selling it services to silicon valley
TRANSCRIPT
SELLING IT SERVICES TO SILICON VALLEY SPEAKING THEIR LANGUAGE
DEC PDP-10 MAINFRAME, 1976 By Michael L. Umbricht, The Retro-Computing Society of RISun-collector at en.wikipedia, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo courtesy Computer History Museum
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“PEOPLE FROM SILICON VALLEY CAN DO ANYTHING” -Elon Musk
Image by OnInnovation
Optimism, Confidence &
Excitement
Closing Deals With Standard
Terms
Avoiding Expectation Disconnect
Telling the Right
Story
HEWLETT-PACKARD HEAQUARTERS, 1939 Image Courtesy of the Computer History Museum
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“I wasn’t a founder in the sense that I contributed
anything scientifically, but in the sense that I signed
the corporation papers and owned founder’s
stock.” - Arthur Rock
Image By Singhaniket255 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Optimism, Confidence &
Excitement
Telling the Right
Story
Being Comfortable &
Familiar
Avoiding Expectation Disconnect
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THE FIRST MEETING IS ABOUT THEM, NOT YOU
BEING A “GREAT SOFTWARE COMPANY” IS NOT ENOUGH
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1. WE TRIED 2. WE FAILED 3. WE LEARNED 4. WE SUCCEEDED 5. NOW WE HELP OTHERS
“Fail fast, fail often.” - Silicon Valley Saying
“VCs bury their dead very quietly.”
- Shikhar Ghosh, Harvard Lecturer
Optimism, Confidence &
Excitement
Being Comfortable &
Familiar
Avoiding Expectation Disconnect
Telling the Right
Story
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COMMUNICATION IS THE MOST COMMON DEAL BREAKER
USE STANDARD AMERICAN TERMS
AN AMERICAN LLC WILL HELP CLOSE DEALS
NEVER COMPETE ON PRICE
Optimism, Confidence &
Excitement
Being Comfortable &
Familiar
Avoiding Expectation Disconnect
Telling the Right
Story
BE THE RIGHT KIND OF ROCKSTARS
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HELP THEM MANAGE THEIR MONEY
TO BUILD A TRUE PARTNERSHIP, HELP THEM MANAGE THEIR BUDGET
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“90% of VC’s add zero value to a startup.”
- Vinod Khosla, CEO Sun
Microsystems
WHAT EVERY SILICON VALLEY STARTUP REALLY WANTS
Image by ForgeMind ArchiMedia
By 2020, there will be 1.4 million new computer science jobs, but only
400,000 US computer science students.
US Venture Capital funding is on track to reach a record $70B this year.