Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I’m comfortable with introductions and then getting into the demo.&#. I believe in this so much that, despite my post advising you to be prepared for the *norm* in VC, I wrote a post about a company that came in for a presentation and never even got the slides out or presented a demo. Just jump into the demo after intros.

VC 299

VC board pitching venture capital 299

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

Demos – One of the things that most people are bad at and that are hard to standardize is the demo. I have written about how to do a demo before (even though this was in the context of a VC pitch much of it applies). A good demo tells a story. 80% of demos I see are features, functions & benefits.

advice 296

advice SaaS startup pitching 296

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2011

It can be a good strategy to bring just the CEO because 1-on-1 rapport is easier to build but if you have equally strong co-founders bring them. Give everybody pages of the deck they’re to cover or parts of the demo for which they are to talk. Can’t you just demo & talk? Demo could go here]. Competition.

VC 340

VC venture capital leadership pitching 340

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

Don’t even get me started on Demo Days. You could spent 20 days / year at Demo Days now. And why my advice to newer VCs would be not to feel bad if you’re missing out on what is perceived as a few hot deals. I guess if you’re in high-volume, low-differentiation mode perhaps this is efficient for you.

VC 374

VC investment investing entrepreneurs 374

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2010

But if you identify investors with whom you’d like to work here’s my advice: 1. Imagine the “typical&# deal – somebody comes into a VC’s office, they’ve never met, they’re highly referred by a friend and they’re pitching a product demo and a PPT. That’s OK, too.

startup 360

startup VC advice entrepreneurs 360

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

Tell them about what you’re up to in your business, show them your product or prototype, tell them your strategy, talk about the deals you’re working on and seek feedback. In the latter case, every time I saw them they had moved the ball forward and evolved their strategy. Update them on your fund raising progress.

VC 309

VC pitching advice venture capital 309

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 9, 2009

’s strategy and missteps. On any given day I could have been really pressed for time and asked to get straight to the presentation – you can never predict how the meeting will go so you must be prepared to show a deck, do a demo or just have a conversation. Tags: Pitching VCs Start-up Advice. is important.

pitching 288

pitching VC advice strategy 288

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2010

Understand Personality Types – One of the benefits of working for a big company (Accenture) was that we had lots of speakers come in and train us in topics like leadership, creativity, presentations, strategy, etc. A perfect meeting gets through the deck quickly, demos a product and still has tons of time for discussion.

VC 358

VC entrepreneurs creativity leadership 358

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Two strategies I talked about in the post for getting your “anchor tenants&# are 1) taking them on as advisors first and 2) giving early people cheaper pricing. if you need advice on how to find / work with startup lawyers cheaply click that link). He first worked hard to get him to be an advisor to the company.

financing 286

financing finance advice VC 286

NZ Entrepreneur

MARCH 16, 2025

We help co-lead the execution of Startup Aotearoa, a one-to-one program for first-time entrepreneurs to get coaching and advice from a startup advisor or mentor as they navigate the first time they’ve gone through the journey. So we’ve also eliminated these high-end production demo days, the big events.

startup ecosystem 52

startup ecosystem mix-use advice incubation 52

Tomasz Tunguz

MARCH 27, 2025

After analyzing hundreds of sales organizations across startups, I’ve distilled the key pieces of advice that founders and leaders should keep in mind. Sales Strategy Fundamentals Start with the right price : Establish pricing that reflects value rather than just covering costs.

advice 52

advice founder startup enablement 52

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

No metrics = high level, more generalized advice. But in some businesses call volumes might incentivize your reps to get off the phone quickly, which in some businesses is the wrong strategy. Metrics drive more intelligent conversations about your business amongst your management team, with investors and with knowledgeable advisors.

startup 346

startup board networking advice 346

Gust

AUGUST 19, 2012

Even if you have an hour booked, the advice is the same. Implicit in this is the go-to-market strategy. Describe marketing strategy, sales plan, licensing, and partnership plans. Exit strategy. What is the planned exit strategy (IPO, merger, sale, including likely candidates)? Competition and sustainable advantage.

