Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2023

In the last few years I have seen a popular business model emerging which embodies a greater focus on social and environmental responsibility, and a new requirement for trust and sharing, as well as customer and community collaboration. The days of mass production and commodity pricing as an asset are gone.

Commerce 109

Commerce Slides Customer Custom 109

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2020

It allows investors to come into alignment with customers. Focus relentlessly and passionately on the customer. Bezos asserts that the advantage of being customer focused is that customers are always dissatisfied. Bezos asserts that the advantage of being customer focused is that customers are always dissatisfied.

Slides 137

Slides Customer Custom Satisfaction 137

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

When pitching to investors, entrepreneurs always seem to start with a customer pitch, then add a slide or two about the business. In reality, they need a separate pitch about the business, carrying over only a slide or two about the solution. Remember, investors are buying into the business, not the product.

Product 103

Product Slides Customer Custom 103

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2010

Chris Dixon wrote a blog post last week titled, “ Techies and Normals &# in which he defined “Techies&# as people who are not just “early adopters&# but also have more of a geeky, technical, product bent. They use products because the products solve a need they have. Launch a product, iterate, fail fast.

Product 348

Product Startup Design Blogging 348

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 1, 2009

As organizations we have become more open and I believe this is great for businesses and their customers. We spent time out in the marketplace talking with customers, looking at their solutions, comparing ourselves with our competition and then squirreling ourselves away in our offices designing our next set of features.

Organization 280

Organization Customer Custom Tips 280

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2020

If you have ten minutes, that means no more than ten slides. I’ve seen several presentations that never moved past the first slide before running out of time. Remember you are pitching to investors, not customers. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch.

Startup 118

Startup Slides Technical Review Research 118

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 10, 2021

In the last few years I have seen a popular business model emerging which embodies a greater focus on social and environmental responsibility, and a new requirement for trust and sharing, as well as customer and community collaboration. The days of mass production and commodity pricing as an asset are gone.

Customer 140

Customer Custom Slides Commerce 140

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 26, 2010

And even then Microsoft has substitute products as anyone who has taken Econ 101 will tell you. The “competition slide&# of your investment deck is such a great opportunity to talk about how you’re positioned (premium product vs. economical product? Competition. Harvey Balls.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital Slides Competition Education 313

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

I’m still amazed at how many technical entrepreneurs don’t have a business pitch, and offer me their product pitch or product spec instead. I’m a technologist, so I always love to learn about the product, but every investor needs to make sure you have a business, as well as a product.

Product 58

Product Slides Entrepreneur Invest 58

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2013

The point of PUCCKA was to develop a common methodology to make sure our whole team approaches sales with the same mindset and to give us a language to talk with each other about our prospects, as in, “have you identified your customers pain point yet?”. The goal is to get the customer speaking about their organization.

Sales 367

Sales Slides Startup Customer 367

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. Non-specific terms, like better usability and low cost don’t incite customers to action these days. This approach is not convincing.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I would argue that this mostly consists of consumer Internet companies (although not exclusively) and it is predominantly early-stage people who are product gurus and have a mildly technical bend to them. I’m a product geek more than a spreadsheet ninja. The product feedback will be invaluable. Mobile app?

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 20, 2013

Simply, this is identifying a customer need which has economic value to them if they can solve it. The reason for this is that the executives who founded the company have so much tacit knowledge of how to position their product relative to the competition that they can easily win campaigns when they’re involved. by your customers.

Sales 336

Sales Startup Competition Customer 336

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. Customers think about alternatives, and investors worry about competitors.

Sample 127

Sample Summary Startup Slides 127

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 20, 2013

It’s a shame because the ability to nail these presentations at key conferences can be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to influence journalists, business partners, potential employees, customers and VCs. They bring your product to life. Establish the persona of the person who would be using your products.

Slides 399

Slides Startup Conference Writing 399

Berkonomics

APRIL 19, 2012

Doing nothing is the main competitor for most products and services, whether a compelling new idea or a seasoned product long proven to be effective. It could be that a larger competitor has met with its customers, promising to extend its product line into this very niche.

Competition 189

Competition Slides Sales Ideas 189

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

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

In my experience, the key steps I look for always include the following: Testing the idea against customers who have money to spend. Prepare your marketing story for customers and investors. Start by developing an “elevator pitch,” that you can deliver in thirty seconds to hook a potential customer or investor.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2022

In business, entrepreneurs hunt for new innovative solutions to problems, new ways of beating competitors, new markets, and new customers. Only a few of these slide into farming, as the company grows in employees and products. All this made more sense to me as Dini defined the types of entrepreneurs into four categories.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Marketing News Slides 124

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

Almost always the CEO plus members of his or her management team including tech, marketing, sales and/or product. Assign out slides: The best way to involve your team members is to assign out slides they will own. But I find when you don’t assign slides that each person owns often the quiet team members get silenced.

