There are reliable guides that ensure you’re doing everything you can to succeed when you attempt to introduce your offering to a target market.

Does it pass muster when you ask if your offering takes the target industry’s trends in consideration. Does it assess the impact your competitors have on your roll out?

Of course, you can take all the steps and still not succeed. Best Practices tells us we have to execute each process step creatively.

Take a look at our Infograph. It’s a great guide to make sure you’re on track toward success.

Omni Channel Marketing

by Ron Shulkin | Mar 26, 2019 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

When B2B technology companies want to reach their target markets, it only makes sense to use an Account Based Marketing approach.

This is an opportunity for the marketing and sales teams to collaborate. The messaging can be consistent and complimentary.

Our prospects begin to notice the technology company is trying to help them solve a problem; to address a challenge…not just sell a them a software license.

When Marketing & Sales Collaborate to Communicate a Consistent Set of Messaging

This is just one more attribute of all the moving parts required to be addressed when we assemable a product launch. You can see additional infographic insights into the Anatomy of a Product Launch here: https://www.fractionalcmogroup.com/additional-resources/

Account Based Marketing Benefits Come With Responsibilities

by Ron Shulkin | Mar 31, 2019 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

Enterprise B2B Marketing Automation has a verifiable and official state of the art plateau: We always wanted hyper personalized communications and now Account Based Marketing technology has caught up with what we always knew was the right way to conduct outreach.

We’ve been waiting for technology to catch up with what we always knew was the right way to do this B2B marketing needs an ABM foundation

Enterprise solution professionals do a lot of research about their target accounts. They find out who the players are, they learn everything they can about them and try to figure out how to speak their language in the content that’s sent their way. They research the target accounts’ industries, try to figure out which of the challenges are the most significant and require some sort of resolution.

When they meet in person, the enterprise solution professional can gain credibility by not wasting anyone’s time…they know what topics are germane. When a marketing outreach program is put into play, target account prospects carry over that same set of high expectations: Don’t waste my time, whatayagot? Email series, subject lines, calls to action and landing pages should speak directly to the target account’s issues. And “how we’re going to put technology to work to make it better”.

The buyer personas include the actual primary decision maker, influencers to the target account and “known experts” in the target account’s industry. Each of these folks are busy and if we want their attention, we have to grab it by pointing out the obvious: “We know a dwindling available expert labor force has to be addressed with automation in order for your company to continue to thrive”. “We know the aviation industry has been plagued with safety concerns. Here’s how we can improve quality control”.

This is messaging the right people in our targeted account really want to read.

Account Based Marketing (ABM) technology enables this sort of hyper personalized communication to happen. At scale. (Whaaattt??? Who said we’re going to be replaced by AI’s?).

Today’s infographic, part of our series, “Anatomy of a Product Launch” looks closely at the simple foundation required to execute on ABM. You can find this image in an enlargeable format here on our resource page: ABM Infograph.

We’re at Technexus for our second presentation.

This time we’ll cover disruptive marketing. We will cover how to think outside of the box when it comes to marketing.

In this session, learn how to:

Address The Problems Buyers Are Trying To Solve

Translate Your Offering’s Features Into Solutions

Frame Your Story to Address Buyer’s Challenges

Cultivate Credibility in the Marketplace

Align Your Product to the Buyer’s Needs

Explain Your New Offering In The Language Of Your Buyers

Or…Content Creation Guidelines.

The first rule of course is Strategy first, Tactic selection second. The choice of which of the myriad tactics we can use to promote a product is made easy when we know what our goals are.

Lean organizations are smart enough to create content with the idea of using it in multiple, re-purposable ways. So each blog post can inspire multiple social posts, a slideshare or an infograph for instance.

Speaking of which, here is this week’s Infograph displaying Marketing Tactics best practices.

You can find this infograph and the whole series in the Anatomy of a Product Launch page on our web site.

What is your SPECIFIC Innovation?

by Ron Shulkin | Apr 16, 2019 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

When your company embraces innovation, it will also cut costs, your quality will improve, and it will be a safer work environment. One Keystone Decision (like embracing innovation as a corporate mandate) can affect every other part of your organization.

A commitment to Innovation can turn into all sorts of successes everywhere. That Keystone for Innovation is held up by all your other efforts, while providing stability for the corporate structure at the same time.

A company that focuses on innovation will…

Be more profitable

Have higher revenues

Implement more cost saving measures

Lead their marketplace with new products

Break out of the pack from amongst their competitors by having the foresight to exploit their market intelligence by leveraging their technological know-how

Use their domain knowledge in new ways to explore unknown market needs.

Those seem like pretty good, cost justified, reasons to invest a company’s money and culture in the practice of innovation pursuits.

Harold R. McAlindon said, ‘The world leaders in innovation and creativity will also be world leaders in everything else.’

Is your offering a new innovation? Take the Innovation Litmus Test so you can be more specific. Here’s a way to tell clients exactly what benefit your innovation brings to the market.

This Innovation Litmus Test will help you be more specific about your Innovation

Top Ten B2B Marketing Best Practices

by Ron Shulkin | May 29, 2019 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

B2B Marketers Keep A Lot of Balls In The Air

A Riddle:

What does the average startup founder have in common with Ganesh?

Hint:

Ganesh is the Lord of Success, Knowledge & Wealth. (Think about it)

Leaders Get Down To Business

OK, maybe its because Ganesh has four hands.

Reminds me of most business leaders I work with who roll up their sleeves because they have a lot to do.

Go To Marketing Services & Pricing

High Level Go-To-marketing Strategy

10-page recommendations report

14-day delivery

Supporting Go-To-Market Strategy

15-page recommendation report

With supporting information

21-day delivery

Detailed Go-To-Market Strategy

Full methodology and deliverables

25-page recommendation report

Full supporting information

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Strategic Roadmap Study & Report

Optimally position both the company and its products for US market penetration
Short and long-term Insight into how current product strategy and offerings align with market trends
High level analysis of current situation (with actionable feedback on existing strategic position, operational gaps and likely growth
Identify a set of strategic growth opportunities responding to current customer demand dynamics, the changing US competitive landscape and other major trends
Collaborative process with company’s management team (and other key stakeholders)
Prioritization of opportunities most attractive and actionable
Develop and articulate a comprehensive growth strategy and roadmap

Phase I Current Situation Assessment Report $47,500

Phase II Strategic Opportunity Development &

Text Box: The most important resource to have at your table to ensure revere growth! Text Box: Secret Weapon

Secret Weapon The most important resource

A close up of a sign

Description automatically generated to have at your table

to ensure revenue growth!

You can’t learn everything you need to know about sales fast enough. You need a sales expert at your table when sales challenges arise!

Sales Expertise At The Table

Often a startup’s founder assumes the role as the company’s primary salesperson. Although armed with smarts, commitment and enthusiasm, they do this with little or no selling experience.

To fill the knowledge gap, I join the team as a marketing and sales consultant. During these engagements, founders see value in having an expert at the table. As I contribute to the collaborative process of strategy creation, I’ve been called a “secret weapon” by some of these clients.

Architecting Your Sales Process

I’m a Fractional CMO. In my view marketing and sales activities are closely intertwined. I hold the belief marketing activities in the B2B world exist only to enhance the sales team’s efforts. Many of my client engagements are requests to provide “expert selling” advice.

More Than One Kind of Fractional CMO

I meet others who also describe themselves as Fractional CMO’s. Each of us bring different work experiences to the table. Some worked at agencies. They know a lot about how to promote a brand. These are primarily B2C oriented thinkers. That’s NOT what I do…I’m a B2B sales & marketing expert.

Pragmatic Marketing

I became a proficient marketing resource out of necessity. Chartered by my clients to launch their new products, results are measured by increases in revenue. I help clients sell their new offerings (often emerging digital technologies). I know a marketing component is required in order to succeed. If no one else is responsible for marketing, I take on these tasks.

B2B Has a Right Way & a Wrong Way

This often includes Account Based Marketing programs, lead generation activities and content creation. We know sales teams need different pieces of content at each stage of the sales cycle (designed to propel the prospect toward a close). In the B2B world I inhabit, marketing deliverables exist to support sales activities.

Your Instinct to Kick Down Doors & Share The Good News (is Probably Wrong)

Startup founders are so excited about the breakthrough (or disruptive) innovation they bring to the market, they’re happy to begin each prospect encounter by telling them about their wonderful new offering. I like to point out it’s a good idea to understand what your prospect wants to buy before you start selling to them.

In other words, a good first meeting is when the buyer tells THEIR story. When the salesperson is doing more listening than talking. I often recommend the selling startup founder write a heading on their notepad: “Why am I talking?”

Build Relationships

Instead of selling your product non-stop, a startup founder who is the face of the company should be out there building relationships. We all hate when we accept a LinkedIn request and 2 seconds later a pitch comes in via message to buy from them. Makes you want to remove the connection.

Ideally, you’re carefully targeting very specific executives at your target companies. You’re just asking to stay connected, perhaps because you admire their work and want to be able to track their career progress. Or even better because you don’t want to miss one of their posts.

When they check out YOUR LinkedIn profile, they should find a Thought Leader in the space you share. They think you’re a thought leader because you’re doing a couple things…

Earning a Prospect’s Trust

Ideally the first prospect meeting is an opportunity to conduct “Discovery”. This means asking lots of questions to understand your buyer’s challenges; their goals; what they worry about. Of course, before you show up you’ve researched the company you’re calling on. Think of that as earning your bachelor’s degree in the XYZ Company. As you continue to meet with your buyer, you discover your prospect’s firsthand insights. You work to eventually hold a Doctorate in XYZ Co.

You’re a worthy business partner when you think mostly how you can help your customer best. You need to become a valued member of their team.

A close up of a sign

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Architecting Your Sales Cycle (Or Think Like Your Buyer)

The truth is we learn something about how to sell our offering every time we interact with buyers. We become that much more competent for the next sales call. With an awareness of all the steps required for buyers to make a purchase, eventually we can architect an ideal sales cycle. We become enabled to walk into each meeting striving to achieve specific outcomes; we guide buyers, so they ask to take the next steps (that we desire most).

Tricks of the Trade

Of course, experience teaches us useful lessons. Here’s some of them:

Sell Value Not Price: Often buyers want you to beat the price of one of your competitors. This might sound good in the moment, but it is more likely that you’re entering The Danger Zone. It may mean you’re “column fodder”. You’re there so the buyer can say they looked at 3 alternatives, even though they have selected the winning vendor (not you) before you met anyone at this company.

Often the “other vendors” put in a lot of (wasted) hours on the opportunity. They expend all sorts of resources. They forecast the sale. These counterbids are used so the buyer can get a better price from their preferred vendor.

Rather than offering a lower price, a counter strategy is to offer to match any bid, not to quote a lower price. “I’m hoping you select my company because you believe we’re the best business partner for you. After you gain confidence in the value we bring, I’m sure we’ll arrive at a price you’ll find agreeable”.

You Can’t Rely On Just One Person At The Company. First off, if you build a relationship only with your champion, you’re out of luck if your champion leaves to take a better job elsewhere before your deal closes. (What we call “Boss, I know this deal is forecast to close this month, but the guy got hit by a bus”)

Once we find a champion at a company, it is easy to want to blindly support them. But most enterprise purchases are made by consensus from among a group of senior executives. That means the CEO, the CMO, the CIO, the CFO must all agree. Instead of trusting your champion to do your selling for you (or rely on your written proposal to make your case).

Wouldn’t it be better to meet with all those decision makers, conduct discovery with each so you understand their individual challenges and show how your offering maps to each stakeholder’s needs?

Often our champion wants to keep you away from these others (to keep their options open to buy from another vendor, or in fear you’ll embarrass the champion). “Mr. Champion, are you the only person on your team who will make this decision? Does this mean you have signing authority for a million dollar purchase? Does IT need to sign off on this? Does the CEO, CMO, CFO need to approve it? You’ve learned a lot about our offering, but I think we can both agree our team is likely better prepared to address any unexpected questions…I’d like to help you get this done. Can I offer to meet with each of these folks to make sure they’re fully on board to support you?”

Asking Hard Questions. Sometimes we must be quite direct while in the role of salesperson. There are things we need to know that fall under the category of “Hard Questions”. “Is this acquisition budgeted? How much is your budget? Do you have a deadline for this purchase? Who else is involved in the final decision? Are you looking at other options? How do we compare to them?”.

~~Sneaking In~~ Integrating Hard Questions Into Discovery. While selling to your buyer, you’re entitled to know the answers to these questions. But they can be integrated into Discovery in a seemingly less awkward manner. That’s another reason to conduct Discovery Sessions.

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Determining Price. We want to price our product, so our company makes the most money possible. The buyer wants to pay the lowest price possible but wants all your other clients to pay list price so your company is profitable and can afford to invest in R&D and continue to enhance the product. There’s some simple math involved when you calculate

I’m not bragging when I say I’m a B2B sales expert. I’ve had to learn about a broad spectrum of technologies in order to help sell and market them. Over time, I’ve learned how to understand new emerging technologies quite swiftly.

It helps that I like to learn new topics. I’m what you call an Intentional Learner. I worked with a team selling CRM software way back when. Those folks are still selling pretty much the same types of offerings (database marketing tools), whereas I’ve always been drawn to embrace “what’s next”, so I can have the privilege of introducing the latest emerging digital marketing technology platforms to my clients.

I’ve sold CRM, Interactive Real Time Video, Content Management, Social Media Management, Collaborative Ideation, Gamification, Shopper Marketing, and Data Warehouse platforms.

I’ve sold software installed behind the client’s firewall, and Software as a Service licenses. I’ve sold PC’s, Networks, Minicomputers and Mainframes. I’ve learned to satisfy business users, IT gatekeepers and those responsible for assuring security.

I’ve sold multimillion dollar enterprise software platform license sales to companies like Orbitz, Phillip Morris (twice), The Chicago Bears (also twice), The Rotary Club, cars.com, IBM, Cisco, AT&T, Halliburton, EDS, Cisco & Sprint (to namedrop a few).

I’ve been a direct contributor, a Branch Manager, a Regional Manager, the Global Vice President for Sales, for Marketing and for both. I’ve had the title Chief Revenue Officer, Marketing Director and Chief Marketing Officer.

I’ve attended virtually every sales training course available (Solution Selling, Miller Heiman, Sandler), picking up useful gems from each.

I’ve faced virtually every challenge one can encounter in an enterprise software platform license sales cycle. OK, that sounds cocky and maybe even it is hyperbole. I’m sure there’s going to be new challenges I haven’t encountered yet coming soon but I can draw on all these experiences to more readily develop strategies to counter them.

Each deal required creative thinking to solve the puzzles we encountered along the way. After a while I’ve become a pretty good puzzle solver. My company logo was selected to express this spirit.

Enlightened CEO’s know getting expert B2B sales advice enables them toy…

shorten sales cycles
discover more qualified opportunities
are less likely to leave money on the table if they have an experienced hand providing advice

There are many ways to becme an expert. And there are many definitions of what constitutes expert status. Malcolm Gladwell famously said 10,000 hours (that’s about 5 years of business hours) is what it takes. Many studies have already disputed this.

Here’s how I became a B2B sales & marketing expert.

You need a feedback loop so as you absorb information, you can try it out, test it, see if it flies with other experts, and so validate it. Then you can modify as you go.

Once you start studying a new technology, you can talk to users, custmoers, competitors, the technical team. You can read all the industry literature. Each encounter informs your understanding.

I’ve been chartered to pitch a slew of new technologies. It requires in-depth study. I’ve noticed each successive learning challenge seems to go faster than the one before. When I started out, management expected me to talke about three months to internalize the messaging. Now I have a self expectation of days.

This rapid skill acquisition is about finding out exactly what you need to change to reach your goal more quickly. So I dive in with both feet. I’m willing to mistakes with prospects (which is why my first pitches are not to my best prospects, but to the ones I’m willing to lose.)

Every time I capture an experience on this road to knowledge, I consciously think about how to simplify, summarize, and compress the information.

I take notes by hand. I routinely transcribe them to a word doc on my computer. This gives me multiple passes at the same information, allowing me to put it into my own words. I try to connect what I’m learning with something I already know. With a body of knowledge about technology platforms, it is pretty easy for me to think of categories and how they all fit.

All this is a bit easier because I like to learn new topics. I like to talk to strangers, to hear their stories. I’m genuinely curious and interested. I try to think like a detective or a newspaper reporter during these discovery sessions. The more I know the better.

I really want to be an expert at the vertical market we’re calling on. And I want to be an expert on this very specific company we’re talking to. I need to know the new product backward and forward. I’m curious how it fits in the landscape considering the competitive landscape, It’s about the pursuit of excellence. It’s about cultivating your strengths. And it’s about learning and growing, so you can contribute more effectively.

Swift, specific and accurate feedback is essential to continued improvement, and it is not easy to get. I

Choose an industry that you find deeply interesting.

Pick a profession at which you have some talent. Talent is simply an aptitude for the subject and an ability to improve over time.

Read trade publications and industry books. Back up your experience with study and research. Stay on top of the newest trends in your industry. ^[4]

Learn from the current experts. Enroll in classes, conferences and certifications that prove you have learned from the best.

“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” Scary isn’t it? Think about who those 5 people are for you. If you want to “up” your professional game, you need to surround yourself with people who elevate you. Expertise is contagious. By spending time with people who are themselves experts in your field, you will naturally “catch” some of their wisdom.

Become a Thought Leader: Experts are never content with the status quo. They’re always looking for the next “evolution” of their profession.

Share Your Knowledge: Experts become more valuable by sharing their skills and knowledge. They always want to be of service to their professional community.

Rigorously Follow Trends: Every field undergoes change, some more rapidly than others. Experts always stay at the forefront. They explore new trends to understand where their industry is headed. This provides the expert with foresight.

Never Stop Learning: You would think at some point experts will have learned everything they could learn to be, well, experts. Wrong. Experts never stop learning. As a matter of fact, most people once they become an expert, will commit to learning more.

I’ve sold CRM, Interactive Real Time Video, Content Management, Social Media Management, Collaborative Ideation, Gamification, Shopper Marketing, and Data Warehouse platforms.

I’ve attended virtually every sales training course available (Solution Selling, Miller Heiman, Sandler), picking up useful gems from each.

Each deal required creative thinking to solve the puzzles we encountered along the way. After a while I’ve become a pretty good puzzle solver. My company logo was selected to express this spirit.

It’s all in the wrist…The art of processing collaboration into innovation and value”.

There’s as much art as science to the innovation process. Oh wait, maybe my point is there’s as much science as art to the innovation process. The thing is… the front end of innovation, the part where ideas are both gathered and enhanced, is notoriously “fuzzy”. The good thing is there is a wealth of social science information that can be applied to the fuzzy activity collaborators contribute allowing structure to be applied to chaos.

The method behind the combination of art and science is to simply assemble all your smart people and encourages them to collaborate. The results include substantially accelerating the innovation process, through connecting in a pro-active way data, people and expertise. Enabling chaos, disrupting the status quo, engenders great ideas…and that’s art. Their activity can be measured…that’s science.

It’s not just gathering ideas, but also gathering collaborators’ other contributions (“did you read this article”; “see this white paper”; “attend this event”?). Instead of sending an email to one or two other people, a collaborative innovation system can raise the education level of everyone on the team. The pursuit to satisfy the intellectual curiosity of smart people coupled with the thrill of intelligent conversation and finding experts when you need them strengthens the best ideas. The collaborative environment readies the very best ideas for production and yields value.

Allowing art to take place within innovation processes can enable the evolution of collaboration into not just innovation but more importantly it leads to measurable value for your company. The measurement takes place with the science part: accumulating social science information from collaborator’s contributions makes clear what those values are.

What is important to a culture is often determined by the collective, not by individuals. Individuals need to be encouraged to participate; to contribute. There is a nuanced art to persuading folks to do the right thing. There is an art to designing the challenges that excite them. There is an art to designing the screens most likely to motivate the calls to action. There is an art to interpreting their collective behavior.

There is an art to assessing the social activity on the system. And there is a science to enabling a bunch of smart folks to assemble on line to collaborate. It’s not just about collecting ideas. It is about developing those best ideas, getting an expert team to help collaborators, analyzing social activity to determine value and applying best practice scientific experiences.

Ron Last Name

about Number words

Title

by

Ron Shulkin

Keeping Up (While Falling Behind)

Recently I gave a talk at a tech incubator reviewing product launch best practices. One young lady in the audience raised her hand during the Q&A. Her name was “Alexa”. I normally like to use a person’s name when I talk to them, but I was worried I’d accidentally fire up (and be interrupted by) an electronic device in the room of the same name.

I wasn’t sure if she was a member of the incubator ($250/month for a place to work at a downtown Chicago address and all the sparkling water you can drink). As she asked her question, I decided she must still be in school. It turns out she was in her last year of college and in a program enabling her incubator membership fees to be waived. Nice!

She asked a good question. Thoroughly laced in naivete, it provided the biggest clue to her student status….” I really admire some of the great experiences you’ve shared in all the examples you used to make your points. I’d like to follow a similar path. Can you tell us how you architected your career”?

Oh, yes, I thought, my career has been comprised of carefully planned and executed steps to arrive here serving as today’s incubator mentor. No, wait it hasn’t.

How do I explain? Where do I start? How do I deliver a response that won’t disillusion this earnest young lady taking her first career steps? However, as usual, I went for the truth. Because, in my experience, that’s where the laughs are born.

“I don’t know that I exactly architected my career…as much as stumbled from one opportunity to the next.” The audience members closer to my age, nodded and smiled.

I’ve observed some people exhibit behaviors they’re forced to act out. victims of their own brain chemistry.

I have an older brother who has to be the hero in all of his stories (even though our Mom isn’t around anymore to appreciate those anecdotes). I have a best friend who easily gets angry when people don’t do exactly what he asks. I think that chip on shoulder makes him think everyone is trying to make his life difficult. My father owned a dental laboratory, where forty technicians fabricated dental prosthetics. He felt responsible for quality control I watched him reject every single item as imperfect…a pursuit to reproduce ad replace what God created, always falling short. My Dad always disappointed.

Like these folks, the zig zags that serve as a map to my career choices were often driven by my brain chemistry. I’m what others call an “intentional learner”. I’m not a saint nor a scholar, I just have a compulsion to avoid the boredom that comes once I’ve mastered a new topic.

Psych professionals note that we adult ADHD types can focus for extended periods of time on things we are passionate about. I’m not as good mustering focus for the things I’m responsible for. I can’t seem to put in the time required to address the deadlines looming on my calendar (like paying bills on time).

My spare time is spent obsessively monitoring emerging digital technologies.

The thing is, I love to launch products. The skill I’ve developed during this career Alexa asked about, is an ability to explain these new technologies to business people in terms they understand. And appreciate.

The group of fellas I started out working with, when we first began to sell technology to big companies (because they have lots of money) are essentially working the same jobs.

In the eighties we sold CRM software platforms (customer relationship management systems). The good thing in that era was that every company began to understand they need to track all the clients (and prospects) in a CRM. We all sold a lot of software licenses. And I sold the most.

Every three or five years I would explore a new technology and join a new team. This forced me to learn new technologies (well enough to explain it to other non-technologists). I had to learn new industries, to help them appreciate that this new offering was not just fast and shiny, but could help them overcome challenges facing everyone in their industry.

(I discovered Casino membership lists were populated by an ever increasingly older demographic. The writing on the wall? Get younger members, here’s how this new tech can help. Suddenly diners were no longer loyal to any given restaurant…they just looked up what sounded like a good story on Yelp. Statistics revealed four visits were required for a diner to become loyal, here’s a new technology to engage your customers and propel them to the fourth visit).

Those guys I started with continued to sell CRM, or all the future versions of that sort of platform…mostly migrating to database marketing. My career was interesting. Theirs were stable. Please don’t ask my wife which one she would have preferred.

In fact, I’m never relaxed. I’m always worrying about what’s next.

I wanted to tell Alexa, “Here’s what it looks like in MY head…”

Enough With the Warnings Already

It’s hard to think with the warning klaxons wailing and the strobing red lights blinking. It is also hard to turn off the klaxons and the lights when they’re doing their best to warn me of the imminent danger of this whole place exploding. Well, not the whole place. Just the room I’m in.

The door has sealed itself shut as part of the security system. I really have two choices. I can disarm the security system or I can say my prayers. I confess, it’s hard to form a cohesive, cogent prayer, a plea; a message to God, when the klaxons and the lights are so distracting.

And it is hard to disarm the system when the perspiration from my forehead is dripping on the wires, I need to disconnect in order to disarm the security system. This scenario is not a formula for success.

It seems like God is taunting me, what with my prize resting comfortably in my pocket. I’m that close to succeeding. The AI that runs this challenge is ignoring my requests to lower the temperature in this room. The AI and God both are ignoring my requests to turn off the klaxons and lights.

And God is ignoring my requests to come up with any ideas about how to fix this situation.

Of course, my twelve-step program suggests I’m only supposed to pray to God for a knowledge of his will…and to give me the power to carry it out. Which is part of the eleventh step. I’m sort of stuck in steps five through nine, so I don’t feel too bad about my struggle with this notion of turning it all over to God. Personally, I still think I can control outcomes.

I’m going to reinvent myself. Again. So, I can take that prize out of my pocket, use it to pay the rent for the next stretch, and I guess that’s about as close to architecting a career as there ever was.

Wait, Did You Say Reinvent Yourself?

When social media bubbled up into our consciousness and lives, it enabled easy reinvention. Those moments of reinvention in MY career were architected actually. Because the folks who hire sales professionals like me, wanted an “expert”.

Risky

Sixty

Convinced me

Risk taker

Ice breaker

Computer

Straight shooter

Reading tutor

nom de plume,

zoom

school room

upstairs bedroom

covid

beloved

conceding

ceding

proceeding

exceeding

reader

cheerleader

could

reading

cheerleading

leading

would

should

good

you’d

knew

ado

you

through

revenue

did

amid

forbid

retire

admire

aspire

wildfire

catch on fire

qualifier

pivot

limit

ticket

exhibit

implicit

book club

books of

pure love

excellence

elegance

academic

phonetics

quarantine

machine

confident

consequence

compliment

whisperer

entrepreneur,

Love is an action verb. Get up and do something about it. Show those you care about you love them. Don’t take love for granted. A life long love affair is its own reward. Love is the most important thing.

Look people in the eye. Give others a firm handshake. Ask people to repeat their names until you hear it clearly. People will be flattered your trying to get it right. Repeat their name out loud or to yourself until you can remember it. Learn at least one thing about them and associate it with their name.

When you’re not the leader be a cheerleader. Someone needs to lead, but it doesn’t have to be you. Be positive. Keep moving forward. Take risks. It is OK to fail when you try something, just fail fast so you don’t spend too much money on it. Everyone respects the person who starts out with “nothing” (but a good idea) and turns it into “something”. Be open to others’ opinions; Collaboration yields more flushed out ideas. Trust your judgement. We all know a “hit” when we hear it. If no one is leading, step up and give everyone their fair chance to contribute.

Keep your bucket straight. Your posture counts…It presents you to the world as an upright citizen. It prevents back aches. Imagine the top of your head is drawn toward the ceiling.

Stand up when a lady comes to the table. Hold the door for ladies, even strangers, in fact especially strangers. Walk on the curb side while walking with a lady to protect her from traffic. Find the beauty in the ladies you’re with. Leap up to help someone with a physical challenge to help them enjoy a room the way you are able to do. Be patient with people who exhibit behaviors they cannot help but to indulge.

Give back at work. Be a mentor. Try to see their best and encourage them to pursue efforts to bolster their strengths. Reward good behaviors by acknowledging them. Ask others about their plan before telling yours.

Go out of your way to be kind to those who need it. Everyone is important and matters. Sit down next to the loneliest looking person in the room. Stand up for the little guy. Treat those who cannot do anything for you the same way you treat someone who can do something for you. Make conversation with the valets, not the drivers of the fancy cars. Everyone has a story to tell, ask folks to tell you theirs. The people who others think are the best conversationalists are really just good listeners. Change the world one person at a time.

As people get older, they boil down to their essence; Decide who you are at your end

Think about what your mantra will be when you meditate, the things we say, the ways we act, become second nature and part of us.

God made you beautiful and smart; You should be most proud of yourself when you’re kind to those that need it.

You’re the sum total of the five people you surround yourself with; take a look around and consider your choices.

In some situations, when you just can’t control events, the only thing you can hold on to is your integrity. Act as if your mother is watching.

Live in the moment. Be present. Listen to what others are saying, not just plan for what you’re going to say next. Enjoy each bit of food, chew slowly, put your fork down in between each bite. Learn from your experiences, but don’t look back chronically, that’s the path to depression. Plan ahead, but don’t focus too much on the future, that’s the path to anxiety.

Cultivating your social media network is just not the same nor as valuable as meeting professional contacts in person. Nurture high quality relationships with people from varying spheres. A diverse crowd can help you learn, make decisions with less bias, and grow personally. The best kinds of connections are “energizers”–positive, trustworthy individuals who enjoy other people and always see opportunities, even in challenging situations. People who provide information, ideas, or expertise; or provide introductions that facilitate additional relationships. Formally and informally powerful people, who offer mentoring and political support. People who give developmental feedback; they know your topics (better or differently than you). And the Cheerleader Squad should include People who lend personal support; who increase your sense of purpose or worth and who promote work/life balance

A Companion Guide To Fractional CMO Group’s Masterclass for Pitching To Angel Investors

by Ron Shulkin

RON SHULKIN WWW.FRACTIONALCMOGROUP.COM

FRACTIONAL CMO GROUP LLC https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronshulkin/

RONSHULKIN@GMAIL.COM

847.612.2139

Be Like Jobs, Spielberg, Twain & Will Rogers: TELL A STORY

Memorable Stories

People remember stories even when they don’t remember facts or data.

When you deliver your pitch to an audience of investors, you’re trying to get them to jump on board. This is your big chance to share your sense of purpose, your enthusiasm and your ambitions. With hopes of sweeping them into your orbit, the best way to do this is to tell a compelling story.

A Three Act Play

Start thinking of your delivery of an investor pitch deck as “theater”. In fact, it might help if you think of your story as a three-act play.

Introduction

What’s Your Problem?

The beginning act is your opportunity to describe the problem you encountered. You share the moment you discovered the origin of the problem. Don’t take a chance on whether or not the audience will appreciate the magnitude of the problem. You’ll also give them a detailed description of why this problem is disturbing.

Everyone Relates

Everyone in the audience can relate to this problem. Perhaps someone they know well has had to deal with the problem. Ideally, your audience members can easily imagine how horrifying it would be to one day face this problem.

Ideally At This Point, You’ve Captured the Attention of The Audience

The Investors in the Audience are now on the edge-of-their-seat. They wait to learn how you are going to make things better

Development

Compelling Stories Involve People

Try to mention any dramatic players involved in your discovery of the problem. Mention any advisors or team members whose contributions are helpful along your way.

You are the protagonist of this story. In fact, this is an Origin Story. Because when we get to the end, you are the stories’ hero.

Ups & Downs

The audience can identify more closely with you if your story avoids a linear route. Investors are people. People understand life is dynamic.

As you zigged and zagged to get here, you learned from each step; from each person you encountered. You overcame obstacles. You had mis-steps, and even failures. They all proved informative. Each step pushed us one more step closer to the final version of the offering.

Climax

All Great Stories Have A “Turning Point”

Take a breath everyone, because in this story there is a moment of crisis. This is a point of time where you’re faced with a decision. You make your choice to do something.

Describe The Great Idea You’re Bringing to The Table

Only you have this unique offering; this ideally and elegantly designed solution. You have the right team. You have a vision how your company will scale.

Call To Action

This is when you restate your “Ask”, now that your audience can appreciate your value, not just hear the cost. Briefly let the audience know you are happy to talk about the details of becoming an investor.

End / Q & A

This is the end of your story, and hopefully this time period is filled with audience questions and your concise responses.

