Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2023

I’m not proposing that anyone promise things that they don’t intend to deliver, but it’s time that founders switch to start selling their product before they build it, rather than believing the old adage of “if we build it, they will come.” Craft and hone your elevator pitch early.

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Elevator Pitch Public Relations Social Media Startup 315

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have interacted with a lot of founders who funded their initial business expenses through credit cards. You should also prepare an elevator pitch, which is a 5 minute verbal summary of your business idea and the plan. It is called an elevator pitch because you should be able to pitch to someone over an elevator ride.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors. There is a common belief in the angel and venture capital community that you put your money on the best team, rather than the best idea.

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Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Software Review 152

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 17, 2018

by Felix Winstone, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Talkative. As a startup co-founder with a growing team, here are the recruiting tips I’ve learnt over the last couple of years. Robert Metcalfe, co-founder and CEO of 3Com, says you need to think about it as “recruiting, not hiring”. Hiring = Sales. Be Specific.

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Cofounder Elevator Pitch Hiring Dividend 140

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 6, 2017

by Payman Taei, founder of Visme. That, in essence, is what the startup pitch deck is all about. Perhaps the most important element that your startup pitch deck needs is a sense of escalation. They say that you can only ever make one first impression, so you’d better work hard to make it a good one.

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Elevator Pitch Technical Review Startup Due Diligence 104

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. Founder: “$8–10 million” VC: “What’s your current burn rate?” Founder: “$250k / month.” Founder: “Um. Why are you raising so much?”

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SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2012

- Make sure you go through the 32 Questions Developers May Have Forgot to Ask a Startup Founder. Refine your elevator pitch. A great post by Elizabeth Knopf , FounderDating: How I Found My Co-Founder where she breaks down the process much like how you think about a sales process. Go to user groups.

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Technical Cofounder Cofounder CTO Hire Los Angeles 211

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Think of your first B2B web site as one step beyond your elevator pitch. Profiles of founders and advisors add credibility. Now is the time to get your web site up. Here are five tips to help build a first web site that will help your business grow. It’s the first place a potential customer will go to check you out.

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Elevator Pitch Web Portfolio B2B 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 8, 2020

I’m not proposing that anyone promise things that they don’t intend to deliver, but it’s time that founders switch to start selling their product before they build it, rather than believing the old adage of “if we build it, they will come.” Craft and hone your elevator pitch early.

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Elevator Pitch Public Relations Marketing Social Media 312

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2013

The average length of a funding pitch to Angel investors is ten minutes. The biggest complaint I hear from investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. If you start by pitching your extended life story, that’s the wrong point. Start with the problem and your solution.

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Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch Matching 256

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2023

As a startup advisor and investor, I’ve heard and seen hundreds of pitches from entrepreneurs, and the majority of founders are convinced that if you will just give them an hour or more time, you will love their business. That may sound easy, but I rarely see it happening. Are you uniquely qualified to deliver the solution?

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Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Algorithm Social Media 240

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JULY 11, 2010

These are problems with the business concept or the founder's attitude, not specific to raising angel money. You don't need statistically-significant studies before you begin, but it's astonishing how many founders blaze ahead before they've found even a single person willing to give them money.??? Not that I blame you!

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Elevator Pitch RSS Startup Software Review 325

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 20, 2021

I often recommend business networking as the most effective way for a startup founder to find investors, advisors, and even key executive candidates. Nevertheless, have your elevator pitch honed, and don’t be shy about giving it. But what if you are an introvert, or new to this game, and don’t know where or how to start?

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Accredited Investor Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur SEC 357

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.

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Angel Investor Elevator Pitch Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review 153

Up and Running

MARCH 30, 2015

The business pitch. When I say pitch or business pitch I mean the short presentation startup founders make for angel investors or venture capitalists. That’s what Guy Kawasaki writes about in The Art of the Pitch, in his landmark book “The Art of the Start.” The elevator speech or elevator pitch.

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Elevator Pitch Lean Oregon Angel Groups 60

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2022

Offer to give your executive presentation, but he may want just the elevator pitch. Most VCs won’t volunteer to the Founder what they think, because that limits their options later. Keep your big guns, the business plan and financial model, in your holster but visible for backup. Put your ear to the ground before charging ahead.

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Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Venture Capital Business Plan 316

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2013

They want founders who have been there and done that before, in the same business domain. Practice every step, including the elevator pitch to get the first meeting. Both operating executives and top advisors count. Timing is critical. Remember you only have one chance for a good first impression.

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YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 12, 2017

Kristy Campbell, COO of Rev1 Ventures, describes your first website as a “step beyond your elevator pitch.” As Scott Wilson, founder of Minimal, puts it, “Good design levels the playing field,” and when you’re working on a small budget, you need every advantage you can get. Step Back From Social. No Need For Novelty.

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Web Design Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur 104

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. Tags: startup founder entrepreneur skills investors business. Here are some key ones they look for: Talks and writes well.

