Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2013

I recommend a business focus on a one-year timeframe, with a limit of three product goals and three process goals. Accountability requires splitting your big product goals into daily process goals and scheduling them to completion. It’s hard to achieve things that have not been defined, and the steps to get there are not clear.

Elevator Pitch 303

Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur Matching Leadership 303

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2021

This should be obvious, but much of what passes for “a story” these days are things like elevator pitches or product descriptions that have no characters at all. It’s even acceptable to make up a place with a “what if.” Every story needs a main character.

Elevator Pitch 313

Elevator Pitch Technical Review Boston Sales 313

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2012

I recommend a business focus on a one-year timeframe, with a limit of three product goals and three process goals. Accountability requires splitting your big product goals into daily process goals and scheduling them to completion. It’s hard to achieve things that have not been defined, and the steps to get there are not clear.

Entrepreneur 286

Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Matching Leadership 286

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2020

Remember you are pitching to investors, not customers. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch. I outlined what investors expect to see in an old article “ Adding Slides Does Not Enhance Your Investor Pitch. First, get their attention with your elevator pitch.

Technical Review 295

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Startup 295

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. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage. Here are some key ones they look for: Talks and writes well.

Technical Review 273

Technical Review Intellectual Property Angel Investor Elevator Pitch 273

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Product Development – Getting Funded as The Goal In a traditional product development model, entrepreneurs come up with an idea or concept, write a business plan and try to get funding to bring that idea to fruition. Get out of the building, get some more customer feedback, spin your product and go back and read the book.

Customer Development 270

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 270

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2013

You see, investors invest in people, before they invest in ideas or products. Practice your “elevator pitch,” and end it by asking for the order. Look for ways to get some traction with a minimal product, while you are still developing the main event. Be upbeat and respectful. Show some incremental value along the way.

Technical Review 273

Technical Review Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Due Diligence 273

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2014

You see, investors invest in people, before they invest in ideas or products. Practice your “elevator pitch,” and end it by asking for the order. Look for ways to get some traction with a minimal product, while you are still developing the main event. Be upbeat and respectful. Show some incremental value along the way.

Technical Review 266

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence Startup 266

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2013

Practice every step, including the elevator pitch to get the first meeting. Use friends, family, and angels, if possible, to get a product, revenue, and customers first before the VC connection. Remember you only have one chance for a good first impression. Don’t try to talk your way to a deal before you have the documentation.

Venture Capital 252

Venture Capital IPO Elevator Pitch Initial Public Offering 252

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. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage. Here are some key ones they look for: Talks and writes well.

Angel Investor 241

Angel Investor Technical Review Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 241

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2012

An Executive Summary is a one page elevator pitch of the whole plan (may be separate from the plan), which gives an investor a net perspective on the key business parameters. When you send a business plan to an investor, remember that the purpose is not to sell your product or service, but to sell you and your business model.

Elevator Pitch 244

Elevator Pitch Technical Review Business Plan .Net 244

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

An Executive Summary is a one page elevator pitch of the whole plan (may be separate from the plan), which gives an investor a net perspective on the key business parameters. When you send a business plan to an investor, remember that the purpose is not to sell your product or service, but to sell you and your business model.

Business Plan 242

Business Plan Elevator Pitch Technical Review .Net 242

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2012

Refine your elevator pitch. Hire a Product Design Lead First Nailing that elusive technical co-founder Here are a few perspectives on the topic of finding technical cofounders: In Building a sweat equity team , Joel on Software tells us: You simply need to network. Go to user groups.

Technical Cofounder 211

Technical Cofounder Cofounder CTO Hire Los Angeles 211

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2013

Remember you are pitching to investors, not customers. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch. I outlined what investors expect to see in another article “ Adding Slides Does Not Enhance Your Investor Pitch. First, get their attention with your elevator pitch.

Angel Investor 256

Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch Matching 256

The Next Web

JANUARY 23, 2014

She previously served as the Chief Product Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at Smule , where she remains an advisor to the Board of Directors. To many, it connotes bloated budgets and the use of psychological trickery to make up for the fact that your product sucks. If a product is good, we are told, it should simply sell itself.

Product 147

Product Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley Vertical 147

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

He had a partially built product. Refine your elevator pitch. In my experience, it’s naive to think you can just “get developers to build the product” although it does sometimes work. Understand where they were in terms of being able to pay or was this equity-only (sweat equity only). Go to user groups.

Technical Cofounder 241

Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Equity Sweat Equity 241

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Build a prototype product. A conundrum for many frustrated entrepreneurs is that they need money from investors to design and build a prototype product, yet most angel investors expect to see at least a prototype before they invest. This must be someone who is willing to pay real money for your product or service.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2011

You see, investors invest in people, before they invest in ideas or products. Practice your “elevator pitch,” and end it by asking for the order. Look for ways to get some traction with a minimal product, while you are still developing the main event. Be upbeat and respectful. Show some incremental value along the way.

