Berkonomics

JUNE 29, 2023

As a professional investor in early-stage companies, I have long discounted long, detailed business plans in favor of a concise “executive summary” followed by a believable spreadsheet-based financial forecast projecting three to five years into the future. Write these steps down in any form for now. The post So, what’s the plan?

Summary 156

Summary Resource Writing Email 156

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 12, 2015

I get questions from startup founders about executive summaries all the time. to “where can I get help writing one?” I answered some of those questions in a previous post, Crafting Your Executive Summary , so I won’t rehash them here. Here’s what not to do when crafting your executive summary. to “how long should it be?”

Summary 40

Summary Outsource Development Writing Outsource 40

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2023

If you don’t have the time to write things down, or your writing skills leave something to be desired, don’t be afraid to get some help. No executive I know writes all his own contracts, but every smart one owns every one that is written for him, and understands every element.

Startup 102

Startup Writing Mentor Sample 102

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 19, 2017

If you want people to invest in your idea, then my best advice is first write a business plan, and keep it simple. This means writing at the level of an average newspaper story (about eighth-grade level). The one-page Oprah plan is a good executive summary, but it’s not enough to get the investment.

Writing 56

Writing Tips Content Summary 56

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

Modern investors love to first read a two-page summary of your business plan, formatted like a glossy marketing collateral sheet, with text well laid out in columns and sidebars, and a couple of relevant graphics. You may have already found several articles, web pages, or books about writing the perfect executive summary.

Summary 55

Summary Writing Competition Metrics 55

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2013

Here is my edited summary of their ten principles, which I like and may convince you that you don’t need a business plan at all, or at the very least will help you write a better one later: A new venture is a means, not an end.

Writing 102

Writing Startup Entrepreneur Capital 102

Berkonomics

MAY 11, 2017

As a professional investor in early stage companies, I have long discounted long, detailed business plans in favor of a concise “executive summary” followed by a believable spreadsheet-based financial forecast projecting three to five years into the future. Write these steps down in any form for now.

Summary 243

Summary Resource Writing Email 243

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2021

If you don’t have the time to write things down, or your writing skills leave something to be desired, don’t be afraid to get some help. No executive I know writes all his own contracts, but every smart one owns every one that is written for him, and understands every element.

Sample 137

Sample Writing Mentor Content 137

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 such, the primary goal of your executive summary is to open the door to an in-person meeting. Entrepreneurs routinely seek my advice regarding their executive summaries.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

To be clear, I define a product specification as the technical definition of your product, to be used for development and testing purposes, with a quick business summary for context. Summarize all of the above in an executive summary. This summary if often extracted as marketing collateral, with text and graphics for pitch handouts.

Product 169

Product Summary Startup Examples 169

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 19, 2021

If you want people to invest in your idea, then my best advice is first write a business plan, and keep it simple. This means writing at the level of an average newspaper story (about eighth-grade level). The one-page Oprah plan is a good executive summary, but it’s not enough to get the investment.

Invest 135

Invest Tips Writing Content 135

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 19, 2019

I plan to write a series of posts on the topic. Equally, I plan to write for the benefit of investors and independents, too, to offer some tips on how can you get the most out of the boards on which you sit. I’m open to lobbying via Twitter (I’m msuster ) which order to write them in and/or if you think I’m missing a topic.

Startup 204

Startup Writing Framework Summary 204

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2021

Executive summary glossy. Disciplining yourself to write down the plan is actually the best way to make sure you actually understand it yourself. 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. Written business plan.

Entrepreneur 156

Entrepreneur Tips Funding Startup 156

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 5, 2019

The panels of seasoned and newer investors will focus on Early-Stage Venture Investing: How to meet investors, pitch them, and what it really takes to get them to write you a check! As an additional benefit, entrepreneur 1/4 page summaries will be given to the investor speakers and attendees.

San Diego 100

San Diego Venture Capital Angel Summary 100

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 29, 2016

Please read Greg’s summary of the GOAT story for a better understanding of entrepreneurial grit, stick-to-it-ness, pursuit of one’s passions and second chances. I was reluctant to write about GOAT because I don’t want to pretend that I deserve even 0.1% And here is Jason Del Rey’s announcement of the funding.

Venture Capital 199

Venture Capital Summary Writing Funding 199

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 7, 2019

The panels of seasoned and newer investors will focus on Early-Stage Venture Investing: How to meet investors, pitch them, and what it really takes to get them to write you a check! As an additional benefit, entrepreneur 1/4 page summaries will be given to the investor speakers and attendees.

Orange County 100

Orange County Venture Capital Angel Tech Coast Angels 100

SoCal CTO

APRIL 2, 2013

They look at the following high level definition of Lean: and they interpret that as write up an executive summary with your ideas and hand it to developers to build. What's Going to Go Wrong A lot of founders don't really understand Lean Startup principles. What's going to go wrong?

CTO Coach 219

CTO Coach Metrics Framework Software Development 219

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

An elevator pitch is a problem-solution summary that anyone can understand in a sixty-second ride up to their office in an elevator. You probably already know the key challenges to complete each step, but it helps to write them down, review them with peers, and have a written list to update as you learn more.

