[defguy]

Any advice on where to focus our efforts?

The quality is real low here, i jumped on board with the only unique company pitched. Its a 2 man crew yet were outsourcing almost everything using guru.com.

We have 3 days to build a company from scratch, this is the first day and im pulling an all nighter. On sunday we pitch our ideas to several VCs.

From what Ive been told we are judged on:
Customer Validation
Business Model
Execution

3 days is not enough time to build a "real" business plan so we will demonstrate our business model using the Business Model Canvas. We will also have 3 yr revenue, profit, expenses projections using 20,40, and 60% expense projections.

Our execution will be in the website being built in india with number, our facebook page and 300+ likes and comments/feedback on the page, brochures, business cards, and pitch.

And our validation, how we know there is a market for the product is where I think we could use some improvement. So far we can use several online surveys but I am thinking of cold calling businesses and telling them my situation and asking them to fax a paper with their contact which says they know "x number of potential customers who could use our product" and "project we could get X # of customers through referrals from them." Not sure how they would respond.

Any suggestions for improving validation? Keep in mind Ive only got 1 day to do this (tomorrow) starting in just a few hours. Then sunday is my pitch. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

[Bad Hussar]

Not sure about the format of the meeting you're at but I would suggest that when actually presenting your plan you ignore the preset presentation formula with all the Powerpoint (death by Powerpoint) slides and detailed financials and just use the limited time you have to speak about your idea elevator pitch style. Worked once for me.

In my, admittedly limited, experience VC types don't want all the details at first, but rather just an overview of the idea, why it will work and a show of passion and competence from you and your team. The details should be in your business plan which they can review when doing their due diligence.

[Berliner]

Asking such a question on such a forum doesn't speak so well about your resourcefulness.

[defguy]

I wanted some feedback form those who have pitched ideas before. Bad Hussar had it right, we were the only group to show actual revenue projections and why it would be profitable to investors. Everyone else focused on the idea, and the best pitches were stories with no REAL research being done. Several powerful ideas were shot down because they spent so much time working the pitch and creating powerful stories and solutions that not one of them could explain how they get the product to market. Just upload the app to the app store and watch the money roll in? lmao

For our 2 man group, a lot of time was wasted doing financial projections and customer validation. We should have focused on building a powerful story, powerful slides, etc. To win a competition based around a 5 minute pitch, you dont need to show anything beyond:

"how serious is the problem?"
"how you can fix the problem?"
"who would need the product or service?"
"how you will create/market the product?"

I hope this guide helps others in their future pitches.

[Walderschmidt]

(07-23-2012 12:10 PM)Berliner Wrote:  

Asking such a question on such a forum doesn't speak so well about your resourcefulness.

Offering such a reply does not speak so well of your helpfulness.

[Berliner]

(07-24-2012 06:26 PM)Walderschmidt Wrote:  

(07-23-2012 12:10 PM)Berliner Wrote:  

Asking such a question on such a forum doesn't speak so well about your resourcefulness.

Offering such a reply does not speak so well of your helpfulness.

Actually it does.I'd edit my post a bit later,however you don't ask for advice regarding women on a hackers forum and you don't ask startup advice on a player's forum.That is if you're actually looking for a good answer of course.Not that it's impossible to get good advice,but the chances are as high as going to a random beach and consulting yourself with topless chicks whether you should accept the acquisition offer for your company,which may kill it but give you immediate cash or try to grow your business even larger.

[R Smoov]

I have little experience in things like this, but that Facebook page is something that you could use to see if your customers are interested in buying the product (Customer Validation). If they were to ask you about how come you are using Facebook, the answer should be obvious. About 8% of the world's population uses it. Which means that there is a very large audience of users that will be open to the product if advertised the right way.

The likes system itself is a great way to get your product noticed, see if your product is marketable, and see who does your product attract.

It will help get your product noticed because the likes system on Facebook is similar to word of mouth advertising. For instance, say Ms. Chickenhead likes a certain pair of shoes on that product's Facebook page. Not only does she likes that product, but now her friends know that she likes the product as well. Which in turn could make them want to buy the product as well.

The frequency and the number of likes your product gets is a indicator as to how marketable it is. All of these likes show that your customer is taking a interest in your product and if given the chance, they'd buy it. The more likes given means the more people willing to get it. So lets say your product gets a 50 likes in a day. You can sure bet that your product is better than lets say a product that has 2 likes a day.

It can also tell you who does your product attract by the age group of the users who actually like the product or view the page. So for instance if those 50 likes are by people that are under 18, you can assume that your product is very marketable towards the teens. If it was by the 30-40s, you could say its very markertable towards the middle aged women.


If you guys need help on the story, I could see if I can come up with anything.

[defguy]

Just an FYI competition is over so wont be needing help on pitches or anything, but leaving feedback on this thread is highly encouraged.

@ Rosca Thanks for the input on facebook. I didnt even think of Facebook as serious customer validation... I assumed unless you bought several "list" of people specifically in your target market then anything else is pretty random. I learned the hard way asking people to do surveys in person is just a waste of time, even if you get 50 surveys, chances are youre asking the wrong questions. But the feedback on age segmentation amongst facebook likes is legit. We only got 20 likes in 2 days.

[Walderschmidt]

(07-25-2012 06:30 AM)Berliner Wrote:  

(07-24-2012 06:26 PM)Walderschmidt Wrote:  

(07-23-2012 12:10 PM)Berliner Wrote:  

Asking such a question on such a forum doesn't speak so well about your resourcefulness.

