Stealth start-up Clinkle got good press recently.
The reporter focused on the unusually deep Stanford roots of the new enterprise. While that is interesting, I found a lot more.
In this blog, I have focused on what can be useful to people like you who are keen to learn what happens in real start-ups, especially those whose founding core team is heavily composed of students.
So let's take the story apart and see what it reveals:
- Leader's family's immigrant history typical. Lucas Duplan, "son of Croatian parents" fits the pattern seen often before in Silicon Valley start-ups: Immigrants and their children have unusually high drive and desire to excel. One VC's survey revealed 62 percent of their portfolio's founder CEOs were immigrants ("green cards"). Good news: This is one aspect of an unfair advantage that others cannot easily duplicate.
- Leader thinks big and bold. Lucas has the mindset sought after by VCs. He starts with a big idea. He is bold in forming his plan and raising seed financing. That's outstanding good news to the ears of winning venture capitalists. Bad news: Lucas could be dreaming about more than he can handle.
- Idea from personal frustration and emotions. Lucas was bothered that he could not use his smartphone like money. Personal needs often trigger the spark that grows into a hot start-up idea. Smartbook began as a college lark. Cisco grow out of frustrations of Stanford University people trying to cope with data storms on campus IT networks between a quagmire of different computers, operating systems and interspersed networks.
- Market category clear. It is the e-wallet market segment, already named, already emerging. Good news: It is clear. Bad news: It is already there, no opportunity for Clinkle to create and name it.
- Crowded market. Though new, the e-wallet market is already filled with different companies seeking the magic thing that gets millions of consumers going wild about using their smartphones to purchase things. Good news: A lot of people anticipate this could be a huge market. Bad news: Lots of competitors with a head start.
- Chance to be "First-to-get-it-right". So far, in the U.S. there is no Gorilla dominating the new market segment. Many are trying, small and large. Africa is the most advanced in the world at using phones to pay for things, but so far none of those competitors is headed for the U.S. That leaves the door open for Clinkle to be first to get it right. Good news: No danger of being "first mover" and thus getting pioneering arrows in Clinkle's back.
- Secret sauce. Clinkle has something hidden that is central to the specialness of their offering. While buried so far, we do know "Clinkle aims to let people pay at retailers using a smartphone without stores needing a major tech upgrade." So we'll have to wait to see what the secret is all about. I am willing to bet this will launch as a flanking strategy, into uncontested territory where Clinkle could quickly establish itself as the leader. Good news: Some very smart, IT savvy Stanford faculty liked the secret sauce enough to invest in the seed round. Bad news: Could be a dud, an idea that does not attract the millions needed for this kind of consumer enterprise to succeed. A great deal hinges in this secret whatever-it-is.
- Execution risk is high. "Execution of a start-up's business plan is everything" is a truism ingrained in the venture world. Doing well what you think you have to do is very demanding for start-ups. This new enterprise is run by students and recent graduates. It has nearly zero experienced managers and IT professionals. Good news: Youth that does not know better can do amazingly creative things, quickly. Bad news: Mistakes in execution, in a crowded market can lead to fatality.
- High early burn rate. With about 30 employees, Clinkle is burning a lot of cash already. The company has announced it will double the number shortly and move to new quarters in San Francisco. Veteran venture investors are reluctant about feeding fledgling start-ups with too much early cash, it is too often wasted. Good news: Bold thinking with confidence is evident. Bad news: Sounds like it could be either an amazing success or an amazing high profile dud.
- 2 years old. Sounds like progress has been made. Certainly in fund raising (read the article for who invested). And hopefully in building a working prototype and gaining a sharp focus on marketing the new product. Good news: Progress in several aspects builds momentum and grows reputations as successful. Bad news: No signals yet about first launch date.
- Rolling thunder launch. Plans are to start selling via college students ("like Facebook"). There are merits in that, one being that peer group is already hooked on using smartphones for as much as possible. The bad news: As an infrastructure play, starting tiny can simply open the door to giants eager to cover the U.S. with some sort of copy of Clinkle. Clinkle's business success depends on some sort of widespread network and related infrastructure coming together at the right places in the right time. That is daunting to any new enterprise. The secret sauce is probably about a solution to that issue. Good news: This issue is a big barrier to competitors. Bad news: There are a lot of un-controllables that have to happen, well, for Clikle's success.
- Enthusiastic culture. From photos and words, it is clear that Clinkle's company culture is full of energy and is very enthusiastic. This may be one of the central elements of the company's unfair advantage. Employees (with stock options) like that can do amazing, very creative things. Clinkle can just look out the window to see the giants who rode to success on their special company culture. That is only good news and is very valuable, too often overlooked by first-time entrepreneurs.
- Buzz has begun. Good news: The press is picking up "the story" about Clinkle. Bad news: The stealth start-up is no longer in a very stealth mode, perhaps talking publicly prematurely.
BOTTOM LINE: This exciting start-up has a lot going for it, the envy of many other new enterprises. It's success is not yet assured. But it is an excellent case study for you. Review the elements and issues noted above, then apply them to your own business plan. That can boost your chances of success as you craft your unfair advantage.
I wish you The Best on your Adventure!