Why Should You Send Your Unsolicited Pitch Deck To Investors
“Do you know ‘George’ from Maxim (Integrated Products)?” Mike, the managing partner at Crosslink, the San Francisco based VC Fund where I was an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR), asked me. “Yes, I know George,” I said. “He just sent his pitch deck to us through our website,” Mike said. “Since you worked there (at Maxim),…
The Real Reason Your Startup Will Fail
There’s a CB Insights study that you’ve likely seen about why startups fail. Their list is the classic, greatest hits, of why startups fail: Run out of cash No market need Got outcompeted Flawed business model Regulatory/legal challenges I could go on and on. But, I’m here to tell you none of these reasons are…
How Do You Prepare To Pitch Investors?
“You made things a lot easier for me,” Jim said to me, shaking my hand. My co-founder and VP Engineering, Jeroen, and I had flown to Boston to pitch Jim and his partners, and Jim’s reaction indicated the meeting went well. “That’s great to hear,” I said, smiling. “I don’t think you got singed too…
What Are The Characteristics Of A Great Investor?
“Oh, Great God of Venture Capital,” I said, “Can you help me find a good VC or two for my new venture? I won’t even ask for a great VC, just a good VC will do. “Are you taking notes, oh Great God of Venture Capital? Here’s my list. It’s just five items, and one…
What Do You Do When You Lose A Deal?
“Nest designed us out of their final production build,” John, our Bay Area Sales Manager, said to me. “Thanks for everything you did to trying to win this,” I said. I took a deep breath. I didn’t like losing, and we had put everything into winning the Nest opportunity. It was a big deal for…
What Is The Most Important Thing You Should Know?
“You’ve gotta know what your cash position is at all times,” I said to “Kevin” yesterday. “If you don’t know what’s going on with your cash, then you can’t manage your company.” Kevin is trying to figure out how much money he should raise in his next round of funding, so he has to know…
What Do You Do When An Investor Doesn’t Call You Back?
“God, do I hate radio silence,” I said to my friend and mentor, Dave. “Why don’t VCs just let me know they just don’t want to invest instead of leaving us hanging?” Dave smiled and nodded his head in agreement. He had been a VC and he’d been a founding CEO too, so he knew…
Can I Pitch My Startup To Investors Without A Product?
Let me ask you a question. Do you want me to tell you what you want to hear, or do you want me to tell you reality? I am sure hoping you want to hear reality, especially when it comes to pitching investors. The reality is, unless you have some really special things going for…
How Can You Keep From Screwing Up Your Forecast?
“You’re not going to hit your numbers,” I said to “Josh”. “You’re way too optimistic. I’d much rather you underpromise and overdeliver, especially right now.” Josh is in the middle of a sale process for his company. He’s working with an investment banker to manage the sale process. The sale process is going really well.…
What’s The One Thing You Have Complete Control Of?
There’s only one thing you have complete control over when you start a company. Only one. Everything else, to some degree or other, is out of your control. What is this one thing that’s in your control? It’s your cash. As I said at the beginning, everything else isn’t completely in your control. Let…