@seobrien

StorytellingPerfecting your PitchMarketing

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@seobrien

@seobrien

Austin Ventures, No Longer a Texas Giant, Wrestles With Its FutureAustin's biggest VC firm formally shies away from early-stage startups

@seobrien

Why?1. We can't grow scalable companies2. We lack a later stage ecosystem3. We don't yet have the experience in Austin4. We're too Lean5. We're supportive not collaborative6. We lack the work ethic of The Valley; too “lifestyle”7. Our low cost of doing business is a disadvantage8. We're a young startup ecosystem9. We can't depend on media to cover startups capably

@seobrien

Why?

We waste investors' time

1. We can't grow scalable companies2. We lack a later stage ecosystem3. We don't yet have the experience in Austin4. We're too Lean5. We're supportive not collaborative6. We lack the work ethic of The Valley; too “lifestyle”7. Our low cost of doing business is a disadvantage8. We're a young startup ecosystem9. We can't depend on media to cover startups capably

@seobrien

We don't know howand WHY to talk to investors

@seobrien

30 SECONDSGo!

@seobrien

Paul O'BrienYou have 30 seconds to grab the attention of an investor such that you will retain that attention as you stumble through an explanation of your passion. Something with which they may not see eye to eye but in which an opportunity lies. I help you convey why anyone should care.

@seobrien

@seobrien

Not a VCI'm a marketer from Yahoo, HP, and a string of acquired companies.Not a consultantI don't work for you, I work for the money.

Not a brokerI don't get paid to get companies financed. I get companies fundedOver $360MM raised

@seobrien

@seobrien

Start with Why

@seobrien

“The quality of your presentation is inversely proportional to the quality of the content.”What matters is the content and your words.

@seobrien

Innovation is about conveying your imagination to someone else.whurleyChaotic Moon / Honest Dollar

@seobrien

If you're creative, you have to keep innovating bigger!whurleyChaotic Moon / Honest Dollar

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@seobrien

The best way to predict the future is to create itPlans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work

The purpose of a business is to create a customerEfficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right thingsIf you want something new you have to stop doing something oldSuccessful innovators use the left and right side of their brains

@seobrien

The only things that matter

@seobrien

Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business

@seobrien

InnovationandMarketing

@seobrien

And yet...1. Finance2. Sales3. Production4. Management5. Legal6. People

@seobrien

There's hope1. Finance2. Sales3. Production4. Management5. Legal6. People

Successful Startup Priorities1. Talking to customers2. Improving account metrics3. Understanding the market4. Content marketing5. Acquisition - Activation - Retention - Referral - RevenueSteve Blank and Dave McClure

@seobrien

Fundraising Priorities1. Know What's In the Box2. Marcom Foundation3. Culture Over Strategy4. Understand Investors

@seobrien

In the boxEverything has an adoption curve

@seobrien

In the box

@seobrien

Know what's in the box

Business Owner Comfortable Living

Product / Market Change the World

@seobrien

Know what's in the box

Business Owner Comfortable Living

Product / Market Change the WorldIn

nova

tor

Marketer

@seobrien

It defines your futureProduct / Market Change the World

@seobrien

Product / MarketSeed MVP Monetize Scale Pivot

@seobrien

Change the WorldFriends & Family Seed (Angel) Scale (Series A) Monetize (Series B)

@seobrien

The aim of Marketing is to make selling superfluous

@seobrien

Marcom Foundation* Business Intelligence & Analytics* User Experience & Design* Website Architecture* Content Marketing* Optimization & Capture

@seobrien

Culture & PR

Engagement & Synergy

Performance & Intelligence

@seobrien

Engagement Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue

@seobrien

Culture Over Strategy

@seobrien

Passion, purpose, story, branding... MarketingCulture defines your approach to attracting and retaining:1. Employees2. Partners3. Customers4. Investors

@seobrien

Understand Investors

@seobrien

Understand InvestorsInvestors aren't right

@seobrien

Understand InvestorsNor wrong

@seobrien

Understand InvestorsNot about what you're doing nor your exit, but what comes after that

@seobrien

Understand InvestorsAbandon Product/Market fit Problem/Solution

@seobrien

How?

@seobrien

Start with Why

@seobrien

@seobrien

Who, What, When, Where, Why, HowHi, I'm Paul, founder of SloMoCo.io We're building a social, local, mobile app that connects out of work veterans with with employers by tracking where hiring managers get coffee in the morning.

@seobrien

Who, What, When, Where, Why, HowWe're raising $500k to iterate our MVP to a product ready for market and to spend $250k on customer acquisition.

@seobrien

Who, What, When, Where, Why, HowUm.... No.

@seobrien

Who, What, When, Where, Why, HowUm.... No.I don't understand itI don't anything about thatI don't agree that that's a problemNo idea how to invest my moneyNo validationNo experience

@seobrien

Who, What, When, Where, Why, HowI think it's a really great idea but it might be a bit early for us. Encourage you to get a few more customers, validate the market, and come talk to us then.