The Audience Expects You to Be Well Versed in Your Topic

When you practice, spend time anticipating questions, prepare your responses. Short, straightforward responses, designed to put the issue to bed, are ideal. Try not to elaborate (it will just raise more questions). Offer more detailed information as a follow up. You want to be able to move on; to fit in all the questions.

The Curse of Too Much Knowledge*

Don’t let all that knowledge you’ve accumulated with this venture come pouring out because you know so many good reasons your offering will succeed in the market.

Remember

Be authentic. Use humor. Be comfortable being yourself. The investor audience in attendance at a pitch presentation show up to hear good stories. They’re rooting for your success.

Then get out there and tell a great story.

* A notion engendered from the team at BNChicago.com

Pitch Night? Get Ready to Wow the Crowd!

First …. A Tale of Pitch Presentation Failure

I’ve seen startup founders apply for and schedule a presenter slot at a monthly pitch event

They put in hours learning in a Pitch Presentation Masterclass, led by BNC mentors, investors and messaging specialists.

Here’s the punch line.

Having teed up a pitch right down the middle, they whiffed it.

Sure, they were wrapped up in their company’s day to day tactical plan execution. It’s still a “swing & a miss”

They didn’t make time to practice.

No additional time was invested refining their deck to make it perfect. They used the same slide deck they use to sell to prospects, or to pitch investors, and to motivate candidates.

They did not fare well. No investors tried to get them in a head lock to take their money. But with a slight twist, a bit of prep, they could have knocked it out of the park.

Be Prepared

When I suggest you should be “prepared” for a pitch to investors, I mean you should have a plan of what you want to accomplish (otherwise how will you measure your performance?)

And you should practice.

I always think, well heck, founders know their story. It is an internalized set of thoughts, a story easily and passionately told requiring no notes. They don’t need slides, but let’s face it, they are expected on Pitch night.

Organize Your Speech (A Strategic Plan to Get Your Audience Engaged)

I read once that Jackie Collins gave advice on how to write a good novel. She said, “Put a Zetz at the beginning and ending of every chapter.”. For her it wasn’t shoving words onto paper. She had a strategic plan to get her audience engaged in her storytelling, and keep them engaged until she was finished telling it.

Presenters should start and end with the most important takeaways. The audience will remember these most

Create a Fantastic Introduction

You never know who will be introducing you. Create one yourself by writing a paragraph about yourself that gets the audience excited.

Conquer the Audience’s Attention

Loosen up. You’re on. You’re the star. You do not need to follow a chronological order for your talk. Add a question to interact with your investor audience, drop a joke or tell a case study. Point a finger, say someone’s name in the audience (that’ll wake ‘em up).

You Have The Floor. Don’t Waste Your Opportunity

Use an Attention-Grabber

Here’s what I like to say about me (and my company) “We have a storied history quarterbacking the global launch of emerging digital marketing platforms. This has included CRM (sold to DoubleClick), New Product Development (sold to EY), Interactive Real Time Consumer Engagement also sold, Interactive Online Media (way before Zoom), Social Media Management (sold). Working with founders preparing for pitch events and contributing to the creation of their strategic launch plans, my team and I are scary good B2B sales & marketing troubleshooters”.

Make Your Case

There is a need in market and, knowing this one problem, only we can solve it; The competition doesn’t do that. Nobody does. Just us. And That’s Why This is a Great, Exciting Project. That You Should Want In On.

Don’t Apologize

…at the start of your speech. Never reveal to the audience your possible insecurities about speaking. Or that you are running late. Or that your equipment doesn’t work. Or that you didn’t practice (that’ll impress them with sincere indifference).

It won’t charm anyone; the investors in the audience will stop listening and be uncomfortable.

Have A Central Theme And Topic

What is the main message you want to pass on today? “Yes People! Fractional CMO Group are very good at identifying buyers, learning their language, and crafting powerful messaging that moves action. This is all powered by a history of experiences AND intuitive leaps.

For me that theme is:

Every Engagement Pays for Itself! (Otherwise, why bother?)

Have An Impactful Intro And Conclusion

OK, we’re back to Jackie Collins, I think.

Just like an appointment with a prospect, or with a client, work to meet your audience of investors where they live. Use language that your audience will understand.
Offer proof, evidence for your claims. Provide examples and analogies that make your points more relatable.

When Questions Come Up

Don’t freak out. Act like the most polished of public figures.

Seek to understand
Take ownership and accountability
Stay in the moment, not in their head, in order to use active listening skills

You are a Visionary and as such, it’s your job to ask questions, push back and challenge conventional thinking

Wrap Up

So, to get to Carnegie Hall you have to practice. To be a good story teller, well, you better know that story better than anyone else. It’s YOUR story. You better be able to tell the “heck” out of it.

You Are The Expert On This ONE THING

Be Confident, Concise and Authoritative.
Take your big dream and Share the Vision
Keep it snappy and end surprisingly early for your allotted time
Practice. You’ll be ready to shoot for the moon.

PITCHING IS THEATER

Put On A Show

There’s more to this than telling your story. You don’t want what you’re wearing, where you’re standing, or what’s going on behind you to distract your audience from hearing your message.

Get ready to appear before your audience as someone who can make this idea a profitable reality. A pro like that does not show up dressed as a programmer, or with cats and kids wandering around in the Zoom background.

OK, You Know the Topic, Begin to Command Confidence

Focus on explaining your concept or idea to the investors in the audience.

Focus on specific subject matter, such as people, events, and places. You need to be the expert in the room because you have researched the topic.

You Need To Know The Ins And Outs Of Your Content By Heart

Be Persuasive

You are the orchestra leader, in charge of convincing the audience to invest in you. You aspire to gain their agreement with your viewpoint

Be Yourself

Talk about things you believe in, things you know very well. Know very well what you want to say, make sure your physical appearance reflects all this.

Keep your pitch short and simple. Nobody wants to sit for an hour just to be informed about something.

When It’s Showtime

Release nervous energy with controlled breathing. Slow down your breathing in the minute before giving your talk to release nervous energy. Then, assume the super hero stance. It will make you feel powerful. It works.

Posture

Walk with your shoulders back and chin up.

Stand tall. Be super conscious of your stance. Be sure both feet are firmly planted on the floor with your weight evenly distributed. Lean just slightly forward when you are speaking, so your audience sees your engagement with them.

Eye Contact

Maintain direct eye contact when you introduce yourself and while the person is talking to you. Avoid distracting mannerisms, like tapping a pencil or moving your arms too much. Make eye contact with each person in the room, and sustain it for four to seven seconds per person, or longer if there are fewer people. When on Zoom, look at the camera, not your notes; not another screen to read your notes.

Body Language

Use purposeful hand movements to reinforce your points and communicate energy. Avoid distracting mannerisms, like tapping a pencil or moving your arms too much.

Dress

Choose comfortable clothes while still looking professional. White Dress Shirt Sleeves Rolled to the Elbow (Ready to Go to Work)

Consciously smile. This will create a warmth about you and people will want to talk to you. By smiling you can make your speech more welcoming. Be upbeat. Be enthusiastic.

You Can Do This. The Stage Will Be Your Friend If You’re Prepared

Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve

Consider The Effect of Your Appearance, Voice and Your Gestures

Not Just a Good Story, But The Way You Tell It

TRUSTWORTHY

Any audience wants to instantly like a presenter. They want to feel the presenter is warm, kind, intelligent and human. It’s up to you to put these characteristics on display.

This Speaker Knows Their Stuff

This is about being trustworthy. Not “appearing” trustworthy. Actually, being trustworthy because you know your topic. Obviously, you are the right person who can pull off this big idea you’re discussing.

Audiences Want To Like You

After all, investors in the audience attend a pitch presentation, because they’re hoping to find a winning startup idea. More importantly they’re hoping to meet a startup founder who inspires confidence. Someone to believe in. Someone they can talk to and relate.

Investors in attendance at a pitch event are rooting for your success

During your moment of truth, when you step up and begin your pitch, your body is probably busy managing adrenalin. But the trick to win over investors is pretty simple (and is inside of you).

Be Warm, Kind, Intelligent. & Human: Be Authentic. Be Invested.

Always sound natural. Sound professional and rehearsed, but not robotic. Show Passion. Know What You’re Talking About

Stay Cool

Be disciplined even when you are flustered or someone’s winding you up. Tell personal stories that connect you with your audience. Play to your strengths. If you’re funny, be yourself. Use the stage if appropriate. Your audience will find you interesting and exciting. They are more likely to stay engaged.

Eye Contact

It’s hard to trust someone who doesn’t look you in the eye. Make eye contact with each person in the audience. If you’re on Zoom look into the camera.

Voice

Your voice represents you as much as your appearance (or your LinkedIn profile or your web site). Speak With a Strong Voice. Vary Intonation. Pause For Emphasis. Breathe From the Diaphragm. Don’t speak too quietly. If you can’t muster up the necessary enthusiasm required, then speak LOUDER. Your audience will perceive your louder delivery as evidence of enthusiasm*.

First Rule of Theater:

Make Sure Those Furthest Away from You Can Clearly Hear You

Smile

This might seem simplistic, but let’s face it, we all want to hang out with positive folks who are going somewhere. When you step up, create a warmth. Be welcoming. Be upbeat. Be enthusiastic.

Pace

Use A Pleasant Pace

Use your pace to set the tone for the story you’re telling. Take your time.

Have a rhythm. Use silence in your favor. Speak slowly and clearly. Emphasize important parts. Vary volume & enunciation. Calmness communicates confidence.

Refine Your Pitch Until It Fits

There’s no excuse for having your pitch go longer than your assigned time limit. You should be practicing ahead of time.

Posture

Stand up straight. Shoulders back. Chin up. Not like you have a stick up your back. Stand proud.

Still Got Questions?

You’re always welcome to schedule a free, no obligation brainstorming session with Ron Shulkin. I can’t wait to hear your story! Sign up here. https://www.fractionalcmogroup.com/coaching/

I love these 30 minute sessions.

With only so much time,

It has the urgency of playing Jeopardy

LIGHTENING ROUND

We’re all good at something. I like to talk to strangers.
As a Fractional Marketing & Sales resource, and fueled by intellectual curiosity, I’m pretty good at quickly learning new concepts.
With just 30 minutes, and a passion for problem solving, I feel a responsibility to deliver something useful.
These calls are collaborative efforts. Get ready to contribute.

Let’s Put Our Heads Together!

INTENTIONAL LEARNER I like meeting strangers and I like hearing their stories. I know I’ll always learn something.
INTUITIVE LEAPS When you do anything over and over again, year after year, if you’re paying attention, you get pretty good at it. I’m pretty good at grasping the benefits emerging innovations.
COLLABORATION I hope we can put our heads together with a goal to provide clarity.

Marketing & Sales Authority

A Successful Track Record Guiding Emerging Technologies to Market

Helping Investors & Buyers Appreciate The Value of Our Clients’ Offerings

Ron is the founder of Fractional CMO Group, LLC. He has a great history guiding new offerings to market, enabling buyers to appreciate client’s stories. Offering Fractional CMO services OnDemand, Ron steps up as a collaborative team member for emerging technology companies.

He is a marketing & sales authority, guiding marketing strategies, architecting go-to-market product launch plans and designing transformation roadmaps.

WE’VE DONE THIS BEFORE!

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

Practical Advice

Ron’s presentation was not only in-depth but also very practical and implemented right away. Without any fluff, he was able to inspire to dig deeper and follow steps to get to what you are looking for!

-Abhilasha Konduru· Marketing Strategist in EV industry



Turn Products Into Solutions

It’s important to understand each client’s business and find the right solution which Ron always strives hard to do. It was a pleasure to work with Ron, a great guy to have on your team!

– Karen Shotliff Innovation, Change & Creativity



Putting Experience To Work

With a thorough understanding of the ‘systems’ sales cycle and a tenacity and energy level that is infectious Ron excels in the commercial world. From lead generation to contract closure Ron’s sales expertise is evident at every step. A keen collaborator he is always willing to share his expertise with likeminded enthusiasts.

-Ian Smith· Chief Marketer



Intuitive Leaps

Most remarkable was Ron’s ability to swiftly become a subject matter expert in this new milieu. Ron is a smart, intuitive salesperson and a valuable asset to any team he’s part of.

-Tim Dockery Vice President for Advancement at Ave Maria University

CLIENT ENGAGEMENT SUCCESES

Interactive Video Platform Global Launch

In 2004 we designed the global Go-To-Market launch strategy

We led the partner channel and direct sales teams while introducing one of the first interactive, enterprise video platforms.

Companies like AT&T, IBM, Halliburton and many others helped drive over achievement revenue

Incubator Pivot and Re-Brand

Led the organizational & message transformation from member-model, FinTech incubator to acknowledged industry expert and large event production sponsor. Created an iterative, scalable and portable revenue stream.

Navigating a Message Pivot

In 2016, Fractional CMO Group guided the product launch and US market expansion for a UK-based emerging digital marketing platform

The Challenge: They boasted they were the premier “Gamification” platform out there. US buyers thought gamification was “old hat”.

We quarterbacked the pivot with a modified message of “Interactive Engagement with Real-Time Monitoring”.

Enterprise Platform Global Rollout

COGNISTREAMER Idea Management Platform

· Architected Worldwide Product Launch

ü Sold beachhead clients

ü Delivering informative content, webinars, videos, e-books, pitch decks and hundreds of blog posts

ü Led the 1000+ strong LinkedIn Idea Management Group

A Companion Guide To Fractional CMO Group’s Masterclass for Pitching To Angel Investors

by Ron Shulkin

Be Like Jobs, Spielberg, Twain & Will Rogers: TELL A STORY

Memorable Stories

People remember stories even when they don’t remember facts or data.

A Three Act Play

Start thinking of your delivery of an investor pitch deck as “theater”. In fact, it might help if you think of your story as a three-act play.

Introduction

What’s Your Problem?

Everyone Relates

Ideally At This Point, You’ve Captured the Attention of The Audience

The Investors in the Audience are now on the edge-of-their-seat. They wait to learn how you are going to make things better

Development

Compelling Stories Involve People

Try to mention any dramatic players involved in your discovery of the problem. Mention any advisors or team members whose contributions are helpful along your way.

You are the protagonist of this story. In fact, this is an Origin Story. Because when we get to the end, you are the stories’ hero.

Ups & Downs

The audience can identify more closely with you if your story avoids a linear route. Investors are people. People understand life is dynamic.

Climax

All Great Stories Have A “Turning Point”

Take a breath everyone, because in this story there is a moment of crisis. This is a point of time where you’re faced with a decision. You make your choice to do something.

Describe The Great Idea You’re Bringing to The Table

Only you have this unique offering; this ideally and elegantly designed solution. You have the right team. You have a vision how your company will scale.

Call To Action

End / Q & A

This is the end of your story, and hopefully this time period is filled with audience questions and your concise responses.

The Audience Expects You to Be Well Versed in Your Topic

The Curse of Too Much Knowledge*

Don’t let all that knowledge you’ve accumulated with this venture come pouring out because you know so many good reasons your offering will succeed in the market.

Remember

Be authentic. Use humor. Be comfortable being yourself. The investor audience in attendance at a pitch presentation show up to hear good stories. They’re rooting for your success.

Then get out there and tell a great story.

* A notion engendered from the team at BNChicago.com

Pitch Night? Get Ready to Wow the Crowd!

First …. A Tale of Pitch Presentation Failure

I’ve seen startup founders apply for and schedule a presenter slot at a monthly pitch event

They put in hours learning in a Pitch Presentation Masterclass, led by BNC mentors, investors and messaging specialists.

Here’s the punch line.

Having teed up a pitch right down the middle, they whiffed it.

Sure, they were wrapped up in their company’s day to day tactical plan execution. It’s still a “swing & a miss”

They didn’t make time to practice.

No additional time was invested refining their deck to make it perfect. They used the same slide deck they use to sell to prospects, or to pitch investors, and to motivate candidates.

They did not fare well. No investors tried to get them in a head lock to take their money. But with a slight twist, a bit of prep, they could have knocked it out of the park.

Be Prepared

When I suggest you should be “prepared” for a pitch to investors, I mean you should have a plan of what you want to accomplish (otherwise how will you measure your performance?)

And you should practice.

Organize Your Speech (A Strategic Plan to Get Your Audience Engaged)

Presenters should start and end with the most important takeaways. The audience will remember these most

Create a Fantastic Introduction

You never know who will be introducing you. Create one yourself by writing a paragraph about yourself that gets the audience excited.

Conquer the Audience’s Attention

You Have The Floor. Don’t Waste Your Opportunity

Use an Attention-Grabber

Make Your Case

Don’t Apologize

It won’t charm anyone; the investors in the audience will stop listening and be uncomfortable.

Have A Central Theme And Topic

For me that theme is:

Every Engagement Pays for Itself! (Otherwise, why bother?)

Have An Impactful Intro And Conclusion

OK, we’re back to Jackie Collins, I think.

Just like an appointment with a prospect, or with a client, work to meet your audience of investors where they live. Use language that your audience will understand.
Offer proof, evidence for your claims. Provide examples and analogies that make your points more relatable.

When Questions Come Up

Don’t freak out. Act like the most polished of public figures.

Seek to understand
Take ownership and accountability
Stay in the moment, not in their head, in order to use active listening skills

You are a Visionary and as such, it’s your job to ask questions, push back and challenge conventional thinking

Wrap Up

You Are The Expert On This ONE THING

Be Confident, Concise and Authoritative.
Take your big dream and Share the Vision
Keep it snappy and end surprisingly early for your allotted time
Practice. You’ll be ready to shoot for the moon.

PITCHING IS THEATER

Put On A Show

There’s more to this than telling your story. You don’t want what you’re wearing, where you’re standing, or what’s going on behind you to distract your audience from hearing your message.

OK, You Know the Topic, Begin to Command Confidence

Focus on explaining your concept or idea to the investors in the audience.

Focus on specific subject matter, such as people, events, and places. You need to be the expert in the room because you have researched the topic.

You Need To Know The Ins And Outs Of Your Content By Heart

Be Persuasive

You are the orchestra leader, in charge of convincing the audience to invest in you. You aspire to gain their agreement with your viewpoint

Be Yourself

Talk about things you believe in, things you know very well. Know very well what you want to say, make sure your physical appearance reflects all this.

Keep your pitch short and simple. Nobody wants to sit for an hour just to be informed about something.

When It’s Showtime

Posture

Walk with your shoulders back and chin up.

Eye Contact

Body Language

Use purposeful hand movements to reinforce your points and communicate energy. Avoid distracting mannerisms, like tapping a pencil or moving your arms too much.

Dress

Choose comfortable clothes while still looking professional. White Dress Shirt Sleeves Rolled to the Elbow (Ready to Go to Work)

Consciously smile. This will create a warmth about you and people will want to talk to you. By smiling you can make your speech more welcoming. Be upbeat. Be enthusiastic.

You Can Do This. The Stage Will Be Your Friend If You’re Prepared

Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve

Consider The Effect of Your Appearance, Voice and Your Gestures

Not Just a Good Story, But The Way You Tell It

TRUSTWORTHY

Any audience wants to instantly like a presenter. They want to feel the presenter is warm, kind, intelligent and human. It’s up to you to put these characteristics on display.

This Speaker Knows Their Stuff

Audiences Want To Like You

Investors in attendance at a pitch event are rooting for your success

During your moment of truth, when you step up and begin your pitch, your body is probably busy managing adrenalin. But the trick to win over investors is pretty simple (and is inside of you).

Be Warm, Kind, Intelligent. & Human: Be Authentic. Be Invested.

Always sound natural. Sound professional and rehearsed, but not robotic. Show Passion. Know What You’re Talking About

Stay Cool

Eye Contact

It’s hard to trust someone who doesn’t look you in the eye. Make eye contact with each person in the audience. If you’re on Zoom look into the camera.

Voice

First Rule of Theater:

Make Sure Those Furthest Away from You Can Clearly Hear You

Smile

This might seem simplistic, but let’s face it, we all want to hang out with positive folks who are going somewhere. When you step up, create a warmth. Be welcoming. Be upbeat. Be enthusiastic.

Pace

Use A Pleasant Pace

Use your pace to set the tone for the story you’re telling. Take your time.

Have a rhythm. Use silence in your favor. Speak slowly and clearly. Emphasize important parts. Vary volume & enunciation. Calmness communicates confidence.

Refine Your Pitch Until It Fits

There’s no excuse for having your pitch go longer than your assigned time limit. You should be practicing ahead of time.

Posture

Stand up straight. Shoulders back. Chin up. Not like you have a stick up your back. Stand proud.

Still Got Questions?

You’re always welcome to schedule a free, no obligation brainstorming session with Ron Shulkin. I can’t wait to hear your story! Sign up here.

I love these 30 minute sessions.

With only so much time,

It has the urgency of playing Jeopardy

LIGHTENING ROUND

We’re all good at something. I like to talk to strangers.
As a Fractional Marketing & Sales resource, and fueled by intellectual curiosity, I’m pretty good at quickly learning new concepts.
With just 30 minutes, and a passion for problem solving, I feel a responsibility to deliver something useful.
These calls are collaborative efforts. Get ready to contribute.

Let’s Put Our Heads Together!

INTENTIONAL LEARNER I like meeting strangers and I like hearing their stories. I know I’ll always learn something.
INTUITIVE LEAPS When you do anything over and over again, year after year, if you’re paying attention, you get pretty good at it. I’m pretty good at grasping the benefits emerging innovations.
COLLABORATION I hope we can put our heads together with a goal to provide clarity.

Marketing & Sales Authority

A Successful Track Record Guiding Emerging Technologies to Market

Helping Investors & Buyers Appreciate The Value of Our Clients’ Offerings

He is a marketing & sales authority, guiding marketing strategies, architecting go-to-market product launch plans and designing transformation roadmaps.

WE’VE DONE THIS BEFORE!

Take a look at some of these Fractional CMO Group Engagements & Testimonials

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

Practical Advice

-Abhilasha Konduru· Marketing Strategist in EV industry



Turn Products Into Solutions

It’s important to understand each client’s business and find the right solution which Ron always strives hard to do. It was a pleasure to work with Ron, a great guy to have on your team!

– Karen Shotliff Innovation, Change & Creativity



Putting Experience To Work

-Ian Smith· Chief Marketer



Intuitive Leaps

Most remarkable was Ron’s ability to swiftly become a subject matter expert in this new milieu. Ron is a smart, intuitive salesperson and a valuable asset to any team he’s part of.

-Tim Dockery Vice President for Advancement at Ave Maria University

CLIENT ENGAGEMENT SUCCESES

Interactive Video Platform Global Launch

In 2004 we designed the global Go-To-Market launch strategy

We led the partner channel and direct sales teams while introducing one of the first interactive, enterprise video platforms.

Companies like AT&T, IBM, Halliburton and many others helped drive over achievement revenue

Incubator Pivot and Re-Brand

Navigating a Message Pivot

In 2016, Fractional CMO Group guided the product launch and US market expansion for a UK-based emerging digital marketing platform

The Challenge: They boasted they were the premier “Gamification” platform out there. US buyers thought gamification was “old hat”.

We quarterbacked the pivot with a modified message of “Interactive Engagement with Real-Time Monitoring”.

Enterprise Platform Global Rollout

COGNISTREAMER Idea Management Platform

· Architected Worldwide Product Launch

ü Sold beachhead clients

ü Delivering informative content, webinars, videos, e-books, pitch decks and hundreds of blog posts

The End of the Middleman: Blockchain, Your Identity, and Smart Contracts

Ron Shulkin

Fractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | Troubleshooter
82 articles
January 10, 2018
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Establishing Your Digital identity
The Problem

Right now proving who you are to someone on the phone is difficult. And think about how often you currently have to establish your identity on line.
There is a high level of security, checking, authentication and authorization when you call your bank, or insurance or cable company. You have to go through a rigorous process of passwords, symbol recognition, “the last four of your social”, your account number, your address…all before you can talk to someone.
How Blockchain Fixes Identity

Once you register your identity on the blockchain you can re-use that identification for everything. Plus, with blockchain you are able to choose how to identify yourself and who will be informed.

Blockchain technologies make tracking and managing digital identities both secure and efficient, resulting in seamless sign-on and reduced fraud.
This makes it easy to officially change your name or your gender identification, and enables you to secure your devices.
Identity Leads to Protecting Everyone in a Transaction (The End of the Middleman)
Ashish Gadnis founded Banqu when he tried to help an African coffee farmer get a bank account. She had no documentable identity so the banker told them “I can’t bank her, but I can bank you”. She couldn’t prove she owned any land, that she had pulled in a coffee harvest…she essentially had no “economic passport”.
By helping her establish her identity using Blockchain, she has the same access to banking as anyone else (and can be on the road to wealth creation).
This Identification capability of blockchain is a great enforcer of democracy and equal rights. Think how this helps refugees, who leave their homeland with few possessions, money or ID.
The End of the Middlemen

Which seems only fair, because in case you didn’t know, Fair Trade coffee is not all that fair. The consumer doesn’t know how much a farmer is paid for her coffee harvest; there are a bunch of middlemen or distributors in between, each adding fees to your coffee purchase. With Blockchain transactions are Transparent, the farmer’s identity and price can be seen by anyone, so she has more direct access to new markets.
All these new transparency capabilities will effect other industries like ethical diamonds and seafood.
One of the benefits of the blockchain based identity, with all of the visibility transparency brings, is it has the potential to cut out all the middlemen. It can provide every company in the network access to the same source of the right information.

Smart Contracts
Smart Contracts is a concept effecting almost every facet of our lives. The contract can be transparent and even self-executable. Blockchain is a perfect place to store a digital contract. Smart contracts assist in helping you exchange money, shares or anything of value in a Conflict-Free and Transparent manner (letting you avoid additional players, like lawyers).

These computer programmed contracts operate on blockchain technology to facilitate, verify and execute the terms of an irrevocable contract that can only be replaced by a brand-new contract. Smart contracts can automatically enforce obligations from all parties involved, to ensure payments are made only after the terms are met.
By giving computers control over contracts using Blockchain, we can make business more efficient and make the legal system more equitable.
It is an excellent option to enforce the obligations of all parties in a contract, without the added expense of a middleman. Contracts are about the transfer of assets. If you deliver the goods, you get paid. With Smart Contracts you can get paid immediately.
Smart Contract Applications
Driverless Cars
Your driverless car swaps information with the car behind it so they can platoon together at high speeds on the highway. The lead car provides “draft” behind it so the other car can operate with better fuel efficiency. The draft-efficiencies (and the information traded) is delivered, so a pre agreed upon payment can happen automatically and immediately.
Logistics

Let’s say you sell your product to someone in another country. Using a smart contract, you can attach a GPS tracker to your shipment to monitor its location as it travels. When the package arrives at its destination, the contract pays you, and takes money from the buyer.
All conditions, payout, and parties’ details are programmed into a smart contract. Once the defined conditions are met, the client pays for the services received automatically.
IMMLA is a freight-forwarding company centralized around the blockchain technology.

Intellectual Property

Blockchains can provide an automatic go-to registry for ownership and maintenance status for your ideas, your patents, your copyrights, and your trademarks (your songs, your poems, your videos, your inventions). Even devices within the Internet of Things. There can be all kinds of programs that run on the blockchain that could check who owns what. And who should get paid what for using it.
Play someone’s song, publish their poem, use their clip art in your publication… and a smart contract can ensure they get paid automatically.
This is the 3rd installment in a “Plain English” overview of Blockchain technology.

You can read Part I of this Blockchain series, “Blockchain is definitely going to change your life this year. Whether you understand it or not.” for a quick overview of the Blockchain Revolution phenomenon.

Here is a link to Part II, “Blockchain? Here’s Why! (A Glossary)”.

Armed with intellectual curiosity, Ron Shulkin monitors emerging digital technologies. He’s active in the Chicago Incubator ecosystem, is a mentor for start-ups, provides go-to-market strategy guidance to technologists. He writes about and shares discoveries, to generate interest and enlighten audiences.
Feel free to reach out and Contact Me: ronshulkin@chicagoincubators.com
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronshulkin/
Follow on Twitter: @ChgoIncubators or @Shulkin
Follow the LinkedIn Chicago Incubators Company Page for Updates
Join the LinkedIn Discussions at the Chicago Incubators Group Page

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Ron ShulkinRon Shulkin
Fractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | TroubleshooterFractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | Troubleshooter
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Blockchain easily validates your identity, giving some an economic passport for the first time. It fuels smart contracts and may spell the end of the middleman!
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Global, National, State & County Governments Embrace Blockchain

Ron Shulkin

Fractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | Troubleshooter
82 articles
January 11, 2018
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Government Discovers Blockchain
Although we read how some governments (like China) push laws to ban trading in Cryptocurrencies, enlightened thinkers in government are embracing Blockchain technology to service their constituencies better.
Elections and Voting

As anyone who has voted in a Chicago election (or for that matter anyone buried in a Chicago cemetery around election time) knows, Elections require:
The authentication of voters’ identities
Secure record-keeping
Vote tracking
And win tallying
Blockchains can serve as the medium for:
Casting votes
Tracking who voted
And counting all the votes in a geography
This means there is never a question of voter-fraud or lost records. It might seem a no-brainer to use an online electoral process, but the challenge up unitl Blockchain entered the scene has been security.
By using the blockchain, a voter can check that her vote was successfully transmitted while still remaining anonymous to the rest of the world.

With Blockchain’s automatic, instant tracking, we eliminate the need for recounts, removing the human element involved in vote manipulation and voter fraud. There is a public and verifiable trail of votes, ensuring none are changed or removed, and no illegitimate votes are added.
Follow My Vote is a blockchain-based voting solution

Property records
The Problem
Buying and selling property requires a lot of documentation. There are massive stacks of paperwork, a lack of transparency, public record errors, and the possibility of fraud throughout the process.
Having property records on the blockchain makes it possible for prospective buyers to quickly, easily, and cheaply verify the owner of a house or other property really does own the place. At present, this process is done manually and there is a greater chance of errors, which could add to costs.
Blockchain instead offers a method to reduce the need for paper recordkeeping, speeding up transaction times, reduce transaction costs and improves overall efficiency.

John Mirkovic’s work at the Cook County Recorder of Deeds is a great example of how government is embracing Blockchain to more efficiently manage property records and transfers. Their work affects YOU the homeowner.
The Cook County Recorder of Deeds piloted a blockchain system for property conveyance. The report can be found here. Everyone who needs to see the documents involved with a property transfer (think buyer, seller, attorneys, title company, real estate brokers, etc.) can be notified of updates and can see the document. Bam! They just saved some trees!

Defense
Blockchain technology distributed across multiple data centers can ensure security against attacks on important network and hardware equipment by ensuring consensus-based access for modification. So…no Russian hackers.

Intergovernmental Blockchain Initiatives
Jennifer M. O’Rourke, is Illinois’ Blockchain Business Liaison. Here she offers the state’s first forays into using Blockchain to improve the lives of Illinois citizens.

This is the 4th installment in a “Plain English” overview of Blockchain technology.

Part III “The End of the Middleman: Blockchain, Your Identity, and Smart Contracts” illustrates how using Blockchain to establish one’s identity can provide the transparency required to eliminate middlemen (and their added costs). Plus it enables everyone to participate in Smart Contracts.

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Fractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | TroubleshooterFractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | Troubleshooter
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Enlightened thinkers in government are embracing Blockchain technology to service their constituencies better #blockchain
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Blockchain Reinvigorates Marketing, Energy, Transportation & More!

Ron Shulkin

Fractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | Troubleshooter
82 articles
January 15, 2018
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New business functions, rethought using blockchain technology, will drive bottom line impact. These companies will likely develop new business models. This is true for companies and industries with a steady flow of documents and document changes. For them, the cost savings implications are huge.

Blockchain is giving a second life to many companies

Attorneys, real estate agents or governmental bodies and industries such as manufacturing, finance and telecommunications have blockchain projects in the pipeline.

