Seeking Funding: Week 2

1. Seeking Funding: Week 2 “The Art of the Start”

2. “The Art of the Start” • By Guy Kawasaki • Managing director of Garage Technology Ventures • Previous Apple Fellow • Previous head of Macintosh Division • Talks of the “microscope” and “telescope” phases of business cycles. • Microscopes – level-headed thinking, back to basics, experts magnify every detail. • Telescopes – entrepreneurs bring the future closer, dream up “the next big thing.”

3. So – let’s look into our telescopes • “My goal is to help you use your knowledge, love, and determination to create something great without getting bogged down in unnecessary details.” • “My presumption is that your goal is to change the world – not study it.”

4. Today . . . • . . . think of yourself as an entrepreneur. • What are you gonna sell? • Your research idea. • Your nonprofit. • Yourself.

5. GIST • Great Ideas for Starting Things • Make meaning • Make mantra • Get going • Define your business model • Weave a MAT (milestones, assumptions, and tasks)

6. 1 - Make Meaning “Among the meanings of meaning: • Make the world a better place. • Increase the quality of life. • Right a terrible wrong. • Prevent the end of something good.” • Exercise -- Complete this sentence: “If your organization never existed, the world would be worse off because _____________________.”

7. 2 - Make Mantra • “What kind of meaning do you see your organization making”? • “Close your eyes and think about how you will serve your customers.” • Kawasaki says a mantra is better than a mission statement. • Mission statement generator: http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/games/career/bin/ms.cgi

8. “A mantra . . . • . . . is a sacred verbal formula repeated in prayer, meditation, or incantation, such as an invocation of a god, a magic spell, or a syllable or portion of scripture containing mystical potentialities.” • Good examples: • Authentic athletic performance (Nike) • Fun family entertainment (Disney) • Rewarding everyday moments (Starbucks)

9. Mantras • Don’t confuse mantras with tag lines. • Taglines (e.g., “Just do it”) are for customers; mantras are for employees. • Some hypothetical examples from Kawasaki. • Exercise: Write your organization’s mantra: ___________________.

10. 3 – Get going • Prototype, build a model, start offering your services, . . . • Key principles for getting going: • Think big. • Find a few soulmates. • Polarize people – you don’t have to please EVERYONE. In seeking funding, it’d be better to be last on ninie lists and 1st on one list than 2nd on 10 lists. • Design different • Use prototypes as market research

11. GIST (cont’d.) • Make meaning • Make mantra • Get going • Define your business model – this will be our grant/contract application. • Weave a MAT (milestones, assumptions, and tasks)

12. 5 – Weave a MAT • Milestones (Kawasaki suggests 7): • Prove your concept • Complete design specifications • Finish a prototype • Raise capital • Ship a testable version to customers • Ship a final version to customers • Achieve breakeven

13. Assumptions • Include factors such as: • Product or service performance metrics • Market size • Gross margin • ROI for the customer

14. Tasks • All major tasks – necessary to build an organization, though not as critical as the 7 milestones: • Acquire office space • Find key vendors • Set up accounting and payroll systems • File legal documents • Purchase insurance policies

15. The Internal Entrepreneur • “Reboot your brain” handout

16. Positioning • “It represents the heart and soul of a new organization, stating clearly • Why the founders started the organization • Why customers should patronize it • Why good people should work at it.” • To his list I’d add • Why people should invest in it.

17. Positioning: Seize the high ground • Positive. It’s not a war. You don’t want to bury others. What are the benefits of working with YOU? • Customer-centric. Not “the leading company.” Empowering. Why should people want to work for/with you? • Self-explanatory. Save money? Peace of mind? Specific. Who’s the intended audience? • Core. • Relevant. • Long-lasting. • Differentiated.

18. Niche Thyself • What specifically do you do? • Make it personal. • Handout from p. 38. • Speak English. • Read two para from p. 39. • Apply “the opposite test” • If you claim something, would your competition claim something different? “High quality”? “Safe.” • If not, then it’s not meaningful. • Offer “concrete proof points” (handout)

19. Positioning Exercise

20. Positioning Exercise • Pick your project. The one for which you wrote a mantra. • Write a title. • Write a positioning statement. • One page. • Running prose, bullet points, whatever you choose. • Your niche. Personal. English. • Positive. Customer-centric. Empowering. Self-explanatory. Core. Long-lasing. Differentiated.

21. The Art of Pitching • In pitching, “get off to a fast start, explain the relevance of what you do, stay at a high level, listen to audience reaction, and then pitch over and over again until you get it right.” • Explain yourself in the first minute. • The audience is thinking, “What does his/her organization do”? Do ‘em a favor – answer that question in the first minute.

22. Pitching (cont’d.) • Establish what you do – make it short and sweet: • We sell software. • We sell hardware. • We teach underprivileged kids. • We prevent child abuse. • “Little Man” story – p. 46. • “For instance” handout. • “I’ve seen it done better.”

23. Know your audience • “The foundation of a great pitch is the research you do before the meeting starts.” • “Learn what’s important to your audience.” • Some of the information will be in the call for proposals – there may be other research to be done about things like what the sponsoring agency has funded before.

24. 10/20/30 rule • 10 slides • 20 minutes • 30-point-font text • Handout – Investor pitch.

25. Final Exercise • Write your “elevator pitch.” • One minute. By the clock. • Be prepared to give it. • Ask your audience to write down one sentence that explains what your organization does. • Collect ‘em. Compare. How’d you do?