This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 10, 2012

I'm all for helping people out, but they don't understand is that they're competing with the startup that is already at the center of their industry for that next investor dollar. You pitch me on some product that. Ok, so it wouldn't be that bad, but the point is: Never let an investor do your pitch for you to stakeholders.

pitching 353

pitching startup networking founder 353

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 23, 2012

I have one failed attempt at a startup under my belt as a founder and I don't have any particularly usable skills that anyone would pay for like selling, designing, building, etc. Conferences, startup blogs, meetups--they're all filled with people telling you how to build your company. Most startups fail.

advice 416

advice startup VC strategy 416

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 23, 2011

They get pitched by so many blowhards that more genuine people who aren’t in it for just a story stand out from the crowd. Obviously you should have somebody that helps you research journalists, gets you meetings, pitches stories, helps prep you for interviews & helps make sure your writing is cogent.

startup 349

startup pitching advice consulting 349

Entrepreneurs' Organization

DECEMBER 15, 2021

He has raised venture capital for his startups, helped hundreds of founders craft their pitch decks and fundraising strategy, and invested as a business angel. We asked him how founders can create the perfect pitch deck for their company. Some of these pitches were very informal, sitting at the bar or walking around.

pitching 256

pitching entrepreneurs venture capital ventures 256

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 17, 2024

Founders need to shift their thinking to an assumption of understanding—that investors who see thousands of pitches per year probably do understand what a founder is doing the vast majority of the time, and have simply decided that the risk/reward for investing in their company simply isn’t as good of a deal as others they’re currently looking at.

startup 414

startup micromobility consulting hospitality 414

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 11, 2022

What Alan recognized was that most IRL forums and networking events are absolutely awful places to pitch and here’s why: 1) When a VC shows up in person, they’re looking to replicate the kind of top of the funnel they would get in an hour or two’s worth of e-mail, and that’s not going to happen if you corral them into a corner for 30 minutes.

VC 413

VC pitching communities creativity 413

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 3, 2011

On my blog I’ve been hesitant to take the topic head on. But last week I noticed a blog post by a woman, Tara Tiger Brown, that asked the question, “ Why Aren’t More Women Commenting on VC Blog Posts? In it she observes that only 3% of the comments on this blog are from women. But then the truth sets in.

entrepreneurs 341

entrepreneurs entrepreneurship VC pitching 341

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

Because, you know, who doesn''t love a good startup list. It''s a story of a mechanical engineer turned startup entrepreneur who has seen how NYC actually works (and built a company to help it run smooth) from as deep undergroud as the East Side Access Project under Grand Central and as high as the roof of the NY Times building.

peer-to-peer 359

peer-to-peer startup collaboration venture capital 359

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

One of my favorite events last year was attending Startup Grind where I got to interview Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma. And of course we talked about many of my views of building startups. You didn’t join startups then. You joined a startup if you couldn’t get a real job.

startup 337

startup entrepreneurs consulting board 337

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

To understand this in great detail see this very important blog post by Henry Blodget on the unemployment rate in the US and its impact on the recovery. If you’re a startup, in bad times there is less over-funding of your competitors and therefore less pressure to give everything away for free.

VC 269

VC startup advice innovation 269

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

Jeff (also an HBS alum) co-teaches the LTV course with Professor Eisenmann about a student of theirs who had written a blog post about sales taking on some of my previous assertions. Her post is short & well written so definitely worth a read if you’re a startup person and want to hear some sensible views on sales.

startup 319

startup consulting pitching support 319

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 1, 2013

In a world where startups can pick up 750k in from just a couple of seed funds, or crowdsource a bunch of angels sight unseen, what's the role of an angel group? Secondly, it was easier for the entrepreneurs to pitch in front of a roomful of a lot of money than one at a time. That would be a 100 blog posts a year! Two a week!

pitching 335

pitching entrepreneurs board networking 335

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 22, 2014

I''m not going to do too much of a victory lap, though, because it bugs me a little when startups do it, and I''m a startup, too. These are things that other VCs think about, but founders who come to pitch don''t think about too much. When you blog, tweet , Instagram , etc., How many more investments could I do?

