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Summer: The Midway Point, Part 1

Summer: The Midway Point, Part 1

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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Things have certainly changed in the startup landscape. Investors haven’t completely unplugged for the summer, as they had previously. Their offices might have moved to non-sanctuary cities or they may no longer have offices at all. And investment into female founded companies is down.

Okay, so not everything changes, fair enough.

While none of us have any control over investor behavior, and as someone who is hired to ‘fix’ pitch decks all the time and make introductions to investors where and when appropriate, we can tell you that founders can control their own behavior, and give themselves a leg up, by presenting their offering clearly and concisely and grabbing the attention of investors, provided that they’re truly on to something – some of whom might actually write a check. Read More...

The New Year’s Resolutions List for Founders

The New Year’s Resolutions List for Founders

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Image by h kama from Pixabay

We’re not a big fan of best of/worst of lists. Nor are we big on New Year’s resolutions, but not always easy to buck every trend that comes down the pike, so without further ado, nine resolutions founders might want to consider. We didn’t go for 10 as we do understand that even nine is pushing it…

  1. I will listen. It never makes a Top 10 list of why startups fail, but trust us, founders don’t listen. Not that they should listen to every piece of advice that they receive, but nor should they ignore it all. Helpful hint: if you hear the same advice again and again, you know that adage, ‘It’s not you, it’s me?’ In this case, it’s probably you
  2. I will understand that my investor pitch deck is a work in progress. It’s not finished until the round closes. You will change it many times, and may even have to scrap it and start over. No one ever said that this startup thing was easy.
  3. I will compensate all my developers. You’re no doubt compensating your coders somehow. But they’re not the only developers on your team. You need someone to help develop your market – they’re called marketers. Someone to help develop business leads – aka biz dev. People to help you develop the relationships you need to get your business to the next level. These are skills, too – and those developers must also be somehow compensated.
  4. I will do my investor due diligence. Especially in the current climate. Times – and term sheets – have changed. Investors are still writing checks – but there are those who seek to give founders less control and themselves more protection, of course, now that money is tighter. Beware of predatory terms. You may want and need the money, but at what price?
  5. I will get out of my own way. Here are The Most Common Limiting Beliefs of Entrepreneurs and How to Overcome Them
  6. I won’t be seduced by startup porn. You know, those influencers who post on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and give you rosy visions of how easy it is to start a company, work for yourself, you’re in charge. How many of them are running companies or anything besides their mouths? Building a company takes time. Even investors don’t expect an instant ROI. You know the adage: those who can, do. Those who can’t, post.
  7. I will think big. Investors – and successful founders – like big markets. But keep in mind that big rewards start with big risks, and there are going to be a lot of big headaches along the way, too.
  8. I will lose that excess weight this year. Meaning dead weight. Startups need to be lean – even after that initial funding comes in – and if there are those people who don’t seem to be pulling their weight, you need to find out why – were there promises made that weren’t kept, or are they not as committed to the project as you thought they were, or were at the beginning?  And once the funding comes in, don’t over hire. Another big mistake founders make. It’s not the time to put that weight back on.
  9. I will listen We know that we already said this. We’re repeating it – in case you weren’t listening…

And a very happy and productive 2023 to one and all, as we go onward and forward.

The Demise of Web 2.0: Ignoring Product-Market Fit

The Demise of Web 2.0: Ignoring Product-Market Fit

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Photo by Nicolas Cool on Unsplash

Anyone working on a startup – or an investor deck – knows that one of most important criteria to investors (besides what your company will do to ensure that they’ll see an exit at some point in their lifetime, or at all) is product-market fit, which is especially important at this juncture, given the downturn in the market. Although we will remind you once again that some of the biggest companies emerged during the worst of times.

That said, Big Tech is no more immune to the vagaries of the market and the importance of product-market fit than is anyone else, but one thing that they do have- so far – is deep pockets.

Does that really help? At Alphabet, “Revenue growth slowed to 6% from 41% a year earlier as the company contends with a continued downdraft in online ad spending,” said CNBC. It had missed analysts’ expectations. “CEO Sundar Pichai said in the statement that the company is “sharpening our focus on a clear set of product and business priorities,” while Ruth Porat, the finance chief, said “we’re working to realign resources to fuel our highest growth priorities.” So, does that mean so much for moonshots et al and, instead, sharpening the focus on what people do want, rather than what the company feels that they might or should want? Read More...

W-A-T-E-R

W-A-T-E-R

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Image by congerdesign @Pixabay

It took ‘Miracle Worker’ and teacher Anne Sullivan a long time and a lot of effort to get through to a blind and deaf young Helen Keller. An exasperated Sullivan finally did succeed. The first word that made an impact and succeeded in helping the girl to understand the relationship between words and everything in her world was ‘water.’

With all due respect, it’s more or less the same with many first-time entrepreneurs when it comes to constructing their investor pitch decks and/or pitching. So, we’re going to spell it out for you.

