Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 16, 2013

Turn on your phone and look at the productivity folder. You’ll be more productive within three weeks time. We discuss productivity, emails, communication, and the dynamics of the team. Must be something easy to use for non-task managers (he claims to be a very unorganized person). We’ve been there.

Product 99

Product Ideas Email Organization 99

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Certainly, bootstrapping is a preferred method of funding growth if it does not hold back the speed of growth or hobble the quality of product or service to the extent that better-funded competitors can overtake the business. There is a lot to say about retaining control. Many accelerators have come and gone during these past five years.

Venture Capital 295

Venture Capital Startup Class Invest 295

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

In this period (less than 2 years) he has brought on incredibly talented senior execs is sales, marketing, product management, client services, finance, vp engineering and more. Email updates frequently. Key point – if your emails are as long as my blog posts you’re forked. Make your emails actionable.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

socalTECH

MARCH 19, 2012

Are you the sort of person who relies on your friends to help you figure out the best places to explore on the web? We help you turn you and your friends into personal tour guides to the web, ultimately making it easier to find new and awesome sites through each other. I'm a person that loves discovering new stuff on the web.

USC 252

USC Startup Web Ideas 252

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

As VCs we’re inundated with emails from founders, friends, colleagues, angels, seed investors, VCs, law firms, venture banks, corporates and so forth with their favorite deals. What I’m saying is that you can’t spend all of your time in email working your inbox. I don’t want any formal pitches.

Startup 317

Startup Technical Review Venture Capital Email 317

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2020

The best businesses understand the difference and that communities are the single best advocates for others to buy your products. the customer on stage showing your product turns into an advocate or evangelist while the prospect is far more likely to be persuaded by a customer presentation than a salesperson’s pitch.

Software 234

Software Startup Tool Platform 234

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2020

This means meeting personally with real customers, in an environment friendly to them. Email surveys and voice response units are not effective listening. Questions that start with “why” invite a defensive response, and usually don’t lead to a productive dialog. Eliminate pride and ego from the equation.

Customer 128

Customer Custom Activity Social Network 128

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

I owe ya’ a 20 minute call (or in person next time I’m in San Diego). The value of Pitch Decks; Brad’s personal preferences on deal presentation; and Brad’s practice of accepting cold approaches via email. Are Pitch Decks becoming obsolete? Aren’t pitch decks still the norm? “I

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2020

If you or your team sees you as an idea person, your first task as an entrepreneur should be to find a co-founder who can deliver. Professional investors expect far more than an idea pitch – they are looking for a documented opportunity analysis and realistic financial projections. Detailed product specifications and prototypes.

Ideas 122

Ideas Entrepreneur Startup IBM 122

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2010

You bump into the person you’ve always wanted to chat with or your perfect business development partner who can “make” you. I’ve written about the “elevator” pitch before. One person who doesn’t waste this opportunity is Sam Jones of Formation Media. My partner was in product management at Demand Media. Don’t blow it.

Startup 315

Startup Content Conference Media 315

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

To be clear, I said that most companies I see pitching have COOs & I don’t have a rule against it. I usually judge people’s reactions not by the comments section of my post (where people are a little bit more polite so you get selective bias) but by the private emails I get. I expected it to be controversial and it was.

Startup 292

Startup CTO Hire Sales Email 292

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

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Most sophisticated investors ignore them, focusing their attention on an entrepreneur's pitch and presentation materials, financial forecast and executive summary. As noted in Entrepreneurs Shouldn't Pitch Their Ideas To Venture Capitalists , most sophisticated investors place their bets on people rather than opportunities.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

They pitched on a Wednesday. She learns how to ship product, how to deal with merchants, how to hire product managers. Always meeting her product ship dates. She was always able to get into the weeds on product or biz dev discussions. She speaks about ethical sourcing of eco-friendly products. Well, sort of.

Startup 398

Startup Design Downey Activity 398

Tech.Co

SEPTEMBER 3, 2015

There’s a lot of work that goes into selling the product to users who are already doing something a certain way. Tech.Co: What was the road like leading up to your initial pitch for the competition? We believe this in-person pitch to our family and friends is what really got them to support us and to share it with their network.

Competition 101

Competition Startup Ideas Conference 101

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

I was talking with an early-stage founder who has a product vision and wants to get it built. He is not a technical person, but is somewhat web savvy. He wanted to get input from me on what he's doing, and he wants to begin to ask developers what it would take to build his product. Or you can have a pitch deck.

Develop 354

Develop Development Technical Review CTO Coach 354

InfoChachkie

MAY 7, 2012

If you are fortunate to pitch a sophisticated investor in person, assume they already believe in the veracity of your idea, the market and the underlying technological trends. I similarly seek entrepreneurs who perceive failure as a personal affront and refuse to walk away from a venture, even when success seems remote.

Ideas 251

Ideas Venture Capital Education Entrepreneur 251

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 21, 2010

VC Pitch Decks. The great thing about the VC pitch deck is that you can have 30 slides. Give them the iPod not Microsoft Office products. If you can pick up a product and use it with no manual it is well designed. I review many products every week. &# WIDLIO. Leave the audience wanting to learn more.

Slides 346

Slides Software Review Blogging Venture Capital 346

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

This lesson on NINAs applies to VC pitches as well as any sale. And don’t assume that because a person’s title is “managing partner” or “founding partner” that this necessarily means that person has more authority than other partners. Every person with authority has a vote.