pitching 146

pitching sustainability strategy energy 146

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2011

There are moments like being on stage when your demo crashes, reading about your competitors raising a ton of cash or having one of your top team members resign that test your will. Losing a deal that you had worked on for months after being told you won and then have snatched away from you will ruin some nights of sleep.

entrepreneurs 384

entrepreneurs startup VC real estate 384

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

You’ll hear from iconic founders, unicorn makers, boundary-benders — all of it served up with a gigantic side of DIY tips, actionable advice, encouragement and inspiration. Head to the agenda and plan your strategy. Visit their virtual booths, get a product demo and start a conversation.

disruption 85

disruption opportunity pitching advice 85

AsiaTechDaily

OCTOBER 20, 2023

In Singapore, a global expansion base, Kim organized a Demo Day event for the companies in his portfolio looking to expand internationally. Kim emphasizes that while all investments are focused on short-term financial performance, founders must concentrate on their long-term business strategy to increase valuation. ” – Kim.

ventures 105

ventures investing investment sustainability 105

TechCrunch

MAY 9, 2023

“It’s so easy to throw together a vertical AI demo,” Winfield told TechCrunch. This continues the firm’s strategy from its first fund which raised $15 million and started deploying in 2019. “You see a lot of folks who would have been decent SaaS founders, trying to be decent AI founders.

startup 97

startup incubation strategy SaaS 97

Y Combinator

OCTOBER 11, 2021

In the last six months alone, we’ve rewritten our entire Demo Day experience (to connect founders with potential investors), re-created the batch experience with both in-house tools and 3rd party integrations, and written software to help founders connect with one another for advice, intros, deals, networking and so much more.

finance 91

finance financing opportunity creativity 91

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

When you’re starting, you’ll need a brand, strategy and the marketing infrastructure to reach early customers. As you’re maturing, you’ll need the broader reach that PR and ongoing strategic advice provides. Highlights from Berkeley SkyDeck’s virtual demo day. Our services cater to every stage of the founder journey.

startup 102

startup SaaS advice strategy 102

TechCrunch

APRIL 13, 2021

Mobility mavens, June 9 will be here before you know it, and that means it’s time to get your strategy ducks in a row for TC Sessions: Mobility 2021. They’ll have plenty of insight and advice to share, including the challenges that startup founders will face as they break into the transportation arena.

micromobility 68

micromobility transportation construction networking 68

TechCrunch

MARCH 31, 2023

Because it takes “about 15 touches for a prospect to want to see a demo,” Tong authored a TC+ guide for CEOs who need guidance around hiring and incentivizing SDR teams. “Pipeline generation at early-stage companies is expensive and time consuming, often more so than the sales process itself. .

pitching 97

pitching real estate strategy advice 97

David Teten VC

JUNE 9, 2021

Preqin (free demo). Grey House (free demo). Ten Networking Strategies to a Seat on the Board. To ensure mutual compatibility, your goals and incentives should be aligned with that of the private equity or VC fund, as well as the timeline for realizing them and exit strategy. Private Equity. Venture Capital. Thomson One.

consulting 128

consulting venture capital board capital 128

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2011

There are moments like being on stage when your demo crashes, reading about your competitors raising a ton of cash or having one of your top team members resign that test your will. Losing a deal that you had worked on for months after being told you won and then have snatched away from you will ruin some nights of sleep.

entrepreneurs 176

entrepreneurs startup VC real estate 176

Entrepreneur's Handbook

APRIL 24, 2023

Mix and match, combine, and get creative with the following event monetization strategies to maximize the earnings from your online event.‍ A ticket strategy to keep in mind is to offer several ticket options: the average number of paid tickets at Hopin event that offers paid options is 3.4 Sell online event tickets.