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Angel Investor Technical Review Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 241

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2021

Work on your elevator pitch. This is a concise, well-practiced description of your idea or your startup, delivered with conviction to start a relationship in the time it takes to ride up an elevator. If you are active in helping others with what you know, they will be much more open to help you when you need it.

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Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur Social Network Networking 351

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2012

The average length of a funding pitch to angel investors is ten minutes. The biggest complaint I hear from investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. If you start by pitching your extended life story, that’s the wrong point. Start with the problem and your solution.

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Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Matching 243

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2011

The average length of a funding pitch to angel investors is ten minutes. The biggest complaint I hear from investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. If you start by pitching your extended life story, that’s the wrong point. Start with the problem and your solution.

Technical Review 237

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Matching 237

The Next Web

MARCH 17, 2018

One of the most critical tasks startups face, is creating a killer elevator pitch — a short, verbal description of who they are, what they do, and how they are going to succeed as a business. The elevator pitch process has led to parodies on sites like the Startup Elevator Pitch Generator and “it’s like x for y” pitch roulette sites.

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Elevator Pitch Web Founder Startup 166

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2020

As a startup advisor and investor, I’ve heard and seen hundreds of pitches from entrepreneurs, and the majority of founders are convinced that if you will just give them an hour or more time, you will love their business. That may sound easy, but I rarely see it happening. Are you uniquely qualified to deliver the solution?

Intellectual Property 416

Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Startup Algorithm 416

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. And I tried to evaluate the idea and figure out: What did the founder really need here? Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ? And do I fit as a Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO ?

Technical Cofounder 241

Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Equity Sweat Equity 241

Up and Running

APRIL 11, 2011

They call it the elevator speech, or elevator pitch, and it’s a good exercise. I was there last Thursday to hear these two pitches , two of the best from 16 one-minute pitches at the University of Oregon’s New Venture Championship. Tweet Could you describe your company in 60 seconds? About the Author.

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Elevator Pitch Oregon Cofounder Business Plan 73

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

The average length of a funding pitch to Angel investors is ten minutes. The biggest complaint I hear from investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. If you start by pitching your extended life story, that’s the wrong point. Start with the problem and your solution.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Startup Angel Investor 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2021

Smart entrepreneurs develop quick elevator pitches for their ideas, good product and business stories, and are eager for the opportunity to communicate and learn from feedback. As an investor, I’m not attracted to startups where the founder sends in a marketing person to do the talking.

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Elevator Pitch Matching Business Model Technology 364

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2023

Funding for founder salaries at this stage is a red flag. Whether it be in the context of a five-minute elevator pitch or a more formal presentation to professional investors, the projected use of funds should be summarized and prioritized into three “chunks.” Have backup charts for investors wanting more detail.

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Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 228

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

If the founders are not experienced, find a couple of advisors from the business sector to fill the gap. They must amplify your “elevator pitch” to investors, as well as key points from the business plan and the financial model. Remember the old adage that “investors fund people, not ideas.”

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Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

A stellar example is Blake Mycoskie , founder of shoe company Toms, who donates one-for-one a pair to dis-advantaged people in other countries, is never shy about sharing his personal stories of working directly in the field where the donated shoes are lifesavers. Weave a real person throughout your message.

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Elevator Pitch Restful Audience Technology 363

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2015

The average length of a funding pitch to Angel investors is ten minutes. The biggest complaint I hear from investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. If you start by pitching your extended life story, that’s the wrong point. Start with the problem and your solution.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Matching 120

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 18, 2017

A panel representing savvy Investors/Venture Capitalists and seasoned African Fintech Pioneers will evaluate the business model of each chosen start‐up or trail‐blazer in a high-stress 10 minute “ elevator pitch ” to the “ Wolves ” who will ask the tough questions and provide the illuminating insights.

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Africa Ethiopia Elevator Pitch Technical Review 62

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?”

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Elevator Pitch Startup Technical Review Cofounder 54

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

Yet there are clearly some positive steps I can recommend for getting you (and him) over the bridge: Find a co-founder who has been there and done that. Finally, implementation requires a commitment of real money and other resources that can’t be written off so easily as an idea ahead of it’s time. A full plan may be no more than 20 pages.

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Elevator Pitch Cofounder Dividend Leadership 315

techcrunch.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

The number one question you all asked after reading my last blog post about starting a business from scratch was “how do I find my co-founders?&# And therein lies the problem in finding co-founders for that startup you’re dying to launch. Having trouble meeting folks you think would be good co-founders?

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Cofounder Founder Silicon Valley Technical Cofounder 66

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2020

Funding for founder salaries at this stage is a red flag. Whether it be in the context of a five-minute elevator pitch or a more formal presentation to professional investors, the projected use of funds should be summarized and prioritized into three “chunks.” Have backup charts for investors wanting more detail.

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Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 336