TSP029 | Ben Narasin – VC Secrets To Pitching
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Episode Summary
Ben Narasin is the General Partner for Canvas Venture Fund. He has 25 years experience has an entrepreneur and started the company Fashionmall.com, one of the first e-commerce sites in 1993. Ben tells the audience that he likes to look for tenacity in an entrepreneur and breaks down what he likes to see in pitch slides. Ben also gives a deep dive into what kind of financial ranges you can expect to find in a pre-seed, seed, and series A round.
Key Takeaways
- 02:00 – Ben started his first company when he was 12. He shares a bit of his background.
- 03:50 – What makes a winning pitch in Ben’s eyes?
- 07:25 – Remember, your pitch is the table of contents.
- 07:40 – Ben breaks down in what order he usually likes to see pitch slides.
- 09:40 – What does Ben look for in an entrepreneur? Tenacity.
- 12:40 – You have to say no to the hundred million exit offers if you want to build a billion dollar company.
- 13:35 – Ben talks Fido Labs.
- 18:35 – There’s nothing worse than being right at the wrong time. Get in early, but not too early.
- 21:50 – Ben is always looking for the next big shift/idea.
- 25:50 – How much is pre-seed, seed, and series A investing usually?
- 29:20 – Money as a sole-driving force just doesn’t cut it.
- 30:55 – Ben recommends a couple of books.
- 32:45 – The dollars that come with your successful are just a natural consequence.
Tweetables
[Tweet “The pitch deck is the table of contents in a navigational way.”]
[Tweet “It’s hot for someone else, it’s cold for you.”]
[Tweet “I need five things to make an investment, people, people, people, the great idea, and a huge market if it works.”]
[Tweet “Tenacity is the key trait in a founder.”]
[Tweet “Nothing worse than the right idea at the wrong time.”]
[Tweet “Team, idea and huge market all needed.”]
Links Mentioned
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
Road Less Traveled by Scott Peck
Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ben Narasin Twitter
Folloze
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TSP023 | Lex Deak – Deal Flow At Your Fingertips Tinder Style
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Episode Summary
Lex Deak is the Founder and Managing Partner for QVentures, the Founder and CEO for Tendr Deals (renamed to OFF3R), and he is also the Ambassador for The Supper Club. QVentures has funded 14 companies and Lex talks on one key company that stands out from the rest. Lex also talks on the importance of listening more than you speak at a entrepreneur networking event and why it’s important to read books you disagree with. It all comes down to diversifying yourself and keeping yourself knowledgeable on upcoming trends.
Key Takeaways
- 01:35 – What’s Lex’s philosophy on ‘the entrepreneurial spirit’?
- 05:00 – What is The Supper Club?
- 07:30 – As a young entrepreneur, you should listen 5x as much as you talk.
- 08:15 – How did QVentures get started?
- 11:45 – Lex talks about Stratajet.
- 14:35 – An angel investor has to be impressed with the product as well as the founder/team.
- 17:20 – Lex talks about Tendr Deals
- 23:50 – What problems is Tendr Deals solving? John does a recap.
- 27:30 – What are some of Lex’s favorite books?
- 29:10 – Lex disagrees with a lot of what he reads, but diversity is the key.
- 29:55 – You can follow Lex on Twitter @LexDeak
Tweetables
[Tweet “The definition of an entrepreneur is an artist in business who creates something.”]
[Tweet “Listen 5x more than you talk when you are in a room with people smarter than you.”]
[Tweet “TENDR gets rid of investors’ inbox fatigue.”]
[Tweet “When you’re reading something, the whole perspective is diversity.”]
Links Mentioned
The Super Club
STRATAJET
OFF3R
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
The Chimp Paradox by Steve Peters
Big Data For Dummies by Judith Hurwitz, Alan Nugent, Fern Halper, and Marcia Kaufman
Zero to One by Peter Thiel
Lex Deak Twitter
QVentures Twitter
Tendr Deals Twitter
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TSP014 | Nellie Akalp – Small Business Influencer Champion
Posted by John Livesay in podcast | 0 comments
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Episode Summary
Nellie Akalp is a passionate entrepreneur, small business advocate, and mother of four. She was named one of the top 100 Small Businesses Influencers in 2014 and sold one of her companies in 2005 to Intuit for $20 million dollars. Nellie is currently the CEO of CorpNet, an online legal documenting filing service. Nellie provides valuable insight as to what corporation you should get if you’re seeking funding, whether or not you should register your company for trademark, and much, much more on today’s episode.
Key Takeaways
- 02:05 – How did Nellie get started as an entrepreneur?
- 04:30 – You have to love and be passionate in what you do in order to be successful.
- 07:00 – Nellie talks about her company, CorpNet.
- 10:45 – Social media is about helping others, not about promoting yourself.
- 12:30 – What kind of legal work should be done before approaching a VC?
- 19:55 – What’s the difference between trademarks, copyrights, and patents?
- 23:00 – If you have a great name, take the time to get it trademarked.
- 25:50 – At the end of a web development project, make sure you get an assignment of the rights to that code.
- 29:10 – Nellie recommends the book Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh.
Tweetables
[Tweet “Creating a legacy and inspiring others is the best way to be successful. #Startups”]
[Tweet “In social media it’s not about being self-promotional, it’s about really being of service to people out there.”]
[Tweet “C corp or LLC for VC funding?”]
Links Mentioned
CorpNet
Nellie Akalp Twitter
Nellie Akalp Instagram
Nellie Akalp LinkedIn
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
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