communication tools: how to make your idea credible and understandable - entrepreneurship 101...
Post on 18-Oct-2014
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Tips, examples, techniques and tools for building the five essential communication documents for entrepreneurs: * elevator pitch * executive summary * company presentation * technical white paper * business plan Learn how to create these communication tools and how to use them effectively to grow your business from an idea to a funded business.TRANSCRIPT
COMMUNICATION TOOLS: HOW TO MAKE YOUR IDEA CREDIBLE AND UNDERSTANDABLE
• 1. Why do you need the toolkit? • 2. How to create and use your toolkit? • 3. What is in the toolkit?
AGENDA
Business is….
Being adap:ve For profit
You can start with a product idea
Seeing a need in the market
• hBp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5UbII_Q0_c • 0.59 to 1.22
You need tools on your journey of “validated learning”
The minimum viable product is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning with the least effort.
Ideas
Data Product
Your are building a profit engine
• hBp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5UbII_Q0_c • From 1.57 to 2.38
You will always deal with people
Customers, Investors and Employees all want to know
• What do you do? • Who cares? • How do you make money?
Percep:on
We all see, understand and remember in different ways
B-‐plan Exec Summary
PPT Deck White paper
Direct work of the employees
Solicit investment Create cohesive rela:onship with
partners
Convince customers to
purchase from you
Meaningful Milestones=3Ps
Problems that the customer actually has and cares about Founders with domain knowledge Path to success for customers to inves:gate, compare, test and purchase ¤ Revenue model ¤ Demo or prototype technology ¤ Early indica:ons of the marke:ng equa:on (cost of customer
acquisi:on & customer life:me value) Proof that the results, outcomes and value are real; How to scale the company ¤ Team that has its key team members ¤ Scalable working solu:on
Break your Customer Discovery in 2 phases
1. Problem Discovery 2. Solu:on Discovery
Talk to your customers
How the customers define “quality”?
• hBp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoGnOscqyg8
How to create your toolkit?
• Do not start by building your business plan – You will not have the informa:on you need – You will examine issues out of priority – You will expose lack of understanding
• Use the PowerPoint Deck as receptacle for all ideas and informa:on that comes to light – easy to manipulate, organize and adapt
• Build your execu:ve summary and eventually your business plan
based on your PowerPoint deck
PowerPoint
Execu:ve Summary
B-‐plan with Financial Projec:ons
How to create your toolkit? • Use your Business plan to communicate tac:cal priori:es to your
team • Develop two versions of the execu:ve summary:
– 1-‐page abstract include Technology, Customer, Pain, Revenue, Team
– 3-‐5 pages detailed summary with suppor:ng data, commercial risks and milestones
• Develop metaphors to make your innova:on “real” • Give investors your exec summary and offer to walk them through
the PowerPoint slides in person or on the phone • Develop visual assets (diagrams, videos) to use on-‐line and in your
pitch deck
Selling vs. Planning
VS.
This is a selling toolkit
Understanding Individual Differences & Percep:on
Common perceptual biases • Stereotyping: assump:ons about others based on belonging to a certain category or group
• Halo effect: one characteris:c influences your overall evalua:on of a person
• SelecRve percepRon: tendency to consider informa:on that reinforces your exis:ng beliefs
Know your audience
q Speak to your audience in language that they understand: § Ins:tu:onal investor – do not speak ‘techie’, :e
everything back to money
§ Angel Investors -‐ access their background; understand their
interests
Understanding Individual Differences & Percep:on
Biases related to decision-‐making: • Availability bias: tendency to base decisions on informa:on that is readily available
• RepresentaRve bias: assessing the likelihood of an occurrence based on pre-‐exis:ng data
• EscalaRon of commitment: increasing the commitment to a decision in spite of nega:ve informa:on
Know your audience
§ Strategic investor – may be more technical; will be interested in your ideas as they impact their business
§ Strategic Partner – mix of technical and business; understand how a rela:onship will be mutually profitable to both par:es § Customer – understand their industry and pain points
Source: The Waren Company, an Andersen Consulting Alliance
OperaRonal Fit How complementary are the business models?
How compa:ble are the management
teams and cultures?
Cultural Fit
Strategic Fit
Strategic Fit
OperaRonal Fit
Cultural Fit
How well aligned are the partners' objec:ves?
Achieving Value Through Partnership: Founda'onal Framework for Alliance Success for STRATEGIC INVESTORS
3 Dimensional Fit
Make your message memorable
Make informa:on meaningful to them • Case studies, tes:monials, personal stories • hBp://www.screencast.com/t/EK8RSUzkngtM -‐From 10 sec to 32 sec
Social Media Tools
• Create an informed dialog with peers, partners,
journalists and investors • Ask people to engage in the conversa:on, cul:vate the
audience with # and streams • Plan your social media presence, e,g,
– Month 1-‐2: TwiBer – Month 3-‐4 Facebook or Quora – Month 6: Google+ – Month 8: LinkedIn
What is your Value Proposi:on?
