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How to Pitch Investors

The best and most concise write-up I've ever seen on the subject, written by Siamak Taghaddos, the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Grasshopper: You have 90 seconds to pitch an investor about your new, incredible business idea that’s going to change the world and make millions of dollars. How do you do it? Simply break your story into five parts using this guideline of how I’d want to be pitched:
  • What is it, who’s your target and what’s the value? (20 seconds)
Get me excited. Focus on the value of your service rather than the features. Tell me quickly what it is, who your target market is, and tell me how it’s going to help them do something better, faster, or more easily. Focus on value and the void you’ll be filling.
  • Pricing model? (10 seconds)
How much does it cost and how do you plan on making money? Recurring revenue or one-time fee?
  • Why is it unique or buzzworthy? (20 seconds)
What makes your product or service unique? Why will anyone care? What are you going to do to get people talking about it?
  • Funding requirements? (15 seconds)
How much money do you need to get started and why? Very high level overview.
  • The team? (25 seconds)
Who makes up your team and how are you going to make it happen? Why should I invest in you? Why are you the best person for the job? This is the most important section so take your time and remember, investors will be investing in you and your team, not your idea. Now, if you are reading this wondering…where should I be pitching next?  Where can I gain buzz and raise awareness?  Easy…check out http://web20show.com/pitch.This is an opportunity Grasshopper is involved in that allows anyone to give us their best 90 second pitch.  Each month Grasshopper and Adam (the Host of the Web 2.0 Show) will pick the best 2 pitches and create a separate podcast episode devoted to you, your pitch, and your business.  We love helping entrepreneurs, and this is a fun way to give all of you an opportunity to hype your business. Good luck. I'd take Siamak's advice to heart, he obviously knows what he's doing, and Grasshopper is a runaway success because they 1) meet startup needs and 2) market to the startup by providing relevant advice, content, and assistance to help entrepreneur's succeed (take for example their web 2.0 show, which lets you make a 90 second pitch on their radio show, just call 1-888-WEB20SHOW, or click the link above for more info). You should follow @seanMeverett on Twitter here.

Lockdown

There's no such thing as overnight success.  μ

Kanye West

As Kanye said in his debut album, off the "Spaceship" track: Y'all don't know my struggle, Y'all can't match my hustle, You can't catch my hustle, You can't fathom my love, dude Lock yourself in a room doin five beats a day for three summers, That's A Different World like Cree Summers, I deserve to do these numbers!

Passion & Snuggies

There's days, weeks, months, years, and sometimes decades of struggle before someone "makes it".  Malcolm Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours.  Whether your chosen field is acting, music, business, or athletics, you can't just show up one day and expect to blow the world away. You shouldn't have a problem if there's a burning desire to surround yourself in this field like a maroon-colored Snuggie.  Shove your arms through the sleeves of perseverance and cover your legs with the warmth of passion. In the end, even if you are the only person that believes in your vision, you'll still have the respect of your friends and family for taking a risk, pushing it to the limit every single day, and embracing the breaths of disdain from your detractors.

A Marathon...of Art & Emotions

It's a marathon, but people only see the successful sprint at the end.  Don't give up at mile 10, 15, or 20.  Persevere, push, and finish.  Winning isn't always a fame or monetary thing.  If you create something from nothing, that's not negligible, that's a work of art.  Believe.  It will happen. I believe you don't truly become a man until you've lost someone so close to you that you die a bit inside and are forever changed.  Similarly, you don't become an entrepreneur until you fail.  The more you die, the closer you get.  It's not about the end game, it's about the journey. Live.  Push.  Persevere. You should follow @seanMeverett on Twitter here.

Angles

Have you looked at your business model from EVERY possible angle?  What have you left on the table? Because whatever it is you slacked on is the exact same thing that's going to kill your business.  μ We're talking vertically, horizontally, and diagonally from a customer, operations, investment, communications, and management perspective.  Your competitors are smarter, faster, and richer than you, and you better believe they're going to exploit any weakness you have.  Or maybe you've just gotten the customer fit wrong and they won't even show up at your door.

Pringles, Pivots, & Brad Pitt

So what do Pringles have to do with angles besides their shape?  Well, lets journey back to P&G's creation in 1968.  It took until the mid 1970s before they decided to release broadly throughout America.  So what did they do all those years?  The issue was P&G tried to market these new "chips" in much the same way as classic potato chips -- to the moms and pops of the home.  But there was a problem, which wasn't uncovered until performing in-depth market research techniques such as laddering that uncovered the mismatch between consumer perceptions and the appropriate target market. Because the Pringles chip was standardized (not chaotic like most chips) and came in a surgically precise tin can, the "old" consumer felt that the chips tasted "bland and generic", echoing the design of the product and packaging, even though blind taste tests found Pringles preferable to classic chips due to less breakage and less grease.  What Pringles finally realized was they were marketing to the wrong customer segment.  They needed to pivot to find one that embraced being different and preferred bucking authority.  So who fit the bill?  Teens, of course.  Have a look at the following commercial to see where they landed: Little known fact: Brad Pitt starred in one of the early Pringles television commercials in the 1980s.

