Dos and Don'ts of the Startup Pitch: Expert Advice from 5 Famous Investors
Entrepreneurs are generally confident people, and yet most confess to experiencing tremendous anxiety when it comes to pitching investors. Standing in front of a group of people who can make or break your company and asking them to invest money in your business is an intimidating prospect. How do you start your deck? How long should you present? What kinds of details do you need to include? How do you make a good impression? Well, who better to give advice than the very people you'll be pitching? These 5 serial entrepreneurs and veteran investors outline what you should and shouldn't do when pitching your business: Chris Sacca, veteran VC DO talk about why you are uniquely qualified to follow through on your business idea. What experience or expertise do you have that gives you an advantage over everyone else? What sets you apart from your competitors? DO instill FOMO: "fear of missing out." Most investors have passed up an opportunity that later went on to be profitable, so make them worry they’ll regret it if they pass you up. DO talk endgame. Investors want to know what your plan is for acquisition, ideally in 3-5 years’ time. Give an example of a company that would consider your business an attractive acquisition. DON'T ramble. Keep your pitch short, simple, and specific. You should have a 2-minute version of your pitch that conveys your basic business model, your "unfair advantage," and an exact funding target. You're not trying to raise "between $1.5 - 2 million." You're raising “$1.8 million.” Brian Cohen, Chairman of The New York Angels DO talk about your financial plan. What's your main revenue stream? Discuss why the problem you've identified is profitable, why your solution is viable, and how you're going to make money. DO discuss the market trends that are driving your product. Investors are curious people and want to stay on top of the latest, so satisfy that curiosity and make a good impression by teaching them something new. DON'T be vague when discussing how the investment will be spent. What are you raising money to do, exactly? And why now? Chance Barnett, CEO of Crowdfunder DO find someone in your network who can introduce you to investors (ideally someone with a strong reputation). Send whomever you’re asking to make the introduction a short email blurb with suggested language and a link to your online profile, so they can easily forward it along. DON'T present a series of bullet points. Tell a story instead. Barnett advises all pitches follow this general format: “There is a huge opportunity to do X as a giant business. We’ve cracked the code, and this is how my company is doing it and will dominate this market. Here’s who myself and my team are, and why we’re the only people to back in this space. It’s working, and now we need money for X and Y to grow.” Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder and venture capitalist DO research the investors you're pitching. What businesses have they backed in the past? If you know what they’re interested in, you can tailor your presentation to give them the info they want. DO remember it’s more important for the right people to say yes than for everyone to say yes. Investors can offer more than just money — they can be valuable advisors too. So pay attention to potential investors who are asking interesting questions and are excited about your product, market, and the problem you’re trying to solve. DO show, don’t tell. Instead of saying you understand your customers needs, provide quotes from credible customers. Avoid superfluous adjectives and adverbs like “very.” Hoffman says these words act like a poker tell, signifying points you’re most nervous or unsure about, and that he's more likely to ask probing questions about those key points. So be specific and straightforward. DON’T shy away from areas that are problematic or risky to your business. Just because you don’t address them, doesn’t mean investors won’t see them. And by showing you've already identified and understand potential concerns, you’re building confidence instead of instilling doubt. DON'T end with a generic "Q&A" slide. End with your most important slide, something that you want on screen while you’re answering questions that will linger in investors minds long after the meeting’s over. David Rose, serial entrepreneur & angel investor DO keep it short. Angel pitches should be 15 mins; VC meetings less than half an hour. DO show your integrity, passion, and conviction to succeed no matter what. Investors are backing YOU first and foremost. DO prepare a handout with more detailed information on your business. Just remember: your presentation is not your handout. Your handout should stand alone without you, and give investors the chance to deep dive into what you’ve presented. DON’T read your speech or stare at the screen. You’re trying to connect with investors, not your PowerPoint slides. So make eye contact, pay attention to your body language, and follow good presentation practices. Are you ready for your pitch? Follow these tips to ace your pitch and impress investors. And remember, VCs and angels aren't the only source of startup funding. Check out this infographic for 5 other ways to raise money for your business. Sources: Ted.com, ReidHoffman.org, Forbes.com, Business News Daily, This American Life
18 Top Networking Sites for Startup Founders (Infographic)
If you're founding a startup, networking isn’t optional. It’s your lifeline. Entrepreneurs need support from all sorts of people — partners, investors, customers and employees — but most importantly, they need to tap into great communities to make those connections in the first place. We found 18 thriving networking sites especially for entrepreneurs to help you find advice, capital, co-founders, or just have some fun! Find the best sites for you in our latest infographic: Share this infographic on your site with this embed code: Wrike Project Management Software Read Next: • The Ultimate List of Legal Resources for Startups • 7 Ways to Fund Your Startup (Infographic) • Top 10 Reasons Startups Fail (Infographic)
How to Choose the Best Project Management Software for Your Company
The best project management software for small businesses should include a few key features. Find out some core capabilities you’ll need whether you’re looking for project management software for startups or another type of organization.
