Gary Vaynerchuk talks JAB, JAB, JAB, Right Hook!

by John Dumas John Dumas in Entrepreneur On Fire, Featured
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What does it take to be an Entrepreneur? Join us as Gary shares his Entrepreneurial mindset and an inside glance at his journey to becoming a successful Entrepreneur.

Gary Vaynerchuk is first and foremost a storytelling Entrepreneur. He is also a New York Times Best-selling Author, and his digital consulting agency, VaynerMedia, works with Fortune 500 companies to develop digital and social media strategies and content. Business Week selected him as one of the top 20 people every Entrepreneur should follow, and CNN voted him one of the top 25 tech investors on Twitter. He lives in New York City where he avidly roots for the New York Jets.

Sponsors

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Gary’s Call To Action for Fire Nation

  • 30 books – I get a lot of request for personalized videos – from birthdays to Bar Mitzvahs to ragging on someone’s friend after a jets win to quick inspirational videos. Here is your chance for a personalized video from me. Give me 2 bullet points (that I will need to approve first – since I am not doing any testimonial videos), and I’ll create a 2-3 minute video just for you. Emailpersonalizedvideo@vaynermedia.com
  • 60 books – A 10 minute phone call with Gary! Have any questions you want to ask? Insights you want to know? Or dig a little bit deeper into any conversation we have had in the past? Now’s your chance! Email 10minutephonecall@vaynermedia.com

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6 Tips On Pitching Your Startup Idea To Angel Investors

by John Maddox John Maddox in Featured, Ops/Strategy, Startup Tips
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1. Put in sweat equity BEFORE you go after investors.

99% of investors have been in your shoes. Never forget that. They put in incredible time, effort and focus to become successful and now have the ability to help startups. If they don’t see themselves in you, the chances of them backing your company go down immensely.

2. Have real interaction with your target customers BEFORE you go pitch to investors.

So often startup founders get so tied up in their idea (and fear of it being stolen) all of their research is done in secret. No human interaction. Get out, talk to friends, co-workers and family. Call up people in your projected demographic and get their feedback on the idea. It’s amazing the insight and FREE feedback you will get that can help you answer questions from investors you never could have anticipated.

3. Do your homework and determine which investors are the right fit for your startup.

So many startup founders only focus on their pitch, not on who they are pitching to. Remember that you’re talking to a fellow human. While at the end of the day it may strictly come down to how good your idea is, most investors will tell you that it’s their faith in YOU as an entrepreneur that is the biggest factor.

4. Make sure to focus on the value proposition of your idea as a solution. Not just a how much money it can make.

No matter what your startup idea is, at the end of the day you have to appeal to investors as potential customers and paint a picture of how it solves a problem for the end user. If you are truly solving a problem, it then comes down to execution and marketing to gain success. If convince potential investors that your value proposition is realistic, they will pay attention to your valuation in much more detail.

5. Limit your pitch deck to 10 slides or less, have a short explainer video produced.

The investors get 30, 40, 50 ideas presented to them each month. Not to mention all of the companies they own and have invested in. Complex business plans and pitch decks often cause them to tune out of your presentation. Start your presentation with a well done video that explains your business and the value proposition. Then dive into your pitch deck. Video is a powerful way to gain attention, and also shows more dedication to your business idea than just a PowerPoint presentation.

6. Be prepared to fail over and over before you find an investor.

It’s amazing how many entrepreneurs become depressed after getting turned down on their first pitch and never do it again. Remember that gaining an investor is just like selling a potential customer. Not everyone will buy or believe in your product or service, so why would all investors? Make sure to walk in to your pitch confident that you will win investment capital. If you don’t…try try again.

Valuable Lessons We Can Learn From Entrepreneurs Who Have Failed

by Bob Pritchard Bob Pritchard in Bob Pritchard, Featured
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95 percent of all businesses fail within 10 years. Most small to medium businesses struggle to make wages. Bob Pritchard is a highly regarded expert with a track record of identifying the issues facing businesses and determining simple solutions to make them highly profitable. Despite the glitz and glamor, Entertainment operates in the same way as any other business and as we live in a Celebrity obsessed society, people will enjoy this segment. Some of the best Business and marketing screw ups illustrate in a funny and impactful way some of the pitfalls that can be encountered in business, what went wrong and why. Every business discipline from leadership to corporate culture, marketing to customer service, seeking investment to using social media, sponsorship, hospitality and many others. Straight talking, nothing is off the table and nothing is taboo. The Bob Pritchard Show is broadcast live every Tuesday at 5 PM Pacific Time on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel.

20: Caryn Tomer Talks How Startups Can Gain Exposure & Buzz

by John Maddox John Maddox in Featured, Let's Talk Serious Startups
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Caryn is Techli’s Editor-in-Chief. She is a writer who loves sharing stories of innovation, no matter the location. She has her masters in mass communication from SIUE and has been in corporate marketing for 6+ years, working on campaigns for all kinds of products. When she’s not writing, you can find her hitting the trail as an avid runner and general sports enthusiast.

