The 411 On Startups (tm)

Here’s How You Organize Your Business Plan Into a Neat, Concise Statement

Jun

2015

While a single sentence may convey the overarching direction of your business plan, you may also need to develop an elevator pitch that combines a few additional concepts into a paragraph so that you can better describe your plans. Here is a ‘paint by numbers’ approach that may help you put your plan into a ...

The Backyard Effect: Finding The Secret Sauce For Growing An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem | TechCrunch

Jun

2015

Experts could debate all day long the ingredients for a killer entrepreneurial climate and the virtues of one city over another. But if I’ve learned one thing over the years, it’s that every region in this country is different. While each might aspire to be the next Austin or Menlo Park, you can’t start with ...

Make Financial Forecasts More Realistic

Jun

2015

It’s a rare entrepreneur who enjoys working on financial forecasts. Many feel like the time could be better spent on actually developing and running their business. Still, forecasts truly are a necessity. You need them to attract investors, but more importantly they help you develop long-term strategic plans. Unless these forecasts are fairly accurate they aren’t helpful at all. ...

To Clean Up Your Startup’s B.S., Bring Sales Into The Leadership Team | TechCrunch

Jun

2015

“Coin-operated idiots”. Even if no one says it out loud about sales people anymore, they might still think it. It’s the perception some startup CEOs have when it comes to their sales force (unless the founders have come from sales themselves). Just load ‘em up and watch them do their mindless best … like at ...

Studies Find Angels Significantly Impact Success Of Funded Companies – Forbes

Jun

2015

. . . . .Two studies show real evidence that startups backed by strong angels really do better than their counterparts that fail to get such funding. The studies by Harvard Business School professors William Kerr and Josh Lerner and MIT Sloan School of Management professor Antoinette Schoar (along with Stanislav Sokolinsky and Karen Wilson) ...

This app lets founders pitch startup ideas to investors, media with 2-minute videos – GeekWire

Jun

2015

For entrepreneurs, it’s not always easy finding the right time and place to pitch a potential investor on an idea — and that’s where Founderfox wants to help. The new app, which just launched this weekend, is a free video-pitching platform for startups that are looking to hail the attention of investors, media, and other ...

Introduction To A Venture Capitalist? There’s An App For That

Jun

2015

Warm introductions are still the best way to meet an investor, however, scrappy venture capitalists know that ideas can come from anywhere – including from outside of their network. The venture capital industry exists because of entrepreneurs but it you’re an entrepreneur you’d hardly think you existed in the eyes of VCs. And you’d be ...

A Fundraising (Spreadsheet) Template Every Entrepreneur Can Use | TechCrunch

May

2015

. . . . . . .Early-stage CEOs are practically taught to not even put a financial model in any of their fundraising decks until they get to their Series B. It’s all about building product in the early stages right? You don’t need to worry about figuring out a business since it’s all about ...

SEC OKs Equity Crowdfunding, So Anyone Can Invest In Private Companies | TechCrunch

May

2015

Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a new set of rules implementing Title IV of the JOBS Act. These changes affect Regulation A small public offerings, and are colloquially referred to as “Reg A+”. The release of these final rules further advances one of the core principles and goals of the ...