Numerous opportunities exist in the health care industry like keeping patient data secure and accessible.

Analytics for forecasting
The Problem
Today forecasting relies on multiple versions of the truth. The information comes from multiple places. Each set of information often presents a separate, different, distinct sets of statistics. This scenario is ripe for generating conflicting interpretations.
How Blockchain Fixes Forecasting
Blockchain ensures entirely accurate transaction records to support data analysis and therefore forecasting. This level of accuracy is in demand; in fact, it is sparking a new market focused on predictions.

Augur is using the blockchain, to create a reward system for accurate predictions. It’s decentralized, enabling anyone to place bets on everything from stock market predictions to sports, to natural disaster occurrences.
Sales and Marketing
Loyalty and rewards

With Blockchain, I can monitor my customer’s purchases in real-time and provide very personalized offers immediately.

This helps brands to create a more captivating loyalty and rewards program, delivering performance for both the marketer and the consumer. It certainly enhances engagement.
Gift cards
With fewer middle-men needed to process the issuing of cards and sales transactions, the process of acquiring and using blockchain-reliant gift cards is more efficient and cost effective.
Sales
Over the years, sales tactics have evolved to meet new customer demands. Finance leaders will start relying on more than the sales team, and include other business functions as drivers of the sales process.
Using blockchain in marketing and sales would allow my business to track customers through the entire sales process using the technology’s protected ledger; a clear accounting of every contribution to the sales cycle from all sources.
Advertising

Companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon collect information about you with every click and search term. Using Blockchain, coupled with Artificial Intelligence (Machine Learning), these advertisers can target individual customers like you and me directly.

The folks at BitClave, are focusing on search-data privacy, giving users full control over their data.
BitClave’s search engine uses blockchain and eliminates the need for ad service people, creating a direct connection between consumers and businesses. Instead of an intermediary selling your data to advertisers, you’re selling it to them directly – yourself and be compensated.
Cross-promotional B2B contracts
Smart contracts will make B2B cross-promotional marketing much more efficient, especially in the age of influencers and bloggers, who use platforms such as Instagram and YouTube to cultivate personal brands. If you visit a website because you clicked a link in my social post, I get paid.
Transparency in contracts and with consumers
Companies can use blockchain to show consumers whom they are selling their data to. And, since this information cannot be changed or copied, the transparent nature of blockchain data can make consumers feel at ease knowing companies cannot manipulate their data. This tells consumers the information they are viewing is factual and accurate. Something consumers want.
Procurement
A report from Harvard Business Review, highlights cost savings realized through sourcing improvement drops directly to the bottom line.
Machine learning will become a must-use
Machine learning is a trend that is truly becomes mainstream. Businesses are realizing the importance of gathering all of their data into easily digestible insights — whether that be customer data for more personalized service, or past project workflow data to predict project timelines. As we enter the new year, machine learning will be seen as less of a phenomenon and more of a critical business technology used to support decision-making.
Distributed cloud storage
Blockchain data storage will become a massive disruptor shortly. Current cloud storage services are centralized. Thus you, the user, must place trust in a single storage provider (Think Verizon or Amazon Cloud Servers). They control all of your online assets. But Blockchain can improve security and decrease this dependency. Users can rent out their excess storage capacity, Airbnb-style, creating new marketplaces. Having the data in multiple locations is the key to securing it.
Energy
People with solar panels generate more power than they use. The power companies, by law, must buy it back from them Smart Meters can register what energy is produced and consumed by each home on a blockchain, allowing for consumption of the surplus energy in a different location, providing credits or currency to the original producer. The credits can then be redeemed against the grid when the microgenerator needs additional electricity from the grid by one of those homeowners with solar panels.
Transportation
Auto
Your car is expensive and therefore has a lot of information associated with it. With Blockchain, we can track and verify automotive parts, track and verify a vehicle’s provenance, streamline the supply chain and business processes for assembly and replacement parts, accelerate autonomous vehicle development and even build a mobility platform for electric vehicles
Ridesharing applications
The Problem
It’s so easy to love your Uber driver and yet despise Uber, the corporate entity. Lyft and Uber use centralized business models. They operate as dispatch hubs, using algorithms to control fleets, instructing which driver gets which riders, and they dictate charges.
How Blockchain Fixes Ridesharing Democracy
With Blockchain’s decentralized and distributed ledgers, drivers’ availability and your need for a ride becomes transparent, providing a more user-driven and value-oriented market environment. Drivers earn more; Riders pay less.
Chasyr is already offering blockchain based ridesharing.
Parking
Here’s another use case for blockchain: parking solutions. By combining smart contracts with advanced sensors—sensors capable of detecting cars and automatically reading their license plates—it becomes possible to automatically deduct parking charges from citizens using either digital parking wallets or credit cards linked to their identity. The implications, and potential upshots, of such a model for parking payments are huge: 100% compliance, payment accuracy, no manual patrolling, automatic computation of occupancy ratios, and more.
Analytics similar to those used today by Conduent Parking Systems could then be applied to this continuous data to predict occupancy percentage and automatically adjust parking costs based on demand.
Even More Business Use Cases in Our Lives

This is the 5th installment in a “Plain English” overview of Blockchain technology.

Here is a link to Part II, “Blockchain? Here’s Why! (A Glossary)”.

Part IV “Global, National, State & County Governments Embrace Blockchain” presents use cases from progressive governments.

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The Top 30 Financial Services Blockchain Use Cases (It’s Not Just Bitcoin)

Ron Shulkin

Fractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | Troubleshooter
82 articles
January 16, 2018
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Yes, Blockchain is the foundation for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. But the contributions blockchain can make toward improving process efficiencies and saving money are fueling multiple use cases throughout the rest of the Financial Services industry.
“Silicon Valley is coming. There are hundreds of startups with a lot of brains and money working on various alternatives to traditional banking.” JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned in his annual letter to shareholders.
Blockchain enables disruptive innovation to traditional finance

Cross-border payments
The transfer of value across-borders (whether goods or payments) has always been an expensive and slow process. Blockchain is able to speed up, simplify, and reduce the costs significantly. For example, if a person wants to transfer money from Canada to their family in Russia, who have an account with a local bank, it takes a number of banks and currencies before the money can be collected. Blockchain can speed up and simplify this process, cutting out many of the traditional middlemen. According to a Deloitte study, blockchain reduces the costs to 2-3% of the total amount and provides guaranteed, real-time transactions across borders.
Loans & Mortgages
Similar dynamics are at work in loan and mortgage processing today—it’s a complex process with multiple stakeholders, inherent inefficiencies and frequent manual errors and delays. The process could be significantly simplified by incorporating smart contracts. For instance, smart contracts could automatically verify land ownership and interface with various stakeholders such as legal and tax departments. By eliminating silos, a blockchain solution would remove inefficiencies, reduce time and cost, and support better customer experiences.
Share trading

Buying and selling stocks and shares has always involved many middlemen, such as brokers and the stock exchange itself. Creating a decentralized and secure ledger, a blockchain giving every party a say in the validation of a transaction, speeds up the settlement process, allows for greater trade accuracy, and can cut out more middlemen.
Securities

When you buy or sell a stock, mistakes can get made, meaning a human has to step in, figure out what was in the stock trade, figure out who owes what, all to finally “settle” the trade. Goldman Sachs is quoted in the Business Insider: “Despite the relatively low transaction costs for securities, up to 10% of trades are subject to errors, leading to manual intervention and extending the time required to settle trades.” Don’t forget, Time is Money.
By applying blockchain to the clearing and settlement of cash securities, specifically, equities and leveraged loans, investment companies could save around $11 – $12 billion in fees
Claims Management
One area where many blockchain use cases are emerging is claims management—whether medical claims, auto insurance claims, life insurance claims or other types of claims.
Today, claims processing is a notoriously lengthy and complicated process, requiring verification from multiple intermediaries before a payment can be made to the claimant. Smart contracts promise to change that. With a smart contract, a claim form can be distributed across all participants in the chain—from the claimant to the payer. The smart contract would automatically and securely complete all the steps involved—from automating coverage verification to claims validation and, in the case of an auto insurance claim, loss determination. Suddenly, the process is quicker, more secure and less costly.

Other Financial Instruments, Records and Models
Experimenting with these technologies at their innovation labs in London, Berlin, and Silicon Valley, Deutsche Bank is currently exploring blockchain for payments and settlement of fiat currencies, asset registries, enforcement and clearing derivative contracts, and regulatory reporting.
Nasdaq Linq is a digital ledger technology that leverages a blockchain to facilitate the issuance, cataloging, and recording of transfers of shares of privately held companies on the Nasdaq Private Market. Clients will be provided with a comprehensive historical record of issuance and transfer of their securities, thus offering increased auditibility, issuance governance and transfer of ownership capabilities.
DBS Bank organized a blockchain Hackathon in Singapore in 2015. The winners were Omnichain, Nubank and BlockIntel.
The US Federal Reserve is working with IBM on developing a new digital payment system tied to the blockchain.
Standard Chartered Bank considers blockchain as their way to cut costs and improve the transparency of financial transactions.
Santander claims to have 20-25 use cases for blockchain. They have a team called “Crypto 2.0” to research the use of blockchain in banking to improve the current day to day processes. The bank also estimated that the usage of blockchain can reduce their infrastructure costs.
BNP Paribas is experimenting with making transactions faster by using blockchain.
Wall Street wants to use blockchains to simplify the way it processes transactions.
ASX, Australia’s biggest stock exchange, has confirmed that it is developing a private blockchain with U.S.-based firm Digital Asset as a post-trade solution for the Australian equity market. The ASX has paid AUD $14.9 million for a 5% equity interest in Digital Asset Holdings, a fee that will also fund an initial phase of development of the privately distributed ledger solution.

Still More Use Cases for Blockchain
Currency
Private equities
Public equities
Bonds
Derivatives (futures, forwards, swaps, options and more complex variations)
Voting rights associated with any of the above
Commodities
Spending records
Trading records
Mortgage / loan records
Servicing records
Crowd-funding
Micro-finance
Micro-charity
This is the last installment in a “Plain English” overview of Blockchain technology.
You can read Part I of this Blockchain series, “Blockchain is definitely going to change your life this year. Whether you understand it or not.” for a quick overview of the Blockchain Revolution phenomenon.
Here is a link to Part II, “Blockchain? Here’s Why! (A Glossary)”.
Part III “The End of the Middleman: Blockchain, Your Identity, and Smart Contracts” illustrates how using Blockchain to establish one’s identity can provide the transparency required to eliminate middlemen (and their added costs). Plus it enables everyone to participate in Smart Contracts.
Part IV “Global, National, State & County Governments Embrace Blockchain” presents use cases from progressive governments.
Part V, “Blockchain Reinvigorates Marketing, Energy, Transportation & More!” lists business use case innovations.

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Ron ShulkinRon Shulkin
Fractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | TroubleshooterFractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | Troubleshooter
Published • 6y
82 articles
Blockchain is the foundation for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, but the contributions it can make to save money are fueling multiple use cases throughout the Financial Services industry
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The first question I get from prospective clients is something like, “Do you think I should do webinars or make a video?”. And I have to diplomatically share how a well-researched marketing strategy informs a brand’s messaging, content topics and makes the selection of which tactic to use very apparent.
Many of us have the skill and know-how to build a website and create an email campaign. It is certainly a less expensive route to perform these tasks than paying a marketing professional to contribute. The problem is, without an inspired and tested strategy the results may be poor. Or worse, you can end up with a slew of unqualified leads.
What’s The Opposite of Best Practices?
We feel busy diving directly into marketing tactics, but rarely yields sustainable positive results. We’ve been told this for a thousand years: “Marketing tactics without marketing strategy is the noise before defeat!” -Sun Tzu
Marketing strategy is the game plan. Marketing tactics are how we deliver and execute on our strategy.
Choosing your marketing tactics without a well-defined marketing strategy is bad marketing. It is the opposite of Best Practices. Think: Worst. Marketing Practices. Ever.
Three Case Studies Where Marketing Strategies Outperformed Just Tactics
(Or How Intuitive Leaps Occur During Marketing Strategy Development)
Mini Case Study #1: Goldilocks Markets
Startup Founder Tactical Marketing Plan: A client from last year went to industry shows, the founder created personas, used HubSpot to build sequenced email campaigns, and built their website. He accurately described the platform as a “real estate crowdfunding” system. The problem was they received a ton of unqualified leads (looking for help raising money).
Strategic Marketing Plan: Researching the industry and speaking with dozens of look-alike prospects revealed “Software to automate real estate fundraising, investment management, and investor relations” was closer to the mark. We narrowed the persona to a specific size company, not too big (to build their own platform) and not too small (to not afford our platform), but just right. A Goldilocks market.
Mini Case Study #2: Three Strikes & Your Out
Startup Founder Tactical Marketing Plan: A European idea management platform marketed their offering by exhibiting at shows, writing blog posts detailing their social science algorithms, and periodic newsletters (sent to past show attendees) talking about product enhancements. By educating buyers they served as market makers, but weren’t winning deals.
Strategic Marketing Plan: I was chartered to introduce the platform to North American prospects (later Worldwide). The initial target market was America’s largest companies. We were up against 3 well known US based competitors. There were three challenges: We lacked credibility. We were an unknown. A purchase of our platform might not a safe choice.
Thought Leadership: Identifying our target persona as The Chief Innovation Officer, I spoke and met with dozens. This made it easy to discover trends. I translated what I learned often to essays, white papers and articles, published as blog posts. (If you search my Ron Shulkin + idea management you’ll find hundreds of posts over three years). I’m a big believer in creating repurpose-able content and so each blog informed a dozen social posts, an Infograph, an eBook and eventually inspired my contribution as a co-author of a graduate business school program textbook on innovation and ideation. We collected so much useful information we created a webinar series.

Building Community: Nurturing relationships with innovation professionals helped me understand: “These Are My People!” To nurture relationships throughout the community of everyone who was interested in technology like ours, I founded the over 1000-strong LinkedIn Idea Management Group.

Market Credibility: Becoming A Safe Choice: Our big company buyer personas check with industry analysts on big enterprise wide solution purchase decisions. Industry analysts hadn’t yet reviewed and assessed the idea management space. I put considerable effort into analyst relations. Tenacious efforts inspired both a Gartner & Forrester review of idea management platforms. My client’s platform was the Leader quadrant. This enhanced our stature among clients actively considering our platform. It also inspired unsolicited RFPs to arrive. Buyers trusted us!
These Are My People! To nurture relationships throughout the community of everyone who was interested in technology like ours, I founded the over 1000-strong LinkedIn Idea Management Group.

Mini Case Study #3: The Pivot Payoff
Startup Founder Tactical Marketing Plan: The product visionary at a consumer digital marketing, UK headquartered, company, ran marketing tactics. They exhibited at shows, created video explainers and relied on word of mouth. Their Gamification based platform successfully sold in Singapore, Sydney and London, mostly on the strengths of the sales team. They penetrated banking, real estate, health club chains and restaurant vertical markets.
Strategic Marketing Plan: I was excited to roll out this brain-science driven consumer engagement product to prospects in North America. Reaching out to my extensive network of senior marketing people and their agency counterparts, I discovered they were unimpressed. One senior agency executive pointed out, “Ron, Gamification is not an exciting topic anymore. Even you wrote a blog post on the topic over a year ago”.
A deep dive into the products features revealed it also delivered “Interactive Engagement, coupled with Real-Time Behavior Monitoring”. This was the definition of “Shopper Marketing”, a technology for which CPG and Retailers were clamoring. We designed and executed a brand awareness and lead generation process, amassed a list of persona titles in our target vertical markets, created story telling content, demonstrated thought leadership white papers, webinars, and omni channel marketing campaigns.

So many of us are capable of creating an email campaign or building our website. This infograph speaks to the benefits of a Marketing Strategy that informs both Messaging & Marketing Tactic selection.
#strategy #marketingstrategy #cmo #bestpractice #technology #productlaunch #startups #chicago #greatidea #innovation #messaging #marketing #infograph #tactic #emailcampaign
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/first-we-survey-territory-build-map-infograph-ron-shulkin

Good Reasons Check
Know the Space
Understand the Issues
Relationships with the Players
Speak the Language C
Augment your Offering
Stature Opens Doors
Feet On The Street
Geographic Coverage
Joint Marketing

It’s great you believe in the product you’re working on. You should also seek out the opinion of people who look like your buyer personas.

I’m often the marketing team member in product launch collaborative efforts. I find every initial discussion of a product with first buyers to be revelatory. Often each bit of feedback is gold. We pick up points of view that sends everyone on our team home scratching their heads to figure out how to tweak the offering.

The Columbo Effect.
The most valuable bit of market research feedback gleaned during early user testing comes in those last few minutes after they think the meeting is over yet you haven’t yet parted. The “one more thing” list of insights. For some reason no matter how hard you try to relax those you’re speaking with, it is only when they think the questions are over that they relax enough to open up the most.

It Is Hard To Critique Your Own Work
I find it hard to edit my writing. The problem is I think everything I write is wonderful. I just wrote it after all. I often ask others for their feedback. This bit of humility always results with an improved deliverable.

Confident Enough to be Humble
As a startup you’re already comfortable having big ideas. Those startups who produce winning products couple big ideas with technical skill and perseverance; only resting when a quality product produced.

The very best founders are also driven by curiosity. They foster a constant state of learning, good vibes, and strong opinions (only loosely held). Winners at the product roll out game constantly reevaluate past decisions to divine an even better path forward.

Steps to Get The Feedback You Need

Test It
Don’t wait until your product is perfect. In fact, do continuous testing early and then again with every iteration, and as you accumulate feedback. Identify people who match your various target market personae. They should be the type of prospects you would use as references if they were customers.

This is your chance to validate your hypothesis that the product you’re developing is as desirable as you thought. You can gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and the motivations people harbor for buying your offering.

Ask what they hope to get out of your product. Ask them what they think their lives will look like a year after they became a customer. Yes, ask them why they’re giving consideration to buying your offering. But also ask them what they hope to get out it.

Take these aspirational tidbits and apply any changes needed to the product or service before your official roll out.

Be Open To Criticism
Take Your Medicine Like a Big Boy or Girl
You may be prepared to tweak your offering. Just don’t be afraid to pivot if that’s what the feedback is telling you. Don’t forget you’re asking for feedback to make sure your initial premise is correct. In other words, don’t fall in love with a version of your product, thinking you know better than those who providing feedback.

Let Influencers to Your Target Markets Use It for Free…First
Yes, influencers will be tremendous help when your official launch date comes along; sharing their positive reviews. Inviting influencers in as beta testers also works to test your offering with someone who really understands your market; someone who likely is the perfect examble of the persona you’ve developed. Therefore they’re likely to give valuable insights. When they see you appreciate when they’re candid, that you take their feedback seriously and apply it to enhancing the offering, they’ll be even bigger supporters upon roll out.

Treat First Users Like Your Investors or Your Mother
Smother these people with attention and respect. And highly available customer support.

Ideally, they will trade a willingness to respond to more questions or surveys for the first year in return for a sizeable purchase price discount. As you continue to receive each wave of survey responses, and as you then improve the product, you can tailor the next survey accordingly.

Make sure you to this thorough bit of research for each target market’s audience.

My biggest successes as a marketer have been when the product people and I are working collaboratively. As a technologist, you can appreciate an agile approach. Teaming marketers and developers is the ideal way to pit different disciplines and points of view against each other in order to blend them into a better deliverable.

Be a strategic thinker.
Dissect the challenges feedback brings down to their first-order issues and prioritize them.
Make sure the marketing members of your collaborative can hold their own in your technical product discussions.

Testing Your Premise Quantitively
The marketer’s job is to define the target market personas, document what they care about and articulate your message in the language buyers use. The most appealing messages you can use to sell your offering are the ones describing how your product helps your customers solve certain problems.

As you refine the word you use to describe your product, you can test your messaging in a more scientific way. As you push out marketing emails you can A/B test the subject lines to see which ones produce the most “opens”. You can test the same split method with call-to-action links in those emails. The final bit of this process is A/B testing the landing pages to measure conversions.

Define Your Target Audience
Understand your target audience. This is critical because the language, channels and information you use to communicate with and appeal to one demographic may not be as effective with another. Clearly defining your target audience gives you direction in your marketing, facilitates more consistency in your messaging and allows you to authentically connect with your customers. – Megan Shroy, Approach Marketing
Know How To Reach Your Audience
Understand the target audience and how to reach them effectively, both with the ad and mentally. Get in the mind of your target audience and understand where the best place to reach them is and how they will interpret your ad. Then cater your marketing plan accordingly. – David Kley, Web Design and Company
Know The Problem You’re Solving
Having a deep understanding of the challenge it’s solving and who it is for is crucial. It’s surprising how often this is not thoroughly thought through. Always stay focused on your “who” and “why.” Test it with your personas, talk to them about it, and know it is something that will fulfill an unmet need first. – Debbie Williams, SPROUT Content
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Understand The Buying Journey
The buying process forms the foundation of all marketing and sales activities. You need to have an intimate understanding the buyer’s pain points, where they get their information and who influences the purchase. Specific events may even trigger a purchase. Customers have different expectations on how they will engage with you depending on where they are in the buying process. – Lisa Allocca, Red Javelin Communications
Secure Your Online Identity
In today’s world, we have seen numerous cybersquatters try to take advantage of clients who did not secure their domain name, trademark, social media accounts, etc. It is critical to secure all these before launching anywhere. Oftentimes your domain name and other critical marketing vehicles can be held for a very expensive price – and having to get attorneys involved is never cheap! – Duree Ross, Durée & Company
Validate Your Product
Make a sale and earn your first dollar as validation to build the product or service – even before it’s built. If people won’t buy the product or service based on a pitch, they probably won’t buy the product or service when it exists. An easy way to do this is to develop a landing page. Run ads. See if anyone clicks the “Buy Now” button. If so, you’ve got validation. – Brett Farmiloe, Markitors
Know Your Competition And Be Different
We see many “Me Too” brands popping up that want to ride the trend wave and cash in on others fast-growing successes. Instead of following this knee-jerk reaction, look to what makes you different. Figure out your brand differentiators and in some cases recalibrate to fill the void, not follow the trend. With every great brand idea there was a first to market; aim to be the leader and innovate. – Taja Dockendorf, Pulp and Wire
Make Sure It Hasn’t Been Done Before
Seems like an elemental principle in theory but I am always surprised to see people seeking our help to pursue a “great idea” that has been done before. Research the market for products and services that may be similar to what you’re offering. Sometimes your idea may be better, but if it’s been done before, we typically discourage our clients from reinventing the wheel. – Ricardo Casas, Fahrenheit Marketing
Create A Free Trial Or Demo
Creating a free trial or product demo is a critical stage for any product or service because you want to get as much feedback as possible before the official launch. You also want users to experience it themselves to see how your product or service works. Understanding if your product or service can deliver its expectations in the marketplace can determine its success or failure. – Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS
Lay Out A Comprehensive Strategic Plan
Every brand should engage in a deliberate and thorough strategic planning process before launching any product or service. This includes multiple things such as evaluation of the marketplace/competition, SWOT, determining ROI, how to measure success and communications planning. – Brian Sullivan, Sullivan Branding
Get Everyone On The Same Page
The entire company should be unified across all channels, whether it’s go-to-market, marketing, launch messaging or customer support. Ensuring customers have the best experience possible with your company and its product or solution is critical for long-term success. – Cathy Atkins, Metis Communications
Create Brand Voice Guidelines
After you have established a strong brand, you must create guidelines for the brand’s voice and tone. Don’t enter the market without knowing who you are and how you want to interact with the world. Consistency is key for a brand, so you want to set every employee on the team up for success when it comes to broadcasting messages on behalf of the brand. – Chapin Herman, Herman-Scheer
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Offer Early Use Incentives
You want to create a buzz around your product before its launch. One of the best ways to do this is to offer discounts for preorders, free first-time uses, and beta participation rewards that entice users to buy upon launch. This is awesome product promotion, too. No one expects a product to be perfect in beta, so test, gather feedback and refine! – Kristopher Jones, LSEO.com
Keep Testing It
Launching a new product or service isn’t easy. The one thing every brand should do beforehand is test it; test it until it breaks and then test it some more. Collecting feedback and insight will help you get closer to delivering the experience you intended. And of course, you’ve also got to get all of your marketing materials together, too! That includes landing pages, social media accounts, etc. – Chi Zhao, Hokku PR
Know What You Don’t Know
In my experience, many who launch products are good at something but not all things. Before you launch, understand your limitations and either hire or more commonly outsource the skills you need, both immediately and when things start to take off. Rapid success can lead to failure if you haven’t thought through this first. You don’t want to be solving problems you don’t understand on the fly. – Kelli Masilun, Concentric
Know Your Story
Understand your story so well that you can tell it to anyone: media, new customers, brands you can co-market with, and more. If you can’t clearly say who you are, what you do, why you do it and what inspired you, you will lose anyone who could help you build it. Great PR people are great translators and storytellers. Use them to ensure your story is being told clearly across every digital channel. – Nicole Rodrigues, NRPR Group, LLC
Start Planning The Next Version
Taking a long time to perfect your product before going to market could be the reason it fails. Release it, and start planning the next model. Keep your eyes wide open for consumer feedback. If you make a mistake, own it and make it right. This way, you’re not only gaining the customers’ loyalty, but you’re positioning yourself as an ethical innovator who takes the customers’ feedback to heart. – Ahmad Kareh, Twistlab Marketing
8 Steps for the Perfect Product Launch
Heighten your visibility, avoid costly mistakes and build buzz with these strategies.
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Image credit: Mary Delaney | The Oracles

The Oracles

CONTENT PARTNER
A mastermind group for top entrepreneurs
April 5, 2018 9 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You’ve created the killer product that will change the world. Now you need people to buy it. Top entrepreneurs and members of The Oracles share their tried-and-tested ways to build buzz so people buy from you and passionately spread the word for mega profits.

Daymond John
Image credit: The Oracles

Be strategic.
One, find your core audience. Whether you’re creating the new iPhone or a cupcake stand, find and learn from your core audience. Establish your base and build their confidence in you.
Two, get advice and listen. Most friends will be your biggest cheerleaders, but that doesn’t mean they’re helping. They need to poke holes in your ideas, which you can fix before taking a product to market. Resist the urge to be defensive. And use the opportunity to strengthen your product.
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Three, learn from others. There are no more original ideas, just repurposed ones. As you prepare to market your idea, examine your competitors. Take from their good, learn from their bad, and enhance what needs to be improved. Then put your spin on it.
Four, be smart about publicity. You no longer need traditional media to drive ideas, products or messages. Don’t get caught up in creating a PR budget if it won’t drive core business. Instead, spend your time creating messages to buyers.
Five, conditioning your social media audience is critical. Always pushing them to “buy” creates fatigue, making them feel like a number. Build a relationship with your audience at least three months in advance so they can learn your tone and rhythms. Then seek ways for them to interact with your product.
Six, for all your analysis, don’t forget to rely on “feel.” Entrepreneurs are risk takers with unwavering belief. Don’t abandon that now that you’re moments away from the launch.
Finally, use the power of broke. I wrote a book about this. My biggest business mistakes came when I tried to buy success. My most successful business experiences came from using limited resources, supported by innovation. Resist the urge to spend, spend, spend. —Daymond John, Shark on “Shark Tank,” NYT-bestselling author of “Rise And Grind,” creator of Daymond On Demand and founder of FUBU, which has generated $6 billion in sales

Grant Cardone
Image credit: The Oracles

Go overboard with outreach.
Obscurity kills businesses. If you don’t go overboard, you won’t get the attention needed to be successful. Before launching a new product, ask yourself: One, How far will I go to get attention? Two, How frequent will I be in my attempts?
For my 10X Growth Con 2 in Las Vegas, I created 1,023 tweets, 26 YouTube videos, 198 emails and countless Instagram posts. Some think that’s excessive, but 9,000 people showed up. I called one guy back after he told me to never call again. He was outraged and hung up. The next day, I called again and he bought a $10,000 ticket. —Grant Cardone, sales expert who has built a $750-million real estate empire, and NYT-bestselling author; follow Grant on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube

Eileen Rivera
Image credit: The Oracles

Use common sense.
Know your audience. If someone asks you, “Who’s your target audience?” have a concise answer. Otherwise, there’s a problem. Also, get to know your stakeholders. Find out where they spend their free time and join them after work. Events are great for getting your product into the community. Consider sponsoring a mixer at a local restaurant, brewery or wine bar to draw interest.
Know your product’s value. Interview a client who found success using your product. Ask them why it was successful.
With branding and promotion, have a multimedia approach that includes print, photography and video. Don’t treat hashtags as an afterthought; they’re a powerful tool to grab eyeballs. Use them intentionally. Follow and engage with reporters on social media who can direct attention to your product. Ask a local celebrity, like the mayor, to do an on-camera interview. Worst case, they say, “No.” Best case, they authenticate your brand. —Eileen Rivera, CEO of The Rivera Group; real estate coach, speaker and licensed California Realtor with over half a billion in sales

Trevor Chapman
Image credit: The Oracles

Target major media outlets.
Attention is the currency of the internet. The average person consumes an inordinate amount of information daily. To get attention, cut through the noise.
With the right strategy, you can land a major media placement. Pitch yourself as an expert and target high-profile news outlets. Figure out what story segments producers want. They’re under pressure to book the right experts, so there’s a good chance your knowledge fills a gap.
Your pitch should have a sensational hook with actionable advice. I secured press on CNBC by pitching how to make millions in ecommerce. The article and video were viewed millions of times, giving me the springboard to launch a product that made almost a million dollars in 48 hours. The best part? Zero ad-spend. —Trevor Chapman, proven entrepreneur and digital strategist who has generated over $100 million in sales for his businesses and partnerships; follow Trevor on Facebook

Sweta Patel
Image credit: The Oracles

Build your superfans.
Don’t jump into launching a product without first building a community of superfans who’ll vouch for it. Lay the foundation to build the buzz later. It may take one to two years, but it’s worth it. You could start with conferences. Hunt for your target audience. Invite them to join a value-add Slack group or receive exclusive invitations to your events.
After launching, if your fans don’t resonate with your product, revisit square one. Don’t judge your market; listen because they’re telling you what they want. Fix the current product to their liking and they’ll build the buzz it deserves. And you’ll avoid losing a lot of money, wondering why your promotions didn’t go as planned. —Sweta Patel, founder of Silicon Valley Startup Marketing, who has advised over 200 early stage startups and high-growth companies; connect with Sweta on Facebook andInstagram

Joe Kakaty
Image credit: The Oracles

Bring brand ambassadors into your business family.
It takes a village to get buzz for your business. Find ambassadors whose interests align with yours and bring them into your business family.
In the poker world, we have prominent personalities in our business family, like Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari, Maria Ho and Phil Hellmuth.
We choose ambassadors who are well-established professionals with impressive poker resumes and large fan bases. They’re “all-in” when it comes to promoting. Ho recently traveled to China with us to meet a valued advertising client. Esfandiari showcases his magic at big client dinners. Hellmuth helped us make a TV commercial. —Joe Kakaty, co-founder and president of Poker Central

Jason Hall
Image credit: The Oracles

Use pre-launch videos to drive leads.
Use a pre-launch video campaign to jump-start product sales and build brand awareness. Your price point should correlate with the length of your video content. While lower-priced items require 15 to 60 seconds of video, a more significant ask is best served by a five- to 15-minute pre-launch video campaign.
Use a landing page with a sign-up form to capture email addresses. Then, create an email campaign that offers special incentives to buyers who refer family and friends.
A respected influencer gives instant product credibility. Get industry influencers to put your product in front of their fans through endorsement campaigns. By using platforms such as BrandBacker, Revfluence and PitchBox, our agency quickly matches clients with influencers who represent their shared goals. —Jason Hall, founder and CEO of FiveChannels; generated $17m+ in sales revenue for his clients in 2017

