Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 25, 2009

I’ve sat through a lot of VC pitches and having been CEO of an enterprise software firm for many years I’ve also sat through many customer meetings with sales teams. The VC might have tried a few times to prompt a discussion and you didn’t take the queue but in stead reverted back to slides.

Venture Capital 275

Venture Capital Sales Slides Startup 275

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

. - 500 Hats , July 30, 2010 Kathy Sierra at Business of Software 2009 - Business of Software Blog , May 4, 2010 Customer Development Checklist for My Web Startup – Part 1 - Ash Maurya , February 16, 2010 How-to learn about angel/vc term sheets - Gabriel Weinberg , June 28, 2010 Why Every Entrepreneur Should Write and 9 Tips To Get Started - OnStartups (..)

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 13, 2018

As a VC and former entrepreneur let me offer you some advice. The mistake entrepreneurs make is either writing a lengthy email (everybody has too much email so it will get skimmed / not digested) or not having a deck which means the VC can’t quickly determine his or her fit as a potential investor. The key is WHAT you send.

Venture Capital 261

Venture Capital Slides Email Startup 261

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2010

A perfect round number is ten slides, with the right content, that can be covered in ten minutes. Most advisors will tell you to write the business plan first (20-30 pages), then distill the key points into a set of Microsoft PowerPoint slides for standup presentations to potential investors. Opportunity sizing. Marty Zwilling.

Slides 94

Slides Competition Sample Sales 94

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2010

But in my experience as an entrepreneur and now spending my time amongst investors I can generalize that almost all VC investments in early stage technology & Internet investments come down to just four key factors. This post was prompted by an email exchange I had with a young entrepreneur. And VC’s are tough customers.

Startup 360

Startup Venture Capital Invest Slides 360

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

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. Here is how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Explain how you will make money and who pays you (real customer).

Slides 99

Slides Competition Sample Sales 99

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

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. If you’re not “feeling it&# then you need to get to the slides or demo quickly as a means of trying to engage. I need something structured like slides or a demo to orient me.

Venture Capital 238

Venture Capital Slides Startup Sales 238

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2009

I recently got a phone call from an entrepreneur whom I respect and who runs a company that I hope will do great things one day. Entrepreneurs get so used to friends and family congratulating them on their press coverage that they forget sometimes that this isn’t real. Many entrepreneurs have a PR page in the PowerPoint deck.

Venture Capital 291

Venture Capital Press News Startup 291

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2021

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. For aspiring entrepreneurs, or if your last startup failed, it’s all about standing out above the crowd of others like you, and demonstrating your readiness.

Entrepreneur 156

Entrepreneur Tips Funding Startup 156

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

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 had slides with moving images and music. This was evident at the Twiistup pre-event company pitch last week at UCLA.

Startup 362

Startup Twiistup Slides Screening 362

Berkonomics

APRIL 19, 2012

Professional investors laugh when they hear an entrepreneur state, “We have no competition.” It is a failed litmus test for the entrepreneur, even if the plan is for a totally new device or service that could take the world by storm. So, do your homework especially well by putting yourself into the minds of your potential customers.

Competition 189

Competition Slides Sales Ideas 189

SoCal Tech Calendar

JULY 30, 2020

Monday, August 3, 2020 -- Fixing the Top Fundraising Mistakes Startup Entrepreneurs Make. Join JJ Richa in a fireside chat with Scott Fox, CEO of the OC Startup Council, for a discussion of the top mistakes that early stage entrepreneurs make when pitching their startups for funding. See [link] (more)

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Slides Startup Venture Capital 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2022

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. The classic book, “ Hunting in a Farmer's World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. Dini makes the case that entrepreneurs are hunters, while the rest of us (large majority) are farmers.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Marketing News Slides 124

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 27, 2012

Entrepreneurs can still build big businesses on the outskirts.” David encourages entrepreneurs to stay away from the big tech firms (such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple) because they are hard to compete with. As per my video, think about the data in the following slide. Where David is Totally Right.

Technical Review 299

Technical Review Venture Capital Yammer Google 299

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 5, 2011

As noted in RIP RFPs , entrepreneurs should generally avoid RFPs because they cannot afford to expend the time and resources required to participate in such regimented and lengthy sales processes. If the other party asks you to send them your slides, find out why they need them. No one can tell your story better than you.

Startup 216

Startup Slides Resource Organization 216

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

I know because many entrepreneurs I spend time with I can tell are in their own brains when we’re meeting rather than trying to understand what my position is. You’re in sales mode. Let’s assume you run a Customer Support software company. That stuck with me long before I was ever a CEO (aka chief salesman).

