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Hiroki Takeuchi
13 segments available
Talk at Startup School Europe 2014 at The Brewery in London
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Introduction to Hiroki Takeuchi
Hiroki Takeuchi, co-founder and CEO of GoCardless, introduces himself and shares the origins of his company, which simplifies recurring payments for businesses. He sets the stage for his talk by hinting at the lessons learned during the early stages of building GoCardless.
"Now on to the next speaker this afternoon. Hiroi is a co-founder and CEO of go-kardless which is the UK's leading direct debit provider and they now serve more businesses than any other direct debit p..."
The Start of a Journey
Hiroki reflects on the beginnings of his entrepreneurial journey, emphasizing that it started much earlier than he initially thought. He recounts his experiences at university, where he was introduced to the world of startups and entrepreneurship, which shaped his future.
"[Applause] Wow, it's uh really bright up here and I think that's a good thing. I can kind of barely see the back, so I can't really see how many people are in the room right now. Um, so hi, I'm Heroki..."
The Influence of Early Experiences
Hiroki shares how meeting fellow entrepreneurs during university opened his eyes to the startup world. He describes his internship at Automatic, where he gained firsthand experience in a startup environment, which proved invaluable when starting GoCardless.
"anecdotes as well. See if this clicker works. Okay, so our first story is about when your journey starts and actually that your journey starts way earlier than you think. When I sat down to, you know,..."
Lessons from Automatic
Hiroki discusses the lessons learned from his time at Automatic, including the importance of co-founders and the value of coding. He reflects on how these experiences prepared him for the challenges of starting GoCardless.
"me to this meetup for this society called Oxford entrepreneurs basically it was a student society that was there to promote entrepreneurship. And I remember my eyes being opened for the first time to ..."
The Importance of Early Connections
Hiroki emphasizes the significance of early connections and experiences in shaping his entrepreneurial path. He recounts the challenges faced during his internship and the lessons learned about customer engagement and product testing.
"cool. Come and like join us for the summer." And when I got there, it turns out that they'd actually teamed up with a guy called Patrick, who's actually on stage earlier, and they started Automatic to..."
Beware of Whiteboard Ideas
Hiroki warns against the pitfalls of brainstorming ideas on a whiteboard without practical application. He shares his experience with his co-founders, highlighting the importance of having a viable business idea before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship.
"heard some of the stories from founders back then. So, when it came to starting my business, I realized that I learned so much from my experiences at Automatic. When I first met Matt, would we have ha..."
The Challenge of Finding a Viable Idea
Hiroki recounts the struggle of finding a viable business idea after leaving their jobs. He discusses how they pivoted from their initial concept to eventually founding GoCardless, emphasizing the importance of building something meaningful.
"first jobs out of university and we were working as management consultants for our sins. And we quickly realized that we had this shared interest in starting a business and you know that maybe one day..."
The Pivot to GoCardless
Hiroki describes the pivotal moment when they decided to pivot their business to GoCardless. He reflects on the lessons learned from their previous venture and how those experiences informed their new direction.
"bit now in the story and you know, we this was 6 months later. We were out in Silicon Valley and we were working out of an apartment in the mission. We were on my combinator and we had a prototype of ..."
Building for Yourself
Hiroki emphasizes the importance of building a product that resonates with personal experiences. He reflects on the mistakes made in their previous venture and the necessity of creating solutions for real needs.
"much success. So, in a last stitch attempt to salvage something from the situation, we decided to pivot the business and become go-kardless. Now, we got lucky because a lot of the work that we' done f..."
Embracing Non-Linear Progress
Hiroki discusses the non-linear nature of progress in entrepreneurship. He shares insights on the importance of momentum and the need to embrace mistakes as part of the journey toward success.
"want to use myself? So, oh my third lesson is about focusing on momentum. Now, when I first started go-kardless, I thought that progress would be a fairly linear thing. I thought that we'd get from th..."
The Value of Momentum
Hiroki highlights the significance of maintaining momentum in the early stages of a startup. He encourages entrepreneurs to take action and course-correct rather than getting bogged down by indecision.
"just spend ages going from A to B and then realizing it was wrong in the end. Anyway, so our path just ended up looking like a zigzag, but just a much slower one. This is something that's happened so ..."
Being an Emotional Cockroach
Hiroki introduces the concept of being an 'emotional cockroach,' emphasizing the need for resilience in the face of challenges. He shares personal anecdotes about the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and the importance of perseverance.
"emotions that can withstand the biggest of ups and the biggest of downs. I remember when we were doing Y Combinator, Brian and Nate from Airbnb came and gave a talk. They told us about the first thous..."
The Rollercoaster of Entrepreneurship
Hiroki concludes with reflections on the emotional rollercoaster of starting a business. He shares his journey through challenges and successes, emphasizing the importance of support from co-founders and friends, and the ultimate rewards of perseverance.
"starting to think about investment. Now, for the last n months, you've got to realize that all of my friends thought I was broke and unemployed. So, we set ourselves a target. We said we will raise a ..."