I. Explain yourself within the first minute
a. Be clear and concise to what your company does
b. Bea able to describe the what the company does in a ten word sentence
II. Answer the little man
a. Answer the question of “so what?”
b. Essentially describe the significance of what your company does
III. Know your audience
a. The foundation of a great pitch is the research you have done before hand
b. Look into why you were able to meet and the background of the individuals you are meeting with
c. Look into the organization efforts, executives, and current efforts of the venture capitalist firm
d. Brian storm to find issues(hooks) that will catch their individual interest
IV. Observe Rule
a. A pitch should be 10 slides, twenty minutes long with 30 font
i. 10 slides allows for the audience to stay connected
ii. Have a dark background
iii. Twenty minutes long creates an environment for questions
iv. 30 point font allows for the elderly to view the main points
v. Use the points as a guide not a script
V. Set the stage
a. Be prepared with whatever is necessary for your presentation
i. Bring your own projector
ii. Bring two types of laptops with the presentation on it
iii. Bring copies if necessary
VI. Let one person do the talking
a. There is no need to emphasize team work
b. One person allows for the foundation of the pitch to be more clear and concise
c. Having other members there will be useful in the question session
VII. Catalyze fantasy
a. Being realistic is one major aspect of the pitch
b. Many investors tend to pay consultants to develop trends that proves the industry will be a billion dollar industry
c. Avoid the 1% of China assumption
VIII. Get 1000 feet and stay there
a. Avoid being extremely technical and extremely broad
b. Be somewhat in between and concise
c. Provide enough detail to prove that you can deliver and an aerial view that allows for vision
IX. Shut up, take notes, summarize and follow up
a. After the pitch, take notes of their suggestions for improvement
b. Do not argue or disagree with the vc’s main points
c. Writing their message down sends a positive message
X. Rewrite from scratch
a. After the many suggestions, take into account a few
b. Rewrite the presentation and pitch from scratch
XI. Pitch Constantly
a. This allows for a more improved pitch
b. Avoid becoming a pest
c. Some investors might find interest in what others do not
XII. The Art of PowerPointing
a. Use a dark background
b. Add your logo on the master page
c. Use common fonts
d. Animate your body, not your slides
e. Build bullets
f. Use only one level of bullets
g. Add diagrams and slides
h. Make printable slides
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Non-Bug List, Defining Entrepreneurship
Non-Bug List
-Intimate relationships
-Fishing
-Driving far out of town
-Making money
-Exercise
-Not doing anything at all
-Hunting
-Camping
-Listening to audio books
-Putting together business plans
-Problem Solving
-My girlfriend when she is not nagging
-Wrestling
Defining Entrepreneurship
-entrepreneur- One who uses creativity, innovation, competitiveness to achieve business objectives that create value
-entrepreneurship-The concepts that allows individuals to create value through various capital resources and personal traits
-successful entrepreneur- One who achieves happiness through successful ventures in and outside of the business world
-venture-The pursuit or creation of an opportunity that will create value or profits for the person pursuing the venture
-creativity-The creation of new concepts through the introduction of new ideas that would be considered innovative
innovation-the process of creating and implementing new, original concepts that will enhance the value creation of current ventures
or businesses
-value-benefits that satisfy an individual's needs and wants on an individaul or mass scale
to hold to high esteem
-value creation- the act of creating value for various parties involved with a venture
-Intimate relationships
-Fishing
-Driving far out of town
-Making money
-Exercise
-Not doing anything at all
-Hunting
-Camping
-Listening to audio books
-Putting together business plans
-Problem Solving
-My girlfriend when she is not nagging
-Wrestling
Defining Entrepreneurship
-entrepreneur- One who uses creativity, innovation, competitiveness to achieve business objectives that create value
-entrepreneurship-The concepts that allows individuals to create value through various capital resources and personal traits
-successful entrepreneur- One who achieves happiness through successful ventures in and outside of the business world
-venture-The pursuit or creation of an opportunity that will create value or profits for the person pursuing the venture
-creativity-The creation of new concepts through the introduction of new ideas that would be considered innovative
innovation-the process of creating and implementing new, original concepts that will enhance the value creation of current ventures
or businesses
-value-benefits that satisfy an individual's needs and wants on an individaul or mass scale
to hold to high esteem
-value creation- the act of creating value for various parties involved with a venture
Youtube Innovation Clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1XyR3YOVZQ&feature=related
Our team includes Erick Torres, Robert Trujillo, Rachel Peterson and Daniel Stone
Youtube Innovation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1XyR3YOVZQ&feature=related
Solar Islands,
This video introduces another source of energy through manmade islands that are built with solar panels. Even though solar energy is relatively old concept, this video introduces an efficient way of harnessing mass amounts of energy at lower costs. The current problem with solar energy is the high cost associated with individual platforms, locations and maintenance. The concept in this video allows for a massive power plant that will mitigate these factors because of its scale. The solar power islands will be placed at various locations throughout the sea and barren land. This is interesting because it allows for a use the use of locations that are more undesirable with a detrimental impact on the environment.
