Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

This message, usually called your elevator pitch, should be a short and compelling description of your your startup, that can be delivered with conviction in the time it takes to ride up an elevator with a potential investor or partner. Develop and practice your business vision and story.

Entrepreneur 261

Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Incubator 261

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Building a startup business is not the same as corporate executive experience, so prior titles in a big business may actually be seen as a negative. On the other hand, having failed in an earlier startup may be an advantage, if positioned properly, and some learning is evident. Focus on prior results, not titles.

Sweat Equity 152

Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Software Review 152

Up and Running

MARCH 31, 2021

My company, Circle 5 Books , which focuses on web and marketing copy, did not take much of an active stance on the pandemic. But if you are seeking an industry that solves a COVID-related problem, you are more likely to attract Angels to your pitch. So, saying the market is down is merely a great excuse for not trying.

Small Business 116

Small Business Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 116

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Based on my experience and data from the field, over seventy-five percent of new startups fail, even with venture backing. Thus, I’m more impressed with entrepreneurs who ask me to review their implementation plan, rather than listen again to their idea. Prepare your marketing story for customers and investors.

Intellectual Property 235

Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Harvest Technical Review 235

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2013

Can concisely explain the unique, compelling value of the proposed venture in written terms and in oral presentations (elevator pitch), recognizing that some investors rely more on one than the other. Allows sufficient time to find capital, including due diligence time for investors. Listens before answering questions.

Technical Review 273

Technical Review Intellectual Property Angel Investor Elevator Pitch 273

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2011

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. Practice your “elevator pitch,” and end it by asking for the order. Be honest with naïve family members and friends about the inherent risks of a startup – at least 70% fail in the first five years.

Early Stage 247

Early Stage Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence 247

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2018

The biggest challenge for every entrepreneur and every startup today is to get noticed and remembered in today’s information overload. Every one of these probably has a unique story, but in my years as a startup advisor I only remember hearing a few who capitalized on their story. Place where it happened.

Elevator Pitch 211

Elevator Pitch Technical Review Boston Sales 211

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

Can concisely explain the unique, compelling value of the proposed venture in written terms and in oral presentations (elevator pitch), recognizing that some investors rely more on one than the other. Allows sufficient time to find capital, including due diligence time for investors. Listens before answering questions.

Technical Review 294

Technical Review Intellectual Property Angel Investor Elevator Pitch 294

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

The biggest complaint I hear from investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. If you start by pitching your extended life story, that’s the wrong point.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Startup Angel Investor 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2013

Based on the final report for 2012 from Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), it may appear that IPOs are back as a viable startup exit strategy. The market and venture capitalists are looking for business, but with a continuing focus on proven business models.

Venture Capital 252

Venture Capital IPO Elevator Pitch Initial Public Offering 252

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2013

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. Practice your “elevator pitch,” and end it by asking for the order. Be honest with naïve family members and friends about the inherent risks of a startup – at least 70% fail in the first five years.

Technical Review 273

Technical Review Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Due Diligence 273

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2013

The biggest complaint I hear from investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. If you start by pitching your extended life story, that’s the wrong point. Marty Zwilling.

Angel Investor 256

Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch Matching 256

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2010

Can concisely explain the unique, compelling value of the proposed venture in written terms and in oral presentations (elevator pitch), recognizing that some investors rely more on one than the other. Allows sufficient time to find capital, including due diligence time for investors. Listens before answering questions.

Angel Investor 241

Angel Investor Technical Review Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 241

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2015

I recommend the elevator pitch -approach instead, which you probably learned in dealing with busy investors, where the person calling the meeting is asked to summarize the purpose, value and recommended solution in the first minute or two. For one-on-one coaching from the startup founder, I call this approach five-minute mentoring.

Founder 120

Founder Product Elevator Pitch Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2012

The biggest complaint I hear from investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. If you start by pitching your extended life story, that’s the wrong point.

Technical Review 243

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Matching 243

Austin Startup

JANUARY 2, 2018

Whether it’s a thirty-page business plan, a ten-page pitch deck, a five-minute presentation, a one-page executive summary or a twenty-second elevator pitch, your primary goal is to answer the question, “What does your company do?” Shep solves this for free.” Litr.ly: “Litr.ly on Medium , Twitter or AngelList.

