the time to act is always now

I liked this post about “why to start a startup in a bad economy“. People is what matters and the entrepreneural team is the most influencer indicator of a startup sucess, not the general economy. Difficult to raise money? Difficult to sale? Difficult to find another job if the startup fails? This post talks about all of this and I really liked and believe this arguments. And yes, to the extent to act.

how to pitch to a VC

Great video every entrepreneur should watch before pitching to any investor. He says things we have herd many times but all together, fast and organized. Good way to check if we have everything. 

(From TED: “Ideas worth spreading”)

Single most important thing the VC is going to be investing in: YOU  

You need to prove:
- Integrity
- Passion
- Experience
- Knowledge
- Skill
- Leadership
- Commitment
- Vision
- Realism
- Coachable     

How to structure the pitch:
Do’s:
- Logical progression
- Things I know or understand (examples)
- Validations (somebody else says this make sense)
Dont’s:
- Things that are no true
- Things I don’t understand
- Thinks that make me think
- Internal consistence
- Typos, errors

Look at our betters: Steve Jobs
- Good: short, short bullet points
- Better: just headline
- Best: only images   

Include:
- Company logo
- Quick business overview, 1 sentence
- Management team
- Market
- Product
- Business model
- Strategic relationships
- Competition
- Barriers of entry
- Financial overview
- Use of procedures
- Capital & valuation
- Final pitch   

5 + tips:
- Use presentation mode
- Use remote control
- Hand outs are not your presentation
- Don’t read
- Never look at the screen 

awarding startups

2008 SourceForge.net Community Choice Awards, an Open Source software development web site publish their finalists for the 2008 awards. There are many interesting startups and categories (e.g. “Most likely to change the world”)