You have a great startup idea and are working hard to build, launch and scale it. But stay with us here, are your ideas really good? According to James Currier — founding partner of NFX, a VC firm by and for entrepreneurs — good ideas include There is a pattern, 90% of the ideas he sees in the pre-seed/seed stage will not lead to big exits.
A five-time founder with significant exits in multiple sectors, Currier is the most well-equipped investor and operator to help answer this important question. We look forward to seeing him on stage at his TechCrunch Early Stage on April 20th in Boston, Massachusetts.
In the session “How to Make Sure Your Startup Ideas Are Actually Good,” Currier shares a variety of tactics, including:
- Recognize platform changes that enable something new.
- Identify fast-changing markets where TAMs are not large and growing.
- De-risk your ideas.
- It repeats concepts that already work and why you shouldn’t be afraid of your competitors.
Feel free to bring any questions as there will be plenty of time for Q&A during the session. Currier is passionate about helping entrepreneurs and new founders evaluate their companies early on, making sure they are tackling the right problems and providing the right solutions.
Want to dig deeper into this topic? During the show, Currier will also host roundtables (focused small group discussions) to give founders more time to ask questions.
James Currier, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor at DoorDash, Lyft, and Patreon, has invested in four VC-backed companies (Monster-acquired Tickle, Kabam-acquired WonderHill, PayPal-acquired IronPearl, Jiff ( Acquired by Castlight)).
Currier is an early pioneer of some of the most used tactics in the tech startup world, including user-generated models, viral marketing, A/B testing, and crowdsourcing. In 2015, he co-founded NFX, a $475 million early-stage venture focused on network effects businesses.
Currier is a regular speaker at numerous industry conferences. She has also been featured in Forbes, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, TechCrunch, and Silicon Valley Business Journal. You can read his analysis of network effects and growth on NFX.
TechCrunch Early Stage sessions give attendees plenty of time to engage, ask questions, and gain a deeper, actionable understanding of the topics and skills critical to startup success. Buy your Early Bird Founders tickets now and save $200.