Simon Grabowski
Image credit: The Oracles

Technology is your friend.
Webinars are perfect for spreading your message in an attractive, engaging form. Here’s how to maximize your success:
One, research and choose the right webinar software: easy to use, requires no IT knowledge, downloads or installations, and is ready to go — time is money. The software should give you the necessary tools for the whole process — before, during and after the webinar.
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Two, host webinars on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. That’s when you’ll get the best attendance.
Three, craft a “catchy” topic name to draw the largest audience: “The Marketing Platform of Your Dreams” is more enticing than “New Marketing Automation Platform.”
Four, tell everyone about your launch via every means possible: email, your website and social media.
Five, prepare an agenda. Tell your audience what to expect from your webinar, with the intended topics. Don’t forget timing: Our research found that a webinar shouldn’t exceed one hour — 30-40 minutes for your presentation and 15 to 20 minutes for Q&A.
Six, focus on solving a problem your audience may face. Subtly incorporate your product into the discussion, but concentrate more on the outcome and less on the product.
With a strategic approach, webinars reach, educate and engage your audience, earn their trust, improve your conversion rates and, ultimately, impact your bottom line. —Simon Grabowski, founder and CEO of ClickMeeting
Start before you’re ready.
The nature of building a new product or starting a new company is that you don’t have very much information on which to base decisions. Established products have the luxury of history; their product managers can analyze years of usage data or survey statistically significant pools of existing customers to help make decisions. New products, on the other hand, are a clean slate.
But that doesn’t give those of us building new products license to skimp on market validation. You still need to do the necessary work to get to your MVP. That is, you still need to talk to prospects and understand as much as you can about their workflows and pain points. You need to ask them how much (and if) they are willing to pay to solve the problem your product intends to solve. And you need to solicit feedback on prototypes and make changes accordingly.
However, once you’re reasonably confident that your product provides value to your market, launch it.
Too many entrepreneurs and product managers wait until their product is absolutely “perfect” before putting it in front of customers. Of course you understandably want to impress the market with a robust feature set and a polished UI, but waiting until you reach “perfection” is a mistake.
Getting your product in the hands of real users is precisely how you start building that knowledge base that established products benefit so much from. The more time you spend upfront building out features based on assumptions, the more time you take away from iterating on actual feedback and real-world user behavior.
For example, when we were validating ProductPlan, we uncovered the pain product managers were experiencing around communicating their roadmap. But rather than solving all the pain with our first release, we launched a product that solved just enough significant pain that customers were willing to pay for it. We’ve continued to enhance the product since that day, incrementally solving more pain with each release.
Here are a few common mistakes people make when launching new products, and how they can be avoided by launching early:
Misaligning with your market: It’s often the case that the people you initially build your product for don’t end up as your core customers. Sometimes adjacent markets or personas are actually a better match. For example, perhaps you thought you were building an enterprise software product, but it turns out to resonate better among the mid-sized businesses. The good news is these types of mistakes are usually correctable, given you’re willing to fail fast and adjust course.
Extrapolating from a small sample size. Another common mistake happens when you interview a few people and assume their problems apply to the entire market. Small sample sizes distort data. What’s one way to open the spigot and allow more people to weigh in? Launch early!
Overinterpreting positive reactions. Generally, people don’t want to hurt your feelings. If you ask them what they think of your beautiful new product that you’ve spent months working on, they’re likely going to tell you it’s great. When you’re just collecting feedback and there’s no real business transaction at stake, it’s easy for people to overestimate how often they’ll use your product or how much they’re willing to pay for it. Launching can help you avoid these false positives and get to the truth faster.
You don’t build products. You solve pain.
People don’t buy products because they have X, Y, and Z features; they buy products to help them solve problems. Think about the products you use everyday and the reasons why you use them. You probably wouldn’t say you value LinkedIn for its newsfeed algorithm or direct messaging feature. Instead, you’d say that it helps you find job opportunities or hire talented people.
In general, the benefits of using a product matter much more to customers than specific features and capabilities. Your job as someone launching a new product is not to build the best features, but to solve the most important problems. The best part is, if you’re able to effectively solve someone’s problem—whether that means alleviating a pain point in their workflow or helping them get home to their family on time—they’re likely going to forgive you if the product falls short in other areas. They’ll stick with you as you work out the initial kinks because the core value you’re providing is worth it.
For example, when I was part of the team validating the product that was to become GoToMeeting, we uncovered pain around the complexity and high variable cost of other online meeting solutions. We decided to launch a simpler product that was easier to budget. It wasn’t about more features. It was about simplifying the customer’s experience and reducing frustration.
A lot of startups fail because they run out of money. The way to circumvent that trap is to focus on nailing the problem first. Invest in understanding the context in which your potential customers will use your product. What’s the most frustrating part of their day? What motivates them? What does it mean for them to have a good week/month/year? (Check out this list of 10 questions product managers should ask customers for additional interview ideas). Find a strong pain point that people are willing to pay to solve and pivot to building ancillary features only after you’ve starting collecting your first payments.
The whole experience is the product.
Another common mistake that product managers and entrepreneurs make is focusing solely on the application itself, instead of looking at the product holistically. A customer’s impression of your product is not confined to the time they spend in the app. The customer experience begins the moment they click on one of your ads or find their way to your marketing website, and it extends to the interactions they have with your support and sales teams.
It’s important to consider the customer journey as a whole, because if you’re always heads-down working on the application, you may miss out on some great wins in other areas. Every component of the customer journey represents an opportunity to innovate and stand out from your competitors. Differentiators don’t always have to be features; they can be a unique pricing model (as in the case of GoToMeeting), a speedy onboarding experience, or superior customer support.
When you’re launching a new product, take time to understand the entire ecosystem surrounding it. There are probably strings you can pull to make the customer journey smoother and simpler. For example, how can you make it easier for people to find and buy your product? And what about the way you talk about your product in demos and on the marketing website? Are you clearly communicating the value proposition?
You don’t know what you don’t know.
Oftentimes we avoid testing new ideas because we think we already have the answers. “That obviously won’t work,” we tell ourselves. Established companies are especially guilty of this. They have thousands of customers using a given product feature, so they think it must be a good feature. Or their current pricing model has brought in plenty of sales, so they’re convinced it’s the perfect pricing model. No need to test anything new, right?
Wrong. You don’t know what you don’t know, and your own assumptions can sometimes be your biggest barriers to success. An experimental approach can help you overcome blind spots and stay ahead the competition. New products and companies are uniquely positioned to approach problems with a beginner’s mindset. Be sure to capitalize on this advantage and experiment with lots of different approaches to figure out what works best.
Another problem with assumptions is that they often hold us back from doing any actual legwork. You may think that customers want feature X and not feature Y. Or you may believe that message A resonates more strongly with prospects than message B. But how sure are you really?
Don’t be an armchair product manager. Get out of your building and interview potential customers. Or better yet, go observe their current processes and work environments. The truth about what will make your product successful is out in the world, not in your imagination.
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“Don’t be an armchair product manager. Get out of your building and interview potential customers. Or better yet, go observe their current processes and work environments.”
Start with the end in mind.
Before you get too deep in the trenches building a new product, it’s valuable to determine what you’d like to achieve. Just building the product and shipping it, or even gaining funding, is not a success in itself. Think about the type of business you want to be five or ten years down the line. How are you going to get there? Sit down with your team to discuss the vision for your product, and get agreement on the high-level metrics you’ll use to evaluate its performance and guide your future decisions.
This doesn’t mean you should define granular business and product metrics from the get go—you’ll need some actual customer data before you can accurately forecast things like conversion rates, lifetime value, monthly active users, etc. But documenting general goals upfront will help your team stay aligned and motivated after you launch. Things are always changing in a growing business, and it’s important to be agile, but that doesn’t have to mean losing focus. Be sure you’re making changes with clear end goals in mind, and not just shooting in the dark.

Startups: Can You Pass This Product Launch Pop Quiz?

It’s great you and your team believe in the product you’re working on. This quiz is offered to see if you are adequately seeking out the opinion of people who look like your future buyers.
your market to appreciate your product’s value

Feedback Loops
Conducting interviews with buyers, trying out different messaging and then tweaking your offering should be an ongoing process before, during and after product roll outs.

Answer these questions to learn if your upcoming product launch is using a roadmap that any marketer would approve.

Are You Patient Enough to Listen, Even After You Think The Meeting is Over? (or…Exploiting The Columbo Effect)

I’m often the marketing team member in product launch collaborative efforts. I find every discussion of a product with buyers to be revelatory. Often their feedback during these interviews is invaluable. We pick up points of view that sends everyone on our team home scratching their heads to figure out how to tweak the offering.

For some reason, no matter how hard you try to relax those you’re speaking with, it is only when they think the questions are over that they relax enough and open up the most.

The most valuable bit of market research feedback gleaned during early user testing comes in those last few minutes after they think the meeting is over, yet we haven’t yet parted.

These are the “one more thing” list of insights Columbo always delivered from the doorway as he was just about to leave.

Are You Confident Enough to be Humble?
It is hard to critique your own work. I find it hard to edit my writing. The problem is I think everything I write is wonderful. I just wrote it after all. I often ask others for their feedback before publishing. This bit of humility always results with an improved deliverable.

As a startup you’re already comfortable having big ideas. Those startups who produce winning products couple them with technical skill and perseverance; only resting when a quality product is produced.

We all want our leaders to be confident. I think the best founders are confident in their beliefs the way you want your brain surgeon to be…or the attorney representing you in court. But I’m most impressed when they’re open to input from others.

Are You An Intentional Learner?
The very best founders are also driven by curiosity. They foster a constant state of learning, good vibes, and strong opinions (only loosely held). Winners at the product roll out game constantly reevaluate past decisions to divine an even better path forward.

So…are you really listening?

Are You Testing Your Premise Before Your Roll Out?
Don’t wait until your product is perfect. In fact, do continuous testing early with every iteration, and as you accumulate feedback. Identify people who match your various target market personas. They should be the type of prospects you would use as references if they were customers.

Ask what they hope to get out of your product. Ask them what they think their lives will look like a year after they became a customer. Yes, ask them why they’re considering to buy your offering. But also ask them what they hope to get out it.

Take these aspirational tidbits and apply any changes indicated to the product before your official roll out.

Are You Open To Criticism (Can You Take Your Medicine Like a Big Boy or Girl)?
You may be prepared to tweak your offering. Just don’t be afraid to pivot if that’s what the feedback is telling you. Remember you’re asking for feedback to make sure your initial premise is correct. In other words, don’t fall in love with a version of your product, thinking you know better than those who provide feedback.

Are You Using The Most Informed Buyers as Testers?
Many of us know we should let the Influencers our target markets respects be the first to use our offering.

Yes, influencers will be tremendous help when your official launch date comes along; hopefully sharing their positive reviews with their followers.

Inviting influencers in as beta testers also works to test your offering with someone who really understands your market; someone who likely is the perfect example of the persona you’ve developed. Therefore, they’re likely to give valuable insights.

The moment influencers see you appreciate when they’re candid, that you take their feedback seriously and apply it to enhancing the offering, they’ll turn into loyal and avid supporters upon roll out.

Are You Getting The Most Value From Discounts Offered to First Buyers?
I like to think we should treat our early buyers like our investors… or our mothers. In other words, we should smother these people with attention and respect. And, of course, highly available customer support.

Ideally, they will trade a willingness to respond to future questions or surveys for the first year in return for a sizeable purchase price discount. As you continue to receive each wave of survey responses, and then improve the product in response, you can tailor the subsequent surveys accordingly.

Input From The Marketer on The Team: Make sure you do this thorough bit of research for each target market’s audience.

Are You Operating As A Team?
My biggest successes as a marketer have been when the product people and I work collaboratively. As a technologist, you can appreciate an agile approach. Teaming marketers and developers is the ideal way to join different disciplines and pit strong points of view against each other in order to blend them into a better deliverable.

Are You Thinking Strategically?
As you glean responses from people, dissect the challenges this feedback brings down to their first-order issues and then prioritize them.

Input From The Marketer on The Team: Make sure the marketing members of your collaborative effort can hold their own in your technical product discussions.

Are You Also Testing Your Premise Quantitively?
The most appealing messages we use to sell our offering are the ones describing how our product helps customers solve the problems they face that we’ve uncovered during interviews.

As you refine the words you use to describe your product, you can test your messaging in a more scientific way. As you push out marketing emails you can…
A/B test two subject lines to see which ones produce the most “opens”
Test using the same split method with two different call-to-action links in those emails
A/B test the landing pages for those links to measure which messages produce the most conversions

Input From The Marketer on The Team: The marketer’s job is to define the target market personas, document what they care about and articulate the product’s message in the language buyers use.
Wrap Up
Although framed as a quiz, these are just some of the questions we ask as we assemble our product launch plan. Successful product roll outs require attention to a slew of details. Good listening skills fuel the feedback loops that lead to both a product, and compelling descriptive messages that resonate with your buyers.

Join me on January 25th for a free Lunch & Learn Workshop:
How to Design Your Go-to-Market Launch Plan
Additional information how to register at the end of this blog post or click here: To Register

Attention: Chicago Startup Founders!
If you would like to learn more about the details of a successful product roll out…
Join me on January 25th for a free Lunch & Learn Workshop:
How to Design Your Go-to-Market Launch Plan
Date And Time: Fri, January 25, 2019 | 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM CST
Location: TechNexus | 20 North Upper Wacker Drive, Suite1200 |Chicago, IL 60606
To Register Click Here

Ron Shulkin serves as the Fractional Chief Marketing Officer for emerging digital technology startups. He provides go-to-market strategy guidance and transformational roadmaps to companies of all sizes, architects product launch campaigns, and hires, trains & manages sales teams. As part of his work (and armed with intellectual curiosity), Ron monitors, curates and writes about the latest in digital marketing.
Feel free to reach out with questions or to receive my white paper detailing the components of a product launch plan by Contacting Me: ronshulkin@gmail.com
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronshulkin/
Follow me on Twitter: @Shulkin
If You Want To Be Sure To Catch My Next Post, Become a Fan on Facebook of my Social Media Blog

Tell me where it hurts. (Or getting satisfaction by providing solutions to client challenges)
The Right Way & The Wrong Way To Sell Your Offering
The best vendors don’t barge into potential clients’ offices and start selling their products or services.
The best vendors are thought of as partners. They gain respect by thoroughly researching the prospects’ industry to find out what challenges are faced by every company in their industry. They compare how their prospects is faring in comparison with their competitors. Then finally barge into their offices demanding to ask a lot of questions. The winners start by conducting Discovery.
Getting Invited into Potential Clients’ Offices
The best vendors don’t barge into potential clients’ offices and start selling their products or services. The best vendors are thought of as partners. Okay, the best vendors don’t barge in. They get invited. They get invited by studying the arena their company covers. For instance, if my area of interest is emerging digital marketing technology, I study all the new technologies that, well…emerge. I pay attention when I speak to experts in my space; in this case, when I speak to senior marketing executives. My ear is attuned to discover trends. I synthesize what I’ve learned. And finally, I publish my findings.
The dedication to study one topic diligently and publishing the results helps others interested in the same subject believe you might be a thought leader in your space. When I speak to three different senior marketing executives and hear the same desire, it might mean I’ve tripped over a new trend. When I publish it, I may be only a couple of days ahead of everyone else, but it makes me a reliable source of information to those who follow me.
I don’t ask prospects if they want to learn more about my product. I do ask if we can connect on LinkedIn, so we can follow each other’s progress. It I’ve laid the foundation properly; I’ll be welcomed into the prospects offices to have a discussion. ¬¬¬Leaders are happy to have an informative conversation with a thought leader. They know they may learn something of value.
Discovering Where’s the Pain?
The first step in the discovery process is to gain the permission of the client to participate in the process. The trust to do this is usually achieved by sharing stories of earlier successes with other who have participated in the process. “I spoke with the CMO over at one of your retailer competitors. He told me the “Amazon Effect” had them scrambling to compete. We collaborated on a solution where we assured overnight delivery, personalized suggestions for second purchases, no-charge returns and the ability to pick and return at their local store. We increased sales by 20% and helped keep those stores open”.
When we discover pain, it has to relate to a measurable dollar amount benefit. This means we’re either saving money or making money. And cost savings is always worth more than revenue increases. Less travel, less shipping costs, smaller inventories save money. Predicting which channel is likely for a second purchase yields a revenue increase AND a cost savings (on marketing spend).
Sometimes we have to really hang in there to surface the issues causing pain. I once spent two hours asking questions with one prospect with a technical resource helping me. We got nothing. But laptops closed, coats on, heading for the door, our prospect said in farewell, “Too bad you guys can’t produce this one report we live by here”. Seemed like a “reverse Columbo effect” of “one more thing”. We turned around, sat back down, and flushed out the details of their issues that could be resolved with the right report. We figured out how much it would be worth to the company to have that report reliably available, and went back to the office to assemble a proposal easily cost justified in less than a month!
Ron Shulkin is the Founder of Fractional CMO Group LLC. He serves as the Fractional Chief Marketing Officer for emerging digital technology startups. Ron provides go-to-market strategy guidance and transformational roadmaps to companies of all sizes. He both architects and executes product launch campaigns, and hires, trains & manages sales teams. Armed with intellectual curiosity, Ron monitors, curates and writes about the latest in digital marketing technology.
Feel free to reach out with questions or to discuss your marketing challenges. You can set up a 30 minute introduction call with Ron Shulkin by clicking here.
There is a great deal of information about the services we offer here on our web site.
Please follow FRACTIONAL CMO GROUP on LinkedIn here.
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The power of partnering
When you architect your product launch, it is always a good idea to explore how to be more productive by augmenting your direct sales efforts (whether on line or with a direct sales force) with alternate channels.
Partner channel business development is an art form like any other business activity. There are clear, reasonable guidelines, pioneered by those who have traveled this path in the past. You don’t have to follow these seps mechanically. In fact you should think about every step, execute each with the most creativity. Each partner requires a unique approach, so don’t be handcuffed by guidelines either.
Let’s take a high level look at a significant part of any product launch plan: the Partner Channel business development pursuit.
Why Partner Channels
To augment the direct sales effort, research potential partners and assemble a plan to develop a new channel. Each partner should serve to address a specific challenge your team faces in the product launch plan.
I’m a passionate beiliever in the partner channel’s usefulness. This belief is fueled with the foundation of a history of successes achieved through collaborative partnerships.
Developing the partner channel has its own rules and attributes including the consideration of joint marketing, loyalty and trust, education and capturing the mindshare of the partner’s sales teams. The process of producing an initial inventory of potential partners is straight-forward, but researching and assessing partners is time consumptive.
I think about these key factors when assessing partners.
Market presence, capabilities, market reach, reputation
Real fit, alignment in our capabilities and theirs; alignment of our cultures
Desire of the partner, commitment to our cause, clerar economic benefit to botrh parties
Assembling a list, I like to inventory and prioritize potential parterners based on fit.
Partners may have our answers
Strategy Consultants
Agencies
Vertical Industry experts
Geographic Coverage
Existing Relationships with Our Target Market Prospects
System integrators
They can help
Reduce cost of travel
Increase Marketing Outreach
Reach more prospects quickly
Ideally your partner offers
Complimentary Non-Competitive Offerings
Mutual Benefit
Aggregate or Incremental Revenue

How To Get Results
Users First
After identifying a desirable target partner, one approach is to initially sell to their organization directly; hoping to make them clients of your offering. If they are successful users of your product, they are more likely to be passionate advocates (and can provide positive reviews, case studies and take reference calls.
As one of your clients, you can work to build multiple relationships within the organization, ideally capturing the fancy of senior executives, those with vision who can step up as champions, and members of the sales organizations (your ultimately desirable relationship at the company). The organization’s sales force needs to be supported with meaningful content (generally) and sales support for each prospect selling opportunity they encounter (at least initially).
Make It Easy
It’s up to you to make it easy for your partner to sell your offering to prospects. Joint marketing like webinars are a great way to generate a list of handraisers. It enables you to exploit your partners marketing resources (like lists, email technology, newsletters, etc.). When a lead pops up you can go after it together with your partner. Your first sales cycle together provides an opportunity to design a road map using an iterative process.
All the tactics and content you provide to your direct sales effort should be tweaked and provided for the partner: literature, demo scripts, decks, feature lists, benefit lists, vertical market framed mapping of the offering to their challenges, competitive analysis, cost justification calculators.
Most importantly when yoou’re joint selling into a prospect, I like to provide a written selling plan so everyone knows why wee’re doing this, who we’re talking to, what our messaging is. And the rules of engagement need to be clarly stated so everyone knows who the leader is on this opportunity.
Just like when you’re breaking into a new vertical market or a new geographic territory, while you’re working with your partner, you should identify your first target prospects. Closing a deal at a target provides you with the initial beach head you need to show off to all the other prospects and partner sales people.
An Example
I’ve gone through this process with IBM where just by the nature of their matrix organization, they had 6 different professionals on every con call (product speacialists, pre sales support, the account manager who owns the relationship and makes the first introduction). Because we were selling my offering together, they were happy to let me lead every con call. Proving my subject matter expertise and social relationship skills on the con calls, gave confidence to the account manager I could be relied on in front of his customer.
The Goal
Working with the partner channel has a couple of rules, that if you break, your partner is leaving and not coming back to work with you. Here’s some of my rules.
It is my job to build a relationship with my partner
It is my job to earn the trust of my partner
My challenge is to help make my partner a success; help them close the sale. It is not for me to shoulder everyone aside and grab the steering wheel.
We win or lose the deal together. If the prospect wants my offering but not my partners’ offering (who made the introduction), bringing in another partner to close the deal is taboo.
Then…
Once a member of your partner’s selling team helps you close a sale to a new client together, you’re wise to find ways to publicize it across the rest of the partner’s organization. This use case proves to the rest of the sales force it can be done. One of their peers made money, and garnered success, by working with you as a partner. The others will now believe you deserve their attention.
Armed with intellectual curiosity, Ron Shulkin monitors, curates and writes about emerging digital marketing technologies. He is a mentor for start-ups, provides go-to-market strategy guidance to companies of all sizes, architects sales campaigns, manages sales teams and helps roll out new product and service offerings.

Feel free to reach out with any questions by Contacting Me: ronshulkin@gmail.com
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronshulkin/
Follow me on Twitter: @Shulkin
If You Want To Be Sure To Catch My Next Post, Become a Fan on Facebook of my Social Media Blog

ypically these partners offer non-competitive, complimentary offerings.
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Top Ten B2B Marketing Best Practices

A Riddle:
What does the average startup founder have in common with Ganesh?
Hint:
Ganesh is the Lord of Success, Knowledge & Wealth. (Think about it)

OK, maybe its because Ganesh has four hands.

Reminds me of most business leaders I work with who roll up their sleeves because they have a lot to do.

My wife and I have five adult children, each with their own personality. When I decided to interpret each of their personalities by creating a painting, I pictured one of the over-achiever kids as Ganesh. (No surprise, she now runs marketing for a technology company).

My company’s clients who offer B2B services and products, are busy folks. They wear a lot of hats. They work hard because there is so much they have to accomplish in order to succeed. They become clients when they come to terms, they cannot possibly do everything. Then they’re willing to let me contribute to their marketing efforts. While they concentrate their energies on other things.

B2B company teams are not too worried about brand recognition. Their sales teams need leads. They want qualified prospects to invite them in. As these B2B companies travel a journey with potential buyers, they realize they also need key pieces of content, each serving a different purpose, at different stages of their dialog. They have very pragmatic requirements from marketing.

My work can generally be described as “Pragmatic Marketing”. I routinely work in a minimal infrastructure environment. This means I must be innovative. I design any content contributions so they can be re-purposed. So, a blog post can be tweaked to serve as a piece of literature, 20 social posts, an Infograph, a SlideShare, and more.

Every client is unique. They face different challenges, even those in the same industry and the same market. But there are (at least) 10 elements to a product launch we need to consistently juggle for every engagement; for every product launch; for every campaign or program. Here they are…

Work to Build Relationships Don’t rush into conversations and start selling your product. Strive to know people. Your relationships will be authentic. You will be trusted. If you put others first, you earn a place as a trusted advisor. Then your prospects will appreciate that you’re not just selling product. You’re trying to help clients come up with solutions to their challenges.
Present Yourself as a Thought Leader. If your passionate about your topic, you’re an intentional learner, constantly absorbing information about the latest trends in your space. Plus, you’re probably talking to others who are also hip-deep into the same subject. What you learn from those encounters is unique to you. You should freely share this information with the world, without asking for anything in return. The result? When your potential customers encounter you, they can tell they’ll learn invaluable insights, and will be inclined to invite you to their offices for a discussion. What better payoff can you wish for? BTW, the care and feeding of your social presence doesn’t have to take more of your time than 10 minutes of your time in the morning and another 10 minutes in the evening.
Identify Your Optimal Markets. To make the most of your marketing spend, continue to narrow down the group of people you try to reach. Work hard to become part of that community. These are your PEOPLE!
Get To Know Your Prospect by Talking to Them. Ask clients and prospects what they think. What challenges are they facing? What are their goals? Learn how their company makes buying decisions. Who gets involved in the acquisition process? Ask how you can help them. I find most people are very generous when I call and express a genuine interest in their feedback. I like to act like a detective or a news journalist during these calls. There is valuable information to be discovered on those calls. I want to know more!
Constantly Test Your Messaging. Keep tinkering with your email subject lines, with who you list as the sender, and with offers made in the calls to action. Use A/B testing to see what works best. Don’t accept success until one message obviously outperforms all the others. If you want to talk to people who might buy your offering, you’ll have more success if you’re talking about topics your buyer wants to hear. Keep your ears open and your antennae up. Learn and speak your buyer’s language. Find out what topics your buyers are interested in and talk about them.
Refresh Your Website. Your presence on the web stands in your place on the internet. Those messages you tested and proven winners should be part of the story you tell on your site. Plus, marketing technology keeps marching forward with new, exciting technology showing up all the time. You want to be perceived as someone who embraces “what’s next” in technology. The refresh of your website provides you an opportunity to show that off.
E-Mail is Still the Most Powerful Marketing Channel for B2B. Beef up your database all the time. For those who unsubscribe, yet are still important prospects in your opinion, reach them with LinkedIn ads, which can be as targeted, frequently more so, than emails.
Assemble a Marketing Strategy First. You’ll find deciding on a particular marketing tactic is very easy when the choices are informed by a strategy. I suggest a thorough research project, selecting your best markets, find out what messages resonate, then document what you’ve learned in a “Playbook”. This way everyone (including you) can understand exactly what you’re trying to accomplish with your marketing outreach program (and the budget dollars you’re spending on different activities. The Playbook is also a great way to help partners and investors appreciate your well-researched marketing spend decisions.
Provide Everyone With a Battle Card. The Battle Card has everything anyone representing your offering could need to know about how to sell your B2B offering to your target prospects. I think of it like an encyclopedia of a sort. The Battle Cards I prepare for clients often include:
Messaging
Personas
Brand Position
Handling Objections
Elevator Pitch
Competitive Advantages
Products, Services And Solutions
Our Audience’s Vision For Ideal
Qualification
Opportunity Definition
Keep Your Eye On the Ball. Things change. Google modifies its algorithm often, so you’ll need to tweak your SEO and SEM efforts periodically to retain your visibility. Keep trying different marketing channels. If you stay on the ball, knowing what works, it is worth real money when you apply your knowledge to your marketing spend.

Ron Shulkin serves as the Fractional Chief Marketing Officer for emerging digital technology startups. He provides go-to-market strategy guidance and transformational roadmaps to companies of all sizes, architects product launch campaigns, and hires, trains & manages sales teams. As part of his work (and armed with intellectual curiosity), Ron monitors, curates and writes about the latest emerging digital marketing.
Feel free to reach out with questions. Contact Me: ron@fractionalcmogroup.com
To receive my white paper detailing the components of a product launch plan visit here: https://www.fractionalcmogroup.com/free-report-creating-value/
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronshulkin/
Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/cmo_llc
To download additional informative Anatomy of a Product Launch infographs like this one, visit https://www.fractionalcmogroup.com/additional-resources/

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Business News›Small Biz›Startups›Features›How a clutch of new investors are helping end the funding winter of Indian startups
How a clutch of new investors are helping end the funding winter of Indian startups
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How a clutch of new investors are helping end the funding winter of Indian startups
By
Rahul Sachitanand
&
Malini Goyal
, ET BureauLast Updated: Apr 09, 2018, 09:52 AM IST
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Synopsis
A notorious funding crunch had put a stop to the flow of money in 2016 and a significant part of 2017. Many startups, having failed to secure funds, died.
The startup landscape has come a long way in a decade, when many investors first tried their luck in India.
Located just outside the verdant 370-acre Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, the Society for Innovation and Development (SID) has over the past three decades tried to act as a bridge between companies of all sizes and the academic heft of its parent. A key missing link for the startups it has sought to seed has been a paucity of funds, especially for fledgling ventures focused on deep science and technology.

Few investors have the patience or understanding to back companies in such areas, where ideas require a decade or longer to gestate and plenty of handholding is required before commercialisation. A veteran technology outsourcing advisor, Siddarth Pai, and the former managing director and chief executive officer of IL&FS private equity, Archana Hingorani, hope to plug this gap.

Their new fund, Siana Capital Management, wants to raise up to $100 million to help academic ventures find funding and a firm footing. “The chance to back scalable opportunities in science is vastly underserved in India,” says Pai. “We want to build a fund that sharply focuses on the needs of this market, rather than take a spray-and-pray approach with our investors’ money.” This means working with units such as SID — and potentially other innovation centres at other academic institutes — to identify ideas with strong, scalable business models.

Siana, early-stage funds such as Stellaris, later-stage ones such as IAN Fund, and specialists such as Epiq are all jostling to get noticed. This is welcome news for startups, especially after a recent funding crunch.

If 2016 and a chunk of 2017 were notorious for a biting funding winter, when many startups failed to net funding and were shut, the past 18 months have seen an improvement in sentiment. Many of these funds have expanded their reach so that more startups can blossom. Besides, top names heading India operations of marquee funds or in senior management roles at such entities have struck out on their own, making the talent pool deeper.

Capital deployed across Series-A, -B and -C funding into startups surged 73% year-onyear to $850 million in the quarter ended March 31, and the number of deals rose 30% to 76, according to Tracxn, which tracks deal flow. However, with fewer companies being set up, angel and seed funding for startups has declined at the idea stage and in the subsequent period of fine-tuning the product to the market. Funding for these dropped 45% to 112 deals in the quarter.

Game Changer
This is where the new funds come in handy. These hope to tackle challenges in both sides of the market. The funds want to target startups that have gone beyond the early stage and need funding (often the first or second serious or institutional tranche) to keep the entities going. In later stages, the number of funds providing larger rounds of funding are limited.

Industry observers, including fellow venture capitalists (VCs), serial entrepreneurs, and analysts are not gung-ho about the survival of many of these private investment funds. Returns of existing funds have been poor — over $114.5 billion was invested between 2008 and 2017 in all stages, according to Venture Intelligence, but the returns were only $62.5 billion. And limited partners (LPs), who give VCs money, are also chary of backing more players in such a challenging market. “This is a tough market for a new fund to survive,” says Sudhir Sethi, managing director of Inventus Capital. “They are dealing with sceptical LPs and incumbent investors protecting their turf.”

But that problem might be taken care of by global funds and a recent government initiative. In 2015, under the government’s Startup India Action Plan, the Reserve Bank of India allocated Rs 10,000 crore to set up a fund of funds as a domestic source of capital for seed and early-stage companies.

“We are seeing the availability of institutional capital in India for the first time, with the government’s fund of funds being a big catalyst,” says Ritesh Banglani of Stellaris Capital.

