Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Even if your product is a technological marvel, I look for balanced strength on the team in finance, marketing and operations. It starts with having a vision and an ability to get the message across in your elevator pitch, in a written business plan and one-on-one with potential investors.

Sweat Equity 152

Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Software Review 152

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2013

Yet 2013 is still projected by The Fiscal Times as a difficult IPO opportunity for startups, due to choppy markets, continuing fiscal uncertainty, and the Facebook fiasco. The market and venture capitalists are looking for business, but with a continuing focus on proven business models. Line up a winning team.

Venture Capital 252

Venture Capital IPO Elevator Pitch Initial Public Offering 252

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2014

Friends and family will likely not expect the same level of sophistication on the business model and financials as a professional investor, but they do expect to see certain things. Practice your “elevator pitch,” and end it by asking for the order. If they won’t do it, they why would I as stranger invest in you?

Technical Review 266

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence Startup 266

Up and Running

OCTOBER 22, 2014

So, you’ve been asked to write a business plan. It’s likely that your mind is filling with images of long documents, bad memories of writing term papers, and worries about doing market research and creating financial forecasts. Marketing activities: How will you let your customers know about your product or service?

Business Plan 130

Business Plan Elevator Pitch Forecast Partner 130

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2021

Yet I believe that business success is more a function of the person than the idea or the plan, so the best idea is one that is a best fit for you, and only you can assess that. The next step is to do homework on the business issues that are common to all ideas, such as market size, business models, and marketing.

Elevator Pitch 364

Elevator Pitch Matching Business Model Technology 364

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Friends and family will likely not expect the same level of sophistication on the business model and financials as a professional investor, but they do expect to see certain things. Practice your “elevator pitch,” and end it by asking for the order. If they won’t do it, they why would I as stranger invest in you?

Technical Review 273

Technical Review Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Due Diligence 273

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2023

They are willing to cover marketing, inventory and scaling, but not product development. An example might be 50 percent for marketing, 30 percent for inventory and 20 percent for staffing. These days, even viral marketing requires real money, for events and promotions. These must remain focused on scaling the business.

Elevator Pitch 228

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 228

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 18, 2017

The unique environment for financial services in Africa is fertile ground for innovative FinTech players who are capitalising on the opportunities to disrupt or leapfrog established business models to make financial services more affordable, accessible and profitable across the continent.

Africa 84

Africa Ethiopia Elevator Pitch Technical Review 84

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

Few investors these days have the time or patience to read a full business plan, so a better way to catch their eye is with a tightly written and well formatted two-page executive summary. Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology."

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Technical Review 120

Steve Blank

MARCH 8, 2011

It was designed to bring together many of the new approaches to building a successful startup – customer development, agile development, business model generation and pivots. Startups are in fact only temporary organizations, organized to search –not execute–for a scalable and repeatable business model.

Lean 303

Lean Business Model Customer Development Guinea 303

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2011

Friends and family will likely not expect the same level of sophistication on the business model and financials as a professional investor, but they do expect to see certain things. Practice your “elevator pitch,” and end it by asking for the order. If they won’t do it, they why would I as stranger invest in you?

Early Stage 247

Early Stage Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence 247

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2020

They are willing to cover marketing, inventory and scaling, but not product development. An example might be 50 percent for marketing, 30 percent for inventory and 20 percent for staffing. These days, even viral marketing requires real money, for events and promotions. These must remain focused on scaling the business.

Elevator Pitch 336

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 336

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

They must amplify your “elevator pitch” to investors, as well as key points from the business plan and the financial model. Prepare an investment-grade business plan. Every entrepreneur needs a professional business plan for their own use, whether they intend to seek investor funding or not.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

in Physics who talks passionately about starting a business producing nuclear powered batteries. I have tried to convince him the general idea alone does not make a business. His challenge is to focus on one market, with a specific design, cost, and price. Target measurements allow you to assess your business progress.

Elevator Pitch 315

Elevator Pitch Cofounder Dividend Leadership 315

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2010

Friends and family will likely not expect the same level of sophistication on the business model and financials as a professional investor, but they do expect to see certain things. Practice your “elevator pitch,” and end it by asking for the order. If they won’t do it, they why would I as stranger invest in you?

Technical Review 233

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence Angel Investor 233

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

They must amplify your “elevator pitch” to investors, as well as key points from the business plan and the financial model. Prepare an investment-grade business plan. Every entrepreneur needs a professional business plan for their own use, whether they intend to seek investor funding or not.

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. Is there a profitable business model? The Traditional VC Pitch Entrepreneurs who pursue the traditional product development model don’t have customer data to answer these questions.

Customer Development 266

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 266

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 23, 2020

Maria Colacurcio giving her winning pitch for Syndio in Seattle last fall. Last October, Colacurcio won season two of GeekWire’s Elevator Pitch (literally given in the 32-second elevator ride of Seattle’s Smith Tower); her pitch also won the Geek’s Choice award after live voting by the audience in the Summit app.

Technical Review 62

Technical Review Seattle Elevator Pitch Equity 62

Up and Running

OCTOBER 21, 2014

Given the number of funding resources available today, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem getting that initial start-up cash, especially if you focus on a lean business model or MVP route to market. You can finish it up later this week when you dig into the market research. Day 6: Do your market research.