We know you know the information that needs to be included, in no particular order: problem, solution, differentiators, market size – total addressable market (TAM), sample addressable market (SAM), sample obtainable market (SOM), go to market strategy, traction/partnerships, competitors, financials, team et al. 12-15 slides. Done. Read More...

The Video Revolution in the Age of Remote

The Video Revolution in the Age of Remote

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While we are well aware of the fact that people have been untethering from television for quite some time, viewership has also been plummeting when it comes to the various mainstream news services. The numbers are in a free fall.

While the term ‘fake news’ has been bandied about ad nauseam and has become so much part of the patois that social media also affixes ‘potential fake news’ labels on tweets and posts that are not in lockstep with the media talking points. But no matter what’s reported, note to self: who can’t grab a photo or video with their phone these days? What the media reports, thanks in no small part to editing and green screen, and what onlookers post can sometimes seem like alternate realities and given this, even the major news outlets no longer have a monopoly over the message.

Publications are no longer necessarily authentic in their reporting, either. Prior to the last election, we’d do our usual perusal of tech articles, and noticed that the reporters always added a political aside which would have nothing to do with the story itself or the technology that was being featured. We began unsubscribing: How could we trust a reporter who was writing about, say, a dating app, then slipped in, say, a climate change aside, which had nothing at all to do with said app? The trust was gone.  So long, and thanks for all the fish. Read More...

Everything You Need to Know About the Investor Dog Whistle

Everything You Need to Know About the Investor Dog Whistle

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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Basic to every startup/newco is having a pitch deck. An executive summaries as well, and while you know this, we wonder if we have pitch decks all wrong. Or if you believe that there’s a set order of slides to which you must strictly adhere.

Wrong.

Charlie O’Donnell of Brooklyn Bridge Ventures’ somewhat unofficial mantra is ‘Always Be Selling’ and truth be told, no matter what your official title is in your startup/newco, you’re doing sales. Especially in a lean company: unless you’re in a completely non-public facing role, you’re a salesperson for your company, which brings us to your investor presentation, your deck and everything in between. Read More...

The Pitch Deck: What Investors Are Really Looking For

The Pitch Deck: What Investors Are Really Looking For

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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

It’s been a while since we discussed pitch decks, and it seems that it may be time for a refresher course/reminder.

We all know that there are a few points to cover. Again, in no particular order:

  1. Vision and Value
  2. Problem
  3. Market/Opportunity
  4. Solution
  5. Business/Revenue Model
  6. Competiton
  7. Traction/Road Map to Traction (aka Go To Market Strategy)
  8. Marketing and Sales Strategy
  9. Team
  10. Financial
  11. Ask/Use of Funds

If this is the latest project from a team of very successful serial entrepreneurs, you’re going to move that ‘team’ slide up. Investors want to know that if this startup’s founders are, say, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Read More...

Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Brown M&Ms

Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Brown M&Ms

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mms.wikia.com

Musicians and artists can be quirky, and some are famous for making absurd demands – because they can. Among the seemingly quirkiest: Van Halen (in the David Lee Roth days), who demanded that a bowl of M&Ms candies be available backstage, with all of the brown ones removed and there’s actually a brilliant reason for it, according to Insider.

The demand was buried in the rider to the performance contract – a rider that was roughly the size of the Manhattan phone book, and the M&Ms provision was placed inconspicuously within the document to ensure that the promoters actually read it. It primarily included technical specifications to do with lighting, staging, necessary infrastructure, security, etc.

There’s Always A Reason

Van Halen had a mammoth stage act, or as Diamond Dave explained, “At the time, it was the biggest production ever”…In many cases, the venues were too outdated or inadequately prepared to set up the band’s sophisticated stage,” and very specific technical needs had to be met to ensure that no one on either side of the stage got hurt due to a lack of attention to detail. If all of the provisions were not met, Van Halen had the right to keep all of the proceeds from the concert, which often totaled in the millions. Their litmus test? The brown M&Ms. If they spotted brown M&Ms, they knew that, chances were, the rider had not been fully read, much less adhered to, and the band would need to do a serious line check. Here’s the Diamond Dave interview that explains what proved to be a shrewd business move – and safety test. Read More...

Dumb Things Founders Do, Say or Believe

Dumb Things Founders Do, Say or Believe

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Summer break is over. Time to get real again. Speaking of which, we’d like to offer a few observations which may help your pitch or strategy and which will hopefully help you move the needle just a bit. Or at least to get real. We do actively mentor at accelerators, and attend pitch events and demo days and host semi-monthly investor breakfasts for entrepreneurs. We don’t claim to have seen and heard it all, but there are a few things you might want to take note of – and a few claims and phrases we’d rather not hear again:

“We have 30+ years experience in ecommerce.” A team of maybe four young co-founders pitching, say, an ecommerce play and claiming to have 30+ years of experience between them. Note to self: most of your team looks as though they’re under 30. Ecommerce itself has only been around for some 20+ years, when most of your teams were still in diapers or hadn’t made his or her debut yet on the planet. Stop it. You’re not fooling anyone. Read More...