Starting a high-growth business—a startup—is like learning a new foreign language. First you grasp the basic vocabulary. Then you learn the conjugations or conventions. Then you learn enough phrases and sentences to accomplish daily tasks. You pick up slang or shortcuts, meet people who get you enough to figure out what the heck you’re saying, and then fluency.
Start where you are, pick and choose what you need, but do make sure you understand the startup language and conventions. It will mean the difference between success and failure.
Pitch Decks That Get Funded
YCombinator Seed Pitch Deck. YCombinator is the most successful startup accelerator and venture capitalist in the world. Here’s the pitch deck template they share with startups seeking their funding.
Uber Pitch Deck. One of the most successful transportation startups, Uber raised $22B with this deck.
https://stripe.com/atlas/guides/ama-marc-andreessen
Tinder Pitch Deck. Before it was Tinder, the swipe-happy dating app once called Match Box, now has a $3B valuation.
Airbnb Pitch Deck. The hospitality platform raised $4.4B.
Facebook Pitch Deck. The social media behemoth ultimately raised $1.3B.
Idea, Product or Business?
Not everything is a business. Not every business is a startup. Sometimes it’s a great idea that’s not yet a product. Sometimes it’s a product around which you can’t build a business. You can still grow wealth. Let’s figure out what you’ve got.
Startup Money 101
When it comes to startups, there’s a lot more to money than cash. There’s debt, equity, and specialty capital from sources like angels, venture capitalists, corporations and private equity firms. Here’s a crash course in startup finance.
Founders Investing in Founders
Just as there’s more than one way to fund your startup’s growth, there are multiple ways to use your equity to grow your startup and your wealth. Learn to use equity for services, to diversify your interests, or create an exit or VC fund!
Pitching Investors
Pitching investors is both art and science. Learn the art of storytelling and the science of developing the pitch deck.
Designing and Developing Your Product
A product can be software, clothing, content you create or a service you provide. Simple, right? Nope. It’s not a product until it solves a problem or meets a need in a way that people are willing to pay for. Let’s make something that sells!
Finding the Right Team
The average startup will pivot, or change, its product at least twice. So you need a team that can identify and build a product, operate a profitable business and handle the stresses of startup life. Let’s make sure you’ve got one.
Hubs, Incubators, and Accelerators, Oh My!
Accelerators have connected many startups to investors that helped turn them into unicorns. Now there’s a universe of hubs, incubators, accelerators designed to help startups connect to investors, advisors and customers. Should you apply?
Events
Awareness is a critical prerequisite to startup success. Events like conferences can be a hotbed of investors and new users. Which ones are worth your time?
