8 tips for creating the perfect pitch deck (from someone who's raised $75M) | VentureBeat | Entrepreneur | by Mitchell Harper. Creating a pitch deck is hard, especially when you’ve never done it before. If you’re a first-time entrepreneur like I was when we raised our series $15 million first round for Bigcommerce back in 2011, then you’re probably excited, nervous, and anxious about raising your first round of financing. The good news is that a pitch deck can (and should be) be almost formulaic.
You’ve got to tell a story, paint a vision, know your metrics, and sell, sell, sell. Whether you’re raising a small seed round or a bigger series A straight off the bat, you need to get a few things right, and the rest will fall into place. In this post I want to share with you eight tips to create the perfect pitch deck. There’s a lot of advice out there about creating pitch decks, so why should you take mine? So let’s jump in. 1) Have a big vision, then make it 10x bigger Having a compelling vision for where you want to take your business is important, but most first-time entrepreneurs think too small.
FounderDating | Premiere online network for entrepreneurs to connect with cofounders. Pitchenvy | A gallery of startup pitch decks. Addressing today's business issues and challenges, PwC's Silicon Valley Practice. From start-up to legendary, the companies of Silicon Valley change the world every day. They innovate at lightning speed. Push boundaries. And address complex issues: Are business processes scalable? Can the organization adjust to a rapidly changing business environment? These are questions every technology company wrestles with at one time or another—and these issues are deeply familiar to the 1,450 professionals from our Silicon Valley Practice. Within these pages, we invite you to see how.
Building Great Founding Teams | Steve Blank. "That he which hath no stomach to this fight, let him depart...We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. " - William Shakespeare, Henry V There's been a lot written about the individual characteristics of what makes a great founder, but a lot less about what makes a great founding team and how that's different from a great founding CEO. I think we've been imprecise in defining three different roles. In doing so we've failed to help founders understand what it takes to build a great founding team. Here are my definitions. Founders - The IdeaA Founder is the one with the original idea, scientific discovery, technical breakthrough, insight, problem description, passion, etc. A couple of caveats about founders with "ideas. " Even if they become part of the founding team, it's not a given that the founder, having come up with the idea has a "guaranteed" leadership role (CEO or VP) in the new company.
Everyone has ideas. The founding team CEO is the first among equals in the founding team. Blackbox.vc. Task #1: Name, Tagline and Logo. 1 Million Cups (1MC) - Building communities one cup at a time. - Entrepreneurship.org. Venture Hacks - Good advice for startups. Top 2-3 Entrepreneur Resources Sites by U.S. Market — CoFoundersLab Blog.
Startups are a long, hard road, and entrepreneurs need a community to lean on. So where does one turn online for the best information on local resources, events, insights, and other happenings in the local startup ecosystem? We looked at 20 markets in the U.S. and compiled a list of the best sites in each particular market with valuable information for entrepreneurs.
If you live/work in one of these markets, check out the following sites and get better plugged in to your local startup community. For good measure, we also threw in some national sites/blogs that also add tremendous value to entrepreneurs. We’ll update this list regularly, and we want your input! Don’t see a site listed in your particular market that you think we should include? Tell us about it! Nobody can do it alone. How I Gave up Email and Reclaimed 3 Hours a Day. Most weekends you will find me speeding down a trail on my mountain bike. Bring on the drop offs: I want to jump them; bring on the hops and bounces and falls. I consider myself someone who can handle the things that life throws my way. But there is one thing that raises my anxiety levels into the red zone: email. One day while driving home, I thought: “Why don’t I just stop using email altogether?” That night while drifting off to sleep I imagined my email-free life.
I liked the picture. 1. In order to start this experiment, I needed to track the difference in my productivity levels with and without email. 2. I started letting people know about my decision and thought it would be the easiest part of the process. Subject: No More Email Body: As many of you know, I am on a mission this year to reduce email with the aim of completely removing it out of my life. My reason for wanting to do this: So, please do connect with me in the following places: TwitterFacebookLinkedIn Kindly, Claire 3.
Four Things to Get Right When Starting a Company - Bruce Gibney and Ken Howery. By Bruce Gibney and Ken Howery | 9:14 AM May 9, 2012 Most VCs and entrepreneurs believe start-ups are inherently iterative, that a string of mistakes doesn’t prevent success, but may even be the path to it. Generally, that view is correct, but there are a few choices made early on that have implications so deep as to be functionally irreversible, with profound implications for outcomes.
Product and business models are evolutionary by nature, but we see four things a young company must get right: The founding teamThe core valuesWhere the company is locatedThe initial investors (and their terms) A good company usually begins with co-founders: the notion of a lone Edison willing a giant company into existence is rarely correct. Almost all successful start-ups have multiple founders, from the Central Pacific’s Big 4 to Google’s Brin and Page. Simply finding a co-founder serves as a critical exercise in validation. It’s also important to cultivate a balanced team from the start. Start-Up Resources. How to Build a Startup Course (EP245) When does the course begin? This class is self paced. You can begin whenever you like and then follow your own pace. It’s a good idea to set goals for yourself to make sure you stick with the course.
How long will the course be available? This class will always be available! How do I know if this course is for me? Take a look at the “Class Summary,” “What Should I Know,” and “What Will I Learn” sections above. Can I skip individual videos? Yes! What are the rules on collaboration? Collaboration is a great way to learn.
Why are there so many questions? Udacity classes are a little different from traditional courses. What should I do while I’m watching the videos? Learn actively!