Make Your Business Plan Slides A Success
There are two major types of angel investors in this world: the ones that would read your business plan and the ones that would rather question you about its contents without actually reading the...
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The 12 Worst Train Wreck Meetings Between Startups And VCs You Will Ever Hear
Does public speaking make you sweat?Do you worry your slide deck is boring?And you’re stumbling over your words?Good news!If all that's wrong with your upcoming pitch to potential investors, there is...
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10 Dead-Honest Reasons Reporters Delete Your Emails
For startups, getting press is key to survival. You could have the best team and the best product, but if no one's heard of you, you're screwed.The problem startups have is that they're new, which...
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Roy Oswalt Is Worried That His Career Might Be Over After His Latest Back Injury
The fourth of the Phillies aces left last night's game against the Cardinals after two innings due to back soreness.Afterward, his state of mind was strikingly bleak.From Jim Salisbury of...
View ArticleExactly What You Should Say In A Pitch To Grab My Attention
I wrote brief yesterday about the various ways that startups can make me leave a room without paying the bill. A few people mailed me to ask if a) I could stop pretending to be Dave McClure and b)...
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At Last! This VC Will Send You A Feedback Form To Make Sure He Didn't Waste...
VCs are notorious for coming to meetings with entrepreneurs late and unprepared. This can be very frustrating for entrepreneurs for whom a meeting with a VC can be life or death, and who is...
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The 4 Standout Startups From Dreamit Demo Day
We're back in the office after spending the morning at NYC Dreamit Demo Day where 14 startups pitched their ideas to the tech community.Two of the startups, AfterSteps and LetsGiftIt, were finalists in...
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The 5 Biggest Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Pitching Investors
An effective elevator pitch can be crucial for entrepreneurs trying to secure funding from angel investors. The goal of the pitch -- written or delivered face-to-face -- is to briefly share the "who,...
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Here’s Why You Never Ask A Busy Person To Lunch
OK. I know with a title like that I’m going to subject myself to people thinking I’m just being a grumpy, exclusive VC. That’s not the point. It’s honest advice so please judge once you’ve read the...
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Should I, Like, Get A Spray Tan Before A VC Pitch?
A lot of things cross an entrepreneur's mind as he or she prepares for a meeting with a VC.Like whether or not to get a spray tan.One Quora user asked, "Should I use spray-on tanner before a VC pitch...
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How To Raise Millions From VCs With 12 Slides And No Prototype
Yesterday we grabbed coffee with Chloe + Isabel founder Chantel Waterbury.Chloe + Isabel is a jewelry website that turns each of its users into mini entrepreneurs.Users are encouraged to sell the Chloe...
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This Is The First Pitch Deck Foursquare Ever Showed Investors
Foursquare is one of the biggest, buzziest startups in New York.Scratch that -- anywhere.The local check-in startup raised $50 million this past summer from Andreessen Horowitz and Spark Capital. It...
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If You Want An Immediate 'No,' Start An Investor Pitch Like This
We conducted a Q&A with billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban.He's a judge on ABC's Shark Tank and he is an angel investor, so he has seen a lot of startup pitches.We asked Cuban about the worst...
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7 Things You Must Do To Get Good PR
I'm in the middle of trying to publicize my new series of technology focused parenting books called, The Modern Parent’s Guide. I knew it was going to be difficult: Getting the press to pause its 24/7...
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Why Perfect Games In Baseball Are Becoming More Common
PITCHING a perfect game is baseballs most sublime individual achievement. Batters have no equivalent accomplishment: hitting four home runs in a game might be the closest, but even batters who manage...
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The Via Agency: Why The Long-Shot Pitches Are Worth It — Even When You Don't Win
Recently our agency was invited to pitch the MINI Cooper USA account, one of the most exciting brands in the business.When the review was announced, the press mainly covered the fact that the incumbent...
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A VC Who's Been An Investor For 11 Years Says Startup Pitches Have Never Been...
Bryce Roberts, the cofounder of O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, says startup pitches have never been worse than they are right now."In all of my 11 years as a VC, I'd argue we're at the low watermark for...
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Why Imperfect Ideas Can Be Easier To Sell
The idea that pitches need to be perfectly polished before getting to a manager is something that's drilled into graduates.Stanford Business School professor Baba Shiv points out that you might be...
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Pitching Advice From The Judge Who Puts Entrepreneurs Through Hell On 'Shark...
It's pretty safe to say that after three full seasons of the ABC hit show "Shark Tank," Daymond John has seen almost all there is to see when it comes to pitching an idea.Now into the fourth season,...
View ArticleWhat You Say Doesn't Matter Half As Much As How You Say It
OK, it does matter a little. Sometimes more than a little.But when it comes to marketing and sales speak, what you say has little to do with your success. Chances are what you are saying right now is...
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