B2B marketing 86

B2B marketing data collection mix-use strategy 86

Entrepreneur's Handbook

NOVEMBER 1, 2022

You’ll receive the best practical startup advice straight to your inbox every week. Having a clear strategy in place helps to say NO by agreeing and focusing on goals and priorities. Welcome to another edition of our new newsletter! Set clear, achievable goals together with the team. Losing focus of what really matters ?—?Having

startup 59

startup leadership entrepreneurship advice 59

Dream It

JUNE 2, 2022

Our advice on cyber sales and crafting CISO security sales pitches will help improve your close rates and enterprise sales outcomes. How to Crush Your Demo When Pitching Customers & Investors Demos are critical to a security startup's success. Get expert advice on key issues to avoid.

startup 195

startup pitching frameworks advice 195

TechCrunch

AUGUST 18, 2023

Guest columns fall into two categories: TechCrunch+: Strategies and tactics for building and scaling startups. Unless, of course, someone can explain exactly how to do it. In his latest TC+ column, growth marketer Jonathan Martinez describes the process he used to lead his last startup from zero to $1 million ARR in Year One.

VC 81

VC frameworks mix-use pitching 81

Andreessen Horowitz

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

So my advice to you is, put everybody through product training.” And the other question that is just something I’m curious about, is: I work with different organizations and we have this org where the sales team doesn’t dig into the product too much and has the sales engineer to do the demo. We had zoomed way out.

leadership 96

leadership strategy support funders 96

Entrepreneur's Handbook

OCTOBER 29, 2021

Strategies to cultivate a community, iterate with an audience and convert it into a customer base Photo: Unsplash In today’s hyper-competitive, fast-paced digital world, it seems like everyone and their smartphone-savvy grandmother is developing a mobile app. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the best strategies for doing that.

communities 64

communities advice development pitching 64

StartupNation

JANUARY 4, 2022

That’s why product demo webinars are so effective at maximizing conversion rates. The Oracles is an invitation-only brain trust comprising the world’s leading entrepreneurs who share their top advice and success strategies to help others grow their business, live a better life and achieve success faster.

construction 95

construction media founder entrepreneurs 95

TechCrunch

JUNE 9, 2021

For over a decade, Biggar says, he has been an active participant in Bookface, recently helping multiple companies with financial and relationship advice on co-founder break-ups. That meant he was being removed not just from Bookface, says Biggar, but he is no longer invited to Demo Day or allowed on YC Slack.

communities 99

communities accelerator founder culture 99

Jason Malki

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

Most of my experience is in B2B SaaS, so this advice is tailored to founders in a similar space: #1 Hire an experienced leadership team to define the culture and vision A brand new startup only has one asset?—?the If you had to share “words of wisdom” with a Founder who’s about to start their own startup, what would they be?

SaaS 52

SaaS collaboration leadership culture 52

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

There is all sorts of advice on the Internet about how to raise capital. I’ve tried to make this advice as well-rounded and biased free as I can. Trust doesn’t come from one 45-minute Powerpoint pitch or 30-minute demo. If you want to watch the video version summary of my advice on fund raising it’s here.

strategy 366

strategy development VC advice 366

Entrepreneur's Handbook

NOVEMBER 6, 2023

In an effort to open-source Supademo ’s own Product Hunt launch strategy, here is a clear breakdown of what we did to prepare for and execute our launch. An interactive demo helps you do just that. Hopefully, it’s a helpful guide to founders and operators looking to launch soon. Your product’s goal is to help users go from A to B.

support 70

support creativity communities founder 70

NZ Entrepreneur

NOVEMBER 26, 2020

Used right this can give you greater certainty to inform and plan your sales strategy for 2021. This will help you plan your sales strategy and resources. Which channels give the highest conversion rates for meetings/demos – both online and/or in-person? Measure the number of: Demos. One – Conversion Rates.

strategy 59

strategy consulting health opportunity 59

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 21, 2022

Moscone Center did not look like we’re experiencing a downturn in tech: The Expo Hall and demo booths were buzzing, and attendees were networking with enthusiasm in the hallways (are business cards making a comeback?). “But is that actually helpful advice for SaaS founders?” “As far as I can see, it isn’t for most.”

SaaS 67

SaaS strategy VC disruption 67

Tomasz Tunguz

OCTOBER 24, 2021

I imagine everyone at this point has used a Zoom Webinar, so we don’t need a full demo, but just so you know, please use the chat to connect with your fellow attendees. My advice would be actually, start something and then keep drafting it. Do we have the wrong strategy? Tomasz Tunguz: Oh, interesting.

leadership 63

leadership culture strategy peer-to-peer 63