Venture Capital 377

Venture Capital Slides Course Summary 377

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2019

Even if it’s only a few PowerPoint slides or typed paragraphs, writing something down is the first step toward making it real. Before you know it, you will have a ten-slide pitch that you can use to gauge interest from potential customers, as well as friends, family, and early investors.

Ideas 99

Ideas Slides Writing Startup 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2015

If you have ten minutes, that means no more than ten slides. I’ve seen several presentations that never moved past the first slide before running out of time. Remember you are pitching to investors, not customers. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch.

Slides 105

Slides Technical Review Startup Research 105

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

For what ever reason we’re wired to have amnesia during the run up and prescient memories of how we ‘knew it all along’ as soon as the slide begins. It’s when the noise stops and you can actually get customer attention, press articles and VC meetings. How frequently they’re using the product?

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2010

For extroverted people I recommend that entrepreneurs have an “executive summary&# slide up front that cuts to the chase. Don’t dwell on this slide for ever. If I have an hour with you I want to maximise the time we have a discussion so I want to get through the slides quickly. It’s in their personality type.

Slides 358

Slides Venture Capital Startup Summary 358

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2017

Management teams whisk through slides trying to get through a presentation to share how great things are going and they are eager to get through the meeting so they can get back to their real jobs. I can’t change who your board members are so let me offer some thoughts on how to make your interactions with your board more productive.

Tips 212

Tips Slides Startup Technical Review 212

Tech.Co

MAY 22, 2018

One of the biggest turn offs for investors are founders who don’t know the basics of their business, especially their market and customer. They have to know their industry, know their customers, and understand what it takes to make their customers happy.”. Try to keep the presentation tight, 10 slides is ideal,” Gruber said.

Tips 70

Tips Help Slides Technical Review 70

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2013

If you have ten minutes, that means no more than ten slides. I’ve seen several presentations that never moved past the first slide before running out of time. Remember you are pitching to investors, not customers. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch.

Angel 102

Angel Funding Slides Technical Review 102

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

If you have ten minutes, that means no more than ten slides. I’ve seen several presentations that never moved past the first slide before running out of time. Remember you are pitching to investors, not customers. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch.

Startup 64

Startup Slides Technical Review Research 64

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2021

In a two-minute video clip, you can introduce yourself, show your passion and the engaging personality you need to win over customers, partners, and employees. A perfect size is ten slides, with the right content, that can be covered in ten minutes. Pitch your company, not your product. Executive summary glossy.

Entrepreneur 156

Entrepreneur Tips Funding Startup 156

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2015

And after one meeting they started asking for his advice about marketing, customer engagement, product design, monetization – whatever. Chamillionaire has a way more refined sense of what customer behavior is like than most ivy league graduates with nice Powerpoint slides that I meet.

Conference 150

Conference Slides Social Media Summary 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2019

For years software development worked on a “waterfall model” in which you did research, design, build, test, deploy and then watch how users reacted to your product. Often these projects took 12–18 months so by the time companies shipped product they often found out that the product didn’t meet customer needs.

Startup 234

Startup Slides Venture Capital Course 234

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 5, 2011

As such, simply refuse any and all requests for confidential information (especially financial data) from prospective customers, partners, suppliers, etc. You can effectively do so by utilizing an online meeting product, such as GoToMeeting or LogMeIn. If the other party asks you to send them your slides, find out why they need them.

Startup 216

Startup Slides Resource Organization 216

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2009

.&# They know instinctually how customers buy and how to excite them. They spot opportunities that aren’t being met and the design products to meet these needs. You can practically hear the “voice of the customer&# when they’re presenting their concept. Hold the phone far away from your ears.

Entrepreneur 306

Entrepreneur Startup Outsource Development Customer 306

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 8, 2009

In many cases, I can break it down into: Customer Acquisition Cost – how will you reach prospects, how will you convert them and how much will it cost to convert them Customer Lifetime Value – how much will you make off of each converted customer This very simple model works for a surprising number of business models.

Metrics 225

Metrics Startup Web 2.0 Slides 225

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. There was no viral social networking products back then like Twitter where people could easily discover your content. I wasn’t feeling it.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

A perfect round number is ten slides, with the right content, that can be covered in ten minutes. Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Solution product & technology. Here is how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Opportunity sizing.

Slides 93

Slides Competition Sample Sales 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2012

If you have ten minutes, that means no more than ten slides. I’ve seen several presentations that never moved past the first slide before running out of time. Remember you are pitching to investors, not customers. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch.

Tips 97

Tips Slides Technical Review Startup 97