18: CEO of oDesk Gary Swart Explains How To Grow Successful Companies

by John Maddox John Maddox in Featured, Let's Talk Serious Startups
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Gary Swart is the CEO of oDesk, the world’s largest online workplace—which has more than 4 million freelancers, and on which more than $1 billion of work has been done. Gary is a thought leader in entrepreneurship; how best to hire and manage teams; and the future of work, including online work. He is passionate about helping small businesses thrive, fueled by his extensive experience working with startups and small businesses that use oDesk, as well as by mentoring entrepreneurs and business school students. Gary has spoken at the Inc. Leadership Conference, The Economist’s Ideas Economy panel, South by Southwest, TechCrunch 50, TiECon, GigaOM’s Net:Work Conference in 2010 and 2011, and at Harvard Business School which teaches a case study on oDesk. His commentary has appeared in a variety of publications including Forbes, TechCrunch and The Washington Post. He has also appeared on numerous TV and radio shows, including BBC, National Public Radio, and the Fox Business program “After the Bell.” Previously, he led SMB Sales for the Americas at IBM’s Rational Software Product Group, and also served as VP of Worldwide Sales at Intellibank, where he was responsible for leading the sales organization.

17: Pat Riley Talks Startup Accelerators & How The Game Is Changing

by John Maddox John Maddox in Featured, Let's Talk Serious Startups
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Patrick Riley currently oversees the Global Accelerator Network which is an affiliation of short-term mentorship-driven accelerators started by TechStars. He started his career working for W.L. Gore and Associates and moved into the leadership of the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. Patrick left the Red Cross to manage the west coast sales and operations for a venture backed healthcare technology company. Following his passion to support start-up companies around the world, Patrick moved into his current role at the Global Accelerator Network. Outside of work, he recently finished his MBA at the University of Colorado and enjoys spending time with his wife, bike riding, traveling, and skiing around Colorado.

15: Alex Harris Explains A/B Testing & SEO For Startups

by John Maddox John Maddox in Featured, Let's Talk Serious Startups
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Alex Harris is the president of Alex Designs LLC. He graduated from FSU in 1998, then worked as Creative Director at eDiets.com from 2000-2011. In 2001, Alex Harris began doing conversion rate optimization and designing landing pages. The diet subscription website was a top 10 advertiser during this time and we created one of the first “Free Diet Profiles”. This profile came to be know as a conversion funnel. Alex managed all the creative for the conversion funnel. This included optimization of landing pages, emails, banners and affiliate programs.

14: Coach Burt Explains How To Be A Winning Entrepreneur

by John Maddox John Maddox in Featured, Let's Talk Serious Startups
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MICHEAL J. BURT represents the new age leader: the Zebra and the Cheetah. Part coach, part entrepreneur, and all leader, Coach Burt is the go-to guy for entrepreneurs who want to become people of interest, salespeople who want to be superstars, and managers who want to be coaches. He is a former championship coach and the author of nine books. His radio show, Change Your Life Radio, can be heard globally on iheart.com (WLAC). Follow Coach Burt at www.coachburt.com. His client list ranges from small entrepreneurial firms to multi-billion dollar companies such as Dell, INC., State Farm Insurance, National Health Care, Vanderbilt University, TRICOR, FirstBank, and many others.

13: Alex Lawrence Talks Building Startup Teams, Gaining Investors, & Growing Companies

by John Maddox John Maddox in Featured, Let's Talk Serious Startups
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Alex Lawrence has been launching and growing successful companies for more than 20 years. His most recent partnership, Lendio, ranks #34 on the Inc. 500 list. He is also the Vice Provost of Innovation and Economic Development as well as the Interim Director of the Entrepreneurship Program at the John B. Goddard School of Business and Economics, both at Weber State University, where he teaches real-world strategies that are based on cutting edge, proven approaches used in todays business. He also is a regular contributor on Entrepreneurship for Forbes Magazine. and been featured on TechCrunch, 40 under 40 Top Entrepreneurs, V100 Top 100 Technology Entrepreneurs, E-50 Top 50 Social Entrepreneurs, WSU Entrepreneur Alumni of the Year.

12: Monica Selby Tells Startups How To Get PR

by John Maddox John Maddox in Featured, Let's Talk Serious Startups
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Monica Selby is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Nibletz Media, Inc. She is a Mississippi native and got her start in the Memphis startup scene. A proud graduate of Ole Miss, Monica’s writing as been featured in publications like Under30CEO, Young Entrepreneur, and Fast Company. Now, as editor-in-chief, she is passionate about the potential of startups outside Silicon Valley. When she’s not working or parenting, you can find her with a book and a glass of wine (or two).

11: Josh Davidson Talks Tech Startups & Having 6 Flags As A Client

by John Maddox John Maddox in Featured, Let's Talk Serious Startups
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Joshua is the CEO and Founder of Chop Dawg, full service company lined up with leading designers and developers that take ideas from concept and turn them into reality. Chop Dawg helps create startups for inspiring entrepreneurs by providing them with a wide range of services including web and mobile development, branding and marketing strategies.

While most teenagers are busy getting their drivers license, he founded Chop Dawg at the ripe age of 16. Shortly after, at the age of 20, he went on to launch his second company, Subtle.