Robert Trujillo
The success rate of Hispanics at the university level and the lack of programs to help them succeed, that bugs me.
The thing that bothered Robert was something that has been a problem for awhile for a lot of universities. There have been some programs created such as link, which helps them make the transition, but does not continue into the semester. First we thought we would define the problem.
PROBLEM:
According to the UC Berkeley Office of Student Research, 27.3 percent of Latinos enrolled as freshman in 1995 either dropped out or did not graduate within six years. Forty-two percent of second-generation Latinos who graduate from high school go to college, but only 16 percent of those go on to graduate. While this report was done in 2003, the numbers have only decreased slightly.
CAUSES:
There is a lack of familiarity in the Hispanic household with American higher education. Students generally are the first in their immediate family to attend college, and described their experience at a university as "very intimidating." A lot of (Latino students) come from neighborhoods with other Latino students, when they come to college, they don't see that, and they get scared.
SOLOUTION:
We would create an all encompassing organization that would be geared to the incoming freshman. It would provide educational help and tutoring so the class work is not a part of the problem. Help with class selection, advice on the number of classes to take, and which electives that helps with the overall experience, could be relayed to the new freshman. It would also start the social network that is crucial to the overall feeling of belonging to the university. This would include intramurals, meet and greet events, and group socials. The program would also encompass mixing with other organizations on campus allowing the students to get to know people that they might not meet other wise. As they move into their sophomore year they should have a good base and confidence to continue and work towards their degree. They should also become ambassadors at this time to reach back and pull the newest class of freshman forward into the university. The organization would be specifically geared to the incoming freshman and would feed them into the huge number of student organizations that are already on campus as they would feel more like a part of the ASU community.
Rachel Peterson
Fixing A Bug (Rachel Peterson)-no time to relax
Solution- with two jobs and a full class schedule I frequently find myself exhausted. I have changed to evening classes this semester and have lost the time I used to use to relax. With this new schedule I need to go over my tasks and plan a relaxing activity for each week. I am also currently planning a two week vacation at the end of this semester. I hope that when I have finished my degree that I will not be so busy with all of my tasks and I will be able to have time to relax each day.
Other Bugs:
Tardiness (other peoples)
Others Being un-prepared
Daniel Stone
Bug – ASU Flash Bus Service
As a student that commutes to ASU, I park in Lot 59 North and take the Flash bus to get from the parking lot to the actual campus. The Flash bus is unreliable and unpredictable which means that I have to add an additional 30 minutes to my commute to ensure that I make it to class on time. Several measures could be taken by those who manage the Flash bus to make the service reliable and predictable. Time tables could be created so that students know exactly what time the Flash bus will arrive at a particular station. Another measure that can be taken is to hold drivers accountable for buses that arrive late by adding a global positioning system (GPS) to all buses. The GPS system would enable Flash bus management to know exactly where their buses are at all times. They would then be able to take action if a driver is running behind schedule. Lastly, small screens could be added to all stations that show students where buses currently are and what their estimated time of arrival is. The solutions suggested above would improve service and make it less of hassle for students who commute to school.