Epiphany

The rest, as they say, is history, and Pringles now enjoys over $1 billion in annual sales.  To think, it all started because they didn't just run to market with something they "hoped" would work, but tested it, got feedback, and refined the message so the product fit the customer, not the other way around. You can call this customer development, a lean startup, pivoting, or whatever you want.  But at the end of the day, it's about spending the brute force time to think through your business from every possible angle, talking it over with your associates, advisors, and customers, then making a decision. Be prepared to change or pivot in a moment's notice.  Your customers will. Build.  Test.  Iterate.  Rules to live by, methinks. You should follow @seanMeverett on Twitter here.

Business is War?

Was Gekko right?  Is business war?  And if so, is Sun Tsu's Art of War still the answer?  μ

Old Mantra:  Profit Maximization

It's true that the only goal of business is to maximize profit.  However, businesses are led, operated, and funded by people.  Yet it's these same people that have emotions.  If you squeeze every last nickel out of your suppliers, bring emotional artifacts into negotiations for financial gain, and correlate the level of service for your customers only by wallet size, you may have a financially successful business in the short-term, but you also may be mortgaging your reputation and long-term prospects in the process.  And your reputation, my friends, is the only thing you truly have in this life. Eventually, every company becomes a buggy-whip business (i.e., obsolete); the large turnover in the Dow Jones over the last century is testament to that fact.  Your business won't last forever either, so it begs the question:  in your next endeavor, will the people you marginalized for short-term profit be willing to go to bat for you again? Here's an example. I was talking to a friend this weekend about a real estate "startup" (they've been around for a number of years, growing rapidly, and may not be classified as this any longer) he is part of.  He told me a story of a potential client they did some work for, closed a deal, and were arguably owed a significant fee.  Now, instead of operating with integrity and keeping the relationship at the forefront of their operating protocols, this company decided to play the business is war card, never paid a fee, and leveraged the information received to broker a deal with a competitor.  My friend then told me how they've blacklisted this company internally and tell other acquaintances in the industry not to touch this company with a 10-foot pole. To me, the long-term loss far outweighs the short-term gain.

New Mantra:  Relationships

I say nay to operating any of my businesses solely for the almighty dollar. I'd rather create meaningful relationships with my internal team, outside advisors, Board members, clients (I don't like the word "customer"), partners, and suppliers.  In the end, it's these folks that will go to battle with you, fight with you, and help you when you need it most (i.e., not when you're on top). Now, time is a valuable commodity, so how do you prioritize?  I take the following approach to the entire team:
  1. Co-workers come first. Many people will say customers, but if the folks on the front line aren't happy, engaged, and aligned, why will they treat our clients well?  In terms of a startup, you may have some external partnerships, but may be core to what you're building.  For example, if you're building an iPhone app, an agreement with an outside development team is critical to the success of your business, so clearly these folks come first.
  2. Clients are next. Some reasons are obvious (e.g., they pay the bills), but I tend to think of it in different terms.  These are truly your brand ambassadors. You know the old story, a customer with a negative experience is 10x more likely to talk about your company than a customer with a positive experience. Start treating every customer like a client. They won't care how big, profitable, or famous you or your company is.  They will, however, care a great deal about how genuine you are.  Be genuine!
  3. Everyone else. This includes other external consulting, partnerships, and outsourcing arrangements you may have that are not central to the business (e.g., outsourcing accounting isn't as critical as a partnership with an iPhone app developer).

Karma, Perhaps?

Lets put it this way.  Don't talk down to the janitor because someday he may be your boss.  You can't always value a business (or a person for that matter) strictly by what's on the financial statements.  Many times, the selfless assistance of others can reap far greater returns than any capital investment, whether internal or external to the business.  Call it what you will, but karma plays a much larger role in our success or failure than many of us would like to acknowledge. As for me?  I choose giving One Hour and building relationships any day of the week, and twice on Sundays, over sticking it to someone for a few extra shekels. You should follow @seanMeverett on Twitter here.

One Hour

Can one hour change the world?  μ Aside from information, time is the most valuable commodity I know of, so I'm devoting one hour per day to anyone who needs help, whether mental, physical, or introductory. I heard a quote once that went something like, "The human race is capable of such breathtaking compassion yet also such horrific terror."  If we each gave up one hour (or even 15 minutes) of our own time to help another human being, wouldn't we all be happier, feel more connected, and grow faster as a society?  Could we end war, famine, and genocide? Sometimes the hardest step is the first step, but it starts with caring, and I want to contribute.
  • Need help lifting a box?  I have a strong back.
  • Need expertise in a specific area?  I have friends who have friends.
  • Just need to chat?  I love Starbucks.
You have my time, and my attention.  You decide how you want to use it.
  1. Email me:  contact form
  2. Tweet me:  @seanMeverett

