Before+the+Startup

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Course Home Page =In short=
 * 1) Understand yourself. Visit Keirsey.com. Take the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTS-II) survey! Send a PDF of the results of your sorter survey to me at NVDBAMA@gmail.com. ** In the body of your email, write ONE PARAGRAPH that discusses how your temperament might both help and hinder you from being an entrepreneur. **
 * 2) Read the materials presented below on financial statements and accounting terms and take a quiz (link to quiz is here and below)
 * 3) Watch Paul Graham's video entitled "Before the Startup" and take a quiz (link to quiz is here and below)

=Philosophy= Starting a new venture involves the creation of wealth by identifying a solution to a valuable problem, usually one you are directly experiencing, through the hard, even heroic, work of a small team of entrepreneurs with limited resources. Over the early life cycle of the new venture the founders will need to secure financing from outside sources and present (hopefully) plausible projections about how the financing will be converted into exponential revenues. This skill isn't based on an understanding of corporate finance principles or even portfolio-based investment logic (though those skills are likely useful in established companies or financial service firms), but on understanding what you need in terms of developing resources to serve your growing customer base and provide 10x financial returns to your investors.

I'll probably write more in this section in the near future, but you need to know that some people (e.g., Paul Graham) believe you should focus more on understanding how to solve difficult problems rather than how to negotiate a series FF round of private equity financing. I want you to understand how the finance part of entrepreneurship works so you won't get screwed by unscrupulous investors or by your own lack of understanding of new venture financing.

Meanwhile, having a basic understanding of YOURSELF and financial statements and accounting terms is a good start...

=**1. Understand yourself.**= Visit Keirsey.com. Take the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTS-II) survey! Send a PDF of the results of your sorter survey to me at NVDBAMA@gmail.com. **In the body of your email, write ONE PARAGRAPH that discusses how your temperament will help and hinder you from being an entrepreneur.** This activity is worth 5 points. For those of you who are interested in reading an overview of the four temperaments, [|read this].

=2. Financial statements= (Quiz = 5 points) Most texts on finance and accounting focus on established firms with long performance histories. Startups have no such histories. When you are thinking about finances for your team and startup, as well as potential stakeholders such as accountants, investors, and suppliers, you should focus on these six analyses and statements:

Read:

 * 1) Break-Even Analysis (link to Google doc)
 * 2) Startup Costs Worksheet
 * 3) Monthly Budget for First Year
 * 4) Balance Sheet
 * 5) Income Statement
 * 6) Working Capital and Sources and Uses of Funds Statement

Finally, you should understand how the income statement contains several "stories of managerial effectiveness."

**Here is the link to your quiz for financial and accounting issues:**
[ Financial Statements and Accounting Terms Quiz ]

=3. Before the Startup (Paul Graham, Y Combinator) = Source of video with related lecture materials ** How to get startup ideas, Paul Graham (see also PaulGraham.com) ** **Peter Thiel on secrets **(not part of Paul's presentation, but related and awesome)
 * Read: **

**View: **
**Paul Graham (9/30/14) (BELOW: Paul is an exceptionally good fisherman) **

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**[[image:Quiz animated.gif]]Answer these questions: **
**Paul Graham "Before the Startup" Quiz ** (Quiz = 5 points)