YoungUpstarts

APRIL 17, 2018

As a new entrepreneur or business owner, the most important thing you will do is hire talent. As a startup co-founder with a growing team, here are the recruiting tips I’ve learnt over the last couple of years. You need to sell them on why your startup is the best. Think of it as an elevator pitch for recruiting.

Cofounder 164

Cofounder Elevator Pitch Hiring Dividend 164

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Advisors agree your startup is on the right track. Think of your first B2B web site as one step beyond your elevator pitch. Present a professional appearance; Show that you are a real company with solutions to help real businesses solve problems, grow revenue, or reduce cost. Now is the time to get your web site up.

Elevator Pitch 100

Elevator Pitch Web Portfolio B2B 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2021

Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. The average amount per startup has been $23,000, usually in the form of a convertible loan, rather than an equity investment.

Sweat Equity 346

Sweat Equity Elevator Pitch Equity Venture Capital 346

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

There’s a quick litmus-test conversation any early-stage VC will have with the founder and it’s one that you should be as prepared for as your elevator pitch. Conversely many VCs believe that constraining cash can often lead to increases in creative solutions at a startup. Founder: “$250k / month.” This is a red flag for VCs.

Burn Rate 247

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Dilution 247

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

" Investors want to buy into an entrepreneur with a startup that can provide evidence of an ability to double customer productivity, at half the cost, with patented technology. This is your elevator pitch and customer value proposition, and is your key to getting an investor to read even the remainder of the summary.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Technical Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2023

Entrepreneurs looking for investor funding often fail to realize that all money comes with strings. For example, if you have watched the Shark Tank TV series, you probably noticed that the Sharks always ask the entrepreneurs for their intended “use of funds.” Make sure allocation amounts are reasonable.

Elevator Pitch 228

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 228

Gust

JULY 23, 2014

So even if my own mother asked me to meet with you, and you were pitching me a biotech opportunity for a $10 million investment at a $90 million valuation, I might take the meeting, but it wouldn’t be particularly useful for either of us. In this case, it’s not a lack of interest, just a lack of time and efficiency.

Angel Investor 153

Angel Investor Elevator Pitch Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review 153

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

billion jump in funding over the same quarter of 2010 with a similar number of deals, so it clearly shows a trend to larger deal sizes for fewer startups. To me, this indicates that venture capitalists (VCs) are looking for business, but not from first-time startups. Overall, investors put $7.5 That represents a $1.5

Venture Capital 233

Venture Capital Revenue Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley 233

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2012

An "elevator pitch" is a concise, well-practiced description of your startup and your plan, delivered with conviction and enthusiasm, that your mother should be able to understand in the time it would take to ride up an elevator. A good elevator pitch is not just for an elevator discussion.

Elevator Pitch 283

Elevator Pitch Startup Differentiation Distribution 283

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. Over the past 10 years, I have had the opportunity to see how the process works, several times from the startup side, and more recently from the angel perspective (as a member of an angel group selection committee). Build a prototype product.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2020

Entrepreneurs looking for investor funding often fail to realize that all money comes with strings. For example, if you have watched the Shark Tank TV series, you probably noticed that the Sharks always ask the entrepreneurs for their intended “use of funds.” Make sure allocation amounts are reasonable.

Elevator Pitch 336

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 336

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. Over the past 10 years, I have had the opportunity to see how the process works, several times from the startup side, and more recently from the angel perspective (as a member of an angel group selection committee). Build a prototype product. Marty Zwilling.

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Unfortunately in early stage startups the drive for financing hijacks the corporate DNA and becomes the raison d’etre of the company. Unfortunately in early stage startups the drive for financing hijacks the corporate DNA and becomes the raison d’etre of the company. The goal of their startup in this stage becomes “getting funded.”

Customer Development 262

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

That’s why I caution my aspiring entrepreneur clients against proclaiming to investors that they are a great “idea” person. Aspiring entrepreneurs are often impatient in rolling out the business, assuming the hard work was finalizing the idea, and that if you build it, customers will come. A full plan may be no more than 20 pages.

Elevator Pitch 315

Elevator Pitch Cofounder Dividend Leadership 315

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.

Entrepreneur 270

Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Due Diligence Angel Investor 270

Up and Running

APRIL 11, 2012

He defines the elevator pitch, video pitch, executive summary, PowerPoint presentation, and business plan as different forms. For more on this, you could find a lot of the same kind of thinking in my form follows function post on my Planning Startups Stories blog, part of a series on business planning fundamentals.

Business Plan 85

Business Plan Elevator Pitch Technical Review Due Diligence 85

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2018

As an advisor to young entrepreneurs, I find that many are a bit naïve about how the investment process really works. In my first working session with this entrepreneur, I suggested ways to break this request into stages or tranches, based on showing traction, with the first amount in a more affordable range of $50 thousand or less.

Elevator Pitch 215

Elevator Pitch Equity Revenue Differentiation 215

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 24, 2021

Creating a startup from scratch can be a daunting endeavor. This approach allows startups to easily identify customer-based problems and solutions, while keeping their ideas easy-to-follow, and to change if need be. Alternative and effective tool for entrepreneurs. Revenue streams. Lean canvas vector illustration.

Lean 88

Lean Elevator Pitch Startup Business Plan 88

Austin Startup

AUGUST 3, 2017

I talk to at least a dozen new entrepreneurs each week and probably review two dozen email pitches. Is it an Texas-based tech startup company or is it doing something in the email space? For me, that’s any tech startup company in Texas or any email related company in the world. You want to be a sponge, not a mirror.

