. I'm not giving myself a pat on the back; I'm just saying you're full of shit if you're an icouldhavedonethat-er.

 

 

What did you learn from your previous startup experience? This is a question I get a lot and one that I’ve asked myself plenty of times. I could tell you my top 3, top 5 and top 10 lessons learned but I usually end up spending a lot of time on my no. 1 lessons – don’t pick a fight with your board.

This is more profound and complex that it sounds – make sure you know whom you pick as an investor, the same way they pick you as an investment.

I came to learn the hard way how important this is. Not that I believe I had a lot of options – it was 2000 post-bubble in Southern Europe, believe me, it was nearly impossible to raise money, let alone to pick who to raise it from. In any case, I don’t think I would have thought about all the implications of this decision, even if I had more options available.

Know what your needs are

Investors should add value to a venture but, as a founder, you’re the one who knows where they can add the most value. Do you need a key hire? Will you need additional funding soon? Do you need clients? Think about what skills and means you’re missing and how investors can fill in.

I was building enterprise software. I was fresh out of college; I had little sales experience (other than small charity fundraising and a lemonade stand when I was a kid), zero enterprise sales knowledge, and a very small network in Spain, where the company was based. I needed investors that could introduce me to potential early adopters, so I picked one who was also a prominent businessman that could either introduce me to potential key customers or whose name I could use to break into potential clients. This was my first concern and they were a good match.

Align expectations

What are your goals for the company and how/when are you planning to achieve them? Make sure investors knows about this. You might say – Doh! It’s all over my pitch deck! I hope so, but make sure you understand their real expectations and their main concerns.

My investors wanted to cash out ASAP. I was building software for mobile devices in 2000 – it was a long-term bet on a market that didn’t exist. It was a terrible match. They didn’t tell me they wanted a quick exit but I should have read it – they expressed their concern that our product was very early stage, the market potential was not fully proved, etc. I can argue they should know better, that we didn’t hide any information, but that’s useless. Somehow they rationalized their decision and I didn’t anticipate their concerns.

Get along - you’re partners

Finally, make sure you get along with your investors – go have dinner out, grab a drink, hang out. A good personal relationship will make your life and that of your venture a lot easier – board meetings are more pleasant, doors are more easily opened, communications flows with no friction. I made the mistake, at some point, of looking at my investors as if they were trying to steal my pie instead of growing the pie together. Huge mistake. It’s stressful, it’s a waste of time, and it was ultimately the perfect excuse for them to look for the early exit they wanted.

 

As I watch the economic and financial crisis unfold in Portugal, I’ve been thinking about the reasons why, as a nation, we became so risk-averse and so dependent on the government and big corporations. I extend this analysis to the vast majority of European countries, as they're not dramatically different in this particular aspect.

Culture vs. Education

Growing up, I heard again and again that entrepreneurship is something you cannot teach – it’s cultural they say. The US are naturally entrepreneurial because it’s a nation of immigrants that had little to lose and a lot to build. I say that’s bullshit. It’s obvious that today the US have a much stronger entrepreneurial culture, supported by a huge startup community and large amounts of VC money. Can you replicate something like this? Absolutely! It starts with education. How much does a 20-year-old kid fresh out of college have to lose? We need to instill entrepreneurial values while these kids are in school – show them some success cases, let them talk to inspiring entrepreneurs, let them know about the risks but also the rewards. Damn! You just have to put it side by side with the shitty entry-level corporate job they can aspire to and it’s obvious they have very little to lose.

The ecosystem

The second step (with many middle steps) is to build the ecosystem that can support entrepreneurship – VCs, incubators, supportive community, entrepreneur-friendly legislation. This is trickier. I'll ignore legislation as I don't think it's a significant roadblock at this point. For years now, the European Union has tried to build this ecosystem in a centralized and bureaucratic way – the only way the EU knows. Centralize the major funds to support innovation, distribute some more money to national governments, and expect people to be creative. This approach has given very little results – you cannot build many small communities spread around Europe from an office space in Brussels. The ecosystem cannot ignore the education system, which will feed the community with fresh wannabe entrepreneurs that, by nature, will run away from bureucracy and 100-page long application forms.

Leadership

Finally, in order to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem you need consistent leadership – not one that changes every 4-5 years and is more interested in political results than long-term effects. You need a bunch of very smart people committed to the cause and a long-term vision that they're willing to sustain. Portugal, as most European countries, has decided that the government is the most qualified agent to lead this process. The results are visibly painful.

When I first came to the US, almost 4 years ago, it was hard to imagine that I would end up where I am today. After a mildly successful startup out of college and two failed attempts to start a new venture in Portugal, I thought my times as an entrepreneur were gone. After all, I was coming to business school with the promise of a juicy 6-figure salary. I underestimated two effects: a startup-friendly environment, not only at MIT but later in the Bay Area, and my appetite to build new products and businesses with the implied increased risk.

Today I feel the same rush I felt the day I decided to turn down my well-paid job offer out of college and start my own company. There is a huge difference though – the amount of support and encouragement I’ve been getting from the startup community in the Bay Area is hardly comparable to that I received in Portugal and Spain 12 years ago.

As an immigrant in the US, it is now evident to me why this country has been able to sustain its leadership in innovation – the creative energy and support to entrepreneurship is incomparable to what I’ve seen in other parts of the world and it pushes you to come up with new ideas and build new products, some of which will change the world.

This is day 1 as immigrant entrepreneur in the US and I’m hoping this is the beginning of my contribution to change the world.