The investor pitch. It's feared. It's desired. It's terrifying.
But don't worry: We've got you covered. Here's everything you need to know about that all-important investor pitch.
Invisu.me Co-Founder and CEO Donna Griffit is a master pitcher who has helped countless founders distill their pitch down to exactly what they need — and nothing they don’t. She had the opportunity to sit in on a private pitching event where a delegation of startups had the opportunity give a five minute pitch and receive direct feedback from a group of top-tier Silicon Valley VC’s. (So top tier that she can’t even say who was there but, trust us, you will want to memorize this section before your next pitch.)
Here’s what ...
This is Part II of our interview with Rhone co-Founder and CEO Nate Checketts. To check out Part I, click here.
I think that happens in every industry and every business, that there are these assumptions that nobody bothers asking about. And for us, especially at the beginning, it was important that we ask a lot of those questions.
The thing about inspiration is that it can come from anywhere. For Rhone co-Founder and CEO Nate Checketts, it came in the form of a smelly t-shirt.
“I was working at the NFL, and I got a lot of free product just by working there,” Nate remembers. “But the product would always start to smell after only a handful of washings.”
Nate credits a frank comment from his sister at a family gathering for getting the whe...
Looking for small business grants that are geared towards immigrants and minorities? Well, you’re not the only one. Business grants are often described as “free money,” so they tend to be pretty popular.
But, here at Startups, we hate the term “free money.” It’s a word that people throw around a lot when they’re talking about grants. The reason we don’t call small business grants “free money” is because they take a lot of work to get. And there’s a lot of competition, so oftentimes that work doesn’t even result in a payday. Sure, you don’t have to pay back a small business grant the way you do a business loan — but it’s certainly not “free money.”
However, we also understand that minority business grants can really boost a startup, if they ...
In order to be considered a "minority" in the world of small business, you must be at least 25%...
Women-owned businesses, on the other hand, are another category.
In order for a business to qualify as minority-owned, it needs to be at least 51% owned by a person or persons from one of those groups.
Additionally, you’ll often need to be certified as a minority business enterprise (MBE) or a disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) in order to qualify for certain loans or grants.
That’s not the case for all loans and grants, however, so make sure it’s a requirement before going through the process of gettin...
There are busy entrepreneurs, and then there are people who live, eat, breath, and sleep work. They’re driven by a passion for getting the job done, and they are most happy when they’re being productive. In fact, a study from the University of Warwick found that happiness can make people up to 12% more productive.
Are the most effective, successful, and productive entrepreneurs killing it with their daily schedule because they’re happy, or is there something else driving them?
I recently sat down with serial entrepreneur Neil Patel, someone I consider to be one of the busiest, hardest-working people I know.
With multiple successful startups under his belt, like Kissmetrics and Crazy Egg (and a constant stream of new content on NeilPatel.c...
A crypto startup is a business that deals with cryptocurrencies. Startups focused on this industry have been popping up all over the world in recent years. With the rise of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies, many entrepreneurs are looking to create their own crypto or blockchain-based startup.
It sounds easy enough in theory, but for those new to the industry, it's much like learning another language. In this article, we aim to define, expand on, and share insights we have compiled to demystify the process of launching a crypto startup.
1. Identify a problem that needs solving.
2. Create a white paper outlining the idea (i.e. a solution to the...
"Do I bet the farm or hold it all back?"
We often wonder whether every dollar of our personal savings should be going toward our startup, or toward our safety.
On the one hand, if we don't bet our cash on our startup, we're starving the very thing we need to grow with. On the other hand, if we spend that money, we'll never be able to sleep at night knowing our safe landing has been pulled away.
Don't spend it all. Seriously — don't.
There's a point at which depleting all of our savings and personal cushion works against us. We start shifting our focus from "growing the business" to "surviving personally" (more than it already is!) and at that point, we're in a downward spiral.
I...
Never before has “fake” been such a household word. But not all “fake” is bad. For entrepreneurs starting out, the right version of “fake it until you make it” is exactly what they should be doing.
An entrepreneur who “fakes it” is someone who takes on challenges even if he has no idea how he’ll solve them, such as accepting an order from a large client without knowing how he’ll get the shipments from China.
That’s the purest form of “faking it,” because it’s aligning his mindset with what he desires while still operating within his means. It’s also biting off more than he can chew but always following through and delivering in the end.
Ultimately, entrepreneurs who don’t push themselves and “fake it” are the ones who aren’t going to make ...
“I just want to tell other entrepreneurs who start at an early age – no matter how hard it is, do not give up, because your dreams are worth fighting for. I do believe that anything is possible with a positive approach and a lot of hard work.”
We’ve all heard, if not had them spoken directly to us, similar words of inspiration. And they never get old. We can never hear them enough. And maybe, just maybe, if we hear these words coming from the right person, under the right circumstances, we’ll accept them not as abstract mantra but living truth. And we’ll find the resolve to bust our tails long enough to one day arrive at a level of achievement where we’ll feel compelled to deliver our own words of encouragement.
It matters that these words ...
There's no golden age to start a company, but there is definitely a timer on when we can withstand failure. The question is — when does that timer expire for us?
As it happens, our numeric age isn't really what's driving our "Founder Expiration Date" — it's about how our age may reflect our relative appetite for risk. That's really a nice way of saying "What's the oldest I can be before I'm too old to recover from failure?"
Every year that goes by is another year we can't get back. When we're in our 20's and starting a company, we have our entire adult life to make up for the risk of failure. In many cases, we may not have a family or even a mortgage to worry about. At most, our failure may result in some lost years and a sh...