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. Most entrepreneurs are.

Slides 358

Slides Venture Capital Startup Summary 358

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

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. I think the norm in the industry is still to see Powerpoint slides and I wouldn’t hold this against anybody.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

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

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 25, 2009

This involves a person who leads a PowerPoint presentation in which the presenter feels more comfortable racing through pre-practiced slides and rattling off charts & bullet points than having a discussion. 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

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. What is the timeframe for the exit?

Slides 94

Slides Competition Sample Sales 94

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 18, 2010

The first was to do a 5 minute “ignite&# presentation – 5 minutes, 15 slides. I did the outline of the 15 slides on the flight over (after a few beers). I tried to visualize how I was going to hit such a precise presentation where you get 20 seconds per slide and then they get auto forwarded. I couldn’t.

Slides 374

Slides Email Entrepreneur Startup 374

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. I was interested in learning more.

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. Hand out copies of the slides before the presentation for note taking, with proper cover sheet, with brochures, product samples, or other marketing material you may have.

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

InfoChachkie

JULY 1, 2013

You are an entrepreneur – go for it. If you are forced to display financial data, ensure that the slides are unintelligible. An effective method to incite Death By PowerPoint is to deploy an extraordinary number of slides. A minimum of 20 to 30 slides per minute is a reasonable rule of thumb. Of course not.

Slides 220

Slides Tips Startup RSS 220

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

I also sometimes start a speech by asked for people to raise their hands if they fit a certain demographic. &# Raise your hand if you’re an entrepreneur, raise your hand if you plan to raise venture capital in the next year, raise your hand if you’re a service provider to the startup industry,&# etc. For fawk sake, practice!

Startup 362

Startup Twiistup Slides Screening 362

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

AUGUST 12, 2010

We led off with a discussion about Slide being acquired by Google, which was breaking news in the time slot where we filmed this episode. Specifically we talked about Slide having gotten a $550 million valuation before being sold to Google for $182 million. Not as many entrepreneurs are aspiring to do it any more.

Venture Capital 232

Venture Capital Slides Seed Funding Google 232

InfoChachkie

APRIL 18, 2011

I documented these highlights on PowerPoint slides, using as many direct quotes as possible and splitting the comments into “Positive” and “Negative” feedback for each question. Thus, confident entrepreneurs understand the value of seeing themselves through the lens of seasoned executives whose opinions they value and trust.

Entrepreneur 217

Entrepreneur Startup Slides Examples 217

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

November 23, 2010 Entrepreneurs, Using Outsourcing to Obtain Capital Efficiency Needs to be Thought Through to be Effective - Robert Ochtel , June 7, 2010 Teen Entrepreneur, Brian Wong, Youngest Founder to Receive Angel Funding - teenentrepreneurblog.com , October 28, 2010 Build Your Own Silicon Valley?

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

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

FEBRUARY 12, 2010

You put some update slides on things like key hires or biz dev deals being negotiated and you didn’t plan to talk about them. But they were in a slide and people asked you questions so it ended up chewing up 30 minutes. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice. You didn’t intend it to happen that way.

Startup 331

Startup Slides Guide Writing 331

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

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

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

Berkonomics

JULY 3, 2014

When I give a keynote address, I often start by asking my audience, by raise of hands, to tell me how many are angel or VC investors, and how many are entrepreneurs, how many are service providers such as attorneys. Immediately, I can tell how to orient the explanations behind my pre-cast slides, based upon the response.

Slides 201

Slides Startup Venture Capital Organization 201

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

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

I believe the rise in angel investing is here to stay and the professionalization of this class (aka “super angels&# or “micro VC&# ) is a good thing for the VC industry and for entrepreneurs.

Invest 306

Invest Angel Venture Capital Slides 306

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

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. If you are raising funds, list “do nothing” as a viable competitor in your slide deck.

Competition 189

Competition Slides Sales Ideas 189

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

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2013

I “second the message” that chaos never subsides, from a couple of successful entrepreneurs, Clate Mask and Scott Martineau, in their book “ Conquer the Chaos.” Even great entrepreneurs are amazed at how fast this can lead to a non-recoverable situation. Do you have what it takes to achieve the real entrepreneur lifestyle?

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Slides IP Technology 105

InfoChachkie

JULY 1, 2013

You are an entrepreneur – go for it. If you are forced to display financial data, ensure that the slides are unintelligible. An effective method to incite Death By PowerPoint is to deploy an extraordinary number of slides. A minimum of 20 to 30 slides per minute is a reasonable rule of thumb. Of course not.

Slides 154

Slides Tips Startup Research 154

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

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. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice. You want them to earn.

Startup 298

Startup Sales Slides Metrics 298

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. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch. Then match your pace to cover all the material. Check the setup and set the stage.

Slides 147

Slides Funding Technical Review Startup 147

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

MARCH 12, 2011

I agree they certainly apply to the great entrepreneurs I have known. They never think they have "arrived"—because they know that once they think that, they'll start sliding back to the place from which they came. You need to think about how they apply to you. The best know what they truly want. They stay humble and hungry.

Entrepreneur 122

Entrepreneur Training Slides Pricing 122

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2011

I second the message that chaos never subsides, from a couple of successful entrepreneurs, Clate Mask and Scott Martineau, in their book “ Conquer the Chaos.” Even great entrepreneurs are amazed at how fast this can lead to a non-recoverable situation. Do you have what it takes to achieve the real entrepreneur lifestyle?

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur Slides IP Technology 95