pitching 413

pitching board VC opportunity 413

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

The frantic pace of technology cycles, the amount of tech news, the blogs, the conferences, the demo days, the announcements, the fundings, the IPOs. Any longtime readers of this blog will know that I often try to simplify complex ideas into a simple parable that is easier to remember to set the tone of one’s behaviors.

peer-to-peer 317

peer-to-peer pitching VC accelerator 317

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 1, 2010

Here’s my best attempt to shed some light on the most common misconceptions about building a company here in NYC: Misconception #1: There’s no money in NYC for startups… and the money that’s here isn’t smart or experienced money. It might take you six months to get to know an investor well, so don’t expect a check on the first pitch.

startup 288

startup media ecology VC 288

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

I became aware of Sam several years ago as I started noticing his name repeated in the comments section of my blog. He pinged me that he was thinking about joining a startup based in LA with the CEO in NYC and would I be willing to meet him and give him advice on this process. Sam later decided he wanted to do a startup.

pitching 372

pitching advice VC entrepreneurs 372

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 16, 2014

If all my deals came as intros from trusted connections that I know for years versus at founder pitch events that''s interesting data. If you meet someone at a pitch event, they''ve already got a company and they''re looking to close as quickly as possible. In fact, that''s what I tend to do--at least, what I say that I do.

VC 417

VC pitching networking venture capital 417

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

They get pitched by so many blowhards that more genuine people who aren’t in it for just a story stand out from the crowd. Obviously you should have somebody that helps you research journalists, gets you meetings, pitches stories, helps prep you for interviews & helps make sure your writing is cogent. Some final thoughts on PR.

pitching 319

pitching media advice venture capital 319

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

I set up an event at NYIT that is essentially just free, open feedback on ideas, prototypes, startups, etc. It doesn't have to count as an official pitch of any kind. It's more just to understand the kinds of things VCs are going to ask and want to see when you are ready to pitch. So you'd think it would be sold out, right?

creativity 336

creativity VC pitching communities 336

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

Creating awareness for your brand and products is one of the lifebloods of technology startups yet in a world where so many companies are being created it becomes difficult to rise above the noise. The major battle for press is a battle for “mindshare” and it’s exactly the reason I blog. I am a VC. I hand out money.

mix-use 389

mix-use advice VC technology 389

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

Which is why I''m sure the dude who picked apart the physics of the latest round of UBeam will undoubtedly get eviscerated in the tweet and blog world. ".Here’s For the most part, journalists give startups a free pass when venture capital money is raised or when companies that clearly seem to have failed get "acquired".

venture capital 404

venture capital capital ventures entrepreneurship 404

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

If I had to put a number on it I’d say 1 in 20 pitches – maybe 1 in 30 – are by an entrepreneur who comes across as truly passionate about her project. His blog is even called SaaStr (a bit too close to Suster if you ask me ;-)). Whenever somebody has a car startup I send it straight his way.

peer-to-peer 373

peer-to-peer VC pitching entrepreneurs 373

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JANUARY 4, 2023

Video pitching. I see an uptick in pitching via pre-recorded video. We used Loom to pre-record our pitch and share it with potential investors. It’s a great way to personalize a pitch deck and share it with interested parties. Opportunity for startups. and more articles from the EO blog.

ecology 252

ecology entrepreneurship pitching entrepreneurs 252

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Startups Are for Doers. But trust me when I say that my observations across many startups (and other companies, frankly) is that not enough time goes into thinking. Startups are filled with the stresses of the here and now and it’s hard to break out of this mold of focusing two feet in front of you. Board Meetings.

creativity 400

creativity venture capital entrepreneurs board 400

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

I recently read a post over on VentureHacks titled, “ Top Ten Reasons Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers &# written by Scott Walker (who blogs on legal issues for entrepreneurs ). I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. Most lawyers that work with startups are willing to work on a deferred payment schedule.

startup 318

startup advice entrepreneurs VC 318

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 5, 2012

What is it about me that makes you want to pitch me? When you're pitching for a million bucks "I've never heard of them" is not an acceptable answer for when I ask about the team that tried to do the same thing as you just two years ago. 5) Aim for me to hear about you before you pitch. 4) Do your homework. Getting quoted?