Sales 314

Sales Startup Venture Capital Custom 314

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 28, 2010

And having frameworks is a useful way to standardize your customer studies so that highly intelligent, inexperienced young people can crank out PowerPoint slides with such authority and beautiful consistency. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice. But tell me how practical is the 7s’s, really?

Startup 378

Startup Framework Slides Coach 378

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

As startup entrepreneurs we all want to work with them because having their name as reference clients makes it so much easier for marketing, PR, selling to other customers, fund raising and even recruiting. Have minimums but a sliding scale. It’s basically an excuse for you to have a regular meeting with your customer.

Startup 298

Startup Sales Slides Metrics 298

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. It’s when the game slows. ROI studies were published.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2014

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. A recent book, “ Hunting in a Farmer''s World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. Dini makes the case that entrepreneurs are hunters, while the rest of us (large majority) are farmers.

Entrepreneur 109

Entrepreneur Startup News Slides 109

InfoChachkie

JULY 7, 2016

The entrepreneur cannot wait to show me their product via a demo. Most entrepreneurs seem confused by my reaction and often say something like: “VCs love demos. Fool A Fool – I sold surgical robots from PowerPoint slides in the early 1990’s, before the robots existed. Customers Are All That Matter.

Venture Capital 176

Venture Capital Product Software Review Technical Review 176

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2010

If you don’t already read Chris’s blog you should – it’s very well written, often takes a strong POV and speaks from an entrepreneur’s perspective but with a huge knowledge of the technology investors as well. I covered this a bit in my post about the market definition slide in fund raising. He is both.

Product 348

Product Startup Design Blogging 348

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2013

They envision a stable environment after that point, and may have convinced themselves that they will be safer and happier with a livable income, maintaining a loyal but flat customer base. Even great entrepreneurs are amazed at how fast this can lead to a non-recoverable situation. Your income drops. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Slides IP Technology 105

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2020

Jeff Bezos is one of the world’s most admired entrepreneurs, primarily because of his humble style and his growth from a regular person background to a current net worth in the neighborhood of $200 billion dollars. It allows investors to come into alignment with customers. Focus relentlessly and passionately on the customer.

Slides 137

Slides Custom Customer Satisfaction 137

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2023

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 147

Slides Funding Technical Review Startup 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2015

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. The classic book, “ Hunting in a Farmer's World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. Dini makes the case that entrepreneurs are hunters, while the rest of us (large majority) are farmers.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur News Slides Startup 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2014

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. For aspiring entrepreneurs, or if your last startup failed, it’s all about standing out above the crowd of others like you. Financial model.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Slides 108

Berkonomics

APRIL 11, 2019

An entrepreneur pitches using a deck with no slide for competition. Professional investors laugh when they hear an entrepreneur come out with that one. It is a failed litmus test for the entrepreneur, even if the plan is for a totally new device or service that could take the world by storm. We have no competition.”.

Competition 120

Competition Slides Research Sales 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2011

They envision a stable environment after that point, and may have convinced themselves that they will be safer and happier with a livable income, maintaining a loyal but flat customer base. Even great entrepreneurs are amazed at how fast this can lead to a non-recoverable situation. Your income drops. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur Slides IP Technology 95

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

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. You’re Not a Real Entrepreneur - Steve Blank , June 10, 2010 Who is an entrepreneur really? Yes, even bootstrappers. liquidation preference.

Startup 175

Startup Venture Capital Slides Blogging 175

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2013

On a regular basis, I am approached by entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like a recent BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this NY Times article. For the rest of you entrepreneurs, consider the value of a business plan when it is not required.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Technical Review Writing Slides 100

socalTECH

MARCH 18, 2009

Andrew has recently been interviewing interesting entrepreneurs and thought leaders, and recently interviewed Brian Johnson , the founder of eteamz, Zaadz, and Philospher's Notes. But it turns out that parents who used the site only wanted basic features, like the ability to see a picture of their kids sliding into third base.

Mixergy 113

Mixergy Company Companies Slides 113

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. Customers and team members must be inspired, rather than pushed.

Custom 140

Custom Customer Slides Commerce 140

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 Custom 296

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

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

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

In that same post Why you shouldn’t keep your startup idea secret where he argues to make things open, he defines only one group of people that you may want to avoid having a conversation with: The handful of people in the world who might copy your idea are entrepreneurs just starting up with a very similar idea.

Startup 211

Startup IP Ideas Patents 211