Chris Hanks has owned multiple businesses in the music, ecommerce, publishing, and export industry. He is the co-author of the bestselling book, School for Startups and currently runs the KSU Entrepreneurship Center at Kennesaw State University. Chris is a big advocate for getting out of your comfort zone and tells the audience, 'when in doubt, go do'. He talks on why it's so important for leaders to have clarity in their business and if you want to grab an investor's attention, you have to give them goosebumps when they hear your pitch.
When in doubt, go do.
Anytime risk goes down, value goes up.
Articulate the future, that's what a leader does.
Clarity equals power.
47.9% of all privately held businesses are owned by women.
Goosebumps always sell.
School for Startups by Jim Beach and Chris Hanks.
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath
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Charles Smith is an New York-based angel investor and was named top 25 investors in the NY area to know. He has been an active investor since the mid-1990s and has a wealth of knowledge to share on today's show. He talks on why he believes Style Lend is changing the world for the better, why he loves the startup company Boxed, and why you should network with entrepreneurs who have already pitched the angel investor you're interested in.
The internet has enabled trust over distance at scale for the first time in human history.
The coach of the Eagles says, 'Culture beats scheme.
You don't have to be as big as Google, obviously, to treat people well.
How do you handle "trough of sorrow?
Charles Smith Twitter Social Starts
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Scott Eddy was named the Top 10 Global Travel Influencer on Klout and he is also the Global Brand Ambassador for the startup Zipkick. Scott believes the R in ROI stands for relationships and he talks to John on how he was able to develop a 608,000 Twitter following based on this philosophy. Scott Eddy has lived all over the world and shares how he went from being a stock broker to a digital nomad.
I always say the R in ROI definitely stands for relationships
If you don't have the skills to be a storyteller, practice it.
Storytelling used to mean you were a liar 10 years ago. Now, it means you have a compelling way to express your ideas.
Chase the conversation, not the big names.
The Likeability Factor by Tim Sanders
Mr. Scott Eddy Website
Mr. Scott Eddy Twitter
Zipkick
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John Allen is the founder of iBlaise Consulting and is also an innovator in the bio-tech industry. In 1996, John worked for Agouron Pharmaceuticals. Their work was instrumental in targeting HIV enzymes and Agouron was later acquired by Warner-Lambert for $2.3 billion dollars. John talks on the five core values of iBlaise, how to pair the correct C executives with an entrepreneur's personality type, and much more.
If you're selling dog food, investors want to see the dogs eating it
Two types of entrepreneurs, visionary and market place innovators
Teamwork requires security, identity, knowledge and sensation
3 must haves for investors: Your secret sauce, team and market place potential
Suspend reality so you have vision over visibility
Investors do not want to invest in your dream, they want to invest in a rate of return for their money.
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
iBlaise Consulting, LLC
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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.
Creating a legacy and inspiring others is the best way to be successful. #Startups
In social media it's not about being self-promotional, it's about really being of service to people out there.
C corp or LLC for VC funding
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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Jay Samit is widely recognized as one of the world's leading experts in innovation and disruption. You can pre-order his newest book, which is out July 7th, entitled Disrupt You!:Master Personal Transformation, Seize Opportunity, and Thrive in the Era of Endless Innovation on Amazon. Jay sits down with John Livesay to talk on some of the life lesson's he's learned over the years. In the episode, Jay shares examples of successful people failing, people pivoting their business, and much more.
All disruption starts with introspection.
Be a brand of one.
Problems are just businesses waiting for the right entrepreneur to unlock the value.
Data has no ego and makes an excellent co-pilot.
100% of nothing is nothing. 50% of something can be worth millions.
Everyone thinks of changing the world but no one thinks of changing themselves. Get a ZOMBIE idea that is so good it can't die
Jay Samit Jay Samit Twitter
Disrupt You! by Jay Samit Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries Disrupt You! Book Trailer 2015 - Jay Samit
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Brian Smith is the inventor and founder of UGG boots. In this episode, Brian is jammed packed with some amazing stories and life lessons he has learned from creating the world-famous shoe brand. He is the author of The Birth of a Brand and in the book he shares some incredible life lessons any entrepreneur can learn from. Brian believes all businesses start out as a baby and you can not not give up on a baby. Brian also talks on how he literally lost ownership of the UGG brand, but he was able to see optimism through his biggest disappointment.
