#TurnUp – Three things (dials) a startup should consider

Interesting times in the Valley! The needle has moved quite a bit since my last post, which is partly the reason why It’s been so long. Nonetheless I decided it was time to share a bit of knowledge I’ve learned over the past few weeks. Hopefully this will help ANY start-up founder trying to raise money. There are 3 things, let’s call them dials that you want to turn up to 10. If you’re going to seek investment at some point please consider them while turning your idea into a business.

#TurnUp: 3 Dials Entrepreneurs Want to Turn to 10

  1. TEAM: To get to a 10 you need a rock star team that has:
    • previous startup or entrepreneurial success
    • founding team members with solid success working for another VC/Angel funded startup
    • an exceptional education background from a prestigious institution.
  2. IDEA: To turn this dial up to 10 you need to be entering a market that’s massive or is a game changer. Think cure for cancer, the airplane, world hunger you know REALLY big ideas. Don’t worry very few people make it to a 10 in this category and even then someone won’t understand it and say no.
  3. Evidence: Now play close attention to this dial. This is the dial where the playing field can level out. Men lie, women lie numbers don’t (though they can be distorted). If the previous 2 dials are lacking a bit this is where you can make it up. If you have growing sales, usage or other growing metric that makes sense then welcome to “Deal or No Deal.” The great thing about this dial is that if your metric is revenue you can control more of what happens at the dealer table.

Now here’s the thing to consider you don’t have to be a 10 in any of these categories to receive investment but you need to be really really close. I like the third bullet because at the end of the day I want to build something I can be proud of and let’s not forget that every time you take investment you’re giving away a portion of your business. Make sure it’s worth it!

Thoughts? What did I miss?

-J

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