Elevator Pitch 54

Elevator Pitch Startup Technical Review Cofounder 54

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 12, 2017

And while communication is a good impulse, there are better ways to get your message to clients than by jamming your pages with blog posts, marketing descriptions, and visuals. Kristy Campbell, COO of Rev1 Ventures, describes your first website as a “step beyond your elevator pitch.” Step Back From Social.

Web 113

Web Design Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur 113

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. are eliminated during due diligence. 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).

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 23, 2020

This SaaS company, one of 50 finalists for SXSW Pitch 2020 , enables global organizations to analyze and resolve pay gaps due to gender or race and stay in compliance over time. We also aim to educate the market that these are two different problems. Coffee, tech, mountains, and saltwater. Pretty much in that order.

Technical Review 62

Technical Review Seattle Elevator Pitch Equity 62

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2015

The biggest complaint I hear from investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. If you start by pitching your extended life story, that’s the wrong point. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Matching 120

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2010

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. Practice your “elevator pitch,” and end it by asking for the order. Be honest with naïve family members and friends about the inherent risks of a startup – at least 70% fail in the first five years.

Technical Review 233

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence Angel Investor 233

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2011

The biggest complaint I hear from investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. If you start by pitching your extended life story, that’s the wrong point.

Technical Review 237

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Matching 237

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. Now comes the really tricky part: getting me to review all that stuff you just neatly uploaded.

Angel Investor 153

Angel Investor Elevator Pitch Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review 153

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. are eliminated during due diligence. 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).

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

As a model, think high-quality marketing collateral, with text and graphics in columns and sidebars, but focused on the value of your business, rather than selling your product. 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

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 18, 2017

FinTech players are increasingly becoming an important part of the fabric of Africa’s financial services ecosystem and the leading banks on the continent are now more urgently seeking to harness technology innovations, collaborate with FinTech start‐ups, and create a platform to scale much faster – to make digital financial services pay.

Africa 62

Africa Ethiopia Elevator Pitch Technical Review 62

Up and Running

APRIL 11, 2012

He defines the elevator pitch, video pitch, executive summary, PowerPoint presentation, and business plan as different forms. Investors who wish to pursue investment will ask for a copy of your business plan and enter a stage called “due diligence,” spending lots of time with you validating the investment opportunity.

Business Plan 85

Business Plan Elevator Pitch Technical Review Due Diligence 85

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

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.” Let me check my plan.”

Burn Rate 247

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Dilution 247

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2010

A fter years of talking with many of you in the Israeli startup industry, investors and entrepreneurs alike, I was invited to present some tips for entrepreneurs at the Launch48 conference in London this weekend. The talk was titled “Tips to make your startup attractive for investors&#. Patented Technology?

Elevator Pitch 102

Elevator Pitch Incubator Technical Review Startup 102

crowdSPRING Blog

OCTOBER 20, 2010

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Startup and Small Business Marketing: Website Optimization Mistakes – [link]. The Five W’s of Marketing – [link]. image credit: articotropical.

Social Media 91

Social Media Small Business Design Media 91

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.

Technical Review 69

Technical Review Startup Texas Email 69

cdixon.org

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

Why you shouldn’t keep your startup idea secret. I have a personal diligence rule that when speaking to people at large companies, the facts that they tell you are very useful but their opinions about startup ideas no more valuable than any other smart person’s opinions). Peter Coles. Jon Russell. Jonah Peretti.

Stealth 68

Stealth Startup NDA Cofounder 68

VC Cafe

MARCH 4, 2024

Since I’ve started writing about Israeli startups in 2004, there has never been any event like October 7 and the war that followed. Now, 150 days after October 7th, the Israeli startup ecosystem is once again in a tough spot. But here comes the narrative violation: despite the challenges, Israeli tech continues to power on.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Venture Capital 78

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. Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. The goal of their startup in this stage becomes “getting funded.”

Customer Development 262

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

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. You can do it even if you start from home.

Elevator Pitch 166

Elevator Pitch Software Review SBA Business Plan 166

crowdSPRING Blog

FEBRUARY 11, 2019

You’ve paid your dues. How do I market my consulting business? You know a lot about marketing or finance or… whatever. You will be a far more successful consultant by applying your expertise to a niche market that needs what you have to offer. Computer/technology consulting. Find partners or investors.

Small Business Administration 86

Small Business Administration Small Business Social Media Elevator Pitch 86