The Value Proposi:on
Product Market Value
Proposi:on Problem Benefits
Management
Be prepared to go back and change
Principles for Business Planning and Communica:on
• No hype. Let investors become enthusias:c on his/her own FACTUAL
• Business planning is an itera:ve and adap:ve process DYNAMIC
• A clear, precise structure is a courtesy to those inves:ng their :me in reading the proposal VISUALLY COMPLELLING
• The storyline and all the facts presented must fit together and generate a well rounded impression
CONSISTENT, CONCISE, CLEAR
• Acknowledge style, recognize knowledge gaps and biases AUDIENCE-‐CENTRIC
• Those who allocate investment resources rarely are technical experts for the technology used in the proposal EASE OF UNDERSTANDING
Do not Rely on “Reality Distor:on Field”
• What is my objec:ve? • How will I close? When it is all over, what will they
remember? • How will I open the presenta:on? • How will I organize the body? • How will I get their aBen:on? • How will I keep their interest? • What ques:ons will they ask? • What ques:ons will I ask? • How will I tailor the presenta:on to the audience? • What notes do I need? • How many :mes should I rehearse?
Blueprint for successful presenta:on
Create Context
Idea# 1: “Don’t Dive Straight into the Technology” (Value Proposi:on) • Don’t start with technology. Everyone has this. Instead create context. • Understand your customer’s pain points and show them how you offer a
value proposi:on that is FASTER, CHEAPER, BETTER Idea #2: Maintain A Degree of Focus & Consistency in your Message (Brand) • Focus on just a few of the really good things you can do and lead with
these points. Idea #3: “Personify your People” (Profiles) • Profile Managers Backgrounds -‐ Creates context for poten:al clients and
investors. Idea #4: “Provide Proof of Results” (Case Studies) • Tell a story. Focus on Results and the overall customer Experience. Use
tes:monials.
Many forks on the road ahead: tools simplify what to say to whom and when
The Elevator Pitch • What:
– A 30 second overview of your business concept
• Why:
– To get a follow–on mee:ng
• When:
– In a cold call to an investor, customer, poten:al partner, etc. – Good for networking at trade shows, business func:ons, etc.
• Dos and Don’ts:
– Do not spend forever prac:cing and refining this – should come naturally;
– Figure out a few key messages you would like to get across to use as a loose script
– Distribute key messages to outward facing employees – standardize message
The Execu:ve Summary
• What: – 3-‐5 page summary of your technology, product, sales plan, revenue path
and financial requirements
• Why: – A ‘teaser’ document meant to generate a request for more informa:on or a mee:ng – Readers will want to get their head around the concepts quickly
• When: – When you have a ‘warm’ intro or an invita:on to contact someone – Integral first interac:on with an investor – Rides the line between confiden:al and non-‐confiden:al – some degree
of trust
• Dos and Don’ts: – Has to have the right emphasis given the maturity of the business concept – Keep it current
The Whitepaper
• What: – A fairly concise layman’s summary of your technology, product(s),
the uniqueness of the technology and products and the value proposi:on
• Why:
– Helps investors to understand how a concept or technology works
• When: – Awer investors are curious about details or have bought into the
big picture business vision
• Dos and Don’ts: – Put the whitepaper on your website – Don’t go so deep as to give away all of your trade secrets/IP –
consult your IP professional – Keep it as short as possible and fully explain all acronyms
The PowerPoint • What:
– A ~15 slide outline of the key aspects of your business plan • Why:
– Provides an overview of the business plan in point form – Allows people to absorb a lot of key informa:on – in a short period of :me
• When: – Usually the second piece of informa:on an – investor receives awer the execu:ve summary – Investors love these because they can flip through – them very fast and get highlights
• Dos and Don’ts: – Cri:cal document in the fundraising process – – present a sound story; make it look good – Prac:ce speaking to it, preferably in front of friendly people who will ask lots of ques:ons – Use graphics as much as possible
The Business Plan • What:
– A rigorously prepared and executable descrip:on of how you will build your business Why: – This is your roadmap for how you are going to build your business – Describes roles and responsibili:es for building various aspects of – the business
• When: – When you have assembled enough solid informa:on to write it – Highly proprietary; later stages of diligence – Wait for the investor to ask for it
• Dos and Don’ts: – Owen made a condi:on of financing or a board ac:on item – Re-‐write with every major change in strategic direc:on – Avoid the tempta:on to turn this into a sales tool – preserve its integrity as an
execu:on plan