socalTECH

DECEMBER 6, 2012

AngelHack, the self-proclaimed leader in hackathon competitions, completed its Fall 2012 season this past weekend with contests held simultaneously in five cities: Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Toronto and Paris. The three finalists qualify for AngelHack's Global Demo Day to be held on January 24th, 2013 in Silicon Valley.

Santa Monica 178

Santa Monica Competition Los Angeles Design 178

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I Let me show you a demo rather than a business plan.” Demos never go according to plan, and ones that work go on far too long.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Statistics Social Media 109

Berkonomics

APRIL 24, 2014

Although that is still a good idea in many cases, there is a recent alternative available to some entrepreneurs on a competitive basis that seems most attractive and positive. I used to tell them to find a partner with knowledge in business creation and management.

Coach 250

Coach Seed Funding Summary Incubator 250

socalTECH

JANUARY 31, 2011

San Diego-based Qualcomm has named the finalists in its second annual QPrize Venture Investment Competition, the firm's global venture capital competition for investment dollars.

San Diego 145

San Diego Competition Social Network Venture Capital 145

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

SoCal Tech Calendar

JANUARY 31, 2018

The event includes keynotes, fireside chats, presentations, panel discussions, tech demos, startup competition, innovative exhibitions, daily DJ music and performers and the best networking in the hotel's Sinder Lounge. See [link] (more)

Marina Del Rey 100

Marina Del Rey Entertainment Santa Monica Venice 100

SoCal Tech Calendar

JANUARY 30, 2018

The event includes keynotes, fireside chats, presentations, panel discussions, tech demos, startup competition, innovative exhibitions, daily DJ music and performers and the best networking in the hotel's Sinder Lounge. See [link] (more)

Marina Del Rey 100

Marina Del Rey Entertainment Santa Monica Venice 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I Let me show you a demo rather than a business plan.” Demos never go according to plan, and ones that work go on far too long.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Statistics Social Media Startup 124

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2014

We feel pressure to hit milestones for a variety of reasons: Investor presentations, conference demos, customer sales meetings, competitive pressures, a need to drive revenue, business development commitments – whatever. There is nothing that will focus the mind more than not wanting to be on stage with a demo that bombs.

Software 344

Software Startup Design Course 344

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. We called it PUCCKA.

Pricing 296

Pricing Sales Startup Customer 296

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. Act III – The Demo.

Venture Capital 238

Venture Capital Slides Startup Sales 238

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2010

You can always tell during this discussion whether the entrepreneur has logged into their products, talked to their customers, read all the news stories and gotten all of the back channel info on the competition. You can tell if they have a deep-seated competitive spirit. Can’t go a mile deep on competition?

Entrepreneur 286

Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire Sales 286

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

The Founder needs to remember that meetings up to this point have been primarily off-site, with staged demos, and managed personally by the CEO or a small team. A smart investor will take an independent final reading in the market on barriers to entry, active competition, demographics, and price sensitivity.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 29, 2013

I was just down at Demo Day for the USC Incubator. USC’s Marshall School of Business will host the second annual Silicon Beach Awards (SBAs), a $50,000 venture competition focused on innovation in technology & entertainment. They had some pretty high quality companies presenting. I also have a discount code below for the event.

USC 159

USC Cornerstone OnDemand Startup Conference 159

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2023

I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors. As evidence that it does work, CrunchBase reported that more than 200 companies in YCombinator’s Winter 2023 cohort were funded, and many were scooped up by VCs even before the Demo Days.

Organization 92

Organization Incubator Startup Resource 92

SoCal Tech Calendar

APRIL 20, 2011

How can you stay ahead in an increasingly competitive marketplace? LA Games Conference  now in its 4th year  features a lively and fun debate on timely cutting-edge business topics, demos as well unrivaled access to some of the most progressive companies in Hollywood, Silicon Valley and beyond.

Conference 124

Conference Press Hollywood Competition 124

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Whether the partner is a supplier looking to gain a lock on your business as it grows or a customer looking to create a competitive barrier through use of your product, such an investment typically carries fewer restrictions than from a professional investor and less oversight.

Venture Capital 295

Venture Capital Startup Class Invest 295

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors. As evidence that it does work, TechCrunch reported a new high of more than 200 companies in YCombinator’s Winter 2019 cohort, and many were scooped up by VCs even before the Demo Days.

Resource 159

Resource Startup Incubator Seed Funding 159

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I Let me show you a demo rather than a business plan.” Demos never go according to plan, and ones that work go on far too long.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Statistics 109

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2011

Give everybody pages of the deck they’re to cover or parts of the demo for which they are to talk. Can’t you just demo & talk? Demo could go here]. Competition. Equally likely you show your inability to listen to your team and your over dominance of conversations. Details on the solution.

