The Harbor Entrepreneur Center’s Post

In 10 days, I'm leading a group of founders through 30 Days of Mentoring -- a 30 day intensive mentoring session. Like Navy Seals but for founders. I kid, I kid. What happens at 30DOM? We build customized docs including growth model, financial model, valuation, and cap table, and put together a list of 20 investors they should target. 30DOM comes with: - 1 hour onboarding call to set goals for the 30 day session - weekly, one-on-one brainstorming session to focus on mastery of the material - Direct access to me for 12 months after the session ends to ensure success - Lifetime access to the library of digital assets covered in the session Share with a founder you love... https://lnkd.in/e4MdZvV2

Last Monday, Dave Mitchell and I dedicated time to sharing about how to pitch to VCs with the Walla Walla University Strategic Management students. Dave reminded students about Logos, Ethos, and Pathos as rhetorical strategies used to persuade an audience in various contexts. As a result, I sent the following email to my students, who will pitch their strategic plans to five VCs starting Wednesday. Six teams are competing to obtain up to 2.5 million dollars: "This is to remind you of the exciting opportunity: presenting your business strategic plan to venture capitalists (VCs) this week. Remember, this is your moment to shine. Your dedication, hard work, and passion have brought you to this point, and now it's time to showcase the incredible potential of your business venture. You are the driving force behind your company, and your passion will captivate the VCs. As you step onto that stage, remember that you are not just presenting a business plan – you are presenting your vision, your strategy, and your future. Let your enthusiasm for your business shine through in every word, every gesture, and every slide. Show the VCs why your company is worth investing in. Believe in yourselves, believe in your ideas, and believe in the power of passion. You've got this. Wishing you all the best for your presentations."

✋🏽 Watch out for the most common mistakes founders make in their pitch decks. 👩🏽💻👨🏻💻 Are you working on crafting your investor pitch? Whether you're a seasoned founder or just starting out, it's crucial to avoid common pitfalls that can hinder your success. Healy Jones, Our VP of Financial Strategy, a former VC, talks with renowned pitch deck consultant Haje Kamps. Check the 1st comment for a link to the video of top pitch deck fails. 🚨 Here are a few common mistakes founders often make: 1️⃣ Weakening their team slide with too much unnecessary information. 2️⃣ Misunderstanding their market size - Remember, it's crucial to demonstrate potential for creating a venture-scale company. 3️⃣ Presenting unrealistic growth projections, whether they're too conservative or overly ambitious. 4️⃣ Failing to represent traction accurately, relying on press coverage or vague interest rather than revenue-generating customers. 5️⃣ Neglecting to weave a coherent story that sells not only the product but also the vision and future value of the company. 6️⃣ Overlooking the importance of a competition slide - acknowledging your competition demonstrates market awareness. 🚀 Avoiding these mistakes in your pitch deck can significantly enhance your chances of capturing a venture capitalist's interest. Check out the video where I discuss this with pitch deck consultant Haje Kamps for a deep dive. Have you encountered other pitching pitfalls? Share your experiences in the comments! #PitchDeck #VentureCapital #StartupAdvice

#FeatureFriday is here, and we're highlighting stories of how mentorship has unlocked new potential. 🌟 Do you have a success story to share? Drop it in the comments! Explore our insights on the significance of cultivating strong relationships with experienced investor mentors: https://buff.ly/4cfrcUC #SuccessStories #MentorshipJourney #UnlockPotential #InvestmentVictories #PathToSuccess #GrowthStories #LifeChanging #ILLISpotlight #ShareYourStory

𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀? Or, are you curious about the strength of your value proposition, business model, etc. but don't feel ready yet to share your pitch deck? Let ScoreMyDeck help you. It'll show you where you fall short. It'll provide guidance. It'll help you improve without the exposure. And so much more. Have you tried it? #investment #businessgrowth #startups #communication

This weekend, my mind has wandered to the topic of decision gates. So much information is thrown at you when analyzing deals, and much of it is irrelevant in my opinion. I wanted to distill the essence of what needs to be answered "yes" to move a startup through the VC investor pipeline. Here's my first crack at it. I would love to know your thoughts. Decision Gates: Gate 1: Am I intrigued enough by something in the company's pitch deck where I'm fine with spending 45 min talking to the founders about their business? Gate 2: Is this a company that I'm excited about doing 4-6 hours of research on to better understand the space (Market and Industry)? Gate 3: Is this a company that I'm excited to introduce to my network of investors, potential customers, and other experts and to request their feedback about the business? Gate 4: Do in think there is a good enough chance of investment to deep-dive for hours into the company and ask for potentially sensitive information from the founders? Gate 5: Do I feel confident that if I cut this company a $1M check that nothing is going to sneak up and bite me from behind? Answer "yes" to all 5 of those questions for me, and congratulations, we're in business! :)

Mentorship for impact founders is important - having someone to lean on and guide you when the entrepreneurial journey inevitably gets tough is invaluable. Read our new blog to learn all about the impact of mentorship for impact founders here: https://lnkd.in/gmQBDGJW #mentorship #springintoimpact #impactinvestor #impactfounder #impactentrepreneur

Concise, compelling storytelling is tough and it takes a ton of practice. The pitch practice sessions we've been holding in Mission Control are designed to help with exactly that: practice your pitch to time and get feedback from a panel of experts and fellow-founders. Next week we're introducing a new type of session to help entrepreneurs mobilize that feedback: the workshop. Workshops are designed to leverage the Mission Control community to help work through specific problems or roadblocks. First up we'll focus on helping a Mission Control founder define the through line for their company (see David's video below) starting with a clear, concise problem statement to guide their pitch. More about Mission Control via the link in the comments. If you're interested in participating I'd love to hear from you!

Are you considering becoming a mentor? Are you looking to extend your impact through mentorship? As you may expect, at Spring (along with Spring Collective and Spring Impact Capital) our mentors are critical to guiding our founders as they navigating their early stage journeys from product launch to product market fit to raising capital. Yet, at Spring we also have mentors and coaches for our investor community. Our investors span the journey, from impact curious to experienced and hungry for more. Mentors are invaluable to share their own wisdom and experience as they have explored all facets of impact investing. What are your experience been, on either side of the table? #mentors #mentorship #bethechange #whatinspiresme #impact #techforgood #impactinvesting #angelinvesting #venturecapital

What an insightful and forward-thinking move by Octopus Ventures. I have met with 20 founders in the past six months in light of the Newchip bankruptcy. The conversations generally center around three outcomes—focus, clarity, and direction. Having a vision is one thing. Selecting priority strategies and tactics to move toward that vision is more nuanced. When you add the fast pace of the startup world, coaching becomes invaluable. “Thomas, are you just saying that because you are a coach?” No, indeed. I have coaches too! The growth that I seek determines the coach that I call. It’s true. I am a coach who strongly believes in coaching. I also have a database of over 100 coaches and mentors. Reach out if you’re ever in need of a coach, mentor, consultant, or helping professional whose offerings are tailored to your needs. I celebrate this move Octopus Ventures. Well done. #startups #coaching #startupcoach #coachingculture