This money is being disbursed by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), which has committed 15% of the corpus. Fund managers raise the rest from private sources. In the first year alone, Sidbi put in a substantial Rs 600 crore, says Saurabh Srivastava, cofounder of IAN and IAN Fund.

“The biggest push has come from the government, which is helping build an entrepreneurial ecosystem. While the ecosystem is maturing and the economy is growing, entrepreneurs are acquiring critical mass.”

Beside this, the largest funds in the world are raising or have raised billions of dollars for India, despite a market trough. After backing a wave of consumer-centric businesses, these investors aren’t just focusing on the next big thing, they are also spreading their investment across time frames — from early-stage to growth-stage deals. Then there are the mammoths, notably SoftBank (whose $100 billion Vision Fund has forced marquee names such as Sequoia Capital to raise fresh capital) and Uber founder Travis Kalanick’s 10100 fund, focused on India and China.

Another game changer promises to be on the talent front. Executives who have been in the India offices of marquee funds have floated their own outfits. Their plan is to take control of their money, rather than let the mandarins abroad pull the strings. Apart from operation knowledge, these executives claim they can deploy funds better than a global operator.

“There are now individual investors who have been in the market for over a decade, have built relationships and brands,” says Rahul Chandra, founder of Unitary Helion.

Such investors are in many ways running startups of their own. Raising a fund gives one a better perspective of the responsibilities towards investors and empathy towards entrepreneurs. This is also a natural expansion of the VC ecosystem. India has a surprisingly low number of VC fund managers. These executives are also focused on specific opportunities, and are keen to improve the record of spotty returns in early-stage investment.

“Among limited partners (the source of money for such funds), we see a clear fondness for smaller funds,” says Chandra, who is sewing together a $100 million fund focused on tech innovation. “For a, say, $300 million fund, you need a far larger scale of outcomes and many more unicorns to give your LPs good returns.”

Investment & Returns
Kanwaljit Singh of Fireside says his fund’s focus is to write smaller cheques, rope in entrepreneurs early and then follow up with multiple rounds, totalling Rs 15 crore, when the firm zeroes in on a Series-A round. “We are a focused fund and we know the space we are in very well. We build a network of partners and vendors who can support these entrepreneurs,” he adds. “That’s a big plus we bring to the table. We are not just a provider of capital but also a provider of support.”

But investors like Singh will be entering a market that saw early-stage venture capital investing fall to a three-year low in 2017, according to VCCEdge. Some 435 angel investors and seed transactions put in about $244.6 million (Rs 1,627.26 crore) in 2017, down almost 35% in the year-ago period. Compared with 2015, angel investment and seed deals this year have dropped by more than 46% in value. Series-A investments have dropped about 30% to $492.6 million, across 133 deals, against 2016. According to data from Inc42, a provider of analysis on startups, some 34 funds planned to raise over $2 billion in 2017. In the past quarter, several more, including Pai’s Siana, have joined this line.

Optimism in the Air
For the chiefs of new funds, however, the glass is half full. “For the first time, there is capital available in India,” says Ritesh Banglani, cofounder of Stellaris Venture Partners. “The country has many seasoned entrepreneurs who are now active investors. Family offices are also showing more interest in this asset class (startups).” This means that newbie investors like him can now look beyond traditional sources of finance (US pension funds, for example) and look closer home. Family offices have deployed up to $400 million over the past five years, he says. Five years ago, these entities had zero investment in this space.

To try to differentiate itself in the market, Banglani’s company has put together a network of associates called the Stellaris Founder Network. The focus is to increase deal flow and deal generation as well as connect with high-quality startups. A quarter of priority deals today comes through this route.

This group serves as advisors, co-investors and even does due diligence on potential investment.

These investors look beyond financial incentives; it is their way of giving back to a community that nurtured them.

Fundamentum, for example, will invest a significant chunk of the founders’ own money in the fund but will not take a fee. “Our earnings will be the appreciation of valuation that our investment undergoes. Other investors will be investing pari passu with us. We will be LPs performing the role of GP (general partner) and will not take any fee,” says cofounder Sanjeev Aggarwal, founder of Daksh BPO. With Aggarwal in this venture is Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani.

But all these do not necessarily mean the days of fat cheques are here. New early-stage investors aren’t risking piecing together generic funds. “A $150 million fund does not usually write too many million-dollar cheques as such funds don’t like to be distracted by multiple deals,” says Sateesh Andra, founder of Endiya Partners. Instead, the $50 million he has started with will be deployed in 18-20 deals, with each partner looking at no more than four or five. Andra is betting on two aspects to differentiate his fund from the competition. One, it will focus on talent (especially returning tech executives and geeks at local R&D centres) to devise breakout ideas in deep tech and, two, it will deal with a narrow band of five institutions and 10 senior entrepreneurs as LPs.

Banglani of Stellaris will focus on Series-B deals (around $20 million in size) focused on firms in logistics and retail, while looking at ventures building software as a service offerings, too. Unlike Banglani, Singh’s Fireside is backing companies in consumer goods, apparel and home products. The same verticals draw Fundamentum, too.

Meanwhile, Ajay Hattangadi and Vinod Murali of Alteria Capital are tackling another challenge. They have been trying to convince entrepreneurs to eschew paring their equity for funding and instead opt for venture debt.

“Venture debt fills an important funding niche in the market for things like new offices, working capital and acquisition finance — for which ventures have traditionally and wastefully used equity,” says Hattangadi, cofounder of Alteria Capital.

In January 2016, India-based alternative investment funds were allowed to raise funds from foreign sources, catalysing the establishment of investors such as Alteria. Unlike traditional debt providers, venture debt funds have more liberal exit options and don’t have fewer limitations on the equity component of a deal. In the 12 months Alteria has been in business, several firms — including edutech startup Byju’s, groceries venture Bigbasket and ready-to-cook business Fingerlix — have signed up for debt funds.

For all these companies, the attraction is keeping the equity structure unchanged, even as they find a way to finance their growth. Until recently, restrictive regulation prevented the establishment of debt funds in India. According to Hattangadi, venture debt as a form of finance has come to occupy an important part of funding conversations. However, rather than targeting all startups, venture debt may be more suited for ventures with a relatively stable business and some ability to withstand short-term slowdown or stagnation.

The startup landscape has come a long way in a decade, when many investors first tried their luck in India. “Five years ago, entrepreneurs had no choice but to go directly to VCs, who were often not ready to fund early-stage businesses,” says Banglani. “Today, a new entrepreneur first goes to angel investors or successful entrepreneurs, who offer him validation, mentorship and the initial capital to get started.” Besides money, these entrepreneurs offer capital, connections, network and mentoring.

Valuable Lessons
Entrepreneurs and investors have learnt some valuable lessons over the past few years, says Aggarwal of Fundamentum. The most important is that there is no substitute for the fundamental activities that go into building a company.

“The question that startups must answer is, are you building a sustainable and scalable business?” he says. “That’s the big difference between Amazon and Snapdeal.”

Amazon, for example, has worked hard to get sticky customers with its Prime membership, while diversifying its revenue streams by building verticals like Amazon Web Services that contributed $17.46 billion to its revenues in 2017. But etailers like Snapdeal have for a long time largely chased metrics like gross merchandise volume or GMV (used in online retailing to indicate sales through a marketplace over a certain period).

“It is important to back entrepreneurs to create value, not valuation. That means not chasing vanity metrics like GMV,” adds Agarwal.

Entrepreneurs say the influx of new thinking and the focus of these funds are helping. Kamal Karanth, a veteran HR consultant who set up Xpheno 12 months ago, says access to early-stage investors has become easier, even if it is only to examine a business proposal.

“Earlier, meeting some of these storied investors meant you had to know people in closed networks or you had to mass mail them and hope they reply,” he adds. “Now, I’m being approached by many of these new funds, because they are open to new segments and approaches from startups.”

Younger entrepreneurs are positive these new funds will give them more options to gain an early foothold and also exposure to investors with deeper knowledge of the local market.

“When we started off, everyone wanted to just fund the next ecommerce idea,” says Ujwal Sutaria, founder of Athletto, a sports venture. “It becomes easier to have a conversation with a deeper pool of investors if they deploy their own money to back local enterprises.” As he scales his business, Sutaria knows he can look beyond “the walled-off garden of a dozen global funds” for his next tranche of funding.

Take the case of Rohit Chokhani, who went from builder to venture capitalist, with White Unicorn Ventures. He has steered his fund in new directions in the past quarter. The Rs 250 crore fund, which invested in Drivezy and Routofy, has turned away from chasing opportunities in segments such as ecommerce. Instead, it is looking at segments such as deep tech, logistics and firms that focus on devising financial inclusion solutions for India’s unbanked population. “Entrepreneurs in many of these segments are more open to advice from investors and the market is far less crowded,” he says.

Singh of Fireside sees shifting trends as a key driver in the establishment of his fund. “The whole motivation to have a fund like ours was triggered from some of the trends we saw playing in the market — like the emergence of millennials, digital infrastructure growth with the rising use of smartphones and internet connections and the emergence of digital etailers. Also, the emergence of high-quality entrepreneurs who are getting into the startup space.”

Other long-time investors are putting their experience to use in other ways. Over the past decade, Saurabh Srivastava has seen the evolution of the Indian entrepreneur first hand, as the cofounder of the Indian Angel Network, a collection of some 470 backers of fledgling ventures. Now, he is set to put some of these learnings to test with IAN Fund.

“In the next 10 years, we expect IAN and IAN Fund to co-invest Rs 5,000 crore in 50 companies. We see ourselves as the largest platform for seed-funding and early-stage investment. We have raised Rs 250 crore and have set a target of Rs 350 crore. We have done eight investments so far.”

Having grown roots across the ecosystem, IAN is looking to use its alliances with top VCs such as Sequoia and Accel to bag deals in the angel round, before big investors roll in.

“So, if and when a startup is raising the second round with us as angels, we invite investors like Sequoia to invest and we invest alongside them,” Srivastava adds. These deals help IAN because they get a longer runway for companies in its portfolio.

Mobile Opportunity
If all these were not enough, there’s a big change in the offing, says Banglani of Stellaris. Venture capital investing in tech startups took off in 2006. But the industry saw a surge in opportunity in 2012, with the advent of mobile internet. Around 2015, when valuations were sky-high, companies went directly from early-round funding to big tranches typically associated with Series-D and –E. Now, this area is seeing a more stable environment, and there’s an opportunity in the Indian technology market.

“Some funds are being established to tap this opportunity. But their success or failure will be dictated by the fund managers involved and their investment track record,” says Rishi Navani, who set up Epiq Capital in 2016.

Banglani adds: “Of India’s 400 million internet users, barely 100 million speak English. Fewer than that number have ever used a desktop. Internet services for the remaining 300 million users will need to be built from the ground up — in terms of language, user experience and access channels. Indian languages will get more traction. And user experience of this group will be very different. As a result, our strategy will be more India-oriented business models. VCs flying in from overseas to make a bet on India will find it difficult.”

These new VCs feel that entrepreneurs have matured and are willing to wait and make businesses meatier. After the funding winter, it remains to be seen if this is the start of an Indian summer.
( Originally published on Apr 08, 2018 )
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BLOG POST 3
WHAT SHOULD BE IN THE SLIDES?

Here are Questions you should answer in a pitch deck:
How much money we are raising and the promised return
What is the product
Why people will buy it
We have an amazing team: (big name logos only)
How we will make money and so will investors
Please note, we already have traction

Have you heard of Guy Kawasaki?
The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint
Ten Slides/20 Minutes/No font smaller than 30 points
The only ten slides you need in a pitch
Guy Kawasaki is a renowned presentation evangelist. He was an advisor to the Motorola business unit of Google and chief evangelist of Apple.

His presentation structure is something like this:
Title
Problem/Opportunity
Value Proposition
Underlying Magic
Business Model
Go-to-Market Plan
Competitive Analysis
Management Team
Financial Projections and Key Metrics
Current status, accomplishments to date, timeline and use of funds>> (really, all in one slide?)
We agree with the overall structure and storytelling of these decks. You see, it’s organic to start talking about the problem you’re solving, move to the solution, talk about how you’re going to execute it and why you are THE best person to do it.
Kawasaki’s take is very strict on the number of slides, he emphasizes there should be 10 slides. We don’t necessarily agree with this, because you probably want 20 nice and clean slides vs 10 crammed up slides.
In fact, here’s a list of EVERY possible slide:
Here’s a list of these slides:
Problem
Solution
Value Proposition
Market Validation
Why Now?
Product
Market Size
Business Model
Underlying Magic
Competition Research
Competitive, Advantage
Marketing Plan or Go-to-market
Leadership Team
Board or Advisors
Traction or Milestones
Press
User Testimonials
Fundraising or The Ask
Financials
Use of Funds
Thank you or Contact

The BNC philosophy doesn’t dictate how many slides you present. As long as you deliver your message in ten minutes, it doesn’t make a difference. The number of slides is not important. The number of minutes is.

Have you seen an Apple iPhone announcement? Steve Jobs was famous for them.
Did you ever notice how many words on his slides?
Do you know the most words he ever had on one slide?
(It was 17, it showed a quote from Wayne Gretsky)

Slides
Use pictures, but make certain they can be understood & obvious, not serve as a distraction.
Use the slides as props. You are the star of the presentation, so on each slide use pictures not words, Use big icons or graphics or images
Internalize your message; use one image/point per page. Read notes if you must; but don’t read your slide. Don’t give the audience anything to read (that they’ll read instead of listening to you)
Use a big font (the point size equal to no less than half of the oldest person’s age in your audience) go for 30 pt. minimum, 45 pt. better
No bullets, one point per slide
In the world of presentations, the words on the slides need to be short and concise—and for good reason.
Aside from the fact that 80% of the information we process is visual, Docsend reports that the average investor spends only 3 minutes and 44 seconds in viewing a pitch deck.
https://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=googlescholar&id=GALE%7CA303642825&v=2.1&it=r&sid=AONE&asid=7c026e82

https://docsend.com/view/p8jxsqr

WHAT SHOULD BE IN THE SLIDES?

We get that question a lot. We have an answer for that. It’s not a list of slide titles.

Here’s what we think of slides: “They Are Props!”. You, the startup founder, the presenter, are the most important part of the investor pitch.

If your slides are full of words and bullets or worse, scientific jargon, your audience of investors are reading the slide instead of listening to your story. We advise images populate your slides. Images to enhance your story. Read on.

We don’t recommend a list of slides. But we Do have a point of view.

BNC Believes Effective Startup Founder Presentations Answer 6 Questions

How much money we are raising and the promised return
What is the product
Why people will buy it
We have an amazing team: (big name logos only)
How we will make money and so will investors
Please note, we already have traction

If you do a search on “Investor Pitch Deck” be prepared for a lot of different opinions. The BNC team believes expert advise recommending a specific list of slides is mechanical at its best and presumptuous at it worst.

(Click The Image For The Full Size Infograph)

Let’s Check Out One Expert’s Views. Have you heard of Guy Kawasaki?
Guy Kawasaki is a renowned presentation evangelist. He was an advisor to the Motorola business unit of Google and chief evangelist of Apple. Here’s his 10/20/30 Rule:
The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint
“The only ten slides you need in a pitch”
Ten Slides/20 Minutes/No font smaller than 30 points
A1
His presentation structure is something like this:
Title
Problem/Opportunity
Value Proposition
Underlying Magic
Business Model
Go-to-Market Plan
Competitive Analysis
Management Team
Financial Projections and Key Metrics
Current status, accomplishments to date, timeline and use of funds>> (really, all in one slide?)
We agree with the overall structure and storytelling of these decks. It’s organic to start talking about a problem you encountered, move to the solution, talk about how you’re going to execute it and why you are THE best person to lead it; your team offering the ONLY Solution to fix things.
Kawasaki’s take is very strict on the number of slides, he emphasizes there should be 10 slides. We don’t necessarily agree with this, because you probably want 20 nice and clean slides vs 10 crammed up slides.
A survey of “pitch deck best practices” yields a variety of opinions on what is best. In fact, here’s a list of EVERY possible slide:
A list of “Highly Recommended” Investor Pitch Deck slides:
Problem
Solution
Value Proposition
Market Validation
Why Now?
Product
Market Size
Business Model
Underlying Magic
Competition Research
Competitive, Advantage
Marketing Plan or Go-to-market
Leadership Team
Board or Advisors
Traction or Milestones
Press
User Testimonials
Fundraising or The Ask
Financials
Use of Funds
Thank you or Contact

(Click The Image For The Full Size Infograph)
A3

Shoot For Just Images
A4

More Thoughts on Slides
Use pictures, but make certain they can be understood & obvious, not serve as a distraction.
Use the slides as props. You are the star of the presentation, so on each slide use pictures not words, Use big icons or graphics or images
Don’t give the audience anything to read (that they’ll read instead of listening to you). At the most, if you must, use a title on each page.
Internalize your message; use one image/point per page. Don’t Read. Don’t read notes and absolutely don’t read your slide.
For any words or numbers on slides, use a big font (the point size equal to no less than half of the oldest person’s age in your audience) go for 30 pt. minimum, 45 pt. better
No bullets, only one point per slide
In the world of presentations, the words on the slides need to be short and concise—and for good reason.
This Is Your Moment!
A6
When you tell your story to an audience of investors, be prepared to capture, and keep their attention. Your story needs to be compelling. And presented without distraction. Think of this moment as Theater. This is your moment. Don’t waste it. Go Knock ‘Em Dead!
Although 80% of the information we process is visual, the average investor spends only 3 minutes and 44 seconds in viewing a pitch deck. Presenting at the BNC Venture Forum, you have a chance at holding their interest for a half hour (10 minute presentation, followed by 20 minutes of Q&A).
BUSINESS NETWORK CHICAGO…
Brings Together Mentors, Service Providers, Entrepreneurs & Accredited Investors, to play a role during our Monthly Pitch Events
Each month three companies routinely present in the BNC format, aiming to deliver the information investors require to make good decisions
BNC’s leadership and our extensive network of talented mentors work with presenters to ensure they deliver a quality experience to our investor audiences
Introduces exciting investment opportunities to professional and accredited investors (angels, early stage venture capitalists, and private equity firms seeking add-ons)
Facilitates and nurtures networking opportunities among top business professionals
Commits to foster the growth of entrepreneurial activity. and the development of mutually beneficial relationships
For the Last 17 Years BNC Has Hosted Monthly Live Event Pitch Nights

investor interest in pitch decks increased 18% bringing strong funding momentum heading into 2022.
“2021 further solidified the role of pitch decks in the fundraising process. While there was somewhat of a return to in-person meetings in the past year, it’s clear that the pitch deck has become both the calling card and the business plan for founders.

amid the pandemic and market uncertainty, pre-seed startups were held to new expectations of monetization and competition
There are three key trends that emerged.
Increased pitch deck scrutiny works in the founder’s favor
founders should cut from their deck sections that do not immediately advance the narrative
Highly engaged investors look for robust business models and compelling traction in the seed stage companies they ultimately fund.
Monetization plans and market traction are key differentiators
Investors spend 94% more time scrutinizing realistic monetization plans & business models in pitch decks that got funding.
investors spent 78% more time on the market traction sections of decks that didn’t receive funding.

A fully-launched product is becoming the norm for seed startups
Contacting more investors doesn’t yield better results
For your seed round, contacting a healthy number of investors can yield more meetings.
diminishing returns kick in after about 100 investor contacts,
many companies in our survey secured meetings from less expansive investor outreach strategies.
Further, our data shows no clear trend between the number of investors contacted and the amount of funding raised.
Persistence doesn’t necessarily pay off: seed founders should focus on contacting investors who 1) fund companies in their field and 2) write checks in the amount they’re looking for.
almost all decks put their nucleus of Company Purpose, Problem, Solution, and Market Size sections up front.

Coming out of the pandemic we have a unique opportunity to reverse this trend. Americans are finally taking more risks — quitting their jobs in record numbers and starting new businesses. Most of the new businesses are small or sole proprietorships.

otal deal value in 2021 rose to a record of nearly $5 trillion, according to PitchBook’s 2021 Global M&A Report, partly driven by pent-up demand from the economic uncertainty of 2020. Last year’s volume included 6,453 tech deals worth a combined $896.5 billion, a 50% year-over-year leap.

That momentum may carry over into 2022, but the threat of increased regulatory scrutiny casts a long shadow, especially in the context of antitrust and national security policy. Tech giants, in particular, are in regulators’ crosshairs—none more so than the big five: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta (formerly Facebook) and Microsoft.

BNC VENTURE FORUM COHORT INVESTS US$500K SEED INVESTMENT IN INNOVATIVE BILLBOARDS
A BNC Venture Forum cohort made a US$500K seed investment in Innovative Billboards, who’s new “Billboard in a Box” is disrupting the billboard industry

October 14, 2021 (Press Release) BNC VENTURE FORUM COMMUNITY INVESTS US$500K IN INNOVATIVE BILLBOARDS

Innovative Billboards, LLC, the provider of a new, breakthrough billboard technology, raised US$500K from accredited investor participants in the BNC Venture Forum.

INNOVATIVE BILLBOARDS
Innovative Billboards’ Billboard-in-a-Box is a completely new, patented, cost-effective, scrolling technology. Paul Angott, Innovative Billboards’ Founder & President, is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, having sold over $100M of products generated from his 40 patents.

The company is enjoying tremendous momentum. Paul notes, “XXXXXX”.
This US$500K investment moves the company product rollout dates forward, sooner realizing Paul’s vision of selling 2000 units per state over the next few years. “One industry expert tells us he would expect to sell 20 Billboard in a Box’s in Michigan in the 1st year”.

BNC INVESTORS INVEST IN THE ROUND
BNC Venture Forum, a community of startup founders, mentors & accredited investors, is pleased to note BNC community participants made a US$500K seed investment in Innovative Billboards.

David Rambhajan, Entrepreneur, Investor and Veteran & Small Business Advocate, comments, “XXXXXXXX”

“We work to foster the growth of entrepreneurial activity, by introducing exciting investment opportunities, just like Innovative Billboards, to professional investors”, said Len Bland, BNC’s co-host.

Len continued, “So far, two BNC investors moved forward for this round. We’re thrilled our efforts contributed to this US$500K investment for Innovative Billboards. We’re hoping it inspires other accredited investors in our BNC audience to invest and fill out this round for the company. “

ABOUT INNOVATIVE BILLBOARDS
Innovative Billboards is disrupting the billboard industry. Their “Billboard in a Box” is a completely new, patented, cost-effective, scrolling technology. It fills a missing industry need found between static and LED billboards. It provides a multi ad solution for 40% of the cost and 1/10th the electricity of an LED billboard. This dramatically increases revenue & profit for billboard companies. The Billboard in a Box enables billboard companies to place highly profitable units in locations previously not economically viable.

ABOUT BNC VENTURE FORUM
The BNC Venture Forum is a community of accredited investors, service providers, entrepreneurs, mentors, and startup founders. BNC hosts a monthly virtual gathering, introducing exciting, interesting, and innovative companies. Startup Founders present in the BNC format (delivering information investors require to make good decisions). BNC’s leadership, and an extensive network of experienced mentors, coach presenters to ensure a quality experience for our audiences. The BNC coaching session incorporates a mandatory, in-depth audit, and an Investor Pitch Deck Best Practices Masterclass. The BNC Investor Community is surveyed often. When our community expresses sufficient interest to invest in one of our startup founder presenters, the BNC Venture Forum may organize an investment fund (Special Purpose Vehicle or SPV), and serve as the SPV’s Lead Investor

For BNC Contact
Ron Shulkin, (847) 612-2139, ronshulkin@gmail.com

For Innovative Billboards, LLC Contact
Paul G. Angott, (248) 444-1492, pgangott@innovativebillboards.com

Pitch Event Details
BNC Venture Forum MasterClass is the competition for startups using information technology to make life better.
From a global applicant pool, we select finalists who receive coaching and mentoring from startup mavens. Our monthly BNC Venture Forum MasterClass Summit is a pitch competition where finalists present their Investor Pitch Deck to our global virtual audience of prestigious corporate, angel, and venture investors who provide feedback and vote for winners. The well-connected audience on the web, weigh in via social media tools, making the BNC Venture Forum MasterClass personalized coaching sessions…and presentation slot, one of the most dynamic of its kind.
We enjoyed capacity attendance by an enthusiastic and an engaged audience.
BNC Venture Forum MasterClass companies have collectively raised millions in funding.
BNC Venture Forum MasterClass is run by a dedicated group of volunteers from around the USA, primarily from the Chicago startup ecosystem. Each monthly event typically involves multiple volunteers to operate and promote the program as well as recruit, screen, coach, and judge the startup applicants.
MEET THE TEAM
MEET THE COACHES
A huge thank you to our awesome coaches who prepare the finalists to give great presentations for BNC Venture Forum MasterClass.
All News

Check here regularly for our latest press release, news, and blog posts

PAST WINNERS INCLUDE:
THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Harry Kainen, 2020
GENERAL RULES
Submissions may be entered by individuals or teams.
Each team may enter one idea.
The Judging Panel reserves the right to disqualify any entry.
ELIGIBILITY DETAILS
PRIZE PAYMENTS
CONFIDENTIALITY
Access to submitted executive summaries is only granted by the BNC VENTURE FORUM MASTERCLASS Organizing Committee to the members of its judging panel. The BNC VENTURE FORUM MASTERCLASS managing directors and judging committee are the only other individuals who may be provided with the submitted executive summaries. Reasonable steps are taken to limit access to the submitted executive summaries (collectively referred to as “summaries”).
The judges of the BNC VENTURE FORUM MASTERCLASS Entrepreneurship Competition are venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and lawyers who are used to dealing with confidential material on a regular basis. If some part of the entered Executive Summary is confidential, contestants will need to clearly mark that information as “CONFIDENTIAL,” and the BNC VENTURE FORUM MASTERCLASS Organizing Committee will retain that legend in any copy of the summary provided to the members of the judging panel. However, even if contestants mark their information as confidential, there will be no confidentiality obligation by any recipient of the summary for information which: (a) is publicly available prior to the time of its disclosure to the BNC VENTURE FORUM MASTERCLASS Entrepreneurship Competition or becomes publicly available thereafter through no wrongful act of the recipient, or (b) was known to the recipient prior to the date of disclosure or becomes known to the recipient thereafter from a third party having an apparent bona fide right to disclose the information, or (c) is disclosed by recipient in accordance with your approval, or (d) is disclosed by you or any member of your team without restriction on further disclosure, or (e) is independently developed by a recipient; or (f) the recipient is obligated to disclose to comply with applicable laws or regulations, or with a court or administrative order.
The identities of the contestants and the short description of the business disclosed in the registration, as well as any pitch delivered during any BNC VENTURE FORUM MASTERCLASS event are considered of public domain and can be used by the BNC VENTURE FORUM MASTERCLASS Organizing Committee for marketing and PR purposes.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Teams can create businesses using technologies that they have permission to use. This could mean that they created the technology, that the patent is in their name, or that they have the explicit, written permission of the person or organization that owns the intellectual property. Any team that violates this will be automatically disqualified from the contest. Before submitting entries, the BNC VENTURE FORUM MASTERCLASS Organizing Committee urges contestants to confirm with appropriate advisors or legal counsel that any intellectual property described in their summary is protected; i.e., by appropriate intellectual property filings, notices, (patent, copyright, etc) by the owning institution and/or individuals. The BNC VENTURE FORUM MASTERCLASS Organizing Committee also recommends that contestants determine in advance whether their summary describes a technology, invention, copyrightable work or other intellectual property owned by MIT in accordance with MIT Policy. The MIT Technology Licensing Office is available to answer any related questions.
MISCELLANEOUS
BNC VENTURE FORUM MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND CONCERNING THE MIT ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETITION, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. IN NO EVENT SHALL BNC VENTURE FORUM, ITS TRUSTEES, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, STUDENTS, THE MIT ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETITION JUDGES AND MENTORS, AND AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY ADVICE, INFORMATION OR DECISIONS MADE FOR OR ON BEHALF OF THE MIT ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETITION OR FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING ECONOMIC DAMAGES OR INJURY TO PROPERTY AND LOST PROFITS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER MIT SHALL BE ADVISED, SHALL HAVE OTHER REASON TO KNOW OR IN FACT SHALL KNOW OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THE FOREGOING.

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CodeLaunch Startup Competition
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NATIONAL SEED ACCELERATOR
COMPETITION & STARTUP CONFERENCE
November 5th, 2020
Comerica Center – Frisco, TX
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ABOUT CODELAUNCH
2020 Panelists and Emcee

TBD

Kelly Starnes
3GStrong Co-Founder
Judge

Phil Elias
Buzznog CEO & Founder
Judge

Stan Golubchik
ContraForce CEO & Founder
Judge

TBD

TBD
ABOUT CODELAUNCH
Compete to Win Seed Services
What do you get when you combine a seed accelerator competition, tech tradeshow, a startup conference, and a raucous networking event?

YOU GET CODELAUNCH
CodeLaunch sponsors and partners put thousands of dollars in professional seed services behind the winners of its national seed accelerator competition. CodeLaunch has become a unique and critical amenity to pre-MVP startups.
SEED ACCELERATOR
At the core of CodeLaunch is an annual seed accelerator competition between individuals and groups who have software technology startup ideas.
ABOUT CODELAUNCH
2020 Seed Services

$11K
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Hackathon Team
One Finalist

$10k
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All Finalists Present

$27K
3 Pros, 24 Hours
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HOW TO ORGANISE HIGH-PERFORMING STARTUP PITCHING CONTESTS
By: Tetiana Hanchar Tetiana Hanchar

Date: Apr 11, 2018

Comment: 0

Category: Awards Management
Sharing your precious startup ideas with friends, not to mention hundreds of investors, can be frightening. With new startup pitching contests popping up everywhere on a daily basis, it’s critical to make sure that your event is the one where the most enlightening speeches and innovation take place.

So where do we start? The two things that should be on your to-do list before the launch are audience analytics and goal setting.
Find out more about your audience

Getting a startup pitching event right means implementing a program that satisfies different audience segments, from angel investors to startup founders. With that thought in mind, you have to develop a working strategy of multi-layered targeting. In other words, think about how you can marry the idea of a contest with the intents of investors, businesspeople, judges, and startup founders who attend your contest. Here are the basic mechanisms that work well with each audience category:
Collect strategies that have already worked. There are many event organisers who know how to play the startup game right. Have a look around. Focus on startup pitching events that generate a lot of buzzes online, and target the audience segments similar to yours. You don’t have to copy someone’s strategy, but you should explore the tone used by startup event organisers in promo campaigns, check out the most popular venues, etc.

