Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. Every pitch should start with a concise statement of the problem and your innovative solution.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Statistics Social Media 109

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

Your historical trading information including financials and a “customer file” which shows the history of your transactions so that investors can run “cohort” analyses Customer reference, personal references, key team members, compensation, cap table, stock option plan, etc. It doesn’t. The data room is where your process goes to die.

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

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. That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 151

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. Every pitch should start with a concise statement of the problem and your innovative solution.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Statistics Startup Social Media 124

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2021

The alternative is to create systems and processes , starting before the first customer arrives, and providing the resources, documentation, and training to every team member as they come on board. In fact, you as the owner may not even be the best person for the job. Only the business owner can create processes.

Startup 107

Startup Training Guide Sales 107

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2018

If you are one of the thousands of entrepreneurs who need equity funding to get your startup going (no loans to repay), you are probably overwhelmed at the prospect of finding, contacting and pitching to the huge number of qualified angels and investment groups around the country. Prepare a slide deck to highlight product and business.

Platform 94

Platform Equity Invest Technical Advisors 94

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2014

Let me be clear – business plans are never “required,” they should never be written “just for investors,” and if you sold your last startup for $800 million, most investors will not expect a plan document. Investor and strategic partner pitch. Pitch your company, not your product. Financial model.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Slides 108

InfoChachkie

MAY 12, 2016

Refine Your Personal Pitch. You can easily avoid awkward pauses by weaving your Personal Pitch into your networking conversations. Your pitch should comprise the following three elements. If you are networking to assist a startup you are advising, you can substitute the company’s pitch for your personal pitch.

Company 80

Company Companies Startup Mentor 80

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2015

Here is my outline of key deliverables that could convince me that you are a cut above the “average” entrepreneur that approaches me with nothing but a dream and a prayer: Personal video introduction with elevator pitch. Investor and strategic partner pitch. Pitch your company, not your product. Financial model.

Startup 104

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Slides 104

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2019

Each of us can remember a time when we prepared a report that no one read, or filed physical documents never used, and no one seemed to care. For an employee who enjoys direct people interaction, adding floor time with customers would better serve everyone. Ask for help in eliminating useless tasks.

Tips 96

Tips Satisfaction Training Mentor 96

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2018

Here is my outline of key deliverables that could convince me that you are a cut above the “average” entrepreneur that approaches me with nothing but a dream and a prayer: Personal video introduction with elevator pitch. Investor and strategic partner pitch. Pitch your company, not your product. Financial model.

Startup 65

Startup Entrepreneur Slides Content 65

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

I fully espouse his explanation of how and why every entrepreneur needs to hone his skills and document his own personal leadership guide, to be comprised of the following four main parts: Establishing competence and building trustworthiness. Personal action speaks far more loudly than any rhetoric. These are the hard parts.

Startup 107

Startup Technology Guide Entrepreneur 107

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

On December 2nd, 2006 I wrote the blog post published later in this post when I was CEO of startup Koral about my experiences in pitching VCs. I had kept a personal blog for more than a year and was new at keeping a professional blog. You have an “hour” to pitch in your first meeting. My blog was wiped out.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Tech.Co

JUNE 7, 2017

Further, nobody automatically pitches an idea out in the open. Aside from maintaining a sense of control, they can be at a disadvantage when it comes to protecting pertinent documents. Two-person office workers took an average of 50 percent more. Non-work chatter mostly pervades the open environment. Lack of Privacy and Control.

Startup 119

Startup Study Research Design 119

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2017

I agree with her recommended steps for every new venture, to find the alternatives that match your requirements, prepare for the process, and close on your terms: Define your personal goals and values for investor alignment. Document the investment types you are willing to consider. Methodically address every obstacle head on.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Equity Capital Entrepreneur 88

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2017

Trying to stack the deck probably won’t work, but some effort makes sense, since I have personally seen more than one deal fall apart due to key team members being totally out of sync. This meeting should include the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone.

Invest 59

Invest Startup Doc Slides 59

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2013

He explains in detail how and why every entrepreneur needs to hone his skills and document his own personal leadership guide, comprised of the following four main parts: Establishing competence and building trustworthiness. Personal action speaks far more loudly than any rhetoric. These are the hard parts. Committing to action.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Technology Startup Guide 92

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

And a key point is that when it comes down to “negotiations&# you need to turn up your personal heat and dial back the middle man. One thing I learned from the book is that real estate agents always sell their personal property at higher relative prices than their clients’ properties. They want to place this person.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Outsource 319

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 15, 2012

Even if you’re the shiest of shy, you’re bound to interact with at least one person while you’re there. The visible press pass label is a people magnet – most people you pass want to talk, discuss, pitch. I received dozens of long emails each day with press releases, pitches, news and information.

