how to win startupweekend
DESCRIPTION
StartupWeekend organizer Marsh Sutherland's formula to win StartupWeekend events. From Friday night pitches to secure your team with an emotional connection to your idea to crafting a final Sunday pitch to win the hearts and minds of the judges. Check it out!TRANSCRIPT
How to win Startup Weekend Spokane November 7th - 9th, 2014
!Marsh Sutherland
StartupWeekend Organizer !
Pitch Clinic
Agenda
• Friday night pitches - 1 minute
• Lean Canvas to develop your startup idea
• Sunday afternoon pitches - 5 minutes
About me!
My name is Marsh Sutherland
• Spokane native. Boston tech entrepreneur
• Brought StartupWeekend to Spokane in 2012 with Brett Noyes
• Founder of 5 tech startups. Sold 2.
• 2012 SXSW Accelerator Finalist
• Former AngelHack Boston Organizer
• Pitch judge for MassHack & Princeton alumni startup pitches
Who are you?
• Name?
• Business idea?
• Expectations from this seminar?
Friday Night Pitches• You only have 1 minute….
• “Hi, my name is ______ & my startup is _________”
• Problem - Tell a user story “Rob is frustrated because…”
• Solution - Tell a user story “Rob learned about …”
• How it works - Tell a user story
• Your impressive background and/or “why you care” for an emotional connection
• What team member profiles you are looking for • “Tech stack” developer
• Marketer
• UI/UX Designer
Lean Canvas!
Areas of FocusProblem Solution Key Metrics Unique Value Proposition
Unfair Advantage
Channels
Customer Segments
Cost Structure
Revenue Streams
Lean Canvas Template at https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/
1h47KVLjkUdEazpgi-6KAe1jpZx3AIpVaR3RUJxDfYOU/edit?usp=sharing
SW Spokane Judging Criteria• Business Model
• Customer Validation
• Technical - Execution
• Design - Execution
Business ModelHoly Grail: Is this innovative & disruptive in a big market?!
• Can this idea make money?
• Is there positive customer growth or revenue?
• Is there a customer acquisition / rollout strategy?
• Has a revenue model been defined & is it realistic?
• Is the idea/team ready for capital and execution?
• Would you invest in this company at this point?
Customer ValidationHoly Grail: Did you get users or paying customers?!
• Did the team identify customers (demographic, location etc)?
• Did the team get out and talk to customers? See Elizabeth Yin’s Slideshare at http://www.slideshare.net/dunkhippo33/lean-startup-circle-boston-april-28-2011
• What is the value proposition to customers?
• What channels of communication are used?
• How is the Product/Market fit?
Technical - ExecutionHoly Grail: Did you launch???!
• Is there a functional product (e.g.in the case of an app, did they build one)?
• Were architecture diagrams and API signatures included?
• Which services did they integrate with?
• How much of the product is running on a real server with non-sample data?
Design - ExecutionHoly Grail: Does it have an intuitive & professional look and feel with an obvious value proposition?!
• Does it deliver a compelling and captivating user experience?
• Is it memorable?
• What key insights were gathered over the weekend to go in this creative direction?
Sunday Final Pitches• Slide 1: State the problem in a user story
• Slide 2: State your solution in a user story
• Slide 3/Demo app: SHOW how it works
• Slide 4: Explain your customer validation & rollout strategy. If you have customers, give metrics
• Slide 5: Explain how big your market is & how you will beat competitors
• Slide 5: Explain your revenue model
• Slide 6: Tell about your team & backgrounds
• Slide 7: Explain your next steps & future milestones
Questions??Contacts:!
Marsh Sutherland, @marshsutherland
(617) 999-9211
!
Karen Thurston