Writing 139

Writing Startup Summary Activity 139

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 17, 2011

So I thought I’d write a post about how I drive my personal creativity. (A EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This is a long post, so I put an executive summary here if you want to get the point without reading all the detail. If you plan to read the post you can skip the summary if you want. These are all creative processes.

Writing 356

Writing Startup Ideas Summary 356

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 8, 2010

Since it’s already written (and since I promised not to republish on my blog other than a summary) if you’re interested please have a read over there. Summary notes and then I’ll extend: Should you blog? Don’t just write a carbon copy of what somebody else is doing. And don’t blog drunk.

Blogging 286

Blogging Startup Writing Summary 286

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2010

By Mahesh Raj Mohan Writing a business plan can be a difficult process. you still have to write the plan for a particular audience. Your business plan’s writing style should take their preferences into account. So what writing styles should you use for these very different audiences? Hi, I’m writing this plan because.”

Writing 97

Writing Summary Ideas Research 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2022

If you can explain the problem to a mentor, or even write it down, you will more likely get to the root cause quickly, and avoid emotional and blame-infused responses. According to a summary of some classic research , those running their own businesses are happier and healthier than employees, regardless of how much money they make.

Startup 135

Startup Mentor Entrepreneur Technical Review 135

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2023

Here is my edited summary of their ten principles, which I like and may convince you that you don’t need a business plan at all, or at the very least will help you write a better one later: A new venture is a means, not an end.

Startup 142

Startup Capital Resource Research 142

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2013

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually understand it yourself. What is the definition of a good business plan?

Sample 92

Sample Writing Startup Summary 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2019

If you want people to invest in your idea, then my best advice is first write a business plan, and keep it simple. This means writing at the level of an average newspaper story (about eighth-grade level). The one-page Oprah plan is a good executive summary, but it’s not enough to get the investment.

Tips 96

Tips Entrepreneur Writing Content 96

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2015

If you don’t have the time to write things down, or your writing skills leave something to be desired, don’t be afraid to get some help. No executive I know writes all his own contracts, but every smart one owns every one that is written for him, and understands every element.

Startup 109

Startup Writing Mentor Sample 109

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 21, 2012

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually understand it yourself. What is the definition of a good business plan?

Sample 96

Sample Writing Summary Startup 96

TechEmpower

MARCH 27, 2013

The following post is a comprehensive summary of the developer-facing changes coming in Java 8. At the time of this writing, Java 8 development is still very much in progress. Package summary: java.util.function. Package summary: java.util.stream. Summary of proposal: JEP 101: Generalized Target-Type Inference.

Java 560

Java Class Software Review Examples 560

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

Here is a summary of some key items to think about as an entrepreneur before approaching friends, family, or even fools: Don’t be afraid to ask, carefully. Communicate the risks, and write down the agreement. If you set around quietly waiting for someone you know to offer you money to fund a startup, you will probably have a long wait.

Invest 135

Invest Technical Review Startup Ideas 135

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2017

Writing a business plan is hard work, so I get lots of pushback from prospective new venture founders that it’s just a waste of their valuable time in this rapidly changing environment. They all claim to have the plan in their head, and writing it down will only slow down their success.

Writing 71

Writing Startup Slides Entrepreneur 71

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

This trend so a huge rise in funds, dollars and deals in the seed category.

Venture Capital 328

Venture Capital Invest Seed Funding Startup 328

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15 If you invest early and then pull back in the next 3 rounds your multiples on cash invested are much higher than if you keep writing checks. As I tell our LPs, “if I’m not making you slightly uncomfortable when I’m writing my first check I’m not doing my job.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 23, 2010

I next write a paragraph to describe what I mean by each comment. Next time write it down when it happened. At the end of the evaluation I like to do a summary paragraph of the flavor of the evaluation. Don’t have your staff write their own reviews. Put it in writing. That will never fly. Self Evaluations?

Startup 297

Startup Writing Examples News 297

InfoChachkie

JULY 21, 2011

Paige is a gifted communicator and my summary does not do him justice. He offers a number of worthwhile tips and tricks that I was not able to capture in the textual summary, so the 14-minute audio file is well worth your time. What follows is a summary which paraphrases Paige’s responses. Click here to listen to the Audio File.

Summary 246

Summary Tips Sales Entrepreneur 246

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 24, 2010

I stumbled upon the Question, “ What-is-the-motivation-behind-writing-public-reviews-and-tips-as-on-Amazon-Yelp-Foursquare-StickyBits-etc &# and took the bait. Or let’s face it – writing lots of answers on Quora. So in summary, if you’re going to do a UGC site: Know that there will be three buckets of users.

Technical Review 294

Technical Review Writing Content Sites 294

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2015

If you want to get schooled by a guy who’s done it all I suggest watching this video interview I did with him that has already been watched 55,000 times or if you prefer a summary version in writing it’s here.

Conference 150

Conference Slides Social Media Summary 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2019

Most people will be engaged by a single-page double-sided glossy executive summary, and offer support or the right people to move forward. If you are an entrepreneur who doesn’t feel comfortable writing, there are many advisors, investment attorneys, and independent contractors who are available to help, for a fee.

Ideas 126

Ideas Slides Sample Examples 126