Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. If you haven’t yet finalized the business model, cost projections, and customer segments, you aren’t ready for investors.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Statistics Startup Social Media 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. Due diligence always involves on-site visits, informal discussions with any or all members of the team, vendors, and good customers as well as bad.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 151

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I’m comfortable with introductions and then getting into the demo.&#. I believe in this so much that, despite my post advising you to be prepared for the *norm* in VC, I wrote a post about a company that came in for a presentation and never even got the slides out or presented a demo. Just jump into the demo after intros.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

What I want to hear is an innovative marketing and growth strategy that will set you apart in the minds of investors, as well as customers. Today’s customer is especially attracted to companies like TOMS , who donates a pair of shoes for every pair they sell, or Patagonia, with its support for grassroots environmental groups.

Marketing 170

Marketing Startup Examples Customer 170

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2023

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give.

Organization 92

Organization Incubator Startup Resource 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2012

Many entrepreneurs work hard on the proof of concept (technical), but skip any proof of the business model (revenue flow). In other words, once they are convinced that the product works, they assume their price, sales channel, and marketing will bring in the customers. Get a reference customer. Use focus groups.

Entrepreneur 99

Entrepreneur Pricing Customer Custom 99

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give.

Resource 159

Resource Startup Incubator Seed Funding 159

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

Packaging, pricing & discounts – In the early days of my first company we always had “list prices&# we quoted to customers and of course we were always willing to negotiate based on who the client was, how important the business was to us, who the competition was and how well the deal was negotiated. I was the laggard.

Sales 296

Sales Pricing Startup Customer 296

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. If you haven’t yet finalized the business model, cost projections, and customer segments, you aren’t ready for investors.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Statistics 109

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2020

As an aspiring entrepreneur, one of the most important things you need is a memorable “ elevator pitch ,” to communicate your startup value proposition and leave a great first impression on friends, investors, employees, and future customers. Describe technology and features, not competitiveness.

Sample 127

Sample Summary Startup Slides 127

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2018

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. If you haven’t yet finalized the business model, cost projections, and customer segments, you aren’t ready for investors.

Funding 62

Funding Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup 62

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 18, 2014

We just had the demo day for our third batch of companies. It''s not a three month program, demo day, and folks move out or move on. We take companies all through the year, and have a demo day once a year with the companies who are ready for demo day, where they present, while other might not. That''s the minimum.

Incubator 187

Incubator Southern California Startup Ideas 187

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

Some readers have commented that in today’s world you shouldn’t even need a PowerPoint presentation – in this era you should always just demo your product. I also recently wrote a post about a company that came in for a presentation and never even got the slides out or presented a demo. Who are your key customers?

Venture Capital 238

Venture Capital Slides Startup Sales 238

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

However, most often, these funds are solicited by a well-meaning entrepreneur from investors who are not qualified as accredited investors under the law (currently requiring a proved income of $200,000 a year or $1 million in net worth for an individual investor). Dave’s book and ebook on raising money available on Amazon.com.

Venture Capital 266

Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2013

Many entrepreneurs work hard on the proof of concept (technical), but skip any proof of the business model (revenue flow). In other words, once they are convinced that the product works, they assume their price, sales channel, and marketing will bring in the customers. Get a reference customer. Use focus groups.

Product 94

Product Pricing Customer Custom 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. Due diligence always involves on-site visits, informal discussions with any or all members of the team, vendors, and good customers as well as bad.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

I rarely talk to any startup entrepreneur or VC who doesn’t feel it and somehow long for simpler times despite the benefits we all enjoy from increased enthusiasm for our sector. For entrepreneurs there’s too much money sloshing around. We are experiencing a frenetic time. For investors life is no different.

Software Review 150

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

It included one firm who I asked not to call Salesforce.com as a reference (they were our largest pilot customer) and in their kindness they called Marc Benioff (the CEO) and asked his opinion. The first attention we started getting was after we launched the company publicly at Demo on September 25th of this year. Page 3: Competition.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2012

After struggling to create your business plan for months, every entrepreneur likes to think that their document is inspirational and will reach someone who is smart enough to see the brilliance of the idea, intuitive enough to recognize their business acumen, and enthusiastic enough to offer the money required to make it happen.

Summary 97

Summary Technical Review .Net Ideas 97

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

As a VC I of course want you to come see only me because that means I have no competition and have time to properly get to know you. Remember, I was an entrepreneur for 10 years before a VC). Most entrepreneurs don’t put enough effort into these phases. friendly, but direct in my thoughts. You can’t ask for a generic person?—?it

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 15, 2011

Many entrepreneurs work hard on the proof of concept (technical), but skip any proof of the business model (revenue flow). In other words, once they are convinced that the product works, they assume their price, sales channel, and marketing will bring in the customers. Get a reference customer. Use focus groups.