VC 330

VC pitching disruption advice 330

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2015

In November of 2013 Aileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures coined the term “ Unicorn Club ” as it relates to billion-dollar startup companies. Many entrepreneurs pitching err on the side of too much information. I’ve blogged for years. How will you stand out from the masses of other people pitching.

advice 360

advice pitching disruption VC 360

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

So what are Rob’s secret hacks that he didn’t spill in his blog post? . Key point – if your emails are as long as my blog posts you’re forked. He did it yesterday, “Mark, I’m going to write a blog post following on from your VC’s aren’t dumb. Startup Advice' Rob does it.

board 365

board VC advice pitching 365

Entrepreneurs' Organization

AUGUST 5, 2022

It’s an incredibly valuable event for both EO Accelerators and EO members with startups that want to attract investments in addition to EO members who are looking for the right investment opportunity. There’s a lengthy application and vetting process for EO members or Accelerators to qualify to pitch.

accelerator 273

accelerator networking pitching real estate 273

Startup Grind

AUGUST 16, 2018

Is your startup dying? Raising funds for startups is becoming more and more challenging. If you’re passionate enough about your startup, then you’ll have the courage to go through hardships and overcome all the challenges. Crowdfunding seems to be a miracle for startups, an easy way to get investment. They raised $2.6

startup 155

startup media pitching investment 155

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 2, 2013

What would be the ultimate conference for your startup to be prominately featured in? Is there a key blog describing the trend that you''re taking advantage of? It saves you the time of manually pitching the other 498 because those two will find you. Why are you paying to sponsor a conference or pitching other media outlets.

pitching 301

pitching media venture capital leadership 301

Startup Catalyst

MARCH 27, 2018

The second Startup Community Leaders Mission to the USA took place from 11-18 March 2018, with 20 participants taking part, including 14 from 11 different regional towns in Queensland, 3 from Brisbane, one from Sydney, one from Adelaide, and one from New York (assisting the Beach City film crew). Why we run this particular mission.

communities 140

communities startup incubation accelerator 140

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2011

I always try hard to make this blog a place where you can learn lessons rather than an advertisement for portfolio companies. If you haven’t read the post the thesis was that I care way more about watching the trajectory of your performance as a team (or individual) than I do about how good you “pitch” on the first day you come to see me.

investing 303

investing investment VC media 303

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 20, 2012

Tim Ferriss recently blogged about the power of routines to help focus you on the things that matter, while not getting you bogged down on the things you don't: "I’ve always suspected that we start each day with a limited number of decision-making points that, once depleted, leave us cognitively impaired.

peer-to-peer 401

peer-to-peer pitching consulting creativity 401

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 10, 2011

It has never been so easy to get a startup up and off the ground these days. Even the one time blogging platform of choice Wordpress can, without a lot of hassles, can be manipulated to be your entire site's content management system. Are there not enough blogs out there about viral loops? Why isn't it growing its own yet?

incubation 268

incubation peer-to-peer communities financing 268

Entrepreneur's Handbook

APRIL 24, 2021

Advice for non-technical founders for finding a serious CTO for your startup Finding a co-founder is hard work. It goes without saying that being a startup founder is more popular than ever. If this is all new to you, take a short course on Entrepreneurship or read The Lean Startup. Finding a technical co-founder is even harder.

founder 140

founder startup pitching networking 140

StartupNation

NOVEMBER 21, 2021

In the startup world, it’s pitch decks, not business plans that get companies funded. Making a pitch deck is an art, a science, but most importantly, a story. Angel investors and venture capitalists have also learned to expect a standard pitch deck as the first filter when evaluating a company to invest in.

pitching 110

pitching SaaS mix-use media 110