The 7 Deadly Sins of Bad Startup Leaders
Threats to your business don't just come from external factors like competitors or changing markets; internal problems like flawed leadership can be just as fatal. Stay away from these 7 deadly traits that keep struggling startup leaders from succeeding. 1. Arrogance Great leaders are humble. It’s easy to hand off less desirable tasks to employees that are “in the trenches," and focus on high-level strategy instead. But by staying humble, rolling up your sleeves, and working alongside your team, you'll stay connected to both your colleagues and your customers. Making genuine relationships with your team makes them more likely to stick with you, something you’ll be especially grateful for when you hit rough patches (and you will). Staying humble means you’ll have help through the down times, and it also means you won't get so cocky during the good times, leaving room for an underdog competitor to surprise you. 2. Stubbornness Don't refuse to pivot in the name of perseverance. If you're captaining a sinking ship, it won't do any good to insist your team keep rowing instead of scanning the horizon for a new port. Keep an open mind, and a strategic move could turn a bleak prognosis into a million-dollar opportunity. After all, YouTube was originally a floundering dating site. 3. Vanity It’s easy to start measuring your success by the wrong metrics: the number of press mentions and interview requests, the size of your new office, or the number of products your logo is printed on. But don't let surface-level shine distract you from digging deeper to focus on what matters, and insist on the same from your team. Lead by example by prioritizing foundational targets like the number of active users, churn rates, revenue growth, etc. 4. Wrath It’s not that great leaders don’t have high expectations or demand a lot from their employees. But you can’t expect your team to do every task exactly as you want it, every single time. Even if they did, mistakes and miscalculations are an inevitable part of human nature. And when those situations pop up, you can’t fly off the handle. So keep your team happy. Yes, your office should be professional, and so should your relationship with your team. But that doesn't mean your workplace should be cold, or that you should act like a drill sergeant. People are more productive when they're in a good mood. Happy people have more energy, creativity and motivation, make fewer mistakes, and work better with others. They fix problems instead of whining about them. A positive work culture built around your team’s happiness is just as essential to profitability as your product. 5. Selfishness Good leaders need a confident sense of self. Independence and self-reliance are admirable traits, so be driven. Pursue your goals without distraction. But listen as often as you speak. Build relationships that will last — with your team, with investors, with customers. Selfish leaders ignore customer needs in pursuit of their own vision and run with their favorite idea without evaluating or asking for feedback. They refuse to accept ideas that aren't their own, reject constructive criticism, and see themselves as lone geniuses. Just remember: you can't do it all by yourself. Even Tony Stark had Pepper Potts and The Avengers. 6. Laziness Planning, launching, and running your own business takes a lot of hard work, and few people would accuse any entrepreneur of being lazy in the traditional sense. Pushing yourself and your team and taking calculated risks is at the heart of the entrepreneurial spirit. But once you've found success, don't get complacent. Even if your product has millions of happy, devoted users and your brand is a household name, you need to keep moving forward or you'll fade into obscurity. (Just ask Blockbuster, Pan Am, or Tower Records.) Always ask yourself, your team, and your customers: "What's next? What can we do better?" 7. Greed Your vision should go beyond making piles of money so big you can swim around in them like Scrooge McDuck. People want their work to mean something. In a study by The Intelligence Group, 64% of respondents said they would rather get paid $40,000 for a job they found meaningful than $100,000 for a job they didn't. So create a tangible vision for the kind of impact you want your company to have, rooted in something meaningful, and keep it at the forefront of everything you do. You'll not only attract top talent that's dedicated to their work, you'll keep them around. What companies are successfully avoiding these deadly sins? Head to the comments and tell us which startup leaders you most admire! And if you're looking for a good read, pick up some more leadership tips in these 15 Books Every Manager Should Read.
