Guy Kawasaki: Raising Money: What Not to Say and What Not to Believe

Over the past two weeks via my partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve provided templates of models for you to create enchanting PowerPoint pitches
, Word business plans
, and Excel financial models
. They are all available for you to download from my SkyDrive account
. I hope these documents and blog posts help you save a boatload of time and increase the quality of your efforts.
I leave you with two sets of top ten lies: one of entrepreneurs and one of investors so that you know what not to say and what not to believe.

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Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs

1. “Our projections are conservative.”
   
2. “Jupiter says our market will be $50 billion in ten years.”
   
3. “Several Fortune 500 companies are set to do business with us.”
   
4. “No one else can do what we’re doing.”
   
5. “Hurry up because other investors are about to do our deal.”
   
6. “Our product will go viral.”
   
7. “The large companies in our market are too big, dumb, and slow to compete with us.”
   
8. “Our management team is proven.”
   
9. “We filed patents so our intellectual property is protected.”
   
10. “All we have to do is get 1% of the market.”
    

The average number of these ten lies that I hear in most pitches is ten. At the very least, tell investors new lies.
Top Ten Lies of Investors

1. “I liked your company, but my partners didn’t.”
   
2. “We are patient investors who want to help you build a great company.”
   
3. “If you get a lead, we’ll invest too.”
   
4. “There are no companies in our portfolio that conflict with what you’re doing.”
   
5. “Show us some traction, and we’ll invest.”
   
6. “We love to co-invest with other firms.”
   
7. “We’re investing in your team.”
   
8. “We have lots of bandwith to dedicate to your company.”
   
9. “This is a plain, vanilla termsheet.”
   
10. “We will get other companies in our portfolio to work with you.”
    

Do you know what the difference is between the lies of entrepreneurs and the lies of investors? The investors have money.
It’s not all bad news. Think of everything that an entrepreneur needs (tech ones, anyway), and you’ll see that most things are free or cheap.

• Marketing: use blogs and social media to promote your products.
  
• Tools: most tools are Open Source and free. Microsoft offers free versions of applications like Word, Excel and PowerPoint in the cloud!
  
• Infrastructure: More cloud goodness—you don’t have to buy servers anymore.
  
• People: callous for me to say, but in a recession, people are free or cheap.
  
• Office space: what office space? You can work out of your garage (like David Hewlett and Bill Packard) or just form a virtual team.
  

The bottom line is this is one of the cheapest times to be an entrepreneur, so go into your garage and start prototyping. Then when you need to create enchanting documents to raise money using PowerPoint, Word, and Excel, we’re all set to help with Office Web Apps, SkyDrive, and my templates
Promotional consideration paid by Microsoft.

via blog.guykawasaki.com

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Jim Woods is president and founder of InnoThink Group; a leading Strategic Management and Innovation Consulting Firm in Denver, Colorado. He is an author, speaker, and a strategic innovation and hypercompetition expert to profit, non-profit organizations and municipalities. He advises clients with an objective view of their competitive capabilities and defines a clear course of action to maximize their innovation return on investment to achieve profitable growth. Build a capability for ongoing competitive innovation across your company. Call 719-649-4118 or complete our form: contact us for more information on hiring Jim to advise or speak for your next event. 

Russell Blackmore: Top ten mistakes online entrepreneurs should avoid

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Are you new to the e-tail game? Just started selling products and services over the web? Well, avoid the mistakes made by countless entrepreneurs before you. Heed this advice from Russell Blackmore, co-founder of photography e-tailer Sonic Editions.

1. Don't try to fit in

Good companies disrupt the current market. Made.com and Dollar Shave Club are both magnificent examples of this. Don’t try to fit in with what else is out there – create a new experience and you’ll carve yourself a niche in a crowded market.

2. Don't do it all yourself

Utilise the power of others. Partnerships help to build traffic and brand equity. If credible brands are working with you, chances are others will too.

3. Keep an eye on stock management

Our prints are made to order, which means we don’t get caught with a lot of excess stock that we need to store and pay for its upkeep. If you have to pay to keep stock that you’re not using, it’s a waste of money.

4. Be mindful of over-selling

Connect with your audience regularly but do not over sell. Use social media to reach out to your audience, rather than pushing a hard sell. You need just enough exposure but not to the point of overkill.

5. You are your product or service

Brands should be reflective of their products. If you’re selling something with a premium price point, your customer experience must reflect that. The service is just as important as the product. Do your research and know what experience you want to create – then live and breathe it in everything that you do.

6. Always answer consumer enquiries

Ignore a consumer enquiry at your peril. Some of the best leads come through social media, so make sure you check who is getting in touch and what they’re saying. Responsive customer service will mean repeat business.

7. Start small, think big

Offer your product in a variety of key currencies. Only when you’ve built up the sales base in a different country should you consider translating into a different language. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Not at the start, at least.

8. Poor delivery is a no-no

Find a trusted and reliable delivery partner. Poor service will come back and reflect badly on you. Remember the video of the USP deliveryman throwing the monitor over the wall? There’s no point in your company being let down at the end of the line.

9. Hone your IT skills

Update your website every day. You will have to understand basic simple rules. For example, lots of traffic will crash your site. This is something that you’ll need in all aspects for your role. You cannot simply depend on smart interns to keep your tech side running.

10. Banks are not your friend

Don’t over rely on the bank. Make sure you know where your finances are coming from!

via managementtoday.co.uk

Want to increase growth and avoid more losses? Want to out compete your competitors? Want to bring new products and services to market faster? Want to be more agile? Contact Innovation and Growth Speaker Jim Woods. Jim works confidentially with start ups, governments as well as profit and for profit enterprises.

Visit our website:www.innothinkgroup.com Executive and Business Coaching: http://ow.ly/anBpK

Jim Woods is president and founder of InnoThink Group. A global management consulting firms specialized solely in helping organizations of all sizes in all industries catalyzing top line growth through strategic innovation and hypercompetition. Jim has over 25 years consulting experience in working with small, mid size and Fortune 1000 companies. He is a former U.S. Navy Seabee and grandfather of five. To arrange for Jim to speak at your next event or devise an effective growth strategy email or call us at 719-649-4118 for availability.james@innothinkgroup.com

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