Early Stage 247

Early Stage Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence 247

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2012

Remember you are pitching to investors, not customers. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch. I outlined what investors expect to see in another article “ Limit an Investor Pitch to 10 Pages and 10 Minutes.” First, get their attention with your elevator pitch.

Technical Review 243

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Matching 243

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2011

Remember you are pitching to investors, not customers. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch. First, get their attention with your elevator pitch. An obvious effort to keep talking after the time limit won’t save your day with investors.

Technical Review 237

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Matching 237

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

I love good causes and social entrepreneurs, but a recent pitch to me about eliminating world hunger with a new product (harvesting algae at low cost) seemed to forget that really hungry people don’t have any money. Start by developing an “elevator pitch,” that you can deliver in thirty seconds to hook a potential customer or investor.

Intellectual Property 235

Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Harvest Technical Review 235

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2010

You see, investors invest in people, before they invest in ideas or products. Practice your “elevator pitch,” and end it by asking for the order. Look for ways to get some traction with a minimal product, while you are still developing the main event. Be upbeat and respectful. Show some incremental value along the way.

Technical Review 233

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence Angel Investor 233

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2015

I have found it to be more productive and effective to lead with the model that no meetings will take an hour, and may be done in as little as five minutes. Team members need your critique of their work to learn, but attacking the person is never productive. Provide immediate direct and constructive feedback.

Founder 120

Founder Product Elevator Pitch Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Build a prototype product. A conundrum for many frustrated entrepreneurs is that they need money from investors to design and build a prototype product, yet most angel investors expect to see at least a prototype before they invest. This must be someone who is willing to pay real money for your product or service.

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2018

This should be obvious, but much of what passes for “a story” these days are things like elevator pitches or product descriptions that have no characters at all. It’s even acceptable to make up a place with a “what if.” Every story needs a main character.

Elevator Pitch 211

Elevator Pitch Technical Review Boston Sales 211

Steve Blank

MARCH 8, 2011

Startups, are not about executing a plan where the product, customers, channel are known. Each team gave each professor a three-minute elevator pitch for their idea, and we let them know if it was good enough for the class. Unlike Groupon which offers one product deal per day chosen based on the customer’s location.

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

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

You must have a prototype or a minimum viable product (MVP). To fund the sudden spike in production, funds will be required for additional inventory and wages. It is going to cost a lot of money just to get the initial batch of products to test the market and would definitely require external funding. Inception stage.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

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. Focus on prior results, not titles.

Sweat Equity 152

Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Startup 152

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

Up and Running

OCTOBER 22, 2014

What is your product or service? Make sure your product or service is addressing your customer’s needs. Do you rely on distributors to get your products onto store shelves? Marketing activities: How will you let your customers know about your product or service? Do you need a manufacturer or supplier for your products?

Business Plan 130

Business Plan Elevator Pitch Forecast Partner 130

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 17, 2018

Think of it as an elevator pitch for recruiting. Not sales, product development, or fundraising. Your internal team creates your external results, such as new products and increased revenues. As Elon Musk says, “A company is just a bunch of people who come together to create a product or service”.

Cofounder 164

Cofounder Elevator Pitch Hiring Dividend 164

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 6, 2017

You need to begin with an overall impression of your vision, followed by your “elevator pitch” – a no nonsense, bare essentials version of what you’re planning to do and why it is so important. This is arguably the most essential element that your startup pitch deck must have to be successful.

Elevator Pitch 113

Elevator Pitch Technical Review Startup Due Diligence 113

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2009

We are currently in the process of validating our hypotheses about our product, customers, and markets. Actually, the essence of everything in CD is the same as Marc Andreesen’s Product-Market Fit. Not just because we can command a 3-4x step up in valuation if we find product/market fit pre [.]

Venture Capital 245

Venture Capital Silicon Valley RSS Hockey Stick 245

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

Whether you are trying to raise money for your business or just want to perfect your business strategy, a solid elevator pitch is an essential tool for achieving your goals. An elevator pitch can be delivered either verbally, ideally in 60 seconds or less, or as a one-page overview of your business. Simple as that.

Elevator Pitch 166

Elevator Pitch Forecast Oregon Differentiation 166

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 24, 2018

Enter the elevator pitch, a tried-and-true networking tool that is crucial for any successful business leader to master. What Is an Elevator Pitch? Forbes suggests that the speech should be around 30 seconds — the same amount of time it takes to ride up an elevator. Sales pitches. Networking events.

Elevator Pitch 133

Elevator Pitch Differentiation Campaign Design 133

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2010

Launch48 is a new kind of micro-incubator taking place over the course of a weekend, which enables entrepreneurs to pitch their concept in one minute, in order to find team mates who are interested in pursuing the idea. Also, make sure you practice your elevator pitch. Avoid trying to get your product 100% right from the start.

Elevator Pitch 102

Elevator Pitch Incubator Technical Review Startup 102