Sessions at SXSW Interactive 2012 about Entrepreneur and products

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Saturday 10th March 2012

• X of Y: How to Ensure Your Startup Is Defensible

  by Dave Gilboa, Katia Beauchamp, Peter Coles, Eric Koger and Sam Shank

  Entrepreneurs often pitch their ideas as “the X of Y”. Match.com for farmers… Foursquare for parking lots… Gilt Groupe for grandparents. It is both efficient and lucrative to take what already works and extend it to a new niche, a new country or a new context. Innovation through localization or specialization has launched many successful businesses.

  On the flip side, say you have a truly innovative and disruptive idea. Good for you! That’s only the beginning. Companies like Groupon and Gilt launched with unique business models, but now they each have a slew of imitators and have spent fortunes to stay at the front of the pack. In a time of easy capital, fast development and expensive intellectual property rights, how else besides capital can a company stay defensible?

  • Defense
  • Entrepreneur
  • products
  • Startups

  At 5:00pm to 6:00pm, Saturday 10th March

  In Salon B, Hilton Austin Downtown

  Coverage audio clip