Offering such a reply does not speak so well of your helpfulness.

Actually it does.I'd edit my post a bit later,however you don't ask for advice regarding women on a hackers forum and you don't ask startup advice on a player's forum.That is if you're actually looking for a good answer of course.Not that it's impossible to get good advice,but the chances are as high as going to a random beach and consulting yourself with topless chicks whether you should accept the acquisition offer for your company,which may kill it but give you immediate cash or try to grow your business even larger.

This is the "everything else" forum where everything else goes. If you have nothing helpful to say then shut the fuck up.

Wald

[R Smoov]

Wald, just chill man. No need to snap out on someone's whose intent was to derail your thread earlier.

Anyways back to the the thread.

Yeah, the Facebook idea that I had thought of came from a marketing class that I've seen a few of my college friends take. I never took the shit, but it did give me a little insight about how Facebook could work. They'd use Facebook to see if people really wanted to buy their stuff. And the pair of sunglasses that every one liked seemed to have sold the most by the end of the class.

If I knew how to make money off of Facebook I totally would. But I know that Facebook, although the most annoying things in the world, can be used to see if someone's product is nice or not. I just looked at McDonalds on Facebook and this is what I saw.



It's an obvious example, but like it shows people go to McDonalds everyday.

But other than that, I think the forum should have a private business forum where members can talk about Joint Ventures, business plans, investing advice. Stuff like that.

[defguy]

(07-25-2012 04:39 PM)Rosca Wrote:  

I think the forum should have a private business forum where members can talk about Joint Ventures, business plans, investing advice. Stuff like that.

+ 1 on the Business SubForum

A business section in these forums would be warranted. All the business, work, and investment threads would fit right in and not get mixed up with the random topics that flood "everything else." Ive noticed most of the people that start and comment in the business threads know of each other. Ive been referred some awesome resources from several members who frequent the business related "everything else" section of this forum.

FYI I talked to Roosh about a forum feature that allowed us to censor posts (limit viewership to members with 100+ posts) so that information we would not like to make public could be shared with members who clearly arent trolls and he shot it down immediately. A private forum is completely off the table. He mentioned something along the lines of its easy to place limits on others "when your already in the club." I sympathized immediately; it makes sense, but unfortunately there are some things I refuse to share unless an upstanding member messages me privately.

[Screwston]

(07-26-2012 01:46 AM)defguy Wrote:  

(07-25-2012 04:39 PM)Rosca Wrote:  

I think the forum should have a private business forum where members can talk about Joint Ventures, business plans, investing advice. Stuff like that.

+ 1 on the Business Thread

A business section would be warranted. All the business, work, and investment threads would fit right in and not get mixed up with the random topics that flood "everything else." Ive noticed most of the people that start and comment in the business threads know each other. Ive been referred some awesome resources from several who frequent the business related "everything else" section of this forum.

I have a great business idea in my head but don't really know who to talk to lead me in the right direction. What poster should I contact?

[R Smoov]

I can help you out man. I don't really know if I have experience, but with ideas I'm sure I can help you out bro. If I can't, I can say oh well I tried .
Just PM me or tell me about it right here.

But yes, a Business section would be something really good for forum member productivity. We could all work together and make money together. Which in turn could make traveling and gaming bitches together even easier. I would say that it would be good if the forum was to be private and have a little limit or requirement for members to join so that they aren't trolls.

[defguy]

Yea too many stock market trading trolls on here... Just having a business sub forum will let newbs flood older threads instead of starting new ones every other week.

@ Houston Just PM Rosca, you can PM me if you like. Other intelligent people I recommend are YMG and Vancier Permenant.

I think forcing ppl to have 100 posts to see some features (used sparingly) would allow us to keep sensitive information sensitive while still sharing it with others. I can see people wanting to abuse this feature but at the same time we'll probably call people out if they do i.e. someone says "thats not worth keeping private, quit being an info hore "and admins could easily make the information public by reversing the feature.

Most trolls get banned before 100 posts and few stick around long enough to reach that number. It took me over a year to get 100 posts and I think I came close to a negative reputation once. Just goes to show if you hit 100+ posts your serious about this forum.

[R Smoov]

Not to mention their behavior would have to be checked in order to make sure that they are good for it. I'd say about 1 rep point or so before they can hop in. Getting likes is easy as shit, getting repped takes an overall analysis of their character before one can give them that point.

But I like this thread for some reason. The more we talk about making money the more we'll plan on how to get more of it.

[defguy]

Yea you meet some pretty cool people on here. Not everyone is straight up, but those that are, the ones that tell it like it is are extremely valuable. I actually hired a guy on these forums to help me with a project.

@ Houston Im guessing for some reason you want to keep your business idea on the down-low but I recommend making it public. Its not really something that can be stolen lol I bet you get a lot of feedback if you start a thread. Take all of it in, both positive and negative comments. Plus Im curious to see what other advice you received. Maybe I can add on to it, or learn a thing or two...

[R Smoov]

Well for the time being we can have skype conversations over our thoughts on business. It might take a while for the suggestion to take place anyways.

[Screwston]

Yes, I kind of wanted to keep it on the low low. I'm going to ask some relatives who have their own businesses what they think before anything. A thread will be made later on.

[RougeNoir]

(07-25-2012 04:39 PM)Rosca Wrote:  

Forum members actually listen to Soulja Boy. I didn't expect that. Uuuuuu!