Post on 08-Jul-2015
How to WIN the New Venture Challenge & SUCCEED in Business
George Deriso, Leeds School of Business george.deriso@colorado.edu
Data Node
Lesson: Be the of secret!
• Talk to your market (customers)
• Talk to your industry (know your competitors)
• Collect and analyze data (evidence)
• Iterate continuously
The Software Guild
Lesson: Craft the right
• Deliver the value your customer wants
• Deliver your product the way your customer wants
• Work with the right partners
• Keep it simple
Apple
Lesson: Learn to embrace
• If you want to differentiate or innovate, expect to fail
• Make failure OK, and reward risk-takers
• Use failure as a learning tool
• Know when to “shoot it in the head”
MIACO
Lesson: You must have the
• If you want to get s#*t done, hire well
• Be sure you and your partners agree, then put it in writing
• It’s not enough that the Captain can clearly see land, if everyone is rowing in different directions! (Communicate without constraint)
Insession
Requisite Technology
Intermezzo
Solista
Beyond Solista
• 2 years in an earn-out (indentured servitude)
• 2 more technology product & service startups
• 6 sell-side acquisitions (not all mine)
• 3 years on the investor side of the table
• 8 years working with CU and social enterprises
a lot more lessons…
Key Lessons
• Opposite of secret
• Business model
• Embrace failure
• Right team
• Communicate
• Innovate/differentiate
• Validate constantly
• Product/market fit
• Know who you are
• Banish ambiguity
• Improve continuously
• Exploit your network
• Build win-win partnerships
• Cover your legal and accounting bases
Let’s break it down
What the NVC judges want
• A great Executive Summary
• A flawless live presentation
• A clear and understandable business concept
• Validation and evidence
• A plausible business model
• A competent and experienced team
• Evidence of strong support for the business
Let’s work on it
• Your Executive Summary and Presentation will be topics of future workshops
• Let’s focus right now on how you communicate and present your business concept
So…you’ve got a good idea?
Start by being the opposite of secret…
…and be sure to get their perspectives in return!
Evidence of PAIN
• Demonstrate that you’ve talked to your target market
• Demonstrate that you’ve talked to members of your industry
• Prove:
– The PAIN is known and well understood
– Industry and market AGREE on what the PAIN is
Evidence of DEMAND
• Demonstrate that you’ve presented your solution to your target market
• Demonstrate that you’ve presented your solution to members of your industry
• Prove:– The DEMAND for your product is present and
measurable
– The market accepts your solution at your price delivered the way you expect to deliver it
Embody your evidence
• Create a brief PITCH
• Create a succinct ENCAPSULATION
• DISTILL your essence into one word
• Here’s how it looks…
The pitch: <=60 seconds
• What you should include:
– Start with a “hook;” capture their attention.
– What are you about? Mission? Objective?
– What’s the BIG DEAL? Exactly what do you do?
– So what? What makes you different? Why should they care?
– Who’s your target? What problem do you solve?
– Sell yourself – why will you succeed?
– Strong close – leave them with a reason to want more. (This is a good place for a testimonial).
Encapsulate: <=7 words
• Think of this as a 7-word pitch that answers what you are about.
• If this is all you get to say, what will you leave them with? What should they think about you?
• Leave out company name, extraneous details.
• Here’s an example:
“Mobile electronics, proven to simplify your life!”
Distill: one word
• What single word captures the absolute essence of your company?
• Examples:
– Apple “Design.” OR “Innovation.”
– Dell “Efficiency.” OR “Custom.”
– Tiffany “Special.” OR “Luxurious.”
– Prius “Clean.” OR “Thrifty.”
– Hummer “Rugged.” OR “Powerful.”
Why is this exercise important?
• Clarity of your mission
• Foundation of your brand/identity
• Demonstration of intent
• Gets your most important conversations started
• Judges need to walk away from your presentation convinced that you have a great idea and are the right person (or team) to execute it successfully.
You’ve got their attention…
• …Now convince them that you’ve got something.
• You need to PROVE beyond doubt that you have identified the PAIN suffered by your target market…
• …and that you have a solution that your market will DEMAND.
They believe you, but can you execute?
• How well do you know your competitors?
• How well do you understand HOW customers buy products like yours?
• How “connected” are you in the industry? Does your experience align with what you are intending to do?
They believe you, but can you execute?
• In what stage of development is your product?
• Do you have the right team in place?
• What is your business model and how have you proven it will work?
How will you PROVE your business will work?
• Best way is to have sold something…repeatedly.
• Next best is to present evidence that your target market will buy at the price you want, once your product is available.
• In both cases, your business model must make sense.
Your business model
• Does your product solve a recognized problem?
• Will your customers buy it at the price you are asking?
• Will your competitors recognize that you have an advantage they don’t?
• Is your marketing crafted in the most effective way for driving demand from your target market?
Your business model
• Do you have partnerships in place that support or enhance your product offering?
• Have you proven your business will survive?
• Does your cost structure support immediate and persistent profits?
• Does your growth plan make sense?
• Will your operations support the business processes necessary to deliver your product?
One last thing…
Jargon:
the dirty little secrets of Geoffrey Moore and Eric Ries.
Applied jargon
• Geoffrey Moore (Technology Adoption Curve)– Crossing The Chasm (1991)
– Popularized “Chasm,” “Bowling Alley,” “Tornado,” and “Main Street”
• Everett Rogers (Market Diffusion Theory)– Diffusion of Innovations (1962)
– Originated “Innovators,” “Early Adopters,” “Early Majority,” “Late Majority,” and “Laggards”
Applied jargon
• Eric Ries (Lean Startup movement)– The Lean Startup (2011)
– Popularized “Lean startup,” “MVP,” “Customer Development” and “Pivoting”
• Every successful entrepreneur– Most entrepreneurial texts
– Popularized “manage cash flow,” “make something people will buy,” “market testing,” “build on your successes,” and “fail, fix and try a new approach”
Judges hate jargon…
…present your plan in simple terms using plain English
BTW, don’t use texting abbreviations
And recognize that your customers want plain simple language as well!
+ +
Time for questions…