Venture Capital 340

Venture Capital Slides Doc Startup 340

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.

Southern California 187

Southern California Incubator Startup Ideas 187

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I Let me show you a demo rather than a business plan.” Demos never go according to plan, and ones that work go on far too long.

Entrepreneur 119

Entrepreneur Technical Review Statistics Startup 119

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

Sponsor some friendly competitive events with prizes. Be sure to involve real people and real customers, such as GoPro cameras , with user generated demos and amazing aspirational videos. Let your highly motivated customers be your best marketing advocates for new customers. Everyone loves to compete, and maybe even win something.

Marketing 170

Marketing Examples Startup Custom 170

Tech.Co

APRIL 24, 2018

Being a part of the SOTY alumni lasts well beyond the pitch competition. One of our advisors heard about the Startup of the Year competition and thought we should consider pitching. The Startup of the Year competition has always recognized that great ideas and talent live everywhere – not just the coasts. APPLY HERE.

Startup 70

Startup Competition Google Capital 70

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2018

The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I Let me show you a demo rather than a business plan.” Demos never go according to plan, and ones that work go on far too long.

Funding 62

Funding Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup 62

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2014

I avoid Demo Days like the plague and have publicly said so. By the time it’s hit demo day I’m too late. I would talk about it (I don’t care if you think the idea is stupid) but frankly I don’t want to because I don’t want to encourage competition in this field of investment. End of story.

Venture Capital 337

Venture Capital Invest Ideas Entrepreneur 337

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

The Founder needs to remember that meetings up to this point have been primarily off-site, with staged demos, and managed personally by the CEO or a small team. A smart investor will take an independent final reading in the market on barriers to entry, active competition, demographics, and price sensitivity.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 151

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2020

Describe technology and features, not competitiveness. For customers, a sample, demo device, or at least a brochure will solidify the message and your readiness to deliver. The best hook for snagging an investor is a succinct definition of a real problem, followed by your unique solution.

Sample 127

Sample Summary Startup Slides 127

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2015

Then we launched our service in NYC and in just one year captured 2% of all new storage customers in our target demo in just one year with almost no marketing budget. And while physical storage is a $24 billion market in the US with no brand with more than 10% market share, emotional baggage is unlimited and has no competition.

Snapchat 150

Snapchat Press .Net Custom 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

My list of excuses includes: product, pricing, competition and lack of sales support. This includes presentations, ROI calculators, competitive analyses and so forth. When you are ready to hire sales staff I don’t recommend bringing in people who are too experienced.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 21, 2011

I dropped in to check out the contest a few times during the competition and the environment was uplifting and exciting. Sparqlight – parts prebuilt before competition. Quick Web App Builder (QWAB) – parts prebuilt before competition. The coolest part about these products was that most of the were live working demos.

Santa Monica 90

Santa Monica PHP Startup JavaScript 90

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 22, 2018

There will be demos, tutorials, and presentations on how to be safe.” Instead, it’s the fierce competition from hometown startups like local favorite Bird that Lime wants to overcome through brick-and-mortar marketing. The sheer number of Lime scooters in Santa Monica where the store will arise is already staggering.

Santa Monica 221

Santa Monica Startup Education Technical Review 221

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 8, 2014

The Demo unit we were shown included a battery-powered external HDMI monitor and USB wireless mouse & keyboard, allowing for a full TriCaster setup with only one power plug! TriCaster Mini is competitively priced at $5,995 base model, or with enhanced recording and remote-broadcast friendly embedded monitor for $7,995.

Screening 103

Screening Entertainment Content Platform 103

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 2, 2011

The second annual Auggies competition will take place at the heart of Silicon Valley as the brightest minds in the industry put on a show to impress the industry’s most iconic judges and inspire the audience packed with AR enthusiasts. The competition is still open for additional nominations until May 10th. said Bruce Sterling.

Competition 70

Competition Technology Activity Media 70

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

There are too many deals to look at, too many seed funds or angels asking you to look at deals and weekly “demo days” with manicured and monocultural presentations crafted by experienced story tellers to help even the mundane idea sound like it will. For investors life is no different. You don’t need to be hot.

Software Review 150

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

The first attention we started getting was after we launched the company publicly at Demo on September 25th of this year. A number of VC’s stopped by our booth or watched our demo on the DEMO website and we had about 5 proactive inquiries. The first VC I met with came from attending DEMO. Page 3: Competition.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Tech.Co

JULY 18, 2016

Several startups have been selected to demo their products for other founders and entrepreneurs. Startup of the Year competition, which will be held in San Jose, CA during the Innovate! And for those L.A. startups wanting to get recognized, Tech.Co’s Startup Showcase in Los Angeles on July 26th is the perfect opportunity.

Los Angeles 70

Los Angeles Angel Startup Newsletter 70