Elevator Pitch 166

Elevator Pitch Software Review SBA Business Plan 166

Up and Running

AUGUST 30, 2017

Working out a business plan for your daycare center can be a challenge. Projected enrollment growth and market demand can also be tricky to estimate. As someone who owns eight successful daycares in the Chicago area, I know the strategies and approaches that work when it comes to developing a sound business plan for a daycare center.

Business Plan 93

Business Plan SBA Software Review Advisory Board 93

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2018

You need to be able to highlight the synergy of team members who have the necessary technical, financial, marketing, and operational credentials to move your startup ahead of the crowd. Prepare a slide deck to highlight product and business. Pick a platform that fits your business model or industry.

Equity 236

Equity Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Social Media 236

Up and Running

JANUARY 15, 2018

Your Lean Plan should include an overview of your strategy and tactics (problem-solving and possible solutions), your business model (including your target market and competition), and a schedule of what you’re doing and when. Choose some of the same places to hang out and try to engage them in conversation.

Web 86

Web Design Software Review Elevator Pitch 86

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 24, 2021

In order to determine your course of action and overall business strategy (financial, marketing etc.), it’s wise to create and implement some kind of business plan with a lean canvas approach as your guide. Traditional models can, however, be time-consuming and fail to appeal to those required to absorb said information.

Lean 88

Lean Elevator Pitch Startup Business Plan 88

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2018

Yet I believe that business success is more a function of the person than the idea or the plan, so the best idea is one that is a best fit for you, and only you can assess that. The next step is to do homework on the business issues that are common to all ideas, such as market size, business models, and marketing.

Elevator Pitch 195

Elevator Pitch Startup Matching Entrepreneur 195

Up and Running

MARCH 14, 2018

Your target market. Don’t say that everyone in the world is potentially your target market , even if it could be true one day. Be realistic about who you’re building your product for and break out your market into TAM, SAM, and SOM. Your revenue or business model. Customer acquisition: Marketing and sales strategy.

Hockey Stick 164

Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

This is your elevator pitch hook, which you must be able to deliver in 30 seconds. The market scope for your solution should be quantified in non-technical terms, with data sourced from professionals in the industry, rather than your own opinion. Provide details on the business model and cash flow.

Elevator Pitch 163

Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Silicon Valley Revenue 163

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2010

Many cups of coffee and pizzas later, the weekend culminates in a round of presentations from the teams, which clearly articulate the startup’s pitch: problem, market, solution, team, etc. For example, you may point out that there is a company with similar technology, but different application/market. Know your market.

Elevator Pitch 103

Elevator Pitch Incubator Technical Review Startup 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2014

They are willing to cover marketing, inventory and scaling, but not product development. An example might be 50 percent for marketing, 30 percent for inventory and 20 percent for staffing. These days, even viral marketing requires real money, for events and promotions. These must remain focused on scaling the business.

Elevator Pitch 285

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 285

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2018

They are willing to cover marketing, inventory and scaling, but not product development. An example might be 50 percent for marketing, 30 percent for inventory and 20 percent for staffing. These days, even viral marketing requires real money, for events and promotions. These must remain focused on scaling the business.

Elevator Pitch 139

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 139

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

The approach I recommend is to build the investor presentation first, by iterating on the bullets with your team, and then fleshing out the points into a full-blown text-based business plan document. Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Give the “elevator pitch” for your startup. Business model.

Elevator Pitch 247

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 247

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2016

Every entrepreneur needs a good “elevator pitch” which succinctly describes the idea, the customer value proposition, and business profit. Validate your business model on real customers. Giving free beta copies of your solution to customers to elicit testimonials does not validate a business model.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 3, 2016

Yet I believe that business success is more a function of the person than the idea or the plan, so the best idea is one that is a best fit for you, and only you can assess that. The next step is to do homework on the business issues that are common to all ideas, such as market size, business models, and marketing.

Entrepreneur 155

Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Matching Business Model 155

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Believe me, it will help you deliver a more compelling and thoughtful pitch. Outline your business model. Your business model tells an investor how your idea will (or does) convert into being economically viable. and Canadian markets. Your business model should answer the questions: What do you sell?

Sweat Equity 122

Sweat Equity Churn Rate Elevator Pitch Forecast 122

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2012

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. Market size and growth opportunity. Investors are looking for a large and growing market. Business model.

Business Plan 244

Business Plan Elevator Pitch Viral Lead Generation 244

Duct Tape Marketing

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Staying True to Your Core While Growing Your Business written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Marketing Podcast with Yaniv Masjedi. Today on the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I sit down with Yaniv Masjedi, CMO of Nextiva. How do you structure your marketing team right now? Podcast Transcript.

Elevator Pitch 43

Elevator Pitch Arizona SEO Cloud 43

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

The approach I recommend is to build the investor presentation first, by iterating on the bullets with your team, and then fleshing out the points into a full-blown text-based business plan document. Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Give the “elevator pitch” for your startup. Business model.

Elevator Pitch 234

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 234

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2016

They are willing to cover marketing, inventory and scaling, but not product development. An example might be 50 percent for marketing, 30 percent for inventory and 20 percent for staffing. These days, even viral marketing requires real money, for events and promotions. These must remain focused on scaling the business.

Elevator Pitch 120

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 120