#TIAChat with 500Startups’ Dave McClure: 10 insights for startup founders

Tech in Asia was fortunate to have Dave McClure, founding partner at 500Startups, to join us for our first ever #TIAChat and take questions with regards to all things startups from the audience. As always, McClure was sharp and to the point, which meant lots of insights for founders to take away.

Many great questions and answers were fielded, but we’ve done the heavy lifting and picked out the top 10 points that will certainly whet your startup appetite.

How do you validate your idea, product, or service?

@Techinasia @ash_alwi again, this is super simple — get users, or better yet get CUSTOMERS. usage & revenue are great 4 validation. #duh

— Dave McClure (@davemcclure) August 27, 2014

How does one measure success in the first year of a startup?

@smritimodi @theitchlist 1) functional prod or svc + 2) early customer/usage. extra credit: 3) revenue 4) positive unit economics #TIAchat — Dave McClure (@davemcclure) August 27, 2014

And point zero as an afterthought:

@smritimodi @theitchlist actually i should have started with 0) convince a co-founder that you’re not crazy and join your team. #TIAchat

— Dave McClure (@davemcclure) August 27, 2014

How do you build a great team?

For mobile apps, what is the one user retention metric or ratio startups should track, and show investors?

Most interesting startups in Asia so far?

For a consumer-based marketplace, should founders be focused on revenue or users?

Given that business owners are a busy bunch, how to gain traction as a B2B startup?

Overview of Southeast Asian tech scene at the moment?

When is a country ‘ready’ for investments?

‘Hottest’ domain for startups in India?