Press 103

Press Email Tips Conference 103

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. Every pitch should start with a concise statement of the problem and your innovative solution.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Statistics 109

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2017

Stick with people you meet through warm introductions, or count on the integrity of professionals who have a visible reputation and references, instead of a legal document. Prepare a high-level pitch. The same is true for strangers who may approach you at networking events or industry conferences.

Technical Review 61

Technical Review Patents Ideas Social Media 61

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an Angel investor. Every pitch should start with a concise statement of the problem and your innovative solution.

Entrepreneur 119

Entrepreneur Technical Review Statistics Startup 119

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

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. That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 28, 2012

Having been on both sides of this sensitive topic, the following is my personal advice. I personally believe it is appropriate to say. When I was raising money I pitched to several VCs. There are some partners that after the first meeting ask for belt-and-braces document exchange. The First Meeting.

Technical Review 316

Technical Review Venture Capital Customer Custom 316

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2018

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. Every pitch should start with a concise statement of the problem and your innovative solution.

Funding 62

Funding Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup 62

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

Shockingly, some of the recommended tactics pitched by NPS gurus could actually decrease your sales by solidifying a propensity to not promote your solution. As noted in Personal Pitch , entrepreneurs must make it easy for others to help them succeed. Reciprocity is another well-documented persuasion technique.

.Net 182

.Net Satisfaction Entrepreneur Customer 182

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

Co-mingling personal and business funds and accounts creates legal risk and tax liability, and makes your efforts look like a hobby. Prepare a pitch deck to document and share your plan. I suggest the following sequence of startup preparation steps: Create a business entity early to isolate business efforts.

Funding 73

Funding Social Media Slides Platform 73

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2010

Avoid conversational, first-person writing. (“Hi, Avoid personal pronouns like, “my, our, we, and us,” in general. If you’re pitching your plan to Aunt Mary or Uncle Butch, then a conversational tone is probably okay. If you’re pitching to a member of an organized angel group, then a business-like tone is in order.

Writing 97

Writing Summary Ideas Research 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2014

A key success element is to start by avoiding the known list of interviewing and hiring mistakes that have been documented many times by human resources professionals. Helpers are expensive, since it often takes longer to jointly do a job than it would take one qualified person to do it alone. “I Look for job knowledge first.

Startup 96

Startup Statistics Summary Entrepreneur 96

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

Scott Sangster: I'm a serial entrepreneur, and I have been angel funding personally. Scott Sangster: It's only January 25th, so I'm not sure whether I'd like to opine on the deal quality for the year just yet, but we are seeing lots of people applying for our Fast Pitch event in February. What does get deals to go along smoothly?

Tech Coast Angels 182

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 182

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2016

The psychology involved in winning over others has been studied and preached for generations and continues to evolve as our culture changes, as documented on the website Psychology Today , and many others. Personalize your message to match receiver background. Good marketing is just a subset of these efforts and skills.

Ideas 56

Ideas Study Entrepreneur Customer 56

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

Shockingly, some of the recommended tactics pitched by NPS gurus could actually decrease your sales by solidifying a propensity to not promote your solution. As noted in Personal Pitch , entrepreneurs must make it easy for others to help them succeed. Reciprocity is another well-documented persuasion technique.

.Net 168

.Net Satisfaction Customer Custom 168

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2013

A key success element is to start by avoiding the known list of interviewing and hiring mistakes that have been documented many times by human resources professionals. Helpers are expensive, since it often takes longer to jointly do a job than it would take one qualified person to do it alone. “I Look for job knowledge first.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Startup Statistics Resource 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2013

Of course there are scenarios where a written business plan is not critical, but I haven’t seen one yet where a well-written 15-page document, or at least a 10-slide pitch, is a negative. You need an investor, and want a document to mass-mail to everyone. With bootstrapping, no business plan is expected by anyone.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Technical Review Writing Slides 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2013

Don’t try to talk your way to a deal before you have the documentation. Practice every step, including the elevator pitch to get the first meeting. Make a personal connection, directly or indirectly. If you don’t personally know anyone on this list, talk to every professional friend you have to see who they know.

Venture Capital 101

Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 101

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2018

In the case of the investment they are often also not only committing personal risk of looking bad at their partnership if things don’t go well but also countless hours of board meetings, financial reviews, legal documents across what is often 7–10 years or more. Embrace “no” and don’t take it personally. It wasn’t surprising?—?if

Funding 189

Funding Software Review Entrepreneur Venture Capital 189

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

If you have not seen the Firm’s recent music video entitled I’m A VC , take a moment to watch it now – it will give you a window into Brad and Jason’s respective personalities and the degree to which they do not conform to the stereotypical stick-up-the-ass venture capitalist. Things I Loved. Don’t Email Carpet Bomb VCs. No Often Means No.

Venture Capital 205

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Writing Guide 205