John Fan 樊立勳
Stanford
Silicon Valley
500 Startups
First version of PicCollage
Initial Launch
Top photo app in US, Japan
How to Build Product
1. Talk to your users.
2. Build. Measure. Learn.
3. Leverage Global Platforms.
1. Talk to Your Users
How to do User Interviews:
Ask open-ended questions.
Seek facts, not opinions.
Observe what users do.
Look for pain points.
Talking to users on the train!
2. Build. Measure. Learn.
Build an experiment
Measure the result
Learn and improve
Build the simplest thing possible
to test out your idea.
MVP = Minimum Viable Product
Interactive prototypes
A/B Test: Remove Watermark
3. Leverage Global Platforms.
Reach billions of users via
massive global platforms from
Facebook, Apple, Google, etc.
Launched everywhere on day 1!
100% Organic Downloads
App Store Optimization
Localized to 12 languages.
App Store Optimization:
Use tools to optimize keywords
Encourage user reviews
Update screenshots for holidays
Reached Top 10 in 150 countries!
Team
International team (TW & US)
Launched on iOS, Android & Windows
Raised $2.7M funding in Silicon Valley
120M downloads, 15M active users
Achieved profitability via IAP and ads
Working on video, computer vision...
PicCollage Company Culture
Open communication.
Flexible work environment.
Fun, creative & international.
Work smart.
Be proactive, not reactive.
Always be learning.
How to build a Startup Hub?
Startup Hub Ingredients
People - young tech talent
Money - angel investors
Culture - info sharing
Startups are hard.
Startups are weird.
People
Weird people who want
hard challenges.
Hustlers (who break rules)
Hackers (who love tech)
Designers (who love product)
Money
Rich people who
understand technology.
Angel investors
Venture capital
Culture
Risk-taking
Informal info sharing
Open, optimistic, idealistic
Pay it forward
California, 1960s
California, 1980s
"Silicon Valley" = A culture of
technical innovation,
collaboration and risk-taking.
No Silicon.
No Valley.
San Francisco SOMA
How to make a Startup Hub?
Walkable city that
attracts young people,
welcomes diversity,
has tech-savvy rich people,
and a thriving sharing culture.
Taipei Startup Cluster 台北新創聚落
Taipei Startup Cluster
Garage+, Appworks, MOX,
VentureLab, SYNTREND, Qualcomm,
Taiwan Startup Stadium, III,
CIT/FabLab, FutureWard, HWTrek,
Google, Microsoft, 數位時代,
Yahoo, KKBOX, Trend, Mozilla,
Cherubic, Cheetah Mobile, NTU,
and HUNDREDS of startups...
Taiwan Startup Stadium
Work with Platform Companies
Informal info sharing
PicCollage hosts community events for iOS,
Android, UI/UX designers and product managers!
What can Taoyuan do?
Connect with Taipei Startup Cluster
Attract creative young people
Promote programming skills
Make the world
more fun and creative!
How to build a global startup
from Taiwan?
Taiwan - from ODM to APP?
ODM: hardware, clients, tech
APP: software, users, design
In the APP era,
the smile curve has collapsed!
"Software is eating the world."
-- Mark Andreesen
Every company must become a
software company.
To build software for global users:
Software developers
UI/UX designers
International talent
Company culture
Market knowledge
Product process
SoMa (South of Market)
The importance of clusters:
Talent pool
Training
Collaboration
Partnerships
Informal info sharing
My ideas for Taiwan ecosystem...
Import more international talent
More English-speaking events
Set up a "User Interview" center
Provide more funding for TSS
Need to validate...
Talk to users!
tinyurl.com/tw-startup-survey
Thank you! :)
PicCollage @ Taoyuan
By piccollage
