Firstly, write a formal business plan with the numbers as accurate as you can make them, not to show other people, but for your own consumption. How much equity do you want to have at the various stages? What skill sets or experience will the VCs be looking to see in your first 2 hires? What pay structure will you need to offer them to secure that? What skills don’t you have, that you’ll need your co-founder to have? Once you’ve got a few variant plans that seem plausible to you, apply your rationality training to them. (For example, have them checked over by someone with experience with business plans who you are NOT seeking funding from.) The reason for this advice? You’re looking for a co-founder, one who shares your aims and values, someone who you’ll enjoy working with, who might become a friend; but you’re still going to be entering a hardball negotiation with them, and you need beforehand as firm an idea as you can get on what’s possible financially, what you’re willing to give up, and what you want to get in return.
Secondly, there’s a lot of advice out there on how to write and present a good elevator pitch. Look for the advice written not by professional advisers, but by the people you want to emulate (successful software startup founders) and the people you want to impress (venture capitalists who have funded successful software startups). Then practice, practice, practice. Because the text in the article above is probably not giving the impression of yourself and your company that you want it to give, even bearing in mind the audience you’ve pitched it to.
Good article, but it must be modified for the audience. An equivalent “How to Explain Your Business to a Venture Capitalist” would probably contain “Explaining your game” as one of the mistakes.
Thank you for actually giving useful advice, rather than just raw criticism. :)
Because the text in the article above is probably not giving the impression of yourself and your company that you want it to give, even bearing in mind the audience you’ve pitched it to.
Two pieces of advice.
Firstly, write a formal business plan with the numbers as accurate as you can make them, not to show other people, but for your own consumption. How much equity do you want to have at the various stages? What skill sets or experience will the VCs be looking to see in your first 2 hires? What pay structure will you need to offer them to secure that? What skills don’t you have, that you’ll need your co-founder to have? Once you’ve got a few variant plans that seem plausible to you, apply your rationality training to them. (For example, have them checked over by someone with experience with business plans who you are NOT seeking funding from.) The reason for this advice? You’re looking for a co-founder, one who shares your aims and values, someone who you’ll enjoy working with, who might become a friend; but you’re still going to be entering a hardball negotiation with them, and you need beforehand as firm an idea as you can get on what’s possible financially, what you’re willing to give up, and what you want to get in return.
Secondly, there’s a lot of advice out there on how to write and present a good elevator pitch. Look for the advice written not by professional advisers, but by the people you want to emulate (successful software startup founders) and the people you want to impress (venture capitalists who have funded successful software startups). Then practice, practice, practice. Because the text in the article above is probably not giving the impression of yourself and your company that you want it to give, even bearing in mind the audience you’ve pitched it to.
Just found this: How to Explain Your Game to an Asshole.
Good article, but it must be modified for the audience. An equivalent “How to Explain Your Business to a Venture Capitalist” would probably contain “Explaining your game” as one of the mistakes.
Thank you for actually giving useful advice, rather than just raw criticism. :)
Can you expand on that?