Highlights from Web Summit 2015 in Dublin
Our CEO and founder Andrew Filev has just returned from Web Summit 2015 hosted in Dublin, Ireland. It was a super-energetic and frenetic gathering of 40,000+ people, including inspiring tech leaders and speakers from around the globe. Wrike CEO Andrew Filev being interviewed at Web Summit, Dublin A photo posted by Eliza (@e_dubs11) on Nov 7, 2015 at 4:14pm PST What Wrike Shared at Web Summit 2015 During a lively discussion at the fully packed Startup University Stage with Upwork CEO Stephane Kasriel and Fast Company contributor Ross Kingsland, Andrew spoke on hiring for startups and what’s working for today’s companies. Andrew shared insights into hiring in a very competitive environment where small startups must compete against tech giants like Facebook and Google for talent. His main piece of advice for startups: [inlinetweet prefix="" tweeter="" suffix="@wrike"]"Find what makes your company a unique and compelling proposition, and compete on that."[/inlinetweet] You may not be able outcompete Google with Google-like offerings (those snacks are pretty darn good!), but not everyone is looking for a Google-size company. Many candidates are keen to make a big difference at the early stage of a company. Determine what makes your company different and awesome, and look for people who want to be part of the vision and mission you are creating. In light of the conference, Irish Tech News published a full interview with Andrew on how to hire. You can read it here. If you attended Web Summit 2015, share your top takeaway from the conference in the comments below. We want to learn from you! Roundtable chats with @andrewsthoughts from @wrike on 'How to Hire' @WebSummitHQ #websummit #dublin pic.twitter.com/YgJ7kwFKr6 — Emer (@EmerLeBeamer) November 4, 2015 Here's @Upwork @FastCompany & @wrike talking about How to Hire in 2016. #Wexfordhour #websummit pic.twitter.com/Fpaf8N57Gk — Wexford Hour (@WexfordHour) November 3, 2015 How to hire in 2016 and beyond now with @skasriel @andrewsthoughts @RossKingsland1 #websummit pic.twitter.com/NjrutNrXKz — Marta Ghiglioni (@MartaGhiglioni) November 3, 2015 'Be ready to invest a lot of mental energy' @wrike at #websummit pic.twitter.com/cc2GMu7eVn — Denise M. Whitmore (@DolmenDigital) November 3, 2015 'You have to make sure everyone is on the same page' says @andrewsthoughts of @wrike at #websummit — Denise M. Whitmore (@DolmenDigital) November 3, 2015
Your Guide to Top MarTech Conferences in 2015-2016
Conferences are perfect opportunities to make networking connections, stay abreast of industry news and trends, and learn new tips and best practices to apply to your business. If you're looking at your calendar to plan which events and conferences you'll attend in the upcoming year, here are 11 top martech and adtech conferences to consider (in no particular order): 1. MarTech This international conference series is the flagship event for marketing technology (the martech definition, FYI). With 1,200 attendees at the 2015 event, marketing strategists and technologists discuss how emerging tech is impacting marketing as a discipline and its potential for improving companies' bottom lines.When: March 21-22, 2016; San Francisco 2. AdTech AdTech brings marketing and technology communities together to share strategies, build partnerships, and examine the future of the martech industry.When: Dates vary by location (worldwide) 3. Programmatic I/O This is the world’s largest conference focused entirely on programmatic media and marketing. It brings together hundreds of marketing executives, media agencies, and tech providers to discuss the future of marketing automation technologies.When: October 29, 2015; New York 4. SM2 Innovation Summit This conference from the Mobile Marketing Association covers emerging technologies that are poised to unlock the full potential of mobile marketing. Past speakers include execs and leaders from Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Mashable, Microsoft, and more.When: September 28-29, 2015; New