Startup 93

Startup Pricing Customer Custom 93

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

And a few teams of super talented, educated and bright entrepreneurs make a few mill. And they might give a premium if the team has been around a longer period of time, has built some hard-to-build proprietary technology or has some customer traction. Get yourself in a big demo day competition. in their 20′s.

Press 357

Press Startup Yahoo Venture Capital 357

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

Here is how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Define the characteristics of the overall industry, market forces, market dynamics, and customer landscape. Explain how you will make money and who pays you (real customer). Competition and sustainable advantage. Opportunity sizing.

Slides 99

Slides Competition Sample Sales 99

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 10, 2012

The team subsequently earned a coveted position in Launchpad LA's current accelerator class after winning the Crowdstart LA competition. We’re a tool for hackers, designers, and entrepreneurs - effectively everyone who reads Hacker News. to actionable user feedback, "Just went through the demo. For us, the audience was perfect.

News 198

News Sites Startup RSS 198

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

After struggling to create your business plan for months, every entrepreneur likes to think that their document is inspirational and will reach someone who is smart enough to see the brilliance of the idea, intuitive enough to recognize their business acumen, and enthusiastic enough to offer the money required to make it happen.

Summary 97

Summary Technical Review .Net Ideas 97

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2010

Here is how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Define the characteristics of the overall industry, market forces, market dynamics, and customer landscape. Explain how you will make money and who pays you (real customer). Competition and sustainable advantage. Opportunity sizing.

Slides 94

Slides Competition Sample Sales 94

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

4 times / 100 means if a customer uses your app frequently (say 10-20 times / day) then they are crashing nearly every day. Customer Acquisition. At the highest level you’ll obviously want to track how many customers your adding every month (and for some businesses that have hit scale this is measured on a daily basis).

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup SEO Customer 346

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

Here is how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Define the characteristics of the overall industry, market forces, market dynamics, and customer landscape. Explain how you will make money and who pays you (real customer). Competition and sustainable advantage. Opportunity sizing.

Slides 93

Slides Competition Sample Sales 93

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

Here is a demo of our trading platform: Do you have plans to launch an offline-say SMS-based bitcoin? We currently are registered with FinCen at the federal level, and have Anti Money Laundering ( AML ) and Know Your Customer ( KYC ) systems and procedures in place to be compliant with US law. Any competition?

Southern California 76

Southern California Startup Platform Santa Monica 76

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

Atlas Powered has raised $700k from Tech Coast Angels, Maverick Angels, Pasadena Angels, Angel Capital Entrepreneur Fund, LaunchpadLA, and Clark Landry. Less Neglect helps companies reduce churn, upsell users, and increase customer acquisition rates. . · YieldMetrics has already raised $1.7 I think the model works well,” said McCann.

GRP Partners 96

GRP Partners Startup Tech Coast Angels Bertelsmann 96

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 5, 2010

Many entrepreneurs work hard on the proof of concept (technical), but skip any proof of the business model (revenue flow). In other words, once they are convinced that the product works, they assume their price, sales channel, and marketing will bring in the customers. Get a reference customer. Use focus groups.

Tips 48

Tips Pricing Customer Custom 48

socalTECH

MARCH 2, 2020

Are Android and iOS then your competition? David Smith: We actually have customers now. We are the core platform for the next generation of AR on 5G, and I think that's the turning point for understanding the need for this, and indeed that we're building a new paradigm for what's occurring. David Smith: Actually, we work on them.

Platform 168

Platform Startup Examples Web 168

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 12, 2017

So when we come across an entrepreneur who cannot resist using 20 words when 10 would suffice, it’s painful, really painful. For instance, we ask what makes your solution special and, in another question, ask you to specifically drill down into your competition and how you are better. Q: Tell us about your customers/users ….

Tips 70

Tips Startup Statistics Metrics 70

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

We will be bringing you some of the hottest startups around to give you a quick rundown about their companies and get to know the entrepreneur behind those companies. This Panel is filled with investing super stars who will be going over must have content for all the startups and entrepreneurs out there. Adrenaline Fueled Angel.

Social Media 71

Social Media Technical Review Mixergy Tech Coast Angels 71

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

I raised money as an entrepreneur, like you, in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005 for two different companies. Trust doesn’t come from one 45-minute Powerpoint pitch or 30-minute demo. I never suggest that entrepreneurs just randomly pitch VCs. You’ll never make a great entrepreneur. ” (Zig Ziglar).

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

How To Pitch A Product - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , August 4, 2010 I've said a bunch of times on this blog that the perfect pitch is a very short intro to provide context followed immediately by a demo. He blogs to 10,000 web entrepreneurs at Software by Rob and co-hosts the podcast Startups for the Rest of Us.

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

Just because a product has a patent, deep complexity and an obvious competitive advantage does not mean that it can fly by itself into the market. How-to learn about angel/vc term sheets - Gabriel Weinberg , June 28, 2010 I think every startup entrepreneur (and angel investor) should have a good understanding of financing term sheets.

Startup 175

Startup Venture Capital Slides Blogging 175