Startup Team

Arguably THE most important aspect of any startup.  μ The answer is easy, though admittedly, the implementation is a bit more difficult:
  • Design: both graphic designers (Photoshop experts) and developers (experts in HTML, the code that runs the website, and CSS, which identifies the look and feel such as colors, placement, font, etc).  These folks should also be experienced in UX and UI (user experience and user interface).  This team member's value is extremely important, yet also the most easily critiqued (cut your designers some slack!).  Compare the Google homepage to Yahoo's and you'll recognize the value.
  • Engineering: these folks engineer the algorithm/code and develop it into a workable application.  If your idea is technology-based (e.g., mobile apps, web apps, software), then this will be the most critical team member in the beginning.
  • Business: obvious.  Someone with the expertise to manage cash flow (i.e., the number 1 reason new businesses fail), establish pricing strategy, sales/marketing/advertising, legal issues, and most importantly, customer development (i.e., establishing market fit).
I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by a great team covering each of these specialties. Oh, and one last thing.  While most people believe that going into business with friends can be troublesome, I disagree if it's with the right group.  The team needs to have a thick skin so when the heated arguments arise (and trust me, they will), egos are not bruised and the team becomes closer, not further away.  Again, I'm lucky in this area as I've known a few of my team members for a few decades (and one since I could barely walk!). If you need help finding the right person, feel free to contact me and I may be able to set you up with someone in my network that can fill in your professional gaps. You should follow @seanMeverett on Twitter here.

Influence

What is an influencer, and how do you measure the level of influenceμ

Identifying Influencers

So what is an influencer?  I define it as someone that can drive action in others.  The simplest example is a celebrity testimonial.  If Brad Pitt endorses a new product, it's likely more people are going to buy it than if I endorsed it (guys want to be like him and girls want to be with him.  Shaft.  John Shaft.). This is a good read on How To Get An Influencer's Attention, and also shows you who a few of the current influencers on the internet are. We've determined identifying celebrities as influencers is easy, but what about the typical folks in your peer group, at your office, or on social media?  How do you identify the influencers there? For example, if you own a website (e.g., blog, e-Commerce, services, etc) and send out a promotional link to your site via email, Facebook, or Twitter, how do you identify specific individuals who visit?  Or, imagine one of your customers, brand ambassadors, super fans, or advocates talks about your brand and recommends it to others by sharing it via the same mediums, how do you identify these important people? Google Analytics is worthless, as are social sentiment trackers.  While URL shorteners like bit.ly show you who is talking about your brand, it doesn't order or rank these people, nor do they show the inter-connectedness of these influencers to other influencers or to other folks.

Measuring Influence

This is exactly the question that we are in the process of answering, and the functionality we're building.  The technical terminology (and a remnant of Google's Search Algorithm) is the Hub & Authority or HITs Algorithm of social networks. We are combining our own version of this connecting and ranking algorithm, URL shorteners, social scraping, and social sharing to provide the most comprehensive measurement of your brand's influencers. You can then use this information for targeted marketing and selling, online advertising (PPC campaigns), and even to measure Social Media ROI. If you'd like to stay up-to-date and get on the free trial, beta testing list, feel free to sign up at Evolyte Analytics. Finally, we're building this to provide the most value to you as users, so ANY and ALL feedback is welcome.  What questions are you struggling to answer about how to leverage your current customers and promote further awareness of your brand? You should follow @seanMeverett on Twitter here.

Immersion

"Immersion" Merriam-Webster Definition: instruction based on extensive exposure to surroundings or conditions that are native or pertinent to the object of study.  μ Take a page from Lil Wayne's playbook.  Say what you will about him as a person, but in terms of immersion I doubt there's anyone on the planet (other than maybe pre-scandal Tiger Woods) that's more intensely focused on his or her craft. "Weezy" records music.  All day.  Everyday.  He carries a large black bag around with his recording gear (a mic, mic stand, simple CD player, etc) and records, whether on the bus traveling or in a hotel (he's never at home).  He's rumored to have recorded over 100,000 tracks. You can now imagine how, after this intense immersion for over a decade, he can recognize an issue with one of his songs as second nature.  His ear is so finely tuned and requires such perfection that he burns through Producers faster than...(well, that's NSFW). Translate this level of immersion into sports, your business, or your startup, and you begin to get a picture of how Steve Jobs has made Apple so successful, or how Shawn White or Michael Phelps can make the best in the world look like novices. Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers calls it the 10,000 Hour Rule, but I just call it Immersion.  If you're truly passionate about and love the subject, hobby, or business you're involved in, this should happen naturally.  It shouldn't be work, it should be exciting.  So go ahead, immerse yourself in something you love and see what happens... As a bonus, here's a free download from one of Lil Wayne's unreleased mixtapes.  As Weezy so eloquently put it, "this is just a mixtape, it don't have titles, man" so the internet took it upon itself to title it either "Pepto Bismol" or "Let Me Do Me".  I prefer the latter, enjoy: Lil Wayne ft Gudda Gudda "Let Me Do Me" Keep it dirty like I'm lyin in a ditch Like Eli I'm from New Orlean's I'm a giant in this b*tch Move the 'G' and add an 'S' and put the 'I' before the 'N' And put the 'A' in front of that, and that's what I am til the end. That's a SAINT motherf*cker, simplify it for them With a funeral comes with a second line at the end. You should follow @seanMeverett on Twitter here.