I think for every entrepreneur starting out, you have to have some level of ignorance.
There's no billion dollar company existed that didn't start with a $1,000.
Most often your most disappointing disappointments become your greatest blessings.
Retailers say we are elephants who don't move till the mice are running under our feet
Brian Smith Speaker
The Birth of a Brand by Brian Smith
Randy Rayess is the co-founder of Venture Pact as well as an angel investor. Randy was the finalist for the Innovative Awards in 2014 and has a lot of valuable insight for tech entrepreneurs. On the show, Randy talks about the importance of screening a good team, solutions to tough problems do not happen overnight, and much more on today's show.
Startups require a lot of patience and extreme persistence.
Work on solving a tough problem no other startup can solve.
Running a start up is a crazy marathon with a bunch of obstacles on the run.
Short pitch decks let you focus investors' attention better than longer pitch decks.
The Power of Now by Eckart Tolle
Drive by Daniel Pink Only the Paranoid Survive by Andrew Grove
Lean Startup by Eric Ries
@RandyRayess
Randy Rayess LinkedIn
Questions@VenturePact.Com.
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Danny Cohen is the General Partner at Carmel Ventures, which is based out of Israel and has been a Venture Capitalist for the past 15 years. He says his company receives over 500 pitches a year, yet they only do about 7 deals. He gives the honest truth about what a VC looks for in an entrepreneur and talks to John about his favorite pitch, successful startups, and much more.
Relationships are so important no matter where you live.
Tell a story that everybody can understand.
What is your motivation beyond money that made you do your startup?
Viola Notes
Israel Venture Capital 3.0
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Paul Grossinger is an entrepreneur and angel investor and shares some key insights as to what makes a successful pitch. He truly believes practice makes perfect and tells the audience to always keep practicing no matter how many speeches you have given. He also tells future entrepreneurs not to push the investor too hard from the beginning. Investors need to build a relationship first before they will invest in you and your company.
The most successful entrepreneurs we see are ones that have a deep understanding of their market.
Carve your own path
You have to have confidence in your delivery. You have to practice your pitch delivery at least 50-100 times.
There is no exception to practicing.
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Drive by Daniel H. Pink
Purpose Economy by Aaron Hurst
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Scott McGregor is a consultant for tech startups based in Silicon Valley. Scott shares an amazing story about Rick Giarrusso raising ten billion dollars to build a rocket and how entrepreneurs can mimic his strategy to get the funding they need for their own business. He also talks on being committed to your business 100% and why you shouldn't worry about your idea getting stolen.
If you're trying to raise a billion dollars, that's too much for Silicon Valley VCs.
Go to your customers first and you get them to agree to pay you before you build it
You're the value, not the idea.
The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt and Jeff Cox.
Selling the Wheel by Jeff Cox.
Scott McGregor
Swift Design Group Point Green
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Ben Larson talks on the importance of answering all the questions in your pitch and why the customer should come first before the product
“The confused mind always says no.”
“It's best to assume there are no unique ideas, only unique ways to approach those ideas.”
“Target your assumptions and prove those assumptions wrong or right.”
The Art of the Start 2.0 by Guy Kawasaki [book]
Essentialism by Greg McKeown [book]
Ben on Twitter: @blarson
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Andrew Ackerman is the Managing Director for DreamIt Ventures. He was the COO of Bunk1.com and shares some insight on how he pitched people within 30 seconds or less. Andrew also talks about how Meerkat got started and what it takes to get the attention of a potential investor.
"Don't pitch everything, just enough to get them to lean forward."
"Meerkat is an overnight sensation two years in the making."
