My talk track for the Success Summit keynote

A few weeks back I was honored to give the closing keynote speech at the Success Summit in Athens. Needless to say, I had a blast.

I’ve gotten to where I prefer to speak without slides or notes, and so as I prepare for something like that it always helps me to have an outline of the topic points so that I can clearly remember how to get from one to the next. If I can memorize the flow, the talk will go according to plan.

As you’ll see above, I had essentially three “sections” to the talk: opening on failure, six stories from my past that emphasize failure, and then general advice to the audience of entrepreneurs. Some of the bullets are probably too cryptic to parse out, so here’s the gist:

• Learn to fail, because it’s necessary for survival. 
• You have to be “all in” on your business. 
• Manage your cash effectively in the early years if you want to survive.
• Figure out your key focus and point of differentiation as a startup.
• The leader must lead by example. A lesson I learned from my college tennis coach.
• As you grow, don’t forget the importance of culture. I quit having a personal office in order to keep this top of mind.
• Always have a clear path for your financial runway (i.e. How long can you survive?)
• Advice for entrepreneurs
• Are you a growth oriented leader? If not, re-think starting a business.
• Start a business by finding your passion, or solving a problem.
• Keep in mind, your idea is irrelevant if you don’t execute. It’s all about execution.
• Know the end game.
• Get started…today!