Erick Torres
Bug-ASU, cost of books
Problem
Erick is frustrated with the business ASU has become and thinks that the system they have established with books is harmful to education. ASU tends to choose specific ASU registered books that more than likely have a required online required online registration format. If we do get to sell the books back to ASU, (which were bought used) they only accept them for a small fraction of the original price. This is a huge problem because it discourages and prevents many students from buying books.
Solution
Even though there are a few other alternative to purchasing books at the bookstore, ASU should partner with another company to establish a book renting system off campus. Administration will need to make sure that there is a consistency with books for classes at least a few years, in order for this to be sustainable. For an initial $1000 deposit, there should be a system where students can check out the books they need for their courses and have the opportunity to return them every year. The deposit will stay with ASU until the student has graduated. This will allow the student to rent books at no cost every year until he graduates and as long as s/he returns the books back at the end of every semester. If the student graduates from ASU, he can receive $500 dollars from his original deposit. If they don’t graduate, they can only receive 25% of the funds. This will discourage dropout and transfer rates. The other remaining $500 will go to ASU to help offset overhead, service costs throughout the years and other cost associated with new books. Students will be able to avoid high costs associated with purchasing books every semester ($300-500). Students generally take about 4 to 5 years to graduate. By holding $1000 for every student, ASU can avoid immediate tax fees and invest the funds into a conservative portfolio or money market account for additional profits. Students and ASU can avoid purchasing unused books and avoid the cost of having a lot of inventory.
Below are very rough estimates, but they show potential opportunities.
Assuming there are 68,000 students at ASU and only a third of them participate, 22667 students. They would deposit a total of $22,667,000. A conservative investment portfolio can easily produce a 4% return which equals $906,666 every year.
Our team includes Erick Torres, Robert Trujillo, Rachel Peterson and Daniel Stone
Youtube Innovation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1XyR3YOVZQ&feature=related
Solar Islands,
This video introduces another source of energy through manmade islands that are built with solar panels. Even though solar energy is relatively old concept, this video introduces an efficient way of harnessing mass amounts of energy at lower costs. The current problem with solar energy is the high cost associated with individual platforms, locations and maintenance. The concept in this video allows for a massive power plant that will mitigate these factors because of its scale. The solar power islands will be placed at various locations throughout the sea and barren land. This is interesting because it allows for a use the use of locations that are more undesirable with a detrimental impact on the environment.
Robert Trujillo
The success rate of Hispanics at the university level and the lack of programs to help them succeed, that bugs me.
The thing that bothered Robert was something that has been a problem for awhile for a lot of universities. There have been some programs created such as link, which helps them make the transition, but does not continue into the semester. First we thought we would define the problem.
PROBLEM:
According to the UC Berkeley Office of Student Research, 27.3 percent of Latinos enrolled as freshman in 1995 either dropped out or did not graduate within six years. Forty-two percent of second-generation Latinos who graduate from high school go to college, but only 16 percent of those go on to graduate. While this report was done in 2003, the numbers have only decreased slightly.
CAUSES:
There is a lack of familiarity in the Hispanic household with American higher education. Students generally are the first in their immediate family to attend college, and described their experience at a university as "very intimidating." A lot of (Latino students) come from neighborhoods with other Latino students, when they come to college, they don't see that, and they get scared.
SOLOUTION:
We would create an all encompassing organization that would be geared to the incoming freshman. It would provide educational help and tutoring so the class work is not a part of the problem. Help with class selection, advice on the number of classes to take, and which electives that helps with the overall experience, could be relayed to the new freshman. It would also start the social network that is crucial to the overall feeling of belonging to the university. This would include intramurals, meet and greet events, and group socials. The program would also encompass mixing with other organizations on campus allowing the students to get to know people that they might not meet other wise. As they move into their sophomore year they should have a good base and confidence to continue and work towards their degree. They should also become ambassadors at this time to reach back and pull the newest class of freshman forward into the university. The organization would be specifically geared to the incoming freshman and would feed them into the huge number of student organizations that are already on campus as they would feel more like a part of the ASU community.
