I remember a particular discussion in a business school class when the professor asked if success is driven more by what you know versus who you know.  I recall coming down strongly on the side of what you know.  Given the significant investments I had made in engineering studies, graduate school and analyst training programs, I suspect my point of view at that time was predominantly driven the magnitude of these investments combined with a predominantly theoretical view of the business world.  Now I’d like to fast forward 15 years later and re-evaluate my assessment. Continue Reading »

This post is in response to requests to share a presentation I sometimes give on why business plans aren’t great tools for early stage companies. The link below is to a .pdf version of the presentation that shares views on why Business Plans don’t work well for investors or for managing a company. There is also an outline of how best to approach investors, with what materials. I hope it is helpful. Download the PDF

Why You Shouldn’t Write a Business Plan

PowerPoint is a great tool. However, in an investor presentation it can hurt you more than it helps you. Investors watch pitches for a living, and over time, watching presentations gets boring and can even be annoying. If you’ve made many pitches to professional investors you know that, on average, you’ll get about 5 minutes or maybe 2 or 3 slides into your presentation before you will start getting interrupted. This phenomenon inevitably leads to a meeting where the entrepreneur tries to get the meeting “back on track” (to his well rehearsed PowerPoint) and the investor gets increasingly annoyed that his questions aren’t thoroughly addressed. Through trial and error, I believe I’ve come upon some good rules to follow and a good format to balance everyone’s needs and agenda. Continue Reading »

By Al Schneider (Vice Charmain, Pasadena Angels) and Joe Platnick (Director, Pasadena Angels)

The Pasadena Angels is a group of over 100 accredited entrepreneurial investors who provide early-stage financing and counsel to emerging companies located in Southern California. Pasadena Angels actively support funded companies with the human and financial resources to enhance their success, and typically serve as advisers and/or directors after funding. The Pasadena Angels invest in early-stage pre-revenue and low revenue companies in a broad range of industries, including but not limited to technology-based companies, that have the potential to build successful businesses based on sustainable competitive advantages in their markets. Continue Reading »

By Richard Berman (founder of Verbfactory, an early stage PR firm)

Back during the dot-com boom, emerging technology and e-commerce companies paid tens of thousands of dollars a month to public relations agencies in the hopes that they would receive positive press coverage. Today’s PR budgets are a fraction of what they were in the heyday of Kozmo.com, Webvan and Pets.com, and reporters are a lot more cynical about anyone claiming to be the “next big thing,” but that doesn’t mean that early-stage companies need to slog away in obscurity. By minding a few basic Ps and Qs, savvy entrepreneurs can maximize the value – and success – of their PR campaigns. Continue Reading »

When Facebook launched its open API program in late May, it changed social networking forever. While the idea of an open API isn’t a new, the reality of being able to build a social network on top of an existing one especially one the size of Facebook, is close to revolutionary. If you’re a consumer-facing website targeting a younger demographic, you need must to look at the Facebook platform today. You can be pretty sure that your competitors probably already are. Continue Reading »