@seobrien

WHYWHOWHATWHENWHEREHOW

@seobrien

Why

@seobrien

3 possible directionsBecause we need capital for the following reasonsBecause we’ll achieve the return you’re seekingBecause this is going to happen and we’re the people that will make it so

@seobrien

Why: Purpose & Passion

@seobrien

Our founder's ONE passion in high school was computers.This led him to develop ONE skill computer programming.

In high school, he got ONE job in the computer programing field.Which led to him eventually starting ONE company

@seobrien

Microsoft focused on ONE thing -- the development and sale of BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. Then Windows. Then Office.One company lead to Bill being the ONE richest man in the world for 15 years in a row.

@seobrien

Unless your WHY aligns with the expectations of the investor, you’re done. Investors are NOT looking for lean startups, unicorns, nor customers. Investors won’t invest in the entrepreneur who doesn’t know and care why they are in business.

@seobrien

@seobrien

Banks and revenue based financing sources are seeking a clear and measurable return. Angel investors (true angel investors), should be comfortable with the entrepreneur who is changing the world, as they themselves have been in their shoes and aspire to continue fostering innovation.

Venture Capital typically aligns with clear needs, investments, and while returns are not guaranteed, clear, quantifiable milestones, and progress are expected.

@seobrien

SloMoCo.ioCandidates who know hiring managers and HR professionals are 18x more likely to land a job. Returning Veterans, having spent 4 years overseas, don't have those connections.“Coordinated collisions” result in the best new relationships*

@seobrien

Who

@seobrien

The only thing that matters in their consideration is the team: Who’s involved.

@seobrien

Paul was a Sales engineer at Yahoo before working as a fractional CMO for various startups in Silicon Valley.

@seobrien

Paul helped launch a successful local search technology and was featured in the book Online Marketing Heroes as a result of his work with Yahoo and HP. Subsequently he was involved in securing over $360MM in venture capital; a result of his track record in growth and ensuring that the ventures with which he is engaged secure market share, and not just a few customers.

@seobrien

Paul helped launch a successful local search technology and was featured in the book Online Marketing Heroes as a result of his work with Yahoo and HP.Subsequently he was involved in securing over $360MM in venture capital; a result of his track record in growth and ensuring that the ventures with which he is engaged secure market share, and not just a few customers.

@seobrien

What(not how)

@seobrien

A well known convention for explaining what you are doing is“Like X for Y” That can work but it presumes that people know X and Y. If you’re FourSquare for Indeed and your audience doesn’t know what that means, you’ve lost them.

@seobrien

SloMoCo.ioWe’ve created a free mobile app which automatically tracks the location of HR professionals and hiring managers. Vets get buzzed when an ideal connection is nearby.

@seobrien

When

@seobrien

Now.(duh)

@seobrien

When matters. Why Now?The market dynamics that make the investment ideal.Why hasn’t this been successful before?What’s evolving today that gives you a competitive advantage?What’s coming that will result in your having a first mover advantage?

@seobrien

Why now?With the standard adoption of location based tracking via phone, Facebook, Foursquare to identify hiring managers, only today can we query where they are.We have the team uniquely capable of scaling the adoption of this innovation within our market.

@seobrien

But no one else is doing this??

@seobrien

Yes, we actually do everything! And our competitors (those morons) are overlooking something obvious.Okay, truth be told, we haven’t done any in depth research and we’re just giving you the cursory us vs. them slide.We haven’t planned strategically about where to prioritize and invest our resources.

@seobrien

An in-depth competitive analysis shows that the team understands the market and the advantages that will be required to win Now.because

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Where

@seobrien

Philosophies, of the people around whom you live and work, define the culture in which you engage. That culture creates communities. Communities create businesses. Businesses, with shared philosophies, foster industries and industries blend to drive economies. Thus the economy in which you work, wherein you are raising capital and building your business, is the result of the shared philosophies and culture there.

@seobrien

@seobrien

SloMoCo.ioThere is no better place than Austin. Our proximity to San Antonio gives us unparalleled access to returning Vets, Austin has the highest per capita mobile dev workforce in the world, and The Bunker is here.

@seobrien

How

@seobrien

SloMoCo.ioReady to go on Android (because of the larger market share), the app tracks professionals based on jobs posted to Indeed and Facebook /Foursquare tracking. Alerts are automatic based on GPS and we have a predictive analytics database that we're selling to cities that shows WHERE Vets are landing jobs.

@seobrien

No Marketing = No MoneyYou must explain HOW you are going to market!

@seobrien

NOT your marketing budget or that you intend to acquire customers through SEO and social marketingGo home

What is the market? What are the trends therein? How are you going to be relevant? With whom are you trying to partner? Why should the media and public care?

@seobrien

WHYWHOWHATWHENWHEREHOW

@seobrien

Elevator Pitch (30 sec) 2 minute follow up Cold email Short deck: 6 slides Long form

Elevator Pitch (30 sec) 2 minute follow up Cold email Short deck: 6 slides Long form

@seobrien

@seobrien

StartupStudio

INCUVATORINCUVATOR

@seobrien

whew!