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 3, 2021

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. Every story needs a main character.

Elevator Pitch 313

Elevator Pitch Technical Review Boston Sales 313

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2012

Additionally, you need to be able to communicate the essence that story and value to investors in a couple of sentences – your elevator pitch. The key here is to create a win-win partner situation for your investors. Lack of clear objectives/goals. Lack of understanding of the funding process/rules.

Software Review 250

Software Review Due Diligence Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur 250

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. Successful entrepreneurs already have a visible network of trusted suppliers, potential customers, partners, and even investors.

Technical Review 273

Technical Review Intellectual Property Angel Investor Elevator Pitch 273

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2011

Additionally, you need to be able to communicate the essence that story and value to investors in a couple of sentences – your elevator pitch. The key here is to create a win-win partner situation for your investors. Lack of clear objectives/goals. Lack of understanding of the funding process/rules.

Software Review 246

Software Review Due Diligence Elevator Pitch Early Stage 246

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. Successful entrepreneurs already have a visible network of trusted suppliers, potential customers, partners, and even investors.

Technical Review 294

Technical Review Intellectual Property Angel Investor Elevator Pitch 294

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 270

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 270

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 Startup 152

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

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ? Did they really need a Startup CTO or Developer or both? who start with small equity percentages don’t end up making very much from startups. Refine your elevator pitch.

Technical Cofounder 241

Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Equity Sweat Equity 241

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. Successful entrepreneurs already have a visible network of trusted suppliers, potential customers, partners, and even investors.

Angel Investor 241

Angel Investor Technical Review Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 241

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

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. Every story needs a main character.

Elevator Pitch 211

Elevator Pitch Technical Review Boston Sales 211

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. Unfortunately, I see good startups fail simply because they don’t have the resources or intellectual property to stay ahead of copycats or big players who see the potential as soon as you step into the marketplace.

Intellectual Property 235

Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Harvest Technical Review 235

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 307

Lean Business Model Customer Development Guinea 307

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

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 233

Elevator Pitch Startup Distribution Channel 233

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&#. Sell your team, not your advisors.

Elevator Pitch 102

Elevator Pitch Incubator Technical Review Startup 102

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

I have to start with a major negative: if you have to ask if your startup can get venture capital, then it almost certainly can’t. Venture capital is a very rarified atmosphere of high-end startups and emerging businesses with experienced management teams, high potential growth, secret sauce, and so on. How to find venture funding?

Software Review 124

Software Review Due Diligence Venture Capital Elevator Pitch 124

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

You’re in discussions with strategic partners and potential beta customers. Advisors agree your startup is on the right track. Think of your first B2B web site as one step beyond your elevator pitch. Call out strategic relationships with business partners, research institutions, or industry groups. Keep it simple.

Elevator Pitch 100

Elevator Pitch Web Portfolio B2B 100

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

mashable.com

MARCH 24, 2011

Mashable | The Social Media Guide Viral Topics Twitter YouTube Facebook iPhone Google Video About Mashable Company About Us Advertise Submit News Contact Us Announcements Resources Guidebooks Lists How To Trending Mashable Awards Subscriptions Partners W3 EDGE Rackspace Concentric Sky Dynect DNS Intridea Welcome to Mashable! Have an account?

Programming 86

Programming Startup Technical Review Social Media 86

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2021

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, and demonstrating your readiness.

Elevator Pitch 390

Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur Due Diligence Angel Investor 390

Austin Startup

OCTOBER 12, 2010

I had few expectations that the class would have a significant impact directly on my startup. Each person gets weekly coaching sessions one-on-one with a Ranch partner. Without that impetus, I would never have spent the time to develop an elevator pitch. Boy was I wrong. The Venture Forth program is great in many ways.

Flash 77

Flash Elevator Pitch Bootstrapping Cofounder 77

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?” If you liked this, please consider recommending it so that others can find it by clicking the ??

Elevator Pitch 54

Elevator Pitch Startup Technical Review Cofounder 54

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

Develop an “elevator pitch” as an initial path to your goal. 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 must surround yourself with team members and partners with complimentary skills and dreams that mesh with yours.

Elevator Pitch 347

Elevator Pitch Incubator Matching Business Plan 347

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. Lauren Leto.

Stealth 68

Stealth Startup NDA Cofounder 68

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2015

Every entrepreneur needs a value proposition statement for his or her startup that can hook potential investors and partners in less than a minute -- the short time you might join them in an elevator on the way to their offices. Limit your elevator pitch message to about 150 to 225 words in 30 to 60 seconds.

Elevator Pitch 120

Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Differentiation Business Plan 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.

Africa 81

Africa Ethiopia Elevator Pitch Technical Review 81

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2014

Offer to give your executive presentation, but he may want just the elevator pitch. There you were ushered into a gorgeously appointed conference room for a precise amount of time with a serious-looking partner. angel entrepreneur funding investor startup venture capital' Put your ear to the ground before charging ahead.

Elevator Pitch 268

Elevator Pitch Venture Capital Startup Angel Investor 268

crowdSPRING Blog

FEBRUARY 11, 2019

Find partners or investors. See section 9 below to learn how to find a partner or investors.). This is especially true for new small businesses and startups trying to compete in an increasingly noisy world. Take time to develop and rehearse your “elevator pitch” until you can deliver it comfortably and confidently.

Small Business Administration 86

Small Business Administration Small Business Social Media Elevator Pitch 86

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2021

I hope all this seems obvious to you, but I still get a good number of notes from “entrepreneurs” who have been busy inventing things all their life, but can’t find a partner to start their first business, and others trying to find an executive, an investor, or a lawyer. Work on your elevator pitch.

Elevator Pitch 351

Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur Social Network Networking 351

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2020

That means they normally only invest in startups with a working product that has already been sold to at least one customer for full price (beta tests, giveaways and best friends don’t count). Startups whose marketing budget is trivial lose credibility and most likely the investment. Make sure allocation amounts are reasonable.

Elevator Pitch 336

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 336

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

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

AUGUST 8, 2012

I hope all this seems obvious to you, but I still get a good number of notes from “entrepreneurs” who have been busy inventing things all their life, but can’t find a partner to start their first business, and others trying to find an executive, an investor, or a lawyer. Work on your elevator pitch.

Elevator Pitch 244

Elevator Pitch Social Network Startup Networking 244

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2010

You bump into the person you’ve always wanted to chat with or your perfect business development partner who can “make” you. I’ve written about the “elevator” pitch before. My partner was in product management at Demand Media. All 10 startups that are part of Launchpad LA got the chance to stand up for 2 minutes.

Elevator Pitch 315

Elevator Pitch Southern California Media Hosting 315

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

In addition, creating a business requires leading and interacting with other people, including partners, investors, and customers. At least the first time around, it pays big dividends for an idea person to find a partner with the business skills you haven’t tested yet. Yes, there are a lot of bridges to cross.

Elevator Pitch 315

Elevator Pitch Cofounder Dividend Leadership 315