Build custom surveys. Approach people whom you want to be a part of your event, and ask them for honest feedback. In his article about startup pitching events, a seasoned angel investor, Dr. Aniruddha Malpani, expresses his concern about organisers asking startups to provide too much data in a short amount of time: “Quite frankly, after listening to two or three pitches, the investor’s brain gets fried, and all the pitches start blurring into one another.” Obviously, such firsthand insights can help you hone your strategy so that you avoid some of the common mistakes that others make. By asking each target segment to fill out your custom survey, you can collect actionable data for building more profitable events.
Learn from your own experiences. The most valuable lessons are those that are based on your own experience. Use analytics tools to record your failures and top achievements, and then transform them into reports that you can put on the shelf and keep till the next event.
Define your goals
Start with your own objectives, and then move on to the goals that your target audience may potentially pursue. The chances are high that you’ll see that the goals of investors and startups don’t always coincide. While business owners attend pitching contests to find talent for their projects, startups are, in most cases, looking for investors. This means you have to ensure everyone gets what he or she expects.
The good old SMART goals that reflect the needs of startup founders and investors will be a perfect fit here. Here’s how you can approach the process of goal setting in a clever way:
Pick your star verbs. With the right verb in your mind, you’re halfway to success. Think about what you want to achieve with your startup pitching in terms of verbs like increase, improve, boost, and similar terms. Is it all about raising capital? Or maybe getting your brand name out there is the end goal.
See what it takes. Setting a goal is not enough; you should also understand what it will take to achieve it. Break your objectives into several categories, based on achievability. The goals with the lowest achievability potential will have to be substituted with relevant objectives that you can reach.
Add some networking. What many event organisers tend to forget is facilitating the conditions for networking at startup pitching contests. Through meaningful onsite interaction, you can help both startups and businesses maximize their profits. Because of this, you might consider creating a separate list of “networking goals” that reflect what can be achieved through meet and greets.
How to organise startup pitching contests
From a cold, icy Slush to a hot Web Summit PITCH, there are quite a lot of startup pitching events that will most likely ring a bell with you. To pick the perfect pitch for your pitch contest (pun intended), follow the guide below:
Choose a contest name

Take a moment to focus on your associations with the word “LeWeb.” Right. France and the Internet. As one of the largest tech conferences in Europe, LeWeb brings the most promising startups together in one place every year to help them build influential connections. From the name of the contest, you can probably predict two things: the main event theme and the geographical location. By picking a contest name that speaks for itself, you take the first step to perfect public recognition.
Choose a venue
A good location, enough space for everyone, focus on a stage, and a pitch deck—these are the must-have ingredients.
Food & drinks
The question “Do we need refreshments at an event?” pops up in the checklist of every contest organiser. While no one can give you a yes or no answer, there are many factors that you can rely upon when making a decision. For instance, at 24-hour hackathons, you should provide participants with at least three meals during the day; three-hour meetings can be flavoured with some delicious cheese and wine, etc.
Lights for the contest
Putting a spotlight on a speaker can have a direct impact on the level of engagement with a pitch. From pixel-mapping to real-time editing, there’s a huge number of lighting techniques that can shape the way pitches will be consumed.
Invite judges, startups, and investors
Yes, you need personalised invitations for every category. Depending on who an invitee is, the key points that have to be included in a message will vary:
Choose prizes
You need to organise pitches in a way that enables the best engagement possible. Whether you have multiple pitching sessions running simultaneously or just one at a time, create a comprehensive schedule that you can post on a contest management with Judgify website, use in email invitations, or embed on event apps.

Apart from recognition and excellent media coverage, the winners of a startup competition at TechCrunch Disrupt win $50,000 that they can then invest in the growth of their business ideas. At LeWeb, it’s more about getting the opportunities for cooperation with established industry players. Relying on the theory about three core attributes of successful contest prizes, pick something that is relevant, worthy, and awesome.
Create a marketing plan for contest promotion
A super-duper important task for everyone who wants to organise pitches that convert, building a marketing plan is something that should occupy your mind before, during, and after an event. Here are a few simple tips on how to advertise your contests correctly:
Have a social media schedule to enable consistent posting.
Create content in advance.
Use software tools that allow for automated posting.
Make use of shares and referrals.
Follow up on special offers.
Conclusion
Organising startup pitching contests is basically the process of finding the right outlets for brilliant business ideas. Explore the values that startups cherish, and find a way to align them with investors’ intents through efficient goal setting, tech-driven execution, and targeted follow-up activities.
Pitch Perfect: Five Tips for Designing Effective Business Pitch Competitions for International Entrepreneurs
Pitch competitions can be an invaluable component of entrepreneurship development programs. Preparing for a final pitch competition can keep participants motivated throughout the program as they work towards presenting their businesses to an engaged audience. While pitch competitions offer a clear benefit to winners — such as cash prizes, investments and consultancy services — benefits also accrue to those not selected for an award.
Entering a pitch competition encourages an aspiring entrepreneur to refine their business model, distill their business story to its essentials and craft a well-articulated business proposition. Practicing for and delivering the pitch at the competition allows the entrepreneur to build storytelling and communication skills, both essential for entrepreneurship. Pitching in a competition can lead to new ideas from judges and attendees, new publicity, new contacts and newfound confidence.
Pitch competitions have served as a capstone event for two recent entrepreneurship development programs at the William Davidson Institute’s (WDI) Entrepreneurship Development Center at the University of Michigan. (Note: WDI is the parent organization of NextBillion.) In our MENA-Michigan Initiative for Global Action Through Entrepreneurship (M²GATE) program, teams consisting of Michigan undergraduates and their North African peers pitched their social enterprise concepts at the U-M’s Ross School of Business. In the Livelihoods Innovation through Food Entrepreneurship (LIFE) Project, a business pitch competition concludes each four-month incubation program. The LIFE Project also provides workshops, access to a commercial kitchen and business support services aimed at supporting refugees, mainly Syrian, and the Turkish host community in launching and scaling businesses in the food sector. (See our NextBillion article on this project.)
From working on these pitch competitions, we have gleaned the following lessons, which can serve as guidance for others working in global entrepreneurship development:

DON’T ASSUME FAMILIARITY WITH PITCHING
Pitching has become part of American culture over the past decade, with the spread of entrepreneurship education and events. The television show “Shark Tank,” in which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of three potential investors, has spread the concept of the pitch beyond the business world to popular culture, and has spawned similarly structured events across the USA and around the world. But in many countries, not everybody is familiar with pitching. If you are running an entrepreneurship development program, you should check how well participants grasp the concept. After discovering that members of the LIFE project lacked familiarity with the elevator pitch concept, the Center for International Private Enterprise’s Istanbul-based Project Director Osman Cakiroglu launched an ongoing series of workshops on crafting and delivering a 60-second elevator pitch. He starts by explaining the “elevator” part, encouraging participants to imagine they’re stepping into an elevator with the likes of Jack Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba Group. He shows a picture of an elevator to illustrate the point that the pitch should capture a business idea that anyone could understand by the time you ride a couple of floors in an elevator. He also shows participants sample videos of entrepreneurs giving elevator pitches.

BUILD ON SIMILAR PRACTICES IN LOCAL CULTURE TO ENHANCE UNDERSTANDING
If the pitch concept is not known to your program’s participants, in addition to providing very clear, literal explanations (e.g., the elevator pitch above), draw connections to what is familiar to them. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, for example, storytelling is a huge part of the culture, according to Stephen Brand, professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a faculty affiliate with WDI’s Entrepreneurship Development Center. Brand points out that in MENA, small business owners are already pitching their business in some form every day; they just do not call it or understand it as “pitching” in the same way one would pitch their business in an organized competition. “At the souk [or market],” says Brand, “a vendor has 30 seconds to tell the story of why their shawl is better than the one three stalls down.” Storytelling and making a quick connection with your audience have always been key: Now it’s a matter of applying these skills in a new context — taking a calculated approach to creating and presenting your pitch as an entrepreneur.

STRUCTURE THE COMPETITION AROUND PARTICIPANTS’ NEEDS
Think about what you are trying to achieve through your pitch competition, and how you can best create an event that will support your objectives. In Shark Tank-style pitch competitions, the judges (“sharks”) are often potential investors, including venture capitalists. They ask tough questions. There are clear winners and losers in this type of competition, with the winners landing either prize money or an investment. By contrast, a gentler competition — a “dolphin tank” — features a broader range of judges more focused on providing overall strategic feedback and encouragement. In our M²GATE program, we went “dolphin.” It was a good fit given that we were dealing with undergraduates, and wanted to keep the focus on the learning experience rather than on funding or prize money. To encourage this positive spirit, we mentioned at the start and again at the end of the competition that these three teams were all winners — having made it to this final round from a pool of 77 teams. This freed students to practice a growth mindset rather than fixate on the results. Also, be sure to brief the pitch judges before the competition on its objectives and style. Along with the entrepreneurs, the panel of judges is the face of the event and will shape the tone of the competition, influencing entrepreneurs’ performance and confidence levels. You don’t want to end up with sharks in a dolphin tank!

HELP TEAMS DEVELOP THEIR PITCHING SKILLS
Advise participants to keep their pitches simple and easy to understand. A great way to do that is to start by making a strong outline of the presentation. Managers of entrepreneurship development programs should provide participants with suggested outlines. They should advise groups that are pitching to an international audience to use more images than words on their presentation slides, and to avoid reading their slides. The programs should also carve out sufficient time for pitch practice and organize a couple of mock pitch days complete with judges who are willing to volunteer their time to prep entrepreneurs for the big day. Teams should also practice the transitions between speakers: In a dolphin-style competition you might want all team members to have the opportunity to pitch, while in a shark-style competition having one key speaker could be more effective. Finally, though preparation is important, it’s essential to avoid sounding robotic in a pitch. Teams should spend their time coming to a deep understanding of what they want to get across, rather than rehearsing and repeating the pitch verbatim.

Judges from the first LIFE pitch competition in Mersin, with Elif Aksoy, LIFE Project Training Coordinator, in the foreground.

BE TRANSPARENT WHEN SELECTING THE WINNERS
Make the judging process transparent by designing a judge’s rubric and scoring system, and sharing it with participants before the event. Even if you emphasize positivity and learning over competition, participants will likely have strong emotions tied to winning, especially when prizes are offered. And while the event offers many benefits to entrepreneurs outside of the ultimate prizes for winners, it can be difficult for those not selected for an award to accept “losing.” In livelihoods programs in low- and middle-income countries, some participants might believe that the cash prize from the competition is one of their only opportunities to generate funding to launch or build their business, so not being selected can be devastating. Not only does having access to the judging rubric help participants prepare, but it also legitimizes how winners are selected, and can assuage concerns about favoritism and corruption. Perceptions of the competition being unfair can be detrimental to the reputation of the program, especially in environments in which gaining trust is difficult. Ideally, all pitch participants should receive copies of completed rubrics with judges’ comments and feedback, as well as their overall score and ranking.
While a pitch competition has clear benefits to participants, its success will be determined by a number of factors — including design, level of participant preparation, and execution. For those designing and delivering pitch competitions globally, it is crucial to adapt your approach to the local context and also continually improve throughout the process.
A pitch competition should seek to enrich an entrepreneur’s experience in the program by providing a practical opportunity to build their business — whether that takes the form of prize money, a handshake with their future mentor, or speaking in front of an audience for the first time. These tips can help you design pitch competitions that enrich all participants, providing a powerful boost to the lives and businesses of entrepreneurs in LMICs.

Categories: Business, News and Announcements
Tags: competitons, investors, pitch, vc
I have a startup, and I’ve been to many VC and angel investor pitch competitions in the last 13 months. Normally at these events, you have a fixed number of minutes after which you’re totally cut off. You’re presenting to a panel of VCs, angels, and other VIPs. There’s normally an audience. After each pitch, people are normally scored right then and there… so it’s pretty clear later who won. The winner might just get a certificate or a photo with people. Nobody writes checks right there. And whether or not you win, it can be good exposure to investors and the startup community.
I keep seeing the same strange things at these events so today, I’d like to suggest to all the competitions out there some new ways of doing things.
Tell The Judges The Criteria Beforehand
I have been at events where when it was time to score people who presented one or more judges proclaimed out loud that they didn’t know what criteria to use. Are they judging the pitch or presentation themselves? Or are they judging whether or not they’d invest in the business? You can love a presentation without wanting to invest. You can be interested in investing in someone who didn’t give a good presentation. Make sure your judges know what they’re judging.
Use The Same Set Of Judges For All Competitors
Sounds obvious, right? But it’s nearly NEVER done. I have been at many competitions where each person gets about 10 minutes total and there are 10 or 12 competitors. They typically have one set of judges hear the first half and another set hear the second half. Well, this has to stop. Different people with different criteria judging the same group of people competing against each other? Makes no sense. If you think your panel does NOT want to hear 10 or 12 pitches, please cut the evening off at the number they WILL listen to. Six? Seven? Eight?
The number of pitches the same group of judges will listen to is the number that should compete that night. This would not only account for different people judging things different but also account for something else I’ve seen: one panel is really soft on people, the other panel is really hard on people. I’ve seen panels that wanted to be the Paula Abdul of American Idol, and tell everybody they did well (even when they clearly didn’t). I’ve seen panels that ripped people apart for not having business models, not giving a good presentation, or anything else.
Make it fair and even for all competitors by using one set of judges.
Give Judges Any Paperwork They Want
I recently went to a pitch event where every judge had reviewed and printed out the competitors’ Executive Summaries and financial projections. When people presented something that didn’t match those, they ripped them apart. “These are the documents I’m reading! Why are you telling me something different now! Which is true?” If judges want paperwork, let them have it. Request access to competitors’ Gust profiles if that’ll help.
Show The Scores Right Away
I recently did a pitch competition where judges didn’t score you right after your presentation. That was a first for me. It meant that none of us had any idea who won until it was announced the next day. I was told I was the best pitch among the first group, which was nice to hear! One judge was appropriately hard on people, mostly asking each startup how they were going to succeed in an industry where competitors are failing or not really gaining traction. Good question. She asked it of me too.
The company who won was in the other group with another panel of judges. So was the company who came in second. I didn’t listen to their presentations or the judges’ feedback, but considering the winner claims she’s going to dominate the industry over UrbanSpoon and FoodSpotting, I wonder if a judge asked her HOW she was going to do that.
So first, we all should have had the same group of judges. Second, show us the scores right away. When we all heard the next day who won, I think every competitor was surprised at who was chosen, and there were whispers of “politics” and “fixed.” That wasn’t fun.
Still, it’s great to compete and get exposure. After I got off the stage, people rushed our display table wanting to get my card, so I know I killed it. I didn’t have to win for the event to have been worthwhile, and looking at the prize, I can almost see how they might ahem adjust things so someone who could use the prize more than I could would get it.
Don’t Make Audience Voting Part Of The Scores
If you want to give a prize for most audience votes, then keep that separate. An investor pitch should be scored by investors. And audience vote is normally a popularity contest. It’s a look at who bullied their social media audience enough to get likes or votes, and what does that really mean or show. A startup contest should be decided by experienced judges and not people who hit “like” a lot.
Seeing all of these oddities and inconsistencies makes me want to back away from pitch competitions and focus on non-competition events. I hope pitch competition organisers will think about what I’ve said here, and consider making their events fairer and more transparent.
Successful entrepreneurs and athletes have a lot in common. Both are disciplined, fiercely competitive, and resilient in the face of setbacks.
It should come as little surprise then that some of the most impressive entrepreneurs I know are working on products to help improve athletes’ performance.
One of these entrepreneurs is Meridith Unger. She’s the founder and CEO of Nix, a company developing a wearable, single-use sensor to take the guess work out of hydration.
Much like the best professional athletes who rack up titles and trophies, Nix has won quite a few impressive pitch competitions, such as the 2018 SXSW Pitch Competition for the Sports & Performance Data Track, the Reebok Accelerator award at the MIT Sloan Sports Conference, and the Harvard Business School Alumni New Venture Competition. Nix’s successful pitches have also gotten the startup into a number of prestigious accelerator programs, from Stadia Ventures Accelerator to Mass Challenge.
When I recently met with Unger, I wasn’t just interested in hearing about how to win a pitch competition. Instead, I wanted her to shed light on the entire pitch competition process, from vetting opportunities to less common words of wisdom on prepping for and delivering a pitch.
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Unger’s advice can be summarized in eight steps for helping entrepreneurs use pitch competitions to their advantage.
Beware of scams and unreasonable time demands
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An invitation to pitch your startup to potential investors or customers may seem flattering, particularly in the early stages of your venture. But entrepreneurs must beware of pitch competitions that are looking for ways to profit at the expense of founders.
“Absurdly high entry fees are just the beginning,” said Unger. “We had one lesser-known competition that told me I’d have the ‘opportunity’ to give them equity in our company in exchange for pitching at the event. That’s just crazy.”
Unger also added the importance of carefully weighing the costs of travel and time, particularly in the early stages of your venture.
Evaluate what you’ll get out of the competition if you don’t win
On a related note, Unger advises against doing pitch competitions because they’re convenient.
Think carefully about what your company needs at the time of the pitch competition. Are you looking for introductions to investors? What about more prospective customer visibility? Do you want stronger partnerships with corporations that could help you sell? Or are you seeking insightful feedback on your product or service?
One way of evaluating whether a pitch competition is worth participating in is answering this question: Will the competition help you achieve any of your goals, even if you lose?
Unger mentioned that one of the biggest values of these competitions isn’t always winning, but the people you meet through the process. If you only see value in winning, and not in the contacts you’re going to make or exposure you’ll receive, it might not be worth doing.

Look for competitions to enter at the concept stage of your startup
Unger didn’t wait to have a product on the market before entering pitch competitions. Instead, she looked for appropriate competitions to enter during the concept stage.
“When I entered my first pitch competition, the Harvard Dean’s Sports Innovation Challenge, I just had the business concept together,” she said. “Entering a competition at this early stage was incredibly valuable for the feedback and validation. It was also helpful, of course, that Nix ended up winning.”
Think wisely about how you prep
Even after you’ve participated in a number of pitch competitions, make sure you’re always putting yourself in the best possible position to deliver a great pitch. According to Unger, this includes making sure you’re not over-extending yourself the day before an event.
“After running the Tokyo Marathon, I had no choice but to take the long flight back to the U.S. and speak at one of Nix’s biggest pitch competitions right after getting off the plane,” said Unger. “I would never do this again, but luckily I had a great partner in my marketing director, Sara Weber. She saved our pitch.”
Be the expert in the room
Unger urges entrepreneurs to go into pitches with confidence. While judges may be experts in how to grow a business, or have specific domain expertise, remember that you’re the expert on the product or service you’re pitching.
“I’ve seen women, in particular, defer to experts in the room during pitch competitions,” commented Unger. “Don’t. The reality is that as a leader of the company you know your product better than anyone else in the room.”
And remember, when you pitch, it’s not really about pitching the concept or business, but conveying confidence and authority in what you are describing. You only have five minutes to show that you’ve done your homework and understand the space. Conveying confidence and authority signals to the audience and judges that your knowledge goes beyond just the content you’re presenting.
Don’t be afraid to inject some humor into your pitch
Of course, you can’t have a conversation about pitching without discussing what it takes to deliver a great pitch. According to Unger, entrepreneurs should consider injecting humor into pitches when the moment is right.
“Going into one pitch, I knew ahead of time I’d be the only female presenter out of 10 or so companies,” said Unger. “I remember saying to the judges, ‘One reason you should choose Nix is that we look different from all the other companies in the room… We’re a hardware company, and everyone else is doing software.’”
The judges laughed, and Nix happened to win the competition.
Always be open to feedback on pitching
Unger said she hasn’t received one incredible, life-changing piece of pitching advice. Instead, her improvements have been the result of thousands of smaller comments over the years, and refining answers to questions that get asked repeatedly.
When asked about the feedback she offers entrepreneurs on pitching pitfalls, Unger cited upspeaking, fidgeting, and failing to make eye contact with the judges as a few of the most common mistakes she sees.
Know when it’s time to step back from pitch competitions
“You can only do pitch competitions for so many years,” said Unger. “At a certain point, judges will start to wonder why your company is still entering these competitions.”
There’s no hard and fast rule about what this cut-off point is, but after a year or so of being on the pitch competition circuit, you should reevaluate whether these competitions will still be beneficial.
This doesn’t mean your pitching skills are any less valuable. It just means that they’ll be used for different purposes, from reaching out potential investors to engaging with business partners and customers.
Pitch Competition Program FAQ’s
ALL FAQ’S
WHAT ARE THE ELIGIBILITY AND ACCEPTANCE REQUIREMENTS?
We are looking for businesses that are beyond the conceptual stage and have a team committed to the vision. You should have raised less than $500,000 in funding for your business so that we can have a true impact on helping you grow. This is not just a financial investment for our investors.
Applicants are selected based on their business idea, team member’s skills and background, and the team’s ability to execute. We also consider whether InventiveLabs can have an impact on their success and growth as part of the selection process. Unlike prior years, you do not have to have a team member with a learning difference to qualify, but we certainly do think teams with diverse brain-types can build the greatest companies.
Companies need to be based in the USA.
Jan 6, 2019
IF I DO NOT WIN AN INVESTMENT AT THE PITCH COMPETITION, DOES INVENTIVELABS INVEST IN COMPANIES
Aside from the investment prize being offered, InventiveLabs does not directly invest in the companies that compete in the Pitch Competition. However, if your company requires funding to launch, by participating in our accelerator we go through how to prepare a compelling pitch deck for investors. The co-founders of InventiveLabs have raised multiple rounds of angel and venture capital in excess of $40 Million and can share this knowledge with you. InventiveLabs can provide introductions to investors when you are ready for investment.
Jan 6, 2019
I HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR THE PITCH COMPETITION – DO I NEED TO TAKE A BUSINESS BOOSTER SESSION?
No, it is not required. If your company has all the bases covered and you do not need additional help – these sessions are purely optional.
That said, we have found that many people starting companies have gaps in their knowledge that they need to fill to become successful entrepreneurs. The business booster sessions are designed to fill these gaps in a laser-focused way matched to your needs. They are not like business school classes that simply survey a topic. These sessions are tactical based upon the needs of the attendees.
Jan 6, 2019
DO I NEED TO GIVE UP EQUITY IF I WIN THE INVESTMENT?
Investment will take the form of a convertible note, SAFE, or another debt/equity instrument that matches the businesses needs. Depending upon your situation, there will be some form of ownership taken for the investment unless it is a pure debt instrument. This will be finalized after the awards ceremony.
Our mission is to be additive to any company for which we source investment. Our intent is to provide an attractive source of financing to help you achieve growth.
Jan 6, 2019
DOES MY BUSINESS NEED TO BASED IN THE UNITED STATES?
For the 2019 competition, all businesses must be based in the United States. This may change for future competitions so stay tuned and subscribe to our newsletter to stay abreast of any changes or opportunities.
Jan 5, 2019
IS THERE AN AGE LIMIT?
We require all applicants to be at least 18 years of age.
Jan 5, 2019
ARE THERE ANY AGE RESTRICTIONS?
Our only restriction is that attendees are over the age of 18!
Apr 1, 2018
WHAT KIND OF BUSINESSES WILL QUALIFY?
We accept any kind of business into our accelerator. We have had fashion businesses, retail stores, tech companies and others emerge from the Lab. The more progress and traction you have, the more likely you are to win the investment. But, if you think the idea can become a great business – go for it and apply!
Feb 16, 2018
DO I NEED TO BE ABLE TO ATTEND IN-PERSON?
Only for the Pitch Competition in Amesbury at the end of the accelerator. We will be doing most sessions in the evening via videoconferencing, so you can attend those sessions remotely if you prefer. We also welcome anyone who wishes to attend in person to do so.
Feb 16, 2018
WILL I BE RECEIVING MENTORING FOR MY IDEA FROM INVENTIVELABS STAFF?
Rick and Tom have vast experience in the startup and business world. They will be available for consultation on a scheduled basis throughout the duration of the program on an as-needed basis. We love helping startups launch and have the connections to help you succeed.
Feb 6, 2018
CAN MY BUSINESS JUST BE A COOL IDEA I HAVE?
Yes it can be! That said, the more fleshed-out your idea is, the higher your chances of being selected. So if you have an idea, try to demonstrate some sort of validation for applying if you can. If not, apply anyway – what do you have to lose?
Feb 5, 2018
WHEN ARE THE ACCELERATOR SESSIONS?
The accelerator will run every other week starting the week of March 12th. The sessions will start at 6 pm, and run for approximately 3 hours, allowing people to participate from home in the evenings. We will try to pick a day that is convenient for the selected teams.
Feb 5, 2018
IS INVENTIVELABS A NON-PROFIT 501(C3) ENTITY?
No, InventiveLabs is a limited liability company. We consider ourselves a social enterprise. Any fees or donations made to the Lab are NOT tax deductible.
Jan 1, 2018

Appendix Startup Application
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Excited to be a part of the next generation of BNC Masterclass?
To be considered for BNC Masterclass (& Presentation to Investors Slot) please fill out the form below. Your application will put you in line for feedback and potential coaching opportunities throughout the year.
Pro tip: Be concise with your answers. However, the more complete the information you provide, the better your chances of being selected and receiving valuable feedback.

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Company Name *
Short Description *
Cover customer need and why they care about your solution using 50 words or less.

Impact
How does your company make life better through social or environmental impact?

Company Website *
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City *
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Country *
Launch *
When did you start this company?
MM
DD
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Milestones Achieved
Check all the milestones your company has demonstrably achieved.
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Users
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Customers *
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Customer Interviews
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First Paying Customer Date
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Customer Type
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Revenue Model *
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Revenue
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$
Founder Experience
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$
Needs *
Please rank your biggest needs at this stage.
Meet investors
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Find Employees
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Learn how to present to investors
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Find customers
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Elaborate on your key milestones, metrics, and needs. Consider pasting in a 1-pager that covers Your Customer, Your Solution, Your Business Model, Your Team.

Events *
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We will contact selected companies on a rolling basis. Submissions with the most complete, clear, and concise information will have a better chance of being selected.

Guidelines:
Must have a working product
Must be pre-seed or seed stage company
Cannot have raised more then $1 Million in funding
For this event, we are industry agnostic but you need to currently be applying artificial intelligence to your business.
Name *
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Companies must be Series A or earlier for consideration.

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(300 words or less)

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Click here to watch the online BNC Venture Forum MasterClass Digital Summit and add your scores and feedback.

HOME

ABOUT

NEWS

FAQ

APPLY

GlobalPitch 3 applications are closed now!
But, you still have a chance to pitch yourself to the world and earn the best start-ups’ opportunities in the future batches
11 Rising Startup Pitch Competitions in Silicon Valley

Pitch Competitions in Silicon Valley

Boomer Venture Summit
Description: “The 2019 Business Plan Competition aims to generate the best ideas from the best companies and entrepreneurs, and to tap into the business expertise and creativity of entrepreneurs around the globe. Finalists compete for the $10,000 prize by presenting their boomer business plans before a panel of judges comprised of leaders in the field of aging and the venture capital community.”
Requirements: Any business plan or startup targeting the longevity market.
Prize: $10,000
Disrupt SF – Startup Battlefield
Description: “Founders: if you’re ready to go big, step up to Startup Battlefield. The original and most legendary startup competition that has launched companies including Dropbox, Mint and Fitbit. If you’re chosen, you’ll be one of 25 companies who receives advice, coaching and the chance to pitch a panel of top-tier investors on the Main Stage at Disrupt SF. There is no downside: It’s free to enter, TC doesn’t take any equity and you can win a $100,000 cash prize and the Disrupt Cup. Sponsored by Sequoia Capital.”
Requirements: Participation is free and open to all pre-Series A startups.
Prize: $100,000
Finovate Demo Day
Description: “Finovate is the leading showcase of new innovations in banking, investing, insurance, lending, payments and other financial services technology. The format is unique — press conference, sales demo, business development meeting and analyst briefing. A proven platform for fintech companies to achieve the next level of success. With new customers, strategic partnerships, expert feedback, press coverage and VC funding.”
Requirements: Fin-tech startups.
Prize: Apply for more details.
IEEE YP SCV and PnP Pitch Competition
Description: Interested in doing a startup? Currently involved in a startup focused on improving processes, tools, or technologies to solve real-world challenges? Want to know the latest trends in 5G, AI, AR, and connectivity, among other trends? If you answered yes to any of the above, join us for IEEE Young Professionals of Santa Clara Valley and Plug and Play’s annual startup pitch competition!
Requirements: Startups working with Industry 4.0 verticals (AR, Cyber Security, Cloud Computing, Big Data Analytics, Predictive Maintenance, Additive Manufacturing, etc.)
Prize: Apply for details.
HR TechXpo
Description: “Get your product in front of hundreds of people, including funders and customers at our HR tech startup pitch competition! Be heard and selected by a distinguished panel of judges comprised of investors, entrepreneurs and senior executives from the human resources community. If you have a breakthrough idea for the digital HR workplace space and are a startup from 0-5 years old, read on and submit today!”
Requirements: Any startup building HR solutions.
Prize: Apply for details.
Launch Festival
Description: “LAUNCH Festival is the largest startup event in the world. For the past 10 years we’ve hosted Festival in San Francisco, featuring fireside chats with Silicon Valley technologists and pioneers, demonstrations of cutting-edge future technology, and exciting startup competitions with founders and teams from all around the world.”
Requirements: There is no specific category. All tech-enabled startups are encouraged to apply.
Prize: $100,000
Naturally Pitch Slam
Description: “Whether it’s to showcase your talents or to keep your finger on the pulse of the latest trends in the natural products industry, Naturally Bay Area’s Annual Pitch Slam competition is the place to rub elbows and connect with the Bay Area’s best and brightest.”
Requirements: Naturally Bay Area members based in Northern California that have been in business for over 1 year.
Prize: $5,000 cash, $10,000 in services.
PitchForce
Description: “PitchForce is a monthly event for early stage high-tech startup entrepreneurs to get a chance to deliver a 4-minute elevator pitch to a panel of seasoned angel investors.”
Requirements: “Presenters are chosen on a first come first served basis, and only 10 startup entrepreneurs are allowed to pitch at each event.”
Prize: Apply for details.
Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs San Francisco Pitch Fest
Description: “Join the SVE entrepreneurs community for an evening of pitches and learning! Learn valuable skills from our featured speakers on how to grow your companies and make money! Network with other startups over pizza and drinks. We welcome startups to apply, to pitch and meet with our investors and fundable founders.”
Requirements: Any tech startup can apply to present.
Prize: Apply for details.
Sogal Global Pitch Competition
Description: “Hosted in 25 cities across 5 continents, and culminating in a final competition and 3-day immersive educational bootcamp in Silicon Valley, SoGal Foundation is excited to host the largest global startup pitch opportunity for women and diverse entrepreneurs worldwide.”
Requirements: Pre-series A startups with at least one woman or diverse founder.
Prize: $500,000+
Startup World Cup
Description: “Startup World Cup (SWC) offers innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities for startup ecosystems around the world. This platform consists of a global series of startup conferences and competitions that bring together phenomenal startups, VCs, and world-class tech CEOs.”
Requirements: Any tech-enabled early-stage startup.
Prize: $1,000,000 Grand Prize

Have more suggestions? Feel free to contribute more pitch competitions in the ‘Demo Day’ section of our Silicon Valley Ecosystem Canvas.