Venture Capital 308

Venture Capital Sales Entrepreneur Startup 308

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

As with any sales campaign you need to: Qualify your buyers early so you focus your scarce resources on people likely to buy your product. Spend time researching your buyers and not just pitching them. Meet in person. Trust doesn’t come from one 45-minute Powerpoint pitch or 30-minute demo. They’re buying you.

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

They’re pitching to you. I’d like to talk about Crocodile Salesmen in 3 scenarios: 1) when YOU are selling (or someone on your team), 2) when you are trying to recruit a sales person. What I personally recommend is that you use “What We Find’s.&# They don’t handle Twitter feedback, emails or IM.

Sales 314

Sales Startup Venture Capital Customer 314

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2014

There is real value in doing the key things yourself, before your startup is even started: Demonstrate thought leadership before selling a product. Craft and hone your elevator pitch early. Craft and hone your elevator pitch early. People tend to forgive controversial views if you arent perceived as pushing a product.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Social Media Startup Blogging 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2012

I’m talking about doing some real networking to test your elevator pitch, and get to know some potential investors before you ask them for money. Start writing a blog, speaking at local groups, and conversing at networking meetings about the need you see in the marketplace, before you pitch a solution. Practice your message.

Startup 96

Startup Writing Newsletter Blogging 96

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 27, 2013

Orapup Sold $1 Million In Merchandise Before Going Into Production. That as a business it is impossible to build your brand without an adwords strategy or partnering into a YouTubers existing audience or an having a robust email list. Think about how you would sell in person. Jeffrey Harmon, CMO of Orabrush and Orapup.

Dollar Shave Club 106

Dollar Shave Club Tips Marketing Sales 106

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 4, 2009

Many entrepreneurs who start technology companies are product people, technologists or savvy business people who worked previously for a larger company. If you sell a product direct to a customer – in person or on the phone – you need to understand what their pain points are and position your product benefits against those pain points.

Sales 319

Sales Startup Platform Tips 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

OCTOBER 29, 2018

In fact, your marketing costs using this approach may be far less than the traditional television, newspaper, and email campaigns. For example, it’s easy to get so focused on selling the product you have, that you miss the customer desire for free shipping, or personalization, or colors you don’t have.

Marketing 91

Marketing Examples Startup Customer 91

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 2, 2013

I've had several Startup CTO Consulting sessions recently where it became apparent that the Founder needed help with the business and product as much or more than the technology. Then I got an email that asked: I'm leading the marketing efforts for an early-stage startup. This happens a lot at the incubators / accelerators.

CTO Coach 259

CTO Coach Mentor Startup Technical Advisors 259

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

Swagger is shown from how the person handles a situation.” When interviewing a candidate try to understand if the person is a visionary or simply an old dog with old tricks. They may not be a salesperson by title — but they should be able to effectively pitch and sell your product to customers. Hire for Swagger.

Tips 182

Tips RSS Ideas SaaS 182

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2016

I’m not proposing that anyone promise things that they don’t intend to deliver, but it’s time that founders switch to start selling their product before they build it, rather than believing the old adage of “if we build it, they will come.” Craft and hone your elevator pitch early. Craft and hone your elevator pitch early.

Customer 58

Customer Custom Social Media Startup 58

InfoChachkie

MAY 22, 2012

“One of the big misconceptions in baseball is that playing the game keeps you in shape to pitch. Major League baseball pitchers spend far more time preparing to pitch than they actually do pitching. Step 2: Get Personal & Give Freely – Once you identify a handful of potential VC partners, stealthily cyber stalk them.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Capital Research Customer 236

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

He sent me a few nice emails. He founded a company and tried to persuade me to use his product (and invest). Of course he pitched me the entire ride down. I told him that he needed to ship product before we could fund it. Come to entrepreneur pitches. Sam had different plans. But I loved his hustle. And the idea?

Startup 372

Startup Course Ideas Invest 372

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 7, 2011

I’m talking about doing some real networking to test your elevator pitch, and get to know some potential investors before you ask them for money. Start writing a blog, speaking at local groups, and conversing at networking meetings about the need you see in the marketplace, before you pitch a solution. Practice your message.

Startup 92

Startup Writing Newsletter Blogging 92

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

I feel like I know him better personally since he's always in the chat room during the show asking questions). These partners travel to a city and take ten minute pitches from the entrepreneurs. It is possible to submit a plan through email but it is not the best approach. Is a completed product necessary to get funding?

Capital 284

Capital Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 284

InfoChachkie

MARCH 18, 2013

In order to extract value beyond your Angel investors' cash, you must first assess three important parameters: (i) the relative strength of their personal brand, (ii) their ability to add operational value, and (iii) the amount of care and feeding they will demand from you. If the pitch sounds good, they are "in." Share and Enjoy.

Angel 217

Angel Technical Review RSS Entrepreneur 217

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 22, 2015

This means meeting personally with real customers, in an environment friendly to them. Email surveys and voice response units are not effective listening. Questions that start with “why” invite a defensive response, and usually don’t lead to a productive dialog. Eliminate pride and ego from the equation.

Customer 104

Customer Custom Startup Social Network 104

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

I got an email recently from my friend & fellow VC, Jeff Bussgang from Flybridge Capital Partners in Boston. Her post is short & well written so definitely worth a read if you’re a startup person and want to hear some sensible views on sales. And that leads me to today’s post.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319