Tim Berry’s “10 Things I Hate About Your Business Plan”

from American Express Open Forum

Tim Berry’s musing on business plans rings a lot of bells here. It truly gets to the heart of the matter — entrepreneurs are much better at creating their innovative companies than they are at crafting their plans. Preparing business plans takes a lot of work and a lot of help. Check out these 10 things and see how many hit home!

GCVA Rocks Oakley!

The GCVA broke new ground with a very entrepreneurial event at the 20th Century Theatre in Oakley. The meeting delivered two startup company presentations, 249Smiles.com and AHL-TECH that are on the trail of their initial funding. Tim Schigel, CEO of ShareThis, keynoted on the magic that entrepreneurs must master to create a successful venture funded company.

Then – the Red Herrings took the stage — 9 Cincinnati entrepreneurs put on a great show with the crowd crying for more. Most importantly, there was a buzz in the air. Venture capitalist actually loosened their ties and entrepreneurs soaked it up. A number of InOneWeekend alumni gathered to celebrate.

“Conversation crystallizes genius!” and the crowd really connected and talked it up. The entertainment is tough to beat – but the GCVA is truly focusing on engaging entrepreneurs and investors to create a more vibrant startup community in the region.

GK’s Extreme Makeover

Presentation fans — here’s another great blog on communicating better and better! Guy Kawasaki who has set the bar high for startup pitches has asked Nancy Duarte to “work her magic” on his PowerPoint presentation. Take a look at the before and after — as well as Nancy’s notes on the strategy for improving presentations.

If the master can improve, so can we! Click here to Read More..

Technorati Tags: Startup, entrepreneur, venture capital, angel investing

GK’s World’s Best Presentations

There is no doubt that Guy Kawasaki has raised the bar for all startup presentations to the moon! Wouldn’t it be great to have all powerpoint presentations at this level!!!

Enough said — take a look — enjoy — and then start redoing your decks!

World’s Best Presentations

And for more study — check out Garr Reynold’s Top Ten Slide Tips and the rest of his site on Presentation Zen — the new Bible of Presentation Skills!

Pitching Season is about to Begin!!

The Venture Club of Indiana will host Venture Idol with 25 ‘entrepreneurial contestants’ competing for a grand prize of $10,000. Taking off from one of the most popular shows on television, Venture Idol is really a great way for 20 companies to get in front of investors for their ’60 seconds’ of fame.

First, you must submit an application to the Venture Idol Committee (Deadline: September 17, 2008.) If selected, you and 24 other companies get to give a 1 minute naked pitch (no powerpoint) with a 2 minute Q&A. The top 8 finalists move to round 2 to give a 5-minute presentation with a 5-minute Q&A. The winner receives $10K and there are 3 Miss Congeniality prizes of $3K each: “Most Innovative New Product, Biggest Opportunity, Let Me Invest Now!”

For you healthcare/biotech startups, the MidAmerica Healthcare Venture Forum will be held here in Cincinnati on October 1-2, 2008. Although the deadline for presenting has passed (August 15, 2008), you might contact them with your plan in the event of a cancellation.

The Art of Pitching

PowerPoint, as we know it, is dead. Guy Kawasaki and Garr Reynolds have penned two great books on making effective presentations. Couple that with Stephen Kosslyn’s book “Clear and to the Point” and you will always make a PowerPoint presentation that is effective, entertaining and engaging. Garr Reynolds work, “Presentation Zen” is the 800 LB gorilla you want to have in your army when you make presentations. If you are an entrepreneur, Guy’s book, “The Art of the Start” is a must read. Get a taste of it by reading his 10/20/30 rule that makes so much sense.