SIGN UP FOR THE FUTURE BATCH!
ABOUT US
GlobalPitch is an online showcase event powered by DealMatrix, aimed to connect startup ecosystems from all over the world.
It is a space provided for entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas online to corporates, investors, accelerators and media in order to get potential investment, partnership or exposure.
AMAZING PRIZES YOU CAN GET ALONG THE WAY

AWARD CATEGORIES
Our Planet

sustainability #renewables #impact #energy #socialbusiness #environment #climatechange

Our Body

foodtech #healthtech #healthcare #digitalhealth

Our Business

fintech #cryptocurrency #banking #regtech #insurtech #ecommerce #marketplace #b2b

Our Information

bigdata #analytics #cybersecurity #machinelearning #cybersecurity

Our Cities

autotech #ourcities #mobility #urban #iot

WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN
I want to showcase my startup to a partner network
Connect to different opportunities around the globe. Get a chance to pitch their ideas online and get global recognition.
Pitch ONLINE
to investors, accelerators/incubators, corporates, media and much more
Multi-application with one click
Apply once and get global visibility
Get access to Opportunity Hub
Reuse your data to apply to all our clients and partners
APPLY AS A STARTUP
I want to evaluate and connect with the startups
Participate in the pre-selected startup’s evaluation process, connect with the ones you’re interested in and spread the word about your startup programs!
Get access to startups from all over the world
Screen the best startups and promote your own opportunities to them
View and evaluate pitches ONLINE
Easy and fast access to the best startups
DealMatrix software solutions for YOU
Run your own programs using our solution with discount or even for free

Appendix Sponsors
Sponsors

Appendix rethinking pitch competitions: create value, not a spectacle

A boxing match. An ice water plunge. These are themes of two recent startup pitch competitions. Sound exciting? Sure. Does it benefit startups and the broader innovation ecosystem? That’s debatable.
The goal of pitch competitions has shifted – and not always for the better. These events, also known as Demo Days, initially centered on cultivating solid investment opportunities for startups, bringing in active investors aligned with specific sectors. Some early competitions resulted in successful deals for both entrepreneurs and investors, and generated buzz for the organizing institution. Witnessing this success, more accelerators and universities added pitch competitions to their repertoire – yet focused on the glitz of the “competition”, placing the organizers in the spotlight rather than the founders.
In my opinion, this trend negatively impacts startup ecosystems on several levels. Startups don’t always pitch to judges with a vested interest in making a deal, or with deep knowledge of a particular sector; a wasted opportunity for both innovator and investor. The hype of pitch competitions can artificially increase business valuations to levels that make it unattractive to potential investors. For universities and accelerators, the rising costs of producing pitch competitions reduces the resources available for programs that actually prepare startups for success. Worst of all, many innovators view pitch competitions as the pivotal moment in their journey. That’s misleading, as pitch competitions are one small experience in a much longer, complex journey – regardless if they win or not.
With years of experience as a Director of Venture Development – first at Texas Tech and now at VentureWell – I’ve developed programming for pitch competitions to support startups, university and accelerator partners, regional investors, and broader ecosystems. In my experience, here are five core elements of pitch competitions that create lasting impact.
diversify the judging panel
Startups will likely pitch to diverse groups throughout their journey. That’s why I convene judges representing a variety of segments:
funders seeking a well-aligned investment opportunity
potential business partners looking for a startup to help them solve a problem
possible customers of the product or service
technical leads who can question and support the science
The multi-audience pitch model teaches teams to strategically explain their company’s value proposition to a mix of critical players they’ll encounter throughout their startup process.
allocate prizes wisely
Don’t get me wrong, cash prizes are valuable for startups. Yet early-stage innovators also need training and mentorship in countless areas. I align awards with key milestones for the startups, creating criteria for how the money and resources will be deployed. For instance, if a team needs to conduct additional testing, pay several months worth of rent at a lab.
Designing awards to offer multiple facets of support is also worth more than a blank check in the long run – for both the innovators and the award provider. Startups receive guidance on the best way to use the funds. From the funder’s perspective, they know the money is well-managed and properly allocated.
provide value for everyone involved
Judges, mentors, investors, and other critical players in pitch competitions have little time to spare. I make sure the event is worth their while. I often build in pre-competition networking events just for key players involved with the event – and in the ecosystem. This allows the group to engage with different people who don’t always have the opportunity to connect. The attendees feel like they receive a value-add for their time commitment to the competition.
I also use pitch competitions as a learning opportunity. For example, at a Texas Tech event, I invited entrepreneurs who secured funding by appearing on Shark Tank to share their “behind the scenes” experience. Their talk opened peoples’ eyes around the reality of launching a business and partnering with investors.
create a “now what?” plan
Far too many startups leave a pitch competition thinking, “Now what?”. That question has more urgency among teams who didn’t win a prize. I help teams develop a post pitch competition action plan.
This includes coaching startups to put asks in their pitch that go beyond money. Why? Because there is always someone in the room who can provide something of value such as mentorships or connections after the event. I also ask teams to provide regular progress reports that I share with the ecosystem. More often than not, the success story sparks interest from a potential business partner or investor, even if the team doesn’t make it to the podium.
assess your impact
More and more university administrators and partners of entrepreneurship support organizations are asking pitch competition organizers: can you measure the impact of your efforts? How do teams benefit or evolve after participating in your pitch competition?
These are sensible questions to ask. It’s important to measure the impact of any activity or program that supports early-stage entrepreneurs—not only to prove to stakeholders that your programming benefits participants, but to determine how you can improve your offerings moving forward, and position your program for additional support and resources.
A good practice is sending participating teams a three-month and a one-year follow-up survey. The surveys help connect the dots around what the teams learned and what new milestones they achieved—or didn’t achieve—in the development of their venture. This information helps adjust the programming to ensure future cohorts receive the right types of training and support.
I also surveyed mentors, judges, and stakeholders after the competitions to solicit feedback on what worked and what could be improved. As a result, we were able to fine tune our Demo Day. For instance, we built in a networking luncheon and reception to foster more community engagement and provide students with more opportunities to connect with others in the ecosystem. The surveys also helped us realize that there was a lack of science and tech educators and regional economic development leaders involved with the competition. Including these groups in future competitions enhanced our programmatic offerings and expanded our network of expert advisors for student teams.
[Editor’s note: Use our Venture Development Framework to help inform the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs supporting early-stage innovators.]
embrace virtual options
The pandemic has made in-person pitch competitions essentially impossible for the time being. Many are moving online—and from participating in a dozen or so virtual pitch contests so far, I’ve found that there are a few crucial keys to success.
Programs and schools need to work closely with founders to ensure that pitches are clear, succinct, and well-prepped, particularly pitch decks and any screen sharing portions. Encourage founders to create quick and easy-to-read materials on their startups that investors can read prior to the event and have handy during the pitches.
It’s also important to design and implement a seamless and consistent way of gathering investor or judge feedback through curated chats, polls, and/or private deliberations. This can help replicate the real-time constructive feedback often offered by judges at in-person pitch competitions. To avoid frustrating glitches that can leave the program and participants looking unprofessional, take time to ensure that the technology set-up is flawless. If you’re incorporating pitch decks, videos, breakout rooms, etc., it has to be smooth, rehearsed prior, and run without any difficulties. Pre-event, investors and founders need to receive calendar invites from the hosting program so it’s easy to access the event.
Virtual pitch competitions enable organizations and founders to reach a broader, potentially global audience. This can create new opportunities to better diversify a competition: judges, investors and participants can be located across multiple regions, and the competition itself can be promoted and live-streamed much more widely. Adapting a pitch competition virtually can offer students an opportunity to connect with a larger network of potential investors and employers, practice their virtual communication and presentation skills, and celebrate the culmination of their project, class or venture.
skip the glitz
If you’re in the throes of planning pitch competitions, keep it simple. Focus your efforts on supporting the innovators, and providing value to the judges, mentors, investors, and broader ecosystem. Time is of the essence: keep your program 90 minutes or less. This is particularly important to keep in mind during the pandemic when Zoom fatigue is at an all time high and people are jumping from meeting to meeting all day.
And don’t forget: pitch competitions aren’t the final step in a startup’s journey. These events can be the start of something impactful for everyone involved.
WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE PRESENTATION?

There are many experts who will tell you how to shape your investor pitch deck. I’ve been engaged with Chicago’s incubator ecosystem for several years, as a speaker, as a mentor, and as an advisor. As a result, I’ve served as a judge at a number of pitch contests. They can sometimes be harsh proving grounds for founders to develop their story telling skills.

The BNC Venture Forum is different. Attending my first event, then in person, in an audience of 30 or so, I immediately noticed the benevolent approach the BNC team takes. Each founder attends a personalized Investor Pitch Deck Best Practices Masterclass. They are coached to deliver the information investors need to see in a pitch deck.

Following is a pretty good example of the BNC Masterclass framework. The approach is designed by Concept Equity’s Len Bland and Loren Minkus. It follows a clear BNC Venture Forum Pitch Event methodology. These best practices have been assembled, honed and refined with the experiences learned from the last decade and a half of monthly BNC Venture Forum Pitch Nights.

Let’s Start

There are a lot of moving parts in your investor pitch deck delivery. Your voice, your charisma, your story telling skills, your story, your solution, your business plan.
Please think holistically.

Answer These Questions
What is your objective when you deliver your pitch?
To get investors to write a check?
To get a business card and set up a more in-depth meeting?

First let’s talk about something elemental: Where should you stand?
What’s the most important part of the presentation?

What’s the most important part of the presentation?
Where should you stand when you present your investor pitch deck?
This is not as important in our Zoom era, but even online, where do you think the speaker should be positioned in regard to the deck?
We believe there is a right answer to this question.

WHAT SHOULD BE IN THE SLIDES?

His presentation structure is something like this:
Title
Problem/Opportunity
Value Proposition
Underlying Magic
Business Model
Go-to-Market Plan
Competitive Analysis
Management Team
Financial Projections and Key Metrics
Current status, accomplishments to date, timeline and use of funds>> (really, all in one slide?)
What we do agree with is the overall structure and storytelling of the deck. You see, it’s organic to start talking about the problem you’re solving, move to the solution, talk about how you’re going to execute it and why you are THE best person to do it.
Kawasaki’s take is very strict on the number of slides, he emphasizes there should be 10 slides. We don’t necessarily agree with this, because you probably want 20 nice and clean slides vs 10 crammed up slides.
The BNC philosophy doesn’t dictate how many slides you present. As long as you deliver your message in ten minutes, it doesn’t make a difference. The number of slides is not important. The number of minutes is.

How to Start

Have you seen Shark Tank?
Can you recall how every startup founder begins their presentation?
We like the Shark Tank opening because investors in the audience want to know this information. If you give it to them at the beginning, they’ll stop wondering and pay attention to the story you want to tell.

Here are the information investors will like to see
Get to The Point at The Start
Use a Shark Tank opening: We are raising X amount of money for Y% of the company

An audience of investors is different from an audience of prospective employees or potential clients. Each of those audiences requires a story tailored to their point of view.

Storytelling
Every presentation is an opportunity to tell your company’s story. People remember stories even when they don’t remember any facts or data.
You’re the most important part of the presentation (English speaking people naturally absorb information left to right; stand on the left of your presentation (from the audience’s POV))
Make an emotional connection and engage the emotional side of the brains among the investors in the audience.
Near the end of your deck you’ll provide financials, engaging the analytical side of the audience’s brains. To recapture the audience’s emotional connection, use a “One more thing” slide to bring them back (“and we just made a giant sale” or “we’re focusing on one market now, but all these other markets can be exploited later”)
Every superhero has an origin story. Tell a compelling, memorable, easy-to-connect-to Origin story (I saw a problem and decided to provide a fix). Make it personal.
Make your case: there is a need in market and knowing this one problem, only we can solve it; The competition doesn’t do that
If you have a medical or scientific product, don’t use science-speak

PEOPLE BUY FOR EMOTIONAL REASONS.
Why do people buy anything (with the exception of food, clothing, shelter…)?

People buy for emotional reasons.

What Problem did you encounter that inspired you?
How bad was it?
Can everyone in the audience of investors (who are actually just people) appreciate how bad this is?
Do they know someone who has experienced the problem?

Is your audience homogenous?
Are they experts in your subject matter?
Do they readily recognize acronyms in your story?
You should explain your topic so a five-year-old can understand it. You are only trying to whet the appetite of your audience.

Suspense!
Up until now it has all been about the problem.
In fact, you don’t want the solution to “leak” into your storytelling until you are ready.
You want to build suspense. Keep it a mystery.
This is bad.
The audience of investors should be thinking, “This is terrible! I hope some can do something about this!”

Then comes the emotional release of hearing how we can solve this problem.

Solution
But don’t worry! There is a solution. There may be others who have a partial solution but only we have the entire answer to the problem.

Team Slide
Include management, board members, lead investors and advisors.
For each person, use logos to show previous industry experience, history with prior startups and successful exits. Only include team members who add value to your story

Financials
We have traction: who paid (use logos and testimonials) what you’ve sold so far

Explain how you make money using a “unit of one”; your gross margin

The emotional side of the brain is 5X more powerful than the thinking side of the brain.
You need to show math, but do it for the audience, so they don’t have to do it in their heads (and stop listening to you).
Use a Unit of One, showing the Sales Price of your offering, your Cost of Goods Sold, and your gross margin percentage. This is simple, not detailed.

Explain how your investor will make their money back
You should show your forecast through your year of exit.
What is the most important part of that slide?
Your Exit Year!
Don’t bother talking about years one through four. Year five looks like your exit and that’s the one investors want to understand.

Don’t use the “C” word
(“These are CONSERVATIVE numbers”)’
Investors have heard projections before; they know that 95% of founder projections are not achieved. They mentally cut your numbers for you. If you use the “C” word, they are likely to give your foecasted returns an even bigger haircut.

If you have a big, well-known investor leading the round say so, it is an unbiased 3rd party blessing
If you explain how you’ll use the money, use a Pie, four slices or less

Investors want you to show how they will make money.
The easiest way is to show comparable companies with exits. Use logos lonely on this slide

BNC Presents XXXCOMPANY/PRODUCTXXX – Accredited Investors Only
About this event
XXXCOMPANY/PRODUCTXXX
DESCRIPTION OF XXXCOMPANY/PRODUCTXXX

Here’s the link to videos of recent past BNC Venture Forum presentations.

This is an opportunity for accredited investors to meet XXXFOUNDERXXX and dive in to ask more questions as you consider to invest in XXXCOMPANYXXX.
Tags
Online Events Online Networking Online Business Networking #investors #angels #venturecapital #venture_capital #angel_investor #family_office #angel_investing

Company Industry Description Seeking Capital Equity Signed Agreement Contact
Owned Opportunities
NGT
Energy, Inc.
Oil and Gas
Wastewater
Cannabis NGT Energy uses Nano Gas™ to improve the environment with nature. Nano Gas Technologies makes tiny bubbles that recycle oil industry wastewater, grow fish, and grow crops bigger. $2.5M/$7M NA Len Bland

Agriculture Koa Falls will restore Hawaiian rainforest and watershed with a sustainability platform. First step is to acquire the property, secure carbon credit, and removing invasive species. $20M
Renewable Energy H2 Nimbus creates carbon free hydrogen using hydro kinetic and other unused energy sources. This creates transportable renewable energy on a cost competitive basis with fossil fuels. $1.6M/$40M
Featured Opportunities
Medical IGY has designed a Covid-19 therapeutic entering Phase II testing. IgY polyclonal antibodies target bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens and can rebalance the gut microbiome. $50M
Renewable Energy Synergy turns municipal solid waste into renewable natural gas. This eliminates landfills while creating energy. $2M/$750M
Fertilizer Near zero emission ammonia, and hydrogen plant. CA plant can eliminate high transportation imports while cogenerating clean electric power. https://grannusllc.com/
$200M
Agriculture Organic soil regenerating microbes made from food waste. Terreplenish accelerates crop growth and remediates fungus. $750K
Remediation Cement Lock converts plastics, PFAS’, PCBs & other toxic materials into a non-leachable, non-hazardous cement additive. Permanently removes toxins from the environment. $2M/$200M
Easy Hand Sanitzer Tech Hand Sanitizer Easy Energy Systems produces containerized systems to produce useful ingredients from natural waste products like crops and scrub. This includes a hand sanitizer from agriculture crop waste at ½ the cost and ½ the “Tequila Smell” of other hand sanitizers. $1.5M/$20M
Medical Products CareBand makes wearable behavior analytics technology that increases safety for seniors living with dementia while providing caregivers peace of mind.
GILLC Medical Support import of Ansell medical grade gloves with financing. Create new manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. and Vietnam. $368M/
$230M

Advertising Innovative Billboards changes outdoor billboards as often as LED without the high expense. This expands the market for changing billboards to $4B. $500K
Medical Products PreVPro Brain Shield is a nutraceutical cream designed to provide protection against concussions and other brain impact injuries. $750K
Integrated Storage Technology Courey Maurer
Inciteful Games Jon Matuzak
ShopHitly Michael Schmitt
Baby Ark Shy Mindekl
RoboChef Aravind Durai
Yaymaker Matt Rolnick
Clarity Frank Stitely
Squarestack Bill Furlong
Innoblative Kelly Londy
Notiphy Bob Wise
PromoShare Ernie Pedroza
Return B2B Greg Dvorken
Cyan Reef Vlado Kysutzky
Retrieve Medical Jerry Swon

Breakout Room:
tom@imaginecapitalgroup.com
emko@chanzocapital.com
Gil Silberman gil@luca.vc – Gil Silberman

Participants List

6510 Millrock Drive, Suite 400
Salt Lake City, Utah 84121
801-419-0677
Toll Free:
833-753-0417

Landon Ainge spoke. He works for Assure, so he has an ax to grind.
They use the term LP pretty liberally.
Consensus among today’s crowd is… most LPs are usually looking for min 1-2% participation by the General Partner in an SPV. 5-10% is a stronger signal (if it’s within your budget) that this is a credible investment. Landon shoots to make 10% on the backend.
Assure launched Assure Syndicates in June 2020 to address a strong need for no-fee matching of the right founding entrepreneurs with the right investors. The first and only program of its kind, Assure Syndicates matches promising entrepreneurial companies with smart investment capital. The program helps founders find the right investors to help them grow their ventures, while assisting investors in finding deals that fit their investment theses and objectives.
Led by Ainge, in only nine months the program has facilitated and co-invested in 16 investment deals—usually alongside institutional VCs—with a large number in the pipeline.
Assure Syndicates is unique in the investment landscape in that it charges no brokerage, placement, finders or management fees. Instead, it aligns its interests with both investors and founders by co-investing alongside the lead investor and receiving carry from its own SPV vehicles, funded by its own network of investors.
Participants in the Assure Syndicates Copilot program will take part in the intensive, world-class investment education program and investor accelerator at Venture University, followed by ongoing training, including managing deals, with the industry-leading team at Assure.

you want to be aggressive about your SPVs, charge extra for outsize performance / carry, not mgmt fees. Aligns better with your LPs you want to be aggressive about your SPVs, charge extra for outsize performance / carry, not mgmt fees. Aligns better with your LPs
Read more about Landon’s work: https://www.assure.co/blog/syndicates-copilot-program
And here: https://syndicates.assure.co/
Read about Assure’s SPV administration platform and fees: https://www.assure.co/spvs/spv-administration He shoulders responsiblity for relationship with founders.
And he manages the realtionsihps with “LP’s”. When deals fit with the futer thesis of family offices, he presents only those as investment opportunities. If you can show 3 deals gets bigger and easier to get checks
Relatioinnhips with Family Offices is based on trust
Could do $50K deal, $4K admin fee, low, start small
Start somewhere, conviction based, get 1st commitment
“Founders love us”, get more money
He has done 24 deals working with 350 LPs, any revenue is on the back end
He takes on responsibil.ty to update company founders and LPs. He serves to represent the SPV, the Founder and offer transparency. The more the investment amount (via SPV), the better positon to get more information, board seats, mentoring inroads, etc.
States across the country are reducing their fees for SPV
Estimated cost: Admin (like Assure): $4k- $12.5K, caps out at $20K
These administration fees are not management fees, and are billed to the fund
Trend: Angels are shifting to SPV structure, easier for founder to expeience
Happy to pursue Conviction Baseed Founders

Acting as a general partner, Landon thinks of himself as an unaid broker.
THE RIGHTEOUS WOMEN OF TIKVAH WAY
Breakout Room:
tom@imaginecapitalgroup.com
emko@chanzocapital.com
Gil Silberman gil@luca.vc – Gil Silberman

Participants List

6510 Millrock Drive, Suite 400
Salt Lake City, Utah 84121
801-419-0677
Toll Free:
833-753-0417

Acting as a general partner, Landon thinks of himself as an unaid broker.
THE RIGHTEOUS WOMEN OF TIKVAH WAY

I learned how to better tell my story. These sessions working with you guys, just getting it to be much more succinct and more impactful. It’s been an amazing learning experience and I highly recommend it. – Danielle Hobson, A Timeout with Mom, https://atimeoutwithmom.com

What did we learn from the process? Definitely figuring out how to hone in on our story. It was a great forcing function for my team, as we explored some of the open-ended questions that we hadn’t been able to ask ourselves; as we focused on getting our MVP to get better.
-Adam Engel, IN. , https://www.areyouin.io

I learned a lot from the coaching session. It really taught me how to get rid of the words and focus on the story. I was extremely impressed.. -JAKE VANLANDINGHAM, PreSOLMD, https://www.prevprocream.com

I learned a lot, I found this to be a very engaging, exciting process. The whole process from beginning to end. Our meeting together, learning a little bit more how to present something that I truly believe in, listening to all the conversations with the other products has been very stimulating. It’s been quite nice. And so there’s so much more I have learned.
Mark Rosenberg, Retrieve Medical, https://retrievemedical.com

I think the process has made us better.
Jerry E. Swon, Retrieve Medical, https://retrievemedical.com

Retrieve Medical’s experience at the BNC conference was meaningful on many levels. We took their guidance to heart and perfected an impactful presentation. We have carried on what we learned at BNC to other presentations and we have been effective. We also reached out to members of the audience who seemed particularly interested in our company and had great success connecting with investors and other important centers of influence.
-Thomas Swon, Retrieve Medical, https://retrievemedical.com

I very much enjoyed the whole process. You get great input from the team from BNC. I love the diversity of opinions; of insights; of questions. I really enjoyed it because, of course, like everybody we, we have a certain idea. Many good comments and insights over the process really helped us to expand on our ideas; to consider different points of perspective. I love all different opinions and feedback… it helps us to progress and go forward. Thank you so much for the resource.
Dr. Vlado Kysucky, Cyan Reef, https://cyanreef.com

I thought the process was excellent, and it was painful. There was a lot of work put into it. I tried to follow the advice. The BNC outline was great to work with. It was a great learning process and it made my presentation dramatically better.
-Paul Angott, Innovative Billboards, https://www.innovativebillboards.com

April 2021

Anytime you have an opportunity to distill what you know and you’re confident (it) can be accomplished in 10 minutes, is a discipline that’s well worth pursuing. It’s kind of like seeing both the forest and the trees.
Tom Williams, President at BioPosture, https://bioposture.com

We learned a lot. Anyone who watched our presentation on Saturday, so I’m happy that we were able to pull it together so, but yeah, no I think this is different. I like the live 10 minute format, there’s just no BS, you got to get right in there and get to the point. So, appreciate it all the patients from your team and sitting with us and guiding us through the process so we feel a lot better on the other end, Tracy, I don’t know if you have anything else.

Greg Dvorken – Founder and CEO , Return B2B, https://returnb2b.com

I appreciate all the feedback that you guys have been giving us. Tonight was very informative just to see how people understood what we were trying to say, and know if we make it clear and more direct and help us across the, across all avenues.
Tracey Halvorsen – Co-Founder and CXO, https://returnb2b.com

My one takeaway is that… To give the investors a little bit more confidence. There’s a broad interest for our technology and this premise. We’ll need to be more specific and clearer in the message
-Kelly Londy, Innoblative, https://www.innoblative.com

I think the takeaway for me is just making sure that people understand that, you know, the digitization of the paper and the process jobs is essential to this product, but there certainly are other collaboration features and things that make it, you know, where workers and management can be very productive.
-Bob Wise, Notiphy, https://www.notiphy.io1M,

EDGe Surgical
It’s really good to see more angels coming out; interested in startups in Chicago. There was kind of a dry spell there during COVID but I think we’re kind of seeing, seeing the light in the tunnel. Just the amount of people that showed up tonight is pretty indicative of the strong community here in Chicago. I’m very, very excited to see where this goes. I like the reaction in the crowd here tonight, it’s is very encouraging.
-Christopher Wilson, EDGe Surgical, https://www.edgesurgical.com

Every time I present, I learn something new. I appreciate that and I appreciate the feedback all the questions. That’s super useful.
-Tino Go, Baru, https://hellobaru.com

I think the focus on investors return in investment; making money. Having that as the central element is an important element.
-Adam Sobol, Careband, https://www.carebandremembers.com

This was my first time through with this pitch deck and I learn that there are some things in it that I’ve got to shore up from the questions, particularly I think I have to define a little bit better. What we do, specifically in product and service.
-Frank Stitely, Clarity Practice Management

Pretty much all the questions I got I realized that my slides were informative, but then maybe I should have had some kind of takeaway or some kind of trail to give myself an opening to answer those questions that would naturally follow through. What I have described on the slide, and still I have to do that within 10 minutes, I think that was a big learning.
-Harsh Mulik, Humlife 360

BNC delivered us some great value. First, they really helped us fine tune our market Value proposition and elevator pitch. Their seasoned team of operators and successful fund-raising entrepreneurs set us straight on what really matters when you are raising money from busy professional angel investors. Once we had this super pitch in hand, they then introduced us to a substantive angel network at one of their virtual networking events. We have a few solid discussions in motion because of this opportunity. Lastly, they are well connected locally and across the Midwest as we aspire to raise capital in our own region this go round.
-Bill Furlong Squarestack

The central lesson for me is, you always can learn. And you always mistake input with a sober view of how you can be better pitching. One thing that really resonated for me here is, I’m an author, I’m a talker, but less is more.
Thank you. Especially for curbing my desire to clutter my screens. That’s my biggest takeaway.
-Bill Furlong Squarestack

Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Syndicate?
The Syndicate is an investment syndicate that invests in tech startups lead by Jason Calacanis. The Syndicate connects accredited investors with opportunities to invest in AND connects founders with interested investors!
What is the benefit of a syndicate?
Deal flow. The lead also takes care of negotiating deal terms, performing due diligence, writing a deal memo, hosting a webinar and advising the SPV.
What’s an SPV?
SPV stands for Special Purpose Vehicle. We create a new SPV for each deal with the exception of some pro rata deals. The structure of the SPV is an LLC.
If I choose to invest will my name be on the company’s Cap Table?
No. As a syndicate backer you are investing in membership units of the special purpose vehicle, the SPV invests in the company on behalf of its members.
What is the Set-Up Fee?
There is no cost to be part of The Syndicate but if you choose to participate in a deal the setup fee per deal is approximately $15k and covers the creation and management of the SPV, Blue Sky filing fees, a due diligence fee, and wire fees. This fee is split on a pro-rated basis among the investors who opt into the deal.
What is the minimum amount I can invest?
Minimums range from $1,000 – $15,000 per deal, largely dependent upon the size of the allocation.
Is it mandatory to invest in pro rata?
We will always offer pro rata but you are not obligated to participate. You will never be responsible for more than your initial subscription (investment) amount in The Syndicate.
What is carry?
“Carry” is short for carried interest which is a share of the profits. Carry for The Syndicate is 20%. Carry is paid to the lead for negotiating deal terms, performing due diligence, writing a deal memo, hosting a webinar, and advising the SPV.
Can you give me an idea of how many deals I should expect to see from the Syndicate each month?
The goal is to send at least one deal/week.
Can I participate as a foreign resident?
Yes, you may participate as a foreign investor as long as you meet the U.S. SEC accreditation requirements.
Is there a portal I can log into to see previous deals?
No, we currently send all deal memos via email.
Learn more about LAUNCH

A message from LAUNCH founder, Jason Calacanis
Welcome founders, investors & curious others!
Our mission at LAUNCH is to support founders and inspire innovation.
We do this through a series of free events, podcasts, books, research products, and by investing millions of dollars a year into promising, early-stage startups.
To date, we’ve invested in over 150 startups, six of which have gone on to achieve valuations over a billion dollars: Uber, Thumbtack, Datastax, Wealthfront, Robinhood & Desktop Metal. We invest in 40 startups per year through a series of private funds, the LAUNCH Accelerator and our public angel syndicate. Our check sizes range from $25,000 to $1.5m.
All of our events are free to founders.
Our flagship event is the LAUNCH Festival, which is occurring in Sydney in 2019, and will return to the US in 2020. Startups including Fitbit, Yammer, Dropbox, Mint, Abra, CafeX, and Clicker all launched at our events. 15,000 people attend LAUNCH Festival in the United States, and 1,500 overseas will be attending our second LAUNCH Festival Sydney in June 2019.
LAUNCH Scale is a two day event in San Francisco designed to help founders scale their businesses. The next edition will take place in October 2019.
Founder University is an intimate, two day event for 60 founders who are in our “goldilocks zone” for investing. Our goldilocks zone is defined as startups that have launched their products and have some traction (just right!), but that are past the idea phase (too cold!) and before having closed their Series A investment (too hot!).
In the summer, we welcome fifty angel investors to Napa for our annual Angel Summit.
We produce a 2x weekly tech podcast, This Week in Startups, which has been running for 9 years with over 150,000 downloads per episode.
We produce a twice a day research product, LAUNCH Ticker, which concisely summarizes the days tech news for over 30,000 industry leaders. Our sister company, Inside.com, produces similar email newsletters for over 25 topics.
Our founder, Jason Calacanis, is author of the book ANGEL and a frequent contributor to CNBC.
We partner with organizations that share our passion for supporting founders including WSGR, Samsung, Sequoia Capital, Social Capital Partners, SeedInvest, IBM, Fenwick & West, Walker Corporate Law, WordPress, LinkedIn, NetSuite, and Squarespace.
You can follow us on twitter at @launch, @twistartups and @jason.

All the best,
Jason & the LAUNCH Team
jason@calacanis.com

SUBJECT LINE: JUST ANNOUNCED SPEAKERS FOR TUESDAY’S VENTURE FORUM

THIS TUESDAY’S BNC VENTURE FORUM IS GOING TO BE ACTION PACKED.
DON’T MISS IT!

Tuesday May 3rd the BNC Venture Forum dives deep exploring Mentorship, Expert Guidance and Relationship Building options available to startup founders.

Evening Agenda:
Special Guest Speaker. We kick off the evening with Mentor Gregg Stein.
Next Startup Maerospace pitches to our audience of investors
Ocutrx Traction Report: Mike Parsons, who is leading the fund raising activities for Ocutrx, gives us an update on their quest for investment capital.

Guest Speaker Session Overview
Len Bland leads the interview, giving us an in-depth look at how the right mentor can provide guidance to founders at every step of their path to revenue. These insights give a unique perspective into the mechanics of capturing investors’ capital. Industry experts on our panel, and in our audience, will discuss how founders can tap into the knowledge of experts.

Client Case Study
One of Gregg’s clients is ASI. Their new consumer new platform (launch this year) is the “future of hearables”, with a connected headset that looks like what the pros wear but fits perfectly. ASI Audio presented at the September 14, 2021 BNC – Venture Forum Meeting. They were able to close their round and are now raising their next round.

Maerospace Startup Founder Pitch
Maerospace helps Navies and Coast Guards around the world to combat multi-billion-dollar threats from Illegal fishing, smuggling and enhances homeland security.

Ocutrx Traction Report
Ocutrx Technologies, Inc. is a development stage company that is changing medicine and bringing the surgical operating room into the digital age utilizing augmented reality,

Evening Networking Format:
Like most Venture Forum events, we start off by encouraging attendees to introduce themselves and to share their contact information in the chat. Then, attendees can rub shoulders with our cordial crowd of founders and investors.

Broadcast on Zoom, you will be able to introduce yourself to other attendees during several open networking sessions, both before, during and after the presentations.

We begin with informal networking at 6:30PM CDT and then start the presentation portion promptly at 7:15pm CDT. Len Bland will interview Greg Stein, and field questions from the audience. We finish with more networking.

We keep it simple and informal – This event is about you, our audience.

——————————————————————————

More About Gregg Stein & Triple G Ventures

Triple G Ventures is the award-winning go-to global business growth accelerator for rising brands. Triple G is a consultancy scaling “tech for good” companies focused on the way we live, work, play and create.

With proven track records across IoT, AI, Machine Learning, Consumer Technology, Information Technology, Audio/Video Tech, EdTech, FinTech, CleanTech, and more; Triple G Ventures architects, delivers, and executes transformative strategies for sustainable business success.

Triple G Ventures specializes in brand strategy, product definition, go-to-market, channel strategy, sales and marketing strategy and execution, digital transformation, strategic partnerships, business operations, team development, financial business strategy, and planning.

Triple G is an active member of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), and an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Triple G was recently recognized with an International Stevie® Business Award, “Company of the Year”.
More About Maerospace
The company helps Navies and Coast Guards around the world to combat multi-billion-dollar threats from Illegal fishing, smuggling and enhances homeland security. The company provides turnkey maritime domain awareness systems using PASE™ (Persistent Active Surveillance of the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zones)) , their industry leading radar that provides continuous, “over-the-horizon” visibility up to 200 Nautical Miles (NM).

Their solution platform includes TimeCaster, an AI-driven analytics solution that leverages radar and satellite data sources with machine learning to provide deep intelligence and predictive threat assessments.