Rachel Peterson
Fixing A Bug (Rachel Peterson)-no time to relax
Solution- with two jobs and a full class schedule I frequently find myself exhausted. I have changed to evening classes this semester and have lost the time I used to use to relax. With this new schedule I need to go over my tasks and plan a relaxing activity for each week. I am also currently planning a two week vacation at the end of this semester. I hope that when I have finished my degree that I will not be so busy with all of my tasks and I will be able to have time to relax each day.
Other Bugs:
Tardiness (other peoples)
Others Being un-prepared
Daniel Stone
Bug – ASU Flash Bus Service
As a student that commutes to ASU, I park in Lot 59 North and take the Flash bus to get from the parking lot to the actual campus. The Flash bus is unreliable and unpredictable which means that I have to add an additional 30 minutes to my commute to ensure that I make it to class on time. Several measures could be taken by those who manage the Flash bus to make the service reliable and predictable. Time tables could be created so that students know exactly what time the Flash bus will arrive at a particular station. Another measure that can be taken is to hold drivers accountable for buses that arrive late by adding a global positioning system (GPS) to all buses. The GPS system would enable Flash bus management to know exactly where their buses are at all times. They would then be able to take action if a driver is running behind schedule. Lastly, small screens could be added to all stations that show students where buses currently are and what their estimated time of arrival is. The solutions suggested above would improve service and make it less of hassle for students who commute to school.
Erick Torres
Bug-ASU, cost of books
Problem
Erick is frustrated with the business ASU has become and thinks that the system they have established with books is harmful to education. ASU tends to choose specific ASU registered books that more than likely have a required online required online registration format. If we do get to sell the books back to ASU, (which were bought used) they only accept them for a small fraction of the original price. This is a huge problem because it discourages and prevents many students from buying books.
Solution
Even though there are a few other alternative to purchasing books at the bookstore, ASU should partner with another company to establish a book renting system off campus. Administration will need to make sure that there is a consistency with books for classes at least a few years, in order for this to be sustainable. For an initial $1000 deposit, there should be a system where students can check out the books they need for their courses and have the opportunity to return them every year. The deposit will stay with ASU until the student has graduated. This will allow the student to rent books at no cost every year until he graduates and as long as s/he returns the books back at the end of every semester. If the student graduates from ASU, he can receive $500 dollars from his original deposit. If they don’t graduate, they can only receive 25% of the funds. This will discourage dropout and transfer rates. The other remaining $500 will go to ASU to help offset overhead, service costs throughout the years and other cost associated with new books. Students will be able to avoid high costs associated with purchasing books every semester ($300-500). Students generally take about 4 to 5 years to graduate. By holding $1000 for every student, ASU can avoid immediate tax fees and invest the funds into a conservative portfolio or money market account for additional profits. Students and ASU can avoid purchasing unused books and avoid the cost of having a lot of inventory.
Below are very rough estimates, but they show potential opportunities.
Assuming there are 68,000 students at ASU and only a third of them participate, 22667 students. They would deposit a total of $22,667,000. A conservative investment portfolio can easily produce a 4% return which equals $906,666 every year.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Assignment 2; Bug List
Bug List
Create a list of what bugs you.
· Fat Women
· My ADHD
· Traffic
· Bad Breath
· Germs
· The Voices in my head
· Gas Prices
· Reading
Microfirm
Give yourself a maximum budget of $10. With that money, you must sell something to someone. On your blog, report back on what you sold, how much money (if any) it cost you, how much money you sold it for (revenue) and how much profit you made (revenue - cost). For this exercise, assume that the cost of your time is zero.
My scholarship reimburses me for my books, so the $48 I paid for a digital copy of a book isn’t a part of my $10 budget. The online pdf was encrypted so I was only allowed to print one copy for $8. I contacted my friend who works on the 4th floor of the computer lab and he let me use the copier. I copied over 600 pages and sold the books for $15 a piece. I ended up profiting roughly $52 and I got a free hard copy of my book.