York 5. AdMonsters OPS The OPS conference is focused on digital ad operations and technology. Keynote sessions with industry leaders and journalists from companies like Mashable, Forbes, Yahoo, Advertising Age, and Bloomberg Business, plus sponsored sessions hosted by marketing ops tech and service providers.When: 2016 dates TBD 6. FutureM This 3-day conference is packed with over 100 speakers, 50 sessions, and 2,500 attendees. FutureM looks at the concepts and innovations on both the near and distant horizon.When: October 6-8, 2015; Boston 7. Ignition: Future of Digital Pioneers in media and technology industries, from Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to Bethany Kota, share their insights into what’s in store for marketers and business leaders.When: December 8-9, 2015; New York 8. Marketing Operations & Technology Summit Note: attendees are vetted and limited to marketing professionals who control multi-million dollar enterprise budgets. While the conference hosts keynotes and speakers like any other, the real value is in the time set aside for strategic group discussions with fellow marketing operations leaders. Because you help set the agenda for these discussions, you’ll leave with actionable takeaways for your business.When: October 18-21, 2015; New Orleans 9. WebSummit This major technology conference attracts over 22,000 attendees each year from all around the world. Among the 800 speakers are CEOs and execs from top companies like Pixar, Slack, Adobe, Cisco, LinkedIn, and more.When: November 3-5, 2015; Dublin 10. SXSW Interactive SXSW Interactive spans 5 days of presentations and panel discussions featuring leaders in emerging technology, networking events, and special programs showcasing must-see technology and ideas. Past keynotes include execs from GoogleX, Lyft, SpaceX, and 3D Robotics.When: March 11-16, 2016; Austin 11. The Next Web Listen to 20 curated keynotes, plus fast-paced, 5-minute intros to 100 exciting new startups to get a snapshot of future tech innovations. Past keynote speakers include Kevin Rose, Michael Arrington, David Allen, Kevin Kelly, and Alexis Ohanian.When: November 18, 2015; New York What did we miss? Have you already blocked off your calendar for any of these martech conferences? Did we miss a few? Let us know which conferences are worth attending in the comments below! Wrike for Marketing Teams Find out how Wrike's work management app can help your marketing team exceed customer expectations and get more done.
Wrike Featured as 'Cool Startup to Watch' at IBM Connect 2014
Last week myself and a few of my team members were able to attend the annual "IBM Connect" user conference in Orlando. This is our second time attending the event on behalf of Wrike, and it was great to be back in the IBM community. Wrike was selected by IBM as one of the "Cool Startups to Watch," giving us the privilege of showcasing our company and product at a special session featuring other social, dynamic companies. Our fearless founder and CEO, Andrew Filev, presented Wrike's social project management software to an audience of IBM customers, alongside four other startups: Hype, TemboSocial, Hootsuite, and Temasys. This year's theme "Energizing Life's Work" brought together companies committed to reinventing businesses of all sizes with better collaboration, just like IBM and Wrike. On the expo floor, we had a great time connecting with IBM customers, partners, and other tech companies that, like Wrike, integrate with IBM's tools for enhancing day-to-day work. It was also an invaluable opportunity to meet face-to-face with fellow Wrikers like Mizuno and Hootsuite! Being in a room with so many innovative leaders who value collaboration is always refreshing. We're excited about the relationships we've built, and look forward to working with some of our new friends throughout the year! Of course, for a company known for it's geeky innovation, IBM sure knows how to throw a party. Special thanks for their accommodations at Hollywood Studios in Disney World. We all had a blast!