How to build a successful start-up, according to Reid Hoffman

Oxford’s Said Business School is actually a rare place to be on a sunny Sunday at noon. But a talk by Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder, a successful angel investor and Oxford alum, was not to be missed.

The talk was largely about entrepreneurship, but also about philosophy. Mr Hoffman studied philosophy at Oxford and has used it to guide many of his investment decisions. He highlighted that to build a successful start-up you must do three things:

Look at market trends. Think about where markets will be in one, two, five, and 10 years.

Stay out of crowded markets. If everyone else is trying to build a ripoff of Uber or Airbnb, it is not something you should do too.

Identify intelligent risks. All start-ups face a degree of risk, but it is important to make sure you manage these risks.

Mr Hoffman also identified Bitcoin – and other crypto-currencies – as an area in which he remains bullish on.

Mr Hoffman appears generous with both his time and his money – he has donated $1m to help construct the the Oxford Foundry, a new startup launchpad in Oxford. He will also be advising students on their startup ventures.