I read an article about new creatures discovered in a inactive volcano in New Guinea. The newly discovered animals included a frog with fangs, an extremely large rat and several new fish. The volcano has been inactive for more than 200 years and this was the first time a decent effort was made towards exploring the volcano, which was described as an environmental island. The article also stressed the threat of deforestation on discoveries like this.
Create a list of what bugs you.
· Fat Women
· My ADHD
· Traffic
· Bad Breath
· Germs
· The Voices in my head
· Gas Prices
· Reading
Microfirm
Give yourself a maximum budget of $10. With that money, you must sell something to someone. On your blog, report back on what you sold, how much money (if any) it cost you, how much money you sold it for (revenue) and how much profit you made (revenue - cost). For this exercise, assume that the cost of your time is zero.
My scholarship reimburses me for my books, so the $48 I paid for a digital copy of a book isn’t a part of my $10 budget. The online pdf was encrypted so I was only allowed to print one copy for $8. I contacted my friend who works on the 4th floor of the computer lab and he let me use the copier. I copied over 600 pages and sold the books for $15 a piece. I ended up profiting roughly $52 and I got a free hard copy of my book.
I read an article about new creatures discovered in a inactive volcano in New Guinea. The newly discovered animals included a frog with fangs, an extremely large rat and several new fish. The volcano has been inactive for more than 200 years and this was the first time a decent effort was made towards exploring the volcano, which was described as an environmental island. The article also stressed the threat of deforestation on discoveries like this.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
SWOT Assignment
I am not too surprised because I have done this type analysis on my own and I am familiar with all of the issues mentioned. I am quite introspective and I have taken the time to write a lot of this down. However, I am always amazed to see how the same weaknesses and threats have developed my strengths over the years. I am also comforted by the fact that this will bring about new opportunities.
I feel that my anxiety about getting sick again is the fear I that is somewhat inhibiting. It is quite difficult for me to stay optimistic in this area. I also see a lack of opportunities available at the present moment. I know that my current state of being lost is an issue, but I think that this is a weakness I should be more concerned about. My “broad goals” description is an understatement.
As I mentioned earlier, I feel that some of my threats and failures in the past have brought about my greatest strengths. And these strengths are what I need to create the opportunities I need and stay aggressive with overcoming my goals. My strong analytical thinking has and will help me overcome personal problems with the issues I face. I see my creativity as a solution to my current state of being lost and having broad goals. My optimism and dedication will help me overcome my threats and take the proactive measures I need to mitigate for arising issues. This is also beneficial in helping me improve myself all around and still be critical with my strengths and weaknesses. My dedication and optimism’s greatest opponent is my lack of focus. I and sometimes my girlfriend are the only ones aware of this problem. A lack of focus is the silent plague to any potential entrepreneur. For those who lack the ability to be complacent, (like me) this is a problem that can never be defeated without the former being false.
I feel that my anxiety about getting sick again is the fear I that is somewhat inhibiting. It is quite difficult for me to stay optimistic in this area. I also see a lack of opportunities available at the present moment. I know that my current state of being lost is an issue, but I think that this is a weakness I should be more concerned about. My “broad goals” description is an understatement.
As I mentioned earlier, I feel that some of my threats and failures in the past have brought about my greatest strengths. And these strengths are what I need to create the opportunities I need and stay aggressive with overcoming my goals. My strong analytical thinking has and will help me overcome personal problems with the issues I face. I see my creativity as a solution to my current state of being lost and having broad goals. My optimism and dedication will help me overcome my threats and take the proactive measures I need to mitigate for arising issues. This is also beneficial in helping me improve myself all around and still be critical with my strengths and weaknesses. My dedication and optimism’s greatest opponent is my lack of focus. I and sometimes my girlfriend are the only ones aware of this problem. A lack of focus is the silent plague to any potential entrepreneur. For those who lack the ability to be complacent, (like me) this is a problem that can never be defeated without the former being false.
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