Mastering the VC Game by Jeff Bussgang [book]
Andrew Ackerman runs DreamIt's startup accelerator program in New York. Serial entrepreneur, former investment manager at a family office, and recovering management consultant. Follow at @AndrewAckerman and @DreamItVentures.
DreamIt is one of the top accelerators in the world, having helped launch 178 companies since 2008 including SeatGeek, Meerkat, LevelUp, Adaptly, Parsely, Elevate, Cloudmine, Biomeme, et. al., who have collectively gone on to raise $270M and who are worth over $810M.
DreamIt is currently accepting applications for the DreamIt Health Philly program starting in July. Application deadline May 1: http://dreamit.com/apply/
TBD
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Jim Beach has successfully pitched the White House and has a radio show that plays on 11 FM stations called School for Startups. He talks to John about his successes, how to pitch the right way, what rock stars in an elevator is about, and much more on today's episode.
The keys to being successful is having an enticing opening to your pitch...
As an entrepreneur, you're going to get a rejection 9 out of 10 times.
It's more important to find someone who has a different entrepreneurial DNA...
Entrepreneurial DNA by Joe Abraham
bosiDNA Exposing Google Maps by Jim Beach
School for Startups Radio
Jim on Twitter: @EntrepreneurJim
JimBeach.com
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Andrew Medal has a remarkable story on how he went from a prison inmate to becoming a serial entrepreneur. He talks to John about how he became an Entrepreneur magazine contributor, his charity work with Last Mile, and shares some insightful tips on how entrepreneurs can get investor interest without any experience or a working prototype.
Paint a picture to #investors. Become the #Picasso of Pitches.
Just because you've made a mistake, doesn't mean you should stop dreaming.
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In today’s episode of The Successful Pitch, John Livesay features Eva Ho, the co-founder of Susa Ventures on to give her thoughts on staying true to your focus, being part of an entrepreneurial team and where to find your inspiration. As a member of a small company later taken over by Google (Applied Semantics), she also gives some great insight into what it’s like to have your company bought by an Internet giant, yet still retaining the original family feeling.
You can fake a lot, but you can’t fake passion.
Be prepared: due diligence starts before you’re even through the door.
Investors aren’t interested in hearing about your exit strategy.
Going over to Google was an extension of our family. How can you scale yourself?
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries [book]
Zero to One by Peter Thiel [book]
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John introduces Judy Robinett to the Successful Pitch show. Judy Robinett is the author of How to Be a Power Connector as well as a consultant for business professionals and entrepreneurs. Judy talks about common mistakes entrepreneurs and startups make when pitching their idea to an investor, how to prepare for a due diligence check, how to expand your network, and much more on today's show.
Old school networking is dead. Used to be who you knew and what you knew, now it's who knows you.
Research shows that if you've been raised in a lower-middle class family, we're taught not to ask!
We talk to strangers 2-3% of the time, important people in your life were a stranger at some point!
How to Be a Power Connector by Judy Robinett
Illuminate Ventures
Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
As you heard during the interview, Judy was incredibly generous with a whole list of attachments. I've made the files she mentioned available by simply clicking here to download.
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John Livesay invites Charlene Miller to the Successful Pitch today to talk about some of the key things investors look for in a company. Charlene has an impressive track record and is famously known for raising a million dollars in 90 days. In fact, she can raise a million a lot faster these days as she's gotten better and more efficient at her job. On today's show, Charlene talks about the importance of connections, the people behind the team, and the concept of good and bad money.
They're selling you as much as you're selling yourself. It's not a 1-way street.
People invest in people, they don't invest in ideas.
http://www.globaldirectors.com
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The Successful Pitch interviews successful startups who share their secrets in raising funding, as well as investors who share their criteria, so that you become an insider into the world of getting funded. Join your host, author and funding strategist John Livesay as he provides insights on how to make your pitch compelling, easy to understand and inspiring. You will learn the 5 Cs needed to get funded fast: Confidence, Connection, Commitment, Collaboration and Check List. You can download the FREE PDF "3 Mistakes To Avoid When Pitching" at http://sellingsecretsforfunding.com