Continuing in Phase Three of a four-part Funding Series:
Phase One - Structuring a Fundraise
Phase Two - Investor Selection
Phase Three - The Pitch
Part 1 - Anatomy of a Pitch
Part 2 - Market Size
Part 3 - Revenue Model
Part 4 - Operating Model
Part 5 - Customer Definition
Part 6 - Customer Acquisition
Part 7 - Funding ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)
Part 8 - Key Pitch Assets
Part 9 - Traction
Phase Four - Investor Outreach
Welcome to part 7 of “The Pitch” — where we look at the funding ask section of our pitch deck or plan and how to get potential investors excited about our business idea.
Let’s dive in!
Most business plans and pitch decks are a long preamble to one question - will you fund me?
Ah, the age-old question. 🙋 It'...
Over the past six years, Applico has built over 300 apps, and I’ve learned a lot about how to find the perfect app developer at the right price. The primary driver of price is the cost of labor. For example, hiring offshore developers will be exponentially cheaper than hiring domestic developers, and an established firm will cost you more than a freelance hire.
Because there are so many different variables, the price for a mobile app could range anywhere from $5,000 to $500,000. The average price range will typically be somewhere between $100,000 and $300,000, and the entire development process takes about 12-20 weeks. It’s obviously a hefty investment, both in time and money. So in order to optimize your financial resources, here are the f...
If you'd like to see some samples - we've got 4 awesome business plans for you here.
Would you rather make $200K with a shitty quality of life or $100K with an awesome quality of life?
In the startup world we all seem to understand that $200K is better than $100K, but we do a really lousy job of qualifying that difference based on what actually matters — our quality of life.
When we step back for a second, we may come to find out that "compensation" in strictly monetary terms, is a broken metric. We're all really trying to translate those dollar signs into how it will impact our quality of life.
So why don't we just start with what improves our quality of life and then figure out where money comes in?
Years ago at Startups.com, we instituted a work from home policy. At the time we were all sti...
Update (12/7/17): The previous video lesson is no longer available and we’ve since removed it. However, you can still see more from Morgan Brown including his lesson on Growth From User 0.
If you’re serious about growing your startup, you know that early user acquisition is a crucial moment and going from 0 to 10,000 customers is the hardest part. Morgan Brown, head growth expert at GrowthHackers.com, shares his insider tricks on how to get the early traction you need.
In this video, Brown discusses why growth is absolutely a team sport and must be something that everyone in your company is involved with—it must be fundamentally built into the product.
(Video removed – no longer available)
If you want to learn more about early user acquisi...
You’ve probably heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, right? Just in case you’ve been living under a rock — here is a quick recap:
In 1943, a psychologist named Abraham Maslow proposed that humans have a five “levels” of needs, usually drawn in the shape of a pyramid.
The needs at the bottom of the pyramid are physiological needs that are necessary for survival: food, water, warmth, rest.
The next level up is “safety,” followed by “belongingness and love,” then “esteem,” and, at the very top of the pyramid, “self-actualization.” The basic idea is that humans need to meet those basic needs first, before they can be concerned about the needs further up the pyramid.
Makes sense, right? You can’t really think about transcendence when your stom...
Last week I had a great conversation with a Startups.com employee who was leaving to join another company. During the conversation I repeated the same thing I've told hundreds of departed employees, "This isn't the last time we'll work together, so while I'm sad to see you leave, I'm pumped to team up again later."
Why would we tell someone that's leaving how excited we are to be working together in the future? Because if we've been in this game long enough, we realize how many of those relationships do in fact come around again... and again... and again.
As Founders, especially veteran ones, we begin to learn that every single person we work with is part of a larger "workforce" of future hires that becomes some of our most reliable talent...
Nancy Duarte is a pro when it comes to presentations. Not just giving presentations, but starting them, finishing them, and every step in between. Author and co-founder of Duarte Designs, Nancy Duarte is a seasoned veteran when it comes to incorporating storytelling into speaking and creating connections with an audience.
The below video is the final part in a series of 10 in which Nancy shares the key components to making a successful startup pitch using creativity and critical thinking. Find out what she has to say:
If you’ve ever watched a TED Talk, you know that they’re packed with enough inspiration, wisdom, and advice to make you go out and save the world before the nigh...
Continuing in Phase Three of a four-part Funding Series:
Phase One - Structuring a Fundraise
Phase Two - Investor Selection
Phase Three - The Pitch
Part 1 - Anatomy of a Pitch
Part 2 - Market Size (←YOU ARE HERE 😀)
Part 3 - Revenue Model
Part 4 - Operating Model
Part 5 - Customer Definition
Part 6 - Customer Acquisition
Part 7 - Funding
Part 8 - Key Pitch Assets
Part 9 - Traction
Phase Four - Investor Outreach
This is Part 2 of “The Pitch” — where we look at market size, how to go about estimating market size, and presenting potential market size.
Let’s dive in!
Solving the Problem beautifully is nice and all, but if the Market Size of the Problem isn't big enough, you're not likely to get investors very excited.
The Market Size explai...
Creating culture doesn’t just seem easier at a startup — it is easier.
When you’re a four-person team, you’re family. Collaboration comes naturally, and with everyone in every meeting, miscommunication is all but impossible. Scheduling a happy hour? It’s as simple as sending a text.
Then, you grow. You’re grateful to have help, of course, but that familial feeling fades a bit. No longer can everyone fit around the same restaurant table. Spontaneous outings happen less and less often. Communication starts to seem more like a chore than texting friends.
To a degree, cultural shift is natural as your team expands. No 50-person company will be as close as a five-person one. Still, with careful cultivation, your startup culture can be preserved....