Technical Review 69

Technical Review Startup Texas Email 69

Up and Running

MARCH 14, 2018

I know what it’s like to pitch to investors—both angels and venture capitalists. I’ve raised close to $1 million from angel investors for my previous technology startups. Sometimes you only get 10 minutes to pitch your business opportunity to the investors (or less in some cases). Begin your pitch with a compelling story.

Hockey Stick 164

Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

In addition, like an entrepreneur with a new business, you have to factor in all the indirect costs previously covered by employers, including training, health care, and time off for vacations. In fact, thinking like an entrepreneur is a good strategy today for success, even if you are currently in a long-term employment situation.

Employee 246

Employee Elevator Pitch Differentiation Social Media 246

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2016

As a startup advisor and investor, I find that more and more entrepreneurs avoid using the term “profit” in pitching their new venture. Thus I was pleased and a bit surprised to see a new book, “ The Purpose Is Profit ,” by Ed “Skip” McLaughlin, an entrepreneur who has both succeeded and failed in starting multiple businesses.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2015

Image via Flickr by Jupiter Labs Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. The average amount per startup was $23,000, usually in the form of a convertible loan, rather than an equity investment.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Equity 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2012

Zigging and zagging amongst the obstacles is the fun part of being an entrepreneur, and it’s what sets you apart from the average worker who knows exactly what he or she has to do every day to get paid. There are certain foundational elements that every entrepreneur must build on to succeed, as well as some critical tools we all need.

Elevator Pitch 248

Elevator Pitch Startup Bootstrapping Entrepreneur 248

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2011

Zigging and zagging amongst the obstacles is the fun part of being an entrepreneur, and it’s what sets you apart from the average worker who knows exactly what he or she has to do every day to get paid. There are certain foundational elements that every entrepreneur must build on to succeed, as well as some critical tools we all need.

Elevator Pitch 256

Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur Bootstrapping Revenue 256

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

With the recent influx of startups, there is a lot of competition for venture capital funding. Build Your Network POC entrepreneurs typically have smaller networks compared to white entrepreneurs, and women typically have smaller networks compared to men. Develop your elevator pitch, practice your handshake, and interact.

Venture Capital 48

Venture Capital Oakland Elevator Pitch Technical Review 48

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 7, 2019

Capital Factory’s Saturday Startup Spotlight series returns this week with the Founder and CEO of Vesta : Charles Nicolson. link] Can you give us the elevator pitch for Vesta? in April, we’re trying to grow our revenue as quickly as possible so we can attract more investors and VC’s by the end of the year.

Elevator Pitch 62

Elevator Pitch Dallas New Zealand eCommerce 62

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2015

Too many entrepreneurs tackle starting a business as a random walk into a business minefield, and they count on their street smarts, thick skin and pure determination to get them to their destinations alive. A popular startup myth claims you don’t need one, since investors never read them. Define success as it relates to this startup.

Elevator Pitch 120

Elevator Pitch Burn Rate Startup Metrics 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Unless you are a serial entrepreneur with a string of successes behind you, you need a business plan to convince investors that you can build a business out of the dream that has been driving your passion to change the world. This is your elevator pitch hook, which you must be able to deliver in 30 seconds.

Elevator Pitch 163

Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Silicon Valley Revenue 163

Gust

OCTOBER 11, 2011

An “ elevator pitch ” is a concise, well-practiced description of your startup and your plan, delivered with conviction and enthusiasm, that your mother should be able to understand in the time it would take to ride up an elevator. A good elevator pitch is not just for an elevator discussion.

Elevator Pitch 174

Elevator Pitch Startup Differentiation Distribution 174

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2018

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. There is no crowd of successful entrepreneurs. Successful startups are all about the right people with the right stuff. Financial model.

Elevator Pitch 164

Elevator Pitch Due Diligence Angel Investor Business Plan 164

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 26, 2018

Money seems to disappear at a startup once it hits the bank. Cash flow issues, the type where a company is bringing in plenty of revenue but is struggling to meet expenses can be really challenging for startups. Running a lean startup takes major budgeting skills. Market research. What changed?

Elevator Pitch 242

Elevator Pitch Due Diligence Networking Venture Capital 242

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2014

Entrepreneurs looking for investor funding often fail to realize that all money comes with strings. For example, if you have watched the Shark Tank TV series, you probably noticed that the Sharks always ask the entrepreneurs for their intended “use of funds.” Make sure allocation amounts are reasonable.

Elevator Pitch 285

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 285

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2015

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. There is no crowd of successful entrepreneurs. Successful startups are all about the right people with the right stuff. Financial model.

Elevator Pitch 120

Elevator Pitch Due Diligence Startup Angel Investor 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 not about executing a plan where the product, customers, channel are known. – not just web-based startups.

Lean 298

Lean Business Model Customer Development Guinea 298

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2018

Entrepreneurs looking for investor funding often fail to realize that all money comes with strings. For example, if you have watched the Shark Tank TV series, you probably noticed that the Sharks always ask the entrepreneurs for their intended “use of funds.” Make sure allocation amounts are reasonable.

Elevator Pitch 139

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 139

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

Capital Factory’s Saturday Startup Spotlight series continues this week with the CEO and Co-Founder of Zirtue : Dennis Cail. link] Can you introduce yourself & give us your elevator pitch? That puts us in a place where we’ll be close to 2 million dollars in annual revenue. which is really our year one target.

Startup 77

Startup United States Elevator Pitch Cofounder 77