{"id":42690,"date":"2023-10-20T15:23:03","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/dean-mcevoys-nine-tips-for-startups-and-one-tip-for-investors-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:23:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:23:03","slug":"dean-mcevoys-nine-tips-for-startups-and-one-tip-for-investors-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/dean-mcevoys-nine-tips-for-startups-and-one-tip-for-investors-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Dean McEvoy\u2019s nine tips for startups (and one tip for investors) – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

Dean McEvoy is something of a hero among Australia\u2019s startup scene, having sold his second company, the daily deal site Spreets, to Yahoo! for $40 million. His current startup Icon Park, a crowdfunding platform for restaurants, looks to be a hit too, attracting considerable attention, including whispers of a TV deal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So when McEvoy says chasing money \u201cf-cked my business\u201d, people pay attention.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speaking at the Vivid Sydney Smart Money event, McEvoy recounted how in 2003 he was standing outside Centrelink waiting to go on the dole. He had an idea for an online restaurant reservation business, and had heard about the government\u2019s NEIS program, which supported business founders with weekly income. Problem was he needed to be on social security to get it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Next up he heard about the now-defunct COMET grant, but was told he needed patents to be legible. Again he got patents, just to \u201cchase the money\u201d. He even signed himself up to Australia\u2019s version of Dragon\u2019s Den<\/i>, but that got axed before it went to air (thankfully, he adds).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In fact, Booking Angel, McEvoy\u2019s first startup, didn\u2019t get anywhere, but it took him five years to realise that it wouldn\u2019t and that his priorities in getting cash had badly influenced his decisions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It took a friend, co-founder at Eventbrite Kevin Hartz, to confront him about why he was doing it when after five years he still had no money or success.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here is his seasoned advice for Australian startups:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Get the team right \u2013 that includes you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. Make sure you have product market fit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Make sure there is an authentic connection between you and the problem you are trying to solve. If not, you\u2019re likely to move on when things get tough.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. Australia is not the best country in the world when it comes to government support for startups, but just get on with things. It\u2019s good enough. Be successful in spite of it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. Governments need to get out of the way! At the same time, the government still thinks of Christopher Skase when it comes to entrepreneurs and treats them like criminals with its red tape. Move aside.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6. If investors don\u2019t say yes, move on.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

7. Don\u2019t waste time on valuations when it comes to dealing with investors; take the money you need for 12 months.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

8. Be prepared to lose 30% equity if you\u2019re inexperienced and 10% if you\u2019re not.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

9. Create something bigger than you. \u201cCreate a movement, not a business.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And his last tip is for investors:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

10. Slow decisions will mean you miss out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dean McEvoy is something of a hero among Australia\u2019s startup scene, having sold his second company, the daily deal site<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42690"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}