Maerospace’s solutions vastly improve the effectiveness of maritime security and are extremely cost effective as a “force multiplier” allowing authorities to focus their expensive aircraft and patrol vessels on real threats in real time. PASE™ is built on over 35 years of co-research with the Canadian government and a top three global defense contractor and is deployed in multiple countries. Maerospace has a late-stage pipeline of ~$250 million with multiple awards closing starting July 1.

More About Ocutrx
Ocutrx Technologies, Inc. is changing medicine and bringing the surgical operating room into the digital age utilizing augmented reality, virtual reality, and extended reality technology.

Ocutrx is developing solutions for Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), Lazy Eye, and improved Telemedicine. Their technology will also improve ergonomics for the surgeon and will create much better outcomes for patients.

More about Concept Equity Group
Len Bland and Loren Minkus share their expertise through their company, Concept Equity Group. Concept Equity Group is a Capital Matchmaker that helps close the funding gap between entrepreneurs and investors.

For over a decade and a half, Concept Equity Group has guided the presentation delivery of startup founder pitches. They offer a highly personalized Masterclass, ensuring presenters deliver the information investors are hoping to learn. Founders then make their pitch to investors qt the monthly BNC Venture Fourm events.

Please Join Us!
Innovative Billboards Case Study

We will highlight a startup founder who delivered his pitch to investors and was able to fill his $500K round. Our audience will have a chance to hear from both founder and investors, as they review their journey.

Innovative Billboards, LLC, has developed and provides a completely new, patented, cost–effective, breakthrough billboard technology. This is a unique, 14′ x 48′ outdoor scrolling billboard called Billboard in a Box™ (BIB). The product is designed to increase revenue for outdoor advertising companies.

Paul Angott, Innovative Billboards’ Founder & President, is an award–winning serial entrepreneur, having sold over $100M of products generated from his 40 patents. Angott presented to the BNC audience last May.

Two BNC investors completed the initial round. We’re thrilled our efforts contributed to this US$500K investment for Innovative Billboards. Several other’s from amongst our cohort have also stepped up to invest.

Per BNC request, Innovative Billboards is keeping the round open to allow the BNC audience to provide additional investment and oversubscribe the round.

https://www.innovativebillboards.com

Landing Page Best Practices

Create one landing page for every audience
Message-match your ads and pages
Your logo at the top of the page
Brand colors that match the ad
A headline that offers the same thing the advertisement did
The same media that was in the ad
Personalize your messaging
Focus on benefits, not features
What will your product help them become? Happy? Healthy? How will it improve their lives?
Write compelling copy
what a product or service can do for them
Concisely deliver the information they need to make a quick decision.
Compelling copy is:
Conversational.
Chunked.
Skimmable.
Personalized.
Positive and promising.
Keep prospects focused with a single conversion goal
Remove navigation links
Use responsive web design
Optimize for search
Optimize for page load speed
Removing images with big file sizes.
Getting rid of unnecessary JavaScript.
Building your landing pages with AMP.
Use principles of persuasion
Reciprocity.
Give away useful content
Authority.
Scarcity.
exclusive groups
little-known secrets
an expiration date
Liking.
Consensus.
people will look to their peers for guidance.
glowing testimonials indicates the product is valuable.
Consistency.
Maybe We’ll Start Listening to Our Better Angels!
by admin | Nov 17, 2021 | Uncategorized | 0 comments
OUR BETTER ANGELS
By Ron Shulkin November 2021

Welcome to our first blog post! We call it “Our Better Angels” for two main reasons…

Many in our community are angel investors.

We operate transparently, we treat everyone we encounter with kindness and respect. Still in 3 day windo2. driven to do the right thing

What You Will See Here In Future Posts
THE PULSE OF THE FOUNDER AND INVESTOR COMMUNITY
BNC is a community of accredited investors, successful business professionals and startup founders. We’re often first-to-notice trends we’ll share here.
Plus we proudly coach founders through our Best Practices Investor Pitch Deck Masterclass.
BEST PRACTICES INVESTOR PITCH DECK MASTERCLASS

We host a monthly pitch event called the BNC Venture Forum. We have produced this event, both live and on zoom, for 16 years.
We require presenters to participate in a highly personalized Masterclass. These sessions are opportunities for the BNC team to share best practices and to ensure the presenter offers a compelling story. We will share these guideposts in blog posts.
Startup Founders interested to present to our investor audience, can reach out to Loren Minkus at lsminkus@gmail.com.

Please let me introduce Business Network Chicago (or BNC) Leadership

THE BNC VENTURE FORUM. Three founders seek capital and present their pitch to investors.

Every month, in preparation to produce a pitch event, your BNC leadership team sifts through a funnel of startups whose founders seek investment capital. We look for companies we believe our investor audience will find appealing as investment opportunities.
We invite three of the very best (and usually most interesting) founders to participate in our highly personalized masterclass. The class is designed to optimize the founder’s chances to become part of the BNC community and get follow up meetings with interested investors when they pitch at a BNC Venture Forum.
BNC actively pursues founders, to attend the Masterclass and to present at the Venture Forum, whose demographics are not well represented at pitch events. We welcome applications from everyone without concern for their gender, race, physical abilities, or age.
You can read more about Len Bland, Loren Minkus and me, Ron Shulkin.
BNC is a Loosely Federated Group Of Business Professionals
You Are Welcome To Join Us!
Our audiences are diverse and come from a broad range of disciplines.
BNC is comprised of investors, mentors, and founders.
We act as mentor, speaker, and adviser to founders. Founders apply to our Masterclass and to present.
We volunteer our time to foster the growth of entrepreneurial activity and the development of mutually beneficial relationships.
We act as a resource to, and nurture relationships with, investors.
Every BNC Venture Forum attendee participates!

Every month at the BNC Venture Forum, attendees serve as judges, they answer the moderators’ follow up questions (to ensure the presenter knows what’s working in the pitch and what needs to be clarified).
Opportunities to Network
Before the pitches start, our hosts invite each attendee to introduce themselves and tell their story to the audience.
These Introductions can be followed by posting contact information in the Zoom chat for those who might want to learn more.
The last part of every pitch event, the group opt into various breakout rooms. Each breakout room has one of the three founders (and moderators) in attendance. This is an opportunity for attendees to get to know each other, and the founders, better.
TOP EIGHT REASONS TO BECOME PART OF OUR COMMUNITY

We hang out with a bunch of smart people who check their egos at the door. The community is kind, respectful and cordial.
The BNC Team is Proud to Host A Community Populated by Diverse Cultures, Demographics, Skills and Experiences
We Deliver A Modern Environment Where Collaboration and Innovation Thrive
BNC Pitch Nights provide opportunity to network and interact with investors, founders, and each other
Attendees each month include investors, founders, mentors, & business community leaders
Attendees gain access to well-screened investment opportunities
We all get to hear the great stories behind three founders’ innovations
We attract Founder-Presenters by offering coaching, supported by the collective insight of our investor community, and by consistently delivering dozens of investors to each month’s meeting
These passionate entrepreneurs are screened, selected, & coached during a personalized “BNC Pitch Deck Best-Practices Masterclass”
YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US!
The BNC Venture Forum is populated by smart, congenial people who enjoy playing a role in the entrepreneurial process. We can’t wait to meet you there!
Check Out Our Website
You can find information about upcoming events, review full length past pitch events, and dive deep on investment opportunities on a “Companies Seeking Investment” page.
We are providing best-practices investor pitch deck resources startup founders can use
Thanks, Ron Shulkin
ron@fractionalcmogroup.com
Submit a Comment

JOIN US!
Meet Investors
The BNC Venture Forum – A Monthly Pitch Event
The BNC Venture Forum is a Monthly Live Virtual Pitch Night Event
We introduce three investment opportunities to a smart, congenial audience of Professional Investors
Each event consistently delivers dozens of investor angels, early-stage venture capitalists, and private equity firms

Sharpen Your Investor Presentation
The BNC Masterclass – The Collective Insight Of Our Investor Community
BNC sifts through applications, screens, selects, and invites three passionate entrepreneurs to present at the monthly BNC Venture Forum Pitch Event
We Guide Presenters through our proven, highly-personalized, Best Practices Investor Pitch Deck Masterclass
This workshop is designed to optimize the founder’s chances to get follow up meetings with interested investors

We have produced the BNC Venture Forum pitch event, both Live and on Zoom, for 16 years

CAN’T WAIT TO MEET YOU THERE!

The BNC Community
We hang out with a bunch of smart people who check their egos at the door
Attendees each month include investors, founders, mentors, & business community leaders
The community is populated by diverse cultures, demographics, skills, and experiences
The community likes to cheerlead and is kind, respectful and cordial

A Powerful Collaborative
We deliver a modern environment where collaboration and innovation thrive
BNC Pitch Events provide opportunities to network and interact with investors and founders
Passionate entrepreneurs are screened, selected, & coached during a personalized “BNC Pitch Deck Best-Practices Masterclass”

Our Mission
Practice Mindful Citizenship / Offer A Big Tent
We aspire to serve a membership with Diverse Demographics, varied experiences, and representing a broad spectrum of professional disciplines
BNC believes when bringing constituent members together from multiple backgrounds, the Advantage Of Diversity becomes apparent
We know Breakthrough Innovation occurs when a full spectrum of disciplines and broad demographic diversity are represented
Our “Welcome” sign brings Fresh Thinking to our discussions

Problem (Act I): > Solution (Act II) > Result (Act III) > Conclusion.
Problem-oriented case studies are usually used for solving problems. These are often assigned as theoretical situations where you need to immerse yourself in the situation to examine it. Imagine you’re working for a startup and you’ve just noticed a significant flaw in your product’s design. Before taking it to senior manager, you want to study the issue in detail and provide solutions. On a greater scale, problem-oriented case studies are a vital part of relevant socio-economic discussions.
Illustrative case studies describe certain events, investigating outcomes and lessons learned.
The case study format is typically made up of eight parts:
Executive Summary. Explain what you will examine in the case study. Write an overview of the field you’re researching. Make a thesis statement and sum up the results of your observation in a maximum of 2 sentences.
Background. Provide background information and the most relevant facts. Isolate the issues.
Case Evaluation. Isolate the sections of the study you want to focus on. In it, explain why something is working or is not working.
Proposed Solutions. Offer realistic ways to solve what isn’t working or how to improve its current condition. Explain why these solutions work by offering testable evidence.
Conclusion. Summarize the main points from the case evaluations and proposed solutions. 6. Recommendations. Talk about the strategy that you should choose. Explain why this choice is the most appropriate.
Implementation. Explain how to put the strategy into action.
References. Provide all the citations.
MLA Outline Example
I. Introduction:
Introductory Sentence: Stonehenge is a vast hub for ancient history.
Link Sentence to the Thesis: Standing 13 feet high, it is one of the oldest structures in the UK.
II. Thesis:
Description of the Paper: The paper describes how Stonehenge was built and its purpose.
First Argument/Claim: Stonehenge was built in 3001BC.
Second Argument/Claim: Stonehenge is known to be a place for religious worship.
Third Argument/Claim: Other Stonehenge-like structures exist around Europe.
III. Body Paragraph 1:
Reference: The circulation ditch around Stonehenge is believed to have been constructed around the year 3000BC, according to studies.
Explanation/Claim: Around the end of stone-age, pagans got together and built the first segment to what has become stone-henge.
Link Sentence: Which brings up the matter of belief.
IV. Body Paragraph 2:
Reference: During the late Tudor era, most people believed that ancient Britons placed the stones for the sole purpose of religious practice.
Explanation/Claim: From the late 2nd millennium AD to modern day, the practice of Paganism is the common explanation for the reason why stone-henge was built.
Link Sentence: More evidence emerges regarding the mysterious structure.
V. Body Paragraph 3:
Reference: Around 1100 BC, Stonehenge-like stones emerged.
Explanation/Claim: The structure is believed to have been built by migrants.
Link Sentence:
VI. Conclusion:
Summary of the Paper: Overall, the ancient stones have caused great interest throughout human history with science and assumptions.
Conclusive Sentence: No one knows for sure how they were built.
VII. References:
“History of Stonehenge” https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/history-and-stories/history/
“Why Was Stonehenge Built?”
https://www.history.com/news/why-was-stonehenge-built
“Stonehenge Is Not Alone: 7 Ancient Megaliths You’ve Never Seen.”
https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/travel/stonehenge-not-alone-7-ancient-megaliths-youve-never-seen

9/26 Sunday Virtual presentation Coaching
9/27 Monday Loren’s draft
9/28 Tuesday Worksheet
Client sends content, not usable
9/29 Wednesday
first deck Audio to Text
Useable content sent from client
Story Crafting
Blocking & Design
Team collaboration, 4 drafts
9/30 Thursday
first deck to mike with missing items noted
Lengthy item request to client team
10/1 Friday first zoom review
10/2 Saturday
Client team provides feedback unaware of BNC philosophy
Client team reworks entire deck
10/3 Sunday
Zoom review
Multiple Deck Revisions
Team Quality Control
Additional content received from client
10.4 Monday
October 5th event
Oct 6 reshoot

Ocutrx Technologies, Inc.

By: Michael A. Parsons
Director of Investor Relations
mike.parsons@ocutrxtech.com
619-886-1174

An invitation went out to BNC’s list of mentors to join an Investor Pitch Deck Best Practices Master Class con call. These Zoom events are designed to coach a startup founder, and ideally a bunch of experienced marketers, vertical market experts, financial folks, etc. make positive suggestions. We were scheduled for a Sunday session at 3:30PM. The invite, the time slot, all of it was not an unusual occurrence. Not unusual because we do this often, and every time we have to coordinate the calendars of volunteers who are usually very busy with their “day jobs”.
The BNC Venture Forum is held on the first Tuesday of every month. Three startup founders tell their stories to a virtual audience of accredited investors, angels, representatives of both family offices and venture capital organization. Each presenter benefits from a highly personalized Masterclass. These sessions are designed to do two things: 1. To provide a sounding board to enhance storytelling. And 2. To ensure the founder includes some basic information investor audiences require to make good investment decisions.
We start out every Masterclass by having the founder present their investor pitch deck. We time it (we shoot for a ten minute presentations, no limit on slides). Then we settle in to share the BNC philosophy and collaboratively refine the story and the deck.

Surprise!
What was unusual was that this session our guest founder on the Zoom call that Sunday did not have an Investor Pitch Deck. We immediately understood why. With a career introducing investors to good opportunities, Mike Parsons is a fantastic story teller. He didn’t rely on slides to remind him what to say next, which is exactly what we tell our presenters to aspire toward. On the other hand, investors, at least the ones in our community, expect to watch a deck as they hear stories at the BNC Venture Forum. And we know from every study, and our collective experience, that an investor pitch deck, with all the right elements, can dramatically enhance the presenter’s effectiveness. It’s a multimedia presentation because everyone learns differently; absorbs information in their own way.

The challenge? Can we help our presenter get a deck ready in a week? Not only that, but as the “experts” in Investor Pitch Decks, we know our results better be perfect. We know best practices, but we need the presenter’s content to enhance the story he already know how to tell so well. Pretty much everything must be logistically planned and each step better come off perfectly. Which of course, it never does.

OUR BETTER ANGELS

Welcome to our first blog post! We call it “Our Better Angels” for two main reasons.
Many in our community are angel investors.
We operate transparently, we treat everyone we encounter with kindness and respect and we’re driven to do the right thing.

What You Will See In Future Posts

THE PULSE OF THE FOUNDER AND INVESTOR COMMUNITY.
BNC is a community of accredited investors, successful business professionals and startup founders. We’re often first-to-notice trends we’ll share here.
Plus we proudly coach founders through our Investor Best Practice Investor Pitch Deck Masterclass.

BEST PRACTICES INVESTOR PITCH DECK MASTERCLASS

We host a monthly pitch event called the BNC Venture Forum. We have produced this event, both live and on zoom, for 16 years.

We require presenters to participate in a highly personalized Masterclass. These sessions are opportunities for the BNC team to share best practices and to ensure the presenter offers a compelling story. We will share these guideposts in blog posts.

Startup Founders interested to present to our investor audience, can reach out to Loren Minkus at lsminkus@gmail.com.

Please let me introduce Business Network Chicago or BNC

THE BNC VENTURE FORUM. Three founders seek capital and present their pitch to investors.
Every month, in preparation to produce a pitch event, your BNC leadership team sifts through a funnel of startups whose founders seek investment capital. We look for companies we believe our investor audience will find appealing as investment opportunities.
We invite three of the very best (and usually most interesting) founders to participate in our highly personalized masterclass. The class is designed to optimize the founder’s chances to become part of the BNC community and get follow up meetings with interested investors when they pitch at a BNC Venture Forum.
BNC actively pursues founders, to attend the Masterclass and to present at the Venture Forum, whose demographics are not well represented at pitch events. We welcome applications from everyone without concern for their gender, race, physical abilities, or age.
You can read more about Len Bland, Loren Minkus and me, Ron Shulkin.

BNC is a Loosely Federated Group Of Business Professionals
You Are Welcome To Join Us!
Our audiences are diverse and come from a broad range of disciplines.
BNC is comprised of investors, mentors, and founders.
We act as mentor, speaker, and adviser to founders. Founders apply to our Masterclass and to present.
We volunteer our time to foster the growth of entrepreneurial activity and the development of mutually beneficial relationships.
We act as a resource to, and nurture relationships with, investors.

Every BNC Venture Forum attendee participates!

The attendees are the judges, they answer the moderators’ questions (to ensure the presenter knows what’s working and what needs to be clarified).

Opportunities to Network
Before the pitches start, our hosts invite each attendee to introduce themselves and tell their story to the audience.
These Introductions can be followed by posting contact information in the Zoom chat for those who might want to learn more.
The last part of every pitch event, the group opt into various breakout rooms. Each breakout room has one of the three founders (and moderators) in attendance. This is an opportunity for attendees to get to know each other, and the founder, better.

The BNC Community – A Powerful Collaborative (Please Join Us!*)

YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US! The BNC Venture Forum is populated by smart, congenial people who enjoy playing a role in the entrepreneurial process. We can’t wait to meet you there!

Check Out Our Website
You can find information about upcoming events, review full length past pitch events, and dive deep on investment opportunities on a “Companies Seeking Investment” page.
We are providing best-practices investor pitch deck resources startup founders can use
Thanks, Ron Shulkin
Investors in the Audience are the judges of the Pith Contest
Want to short circuit the process? Throw all the cards over? Proceed swiftly to what’s important?
At the BNC Start Up Founder Pitch Contest, the Investor Audience scores the pitches and selects the winners.

Hold
Review
Judge
Vote
Score
Evaluate
Prefer
Select
Weight
Take measure
Grade
Value
Expert
Determine
Award
Choose
Consider
Regard
Determine
Discover
Authority
Grade
Rank

Pitch Contest Name
Website
Landing Page for registration on BNC and on Contest
Unique; Our audience of investors are the judges scoring startup founders’ pitches
Feature expert mentoring and pitch coaching
Get Sam video of last event
Post social on next event

Sean
Infographs and blog posts
Different decks for different audiences infograph

BNC’s Pitch Deck Guidelines
Notes from Len Bland and Loren Minsk
Len Bland was VP sales for a series of software companies including HR, Document management and Version Control
He got involved with “Nano”, a company that is “cleaning” stuff.
Loren Minkus worked for Motorola for 39 years, including a marketing patent, but primarily managed investments in cellular technology outside of US.
They met in 2012

Here is the information investors will like to see
Get to The Point at The Start
Use a Shark Tank opening (coherent): We are raising X amount of money for Y% of the company
Storytelling
Every presentation is an opportunity to tell your company’s story. People remember stories even when they don’t remember any facts or data.
An audience of investors is different from an audience of prospective employees or potential clients. Each of those audiences requires a story tailored to their point of view.
You’re the most important part of the presentation (English speaking people naturally absorb information left to right; stand on the left of your presentation (from the audience’s POV))
Make an emotional connection and engage the emotional side of the brains among the investors in the audience. Near the end of your deck you’ll provide financials, engaging the analytical side of the audience’s brains. To recapture the audience’s emotional connection, use a “One more thing” slide to bring them back (“and we just made a giant sale” or “we’re focusing on one market now, but all these other markets can be exploited later”)
Every superhero has an origin story. Tell a compelling, memorable, easy-to-connect-to Origin story (I saw a problem and decided to provide a fix). Make it personal.
Make your case: there is a need in market and knowing this one problem, only we can solve it; The competition doesn’t do that
If you have a medical or scientific product, don’t use science-speak
Slides
Use the slides as props. You are the star of the presentation, so on each slide use pictures not words, Use big icons or graphics or images
Internalize your message; use one image/point per page. Read notes if you must; but don’t read your slide. Don’t give the audience anything to read (that they’ll read instead of listening to you)
Use a big font (the point size equal to no less than half of the oldest person’s age in your audience) go for 30 pt. minimum, 45 pt. better
No bullets, one point per slide
Team Slide
Include management, board members, lead investors and advisors.
For each person, use logos to show previous industry experience, history with prior startups and successful exits. Only include team members who add value to your story
Financials
We have traction: who paid (use logos and testimonials) what you’ve sold so far
Explain how you make money using a “unit of one”; your gross margin
Explain how your investor will make their money back
If you have a big, well known investor leading the round say so, it is an unbiased 3rd party blessing
If you explain how you’ll use the money, use a Pie, four slices or less

By Peter LaBerge April 19, 2019 Google, LinkedIn, or SlideShare.
Sequoia suggests
Company purpose
You need to define your company in its own terms in order to maximize its authority.
The problem your company is solving.
Your team’s solution should follow your establishment of the industry’s problem.
Over-focusing on product can kill your fundraising.
Why Now? The best answers to “Why Now?” can include qualitative data, but they must include quantitative data.
The market potential of your company can go a long way in helping an investor see dollar signs.
Sequoia has listed why now? and market potential as two separate slides in succession,
Competitors and product alternative slide.
Present an accurate assessment of your product’s standing in its greater industry
Prepare bulletproof answers to expected questions,
Business model is next in line,
Team slide was the only slide included in every single successful deck. The most important element of a good team slide is storytelling—
Financials
Only 58% of successful decks included a financials page.
When the financials page is included, more time is spent in that section
Vision section. What’s most important is that you give VCs and investors a lens into where you’ll be, if all goes right, years down the line.

Guy Kawasaki
The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint
Ten Slides/20 Minutes/No font smaller than 30 points
The only ten slides you need in a pitch
Title. Company name, Founder name, Contact information
Problem. Describe the pain you’re alleviating or the joy you’re providing
Value Proposition. Explain the value of the pain you alleviate or the joy you provide.
Underlying Magic. Describe your secret sauce. If you have a prototype, this is the time to bring it out. Glen Shires (Google): “If a picture is worth a thousand words, than a prototype is worth 10,000 sides”.
Business Model. Explain who is going to give you money and why.
Go-To-Market Plan. Explain how you will reach your customers.
Competitive Analysis. Give an in-depth view of the competition.
Management Team. Introduce the key players among your management team, your board of directors and investors.
Financial Projections. Three year forecast of bot dollars and key metrics, number of customers, conversion rate, presented bottom up.
Current Status, Accomplishments To Date, Timeline And Use Of Funds. Explain what’s happening and how you will use the money.

Richard Harroch March 4, 2017”How to Create a Great investor Pitch Deck for Startups Seeking Financing”

Do’s
Include “Confidential and Proprietary. Copyright © by [Name of Company]
Convince Why Market Opportunity is Large
Include Visually interesting graphics and Images
Send the pitch deck in advance in PDF format
Have a demo or prototype of your product
Tell a compelling, memorable and interesting story; show your passion
Show more than just an idea, instead show development traction, initial customers, new partners
Deliver a soundbite for investors to remember you by
Use a consistent font size, color and header title on all your slides

Don’t’s
No more than 15-20 slides
No wordy slides
Not too excessive financial details
No Jargon
Don’t bad mouth the competition
No out of date looking deck; avoid dates
No poor layouts

Each slide should tell a complete story.
The Company Overview tells about what you do, what you sell, why you’re special, why the team is great, about your initial successes, and your big investors and partners.
The Mission/Vision is a crisp summary of your company.

Richard Harroch Key Slides
Company Overview
Mission/Vision
The Team
The Problem
The Solution
The Market Opportunity
The Product
The Customers
The Technology
The Competition
Traction
Business Model
The Marketing Plan
Financials
The Ask

4 Key Slides That Can Make or Break Your Pitch Deck
By Andrew Clark

A great pitch deck is
Concise, but thorough
Informative but not boring
Simply designed but with personality

Cover Slide. Your first impression needs to get audience interest and attention quickly, so Sharp Design, your Logo, what you do or tagline, and Contact Info.
Team Slide. Investors are really buying into the team, and the belief they have passion and can pull off their quest. Discuss relevant experience in the market, previous startup exits, key accomplishments, impressive advisors, good logos.
Metrics Slide. Only include the highlights, show evidence of traction.
Competition Slide. Addressing your competition directly gives you credibility and your familiarity with the market. Make sure to address how you will win against the competitors; how you can be bigger and better.

Founders Institute
Title Slide with logo, tag line and CEO information
Vision Slide with screenshot explains what you do and identifies who your customer is.
Market Slide with information related to your customers.
Problem Slide with factual information on the problem that you are solving.
Solution Slide with screenshots and other information on what you are accomplishing.
Data Slide that provides some empirical proof that solution is desired or the solution works.
Business Slide that explains the business model or unit economics.
Team Slide with brief highlights relevant to the business. Answer: why you?
Ask Slide that leaves the audience with some way to help the business. Normally funding related.
Thank you Slide with tag line and contact information.

Founders Institute Startup Pitch Bootcamp
Startup Pitching Rules 101 – Achieving Brevity and Clarity
Be Clear & Specific
My company (Company Name) _ , is developing (A Defined Offering) to help (A Defined Audience)
with (Solve a Problem) (Unique Value Proposition)
Use the rules below to create a descriptive and concise pitch.
No Buzzwords
No Adjectives
NO: “A Social Utility” YES: “An E-commerce Site”
NO: “Mobile Social CRM” YES: “A Mobile Application”
NO: “A Revolutionary Service” YES: “Backend Software” Identify Demographics NO: “Female Consumers” YES: “Mothers aged 24 to 36”
Specify your market NO: “Artists & Musicians” YES: “Unsigned Electronic Bands” Clarify the buyer NO: “Large Businesses” YES: “Purchasing Managers at Fortune 100 Companies” Solve a problem NO: “Decrease Latency Across CDN Servers” YES: “improve Network Performance for their clients” Unique Value Proposition NO: “Easier and Faster” YES: “With automated ordering for diapers and other common baby products”

Describe your business or startup idea. Example: My company, the Founder Institute, is developing a training and mentoring program to help entrepreneurs launching a new startup create meaningful and enduring technology companies with shared equity that encourages peer support.

The defined offering needs to be short, simple and capable of being understood by everyone, like “a website”, “a mobile application”, “hardware” or “desktop software.”
The defined audience is the initial group of people that you will market your offering to. In the case of consumer applications, it is usually a demographic, such as “women age 25 to 35 years old.” In the case of business applications, it is usually a job function at a type of corporation, such as “system administrators at medium sized technology businesses.” Now that you have an offering helping an audience, you need to solve a problem. The problem needs to be something that everyone understands, such as “reduce the time collecting bill payments” or “engage in an immersive entertainment experience.” The final component, the secret sauce, adds your unique approach to solving the problem and demonstrates a mastery of the market. Some examples are “by sending automated email alerts based on analysis of highest response times” or “with virtual worlds constructed in reaction to the movements of the players.” Here are some more pointers; First, avoid using adjectives, particularly superlatives. Never say “first”, “only”, “huge” or “best” as these words signal inexperience. Second, properly define your target market. For example, “women” or “small businesses” are way too large and not nearly targeted enough. Third, eliminate any buzzwords, acronyms or industry jargon from your pitch. Finally, keep it short. It’s easy to write a long sentence, but the right thing is to be concise.

Pitch Deck Coach

CMRR, ARR, & ARRR – Committed monthly recurring revenue, annual recurring revenue, and annual run rate revenue;
Cash flow – Start with gross burn rate and net burn rate, then hopefully turn to free cash flow over time;
CAC – Customer acquisition cost payback period.
CLTV – Customer lifetime value.
Churn & renewal rates – Logo churn, CMRR churn and CMRR renewed.

There is an interesting “Rule of 40” that Brad Feld published a year ago, where for a healthy SaaS business the sum of your annual growth rate and your EBITDA (Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) profit margin should equate to roughly 40%.

Questions Investors May Ask You

Team
Tell me a bit about your background and your co-founder(s)’s background.
How do you all know each other?
How long have you worked together and in what capacity?
Why did you pick your co-founder?
Who do you need to hire during the next 18 months to be successful?
Do the founders have the knowledge to build the technology or would they need outside help?
What does the cap table look like? Shares divided unevenly can lead to disgruntled founders

Problem You’re Solving
What is the specific problem you are solving?
How big / serious of a problem is it?
Why is this a problem?
Who has this problem?
What are the external factors that may affect this problem? (e.g. regulation)

Solution / Product
How are people solving this problem today?
Describe your solution to this problem.
What effort / timing is required to switch from a different solution to yours?
(For deeptech) What is unique about the tech? (Do you have any patents / IP?)
What are the external factors that may affect the solution? (e.g. limit usage by regulation)

Market / Market timing
Why now?
How big is this specific market?
How many people does it affect?
How much money are people spending to solve this?

Customer Acquisition / Unit Economics / Go-To-Market
Who is your customer persona?
What does a day-in-a-life look like for this persoin?
Who do you sell to (title)? Is this the same person as the user?
What does a day-in-a-life look like for this person?
How much are people paying today? (range?)
How much do you think you can charge in the future?
How are you currently getting users / customers? (what customer acq channel(s)?)
How do you think you will get users / customers in the future?
How much does it cost you currently to get a user? And in which channel?
How much does your solution/product cost (COGs)?
How much will it cost in the future?
Why do people buy / use your solution?
What is the sales cycle to-date?

Competition
What differentiates your solution from other alternatives?
Who are you more afraid of: Google or another startup?
Who are you most afraid of?
What happens if a Google (or equiv) does this?

Traction
When did you start the company?
How many customers do you have to-date?
Or how many pilots / contracts signed?
When are the start dates of those pilots / contracts?
What are the contingencies?
Or how many LOIs signed? What do those look like?
How much revenue have you generated to date?
(Note: GMV is different from revenue)
As product revenue vs consulting / services revenue?
What are your margins?
Any notable customers?
Any enterprise customers paying big money?
What does retention or churn look like?
What does engagement look like?
Any upsells?

Fundraising / plans
How much have you raised to date?
At what terms?
How much are you looking to raise?
What are you looking to achieve (milestones) with this round if everything goes well?
Where are you in your round?
Have the current terms been set? And if so, what are they?
What is your burn rate?
What is your top priority for the next 3-6 months?
What are your capital costs? (if capital intensive, like hardware / e-commerce)
Minimum batch sizes / inventory / etc?
Have you secured a lead investor for the round? If so, who and how much is the lead investing?

Is There a Great Management Team?
Who are the founders and key team members?
What relevant domain experience does the team have?
What key additions to the team are needed in the short term?
Why is the team uniquely capable to execute the company’s business plan?
How many employees does the company have?
What motivates the founders?
How do you plan to scale the team in the next 12 months?
Is the Market Opportunity Big?
Most investors are looking for businesses that can scale
For most investors, a “big” market opportunity is in excess of $1 billion in sales annually.
What Positive Early Traction Has the Company Achieved?
The creation of a beta or minimally viable product
Initial or pilot customers, especially brand name customers
Strategic partnerships
Customer testimonials
Admission into competitive programs such as Y Combinator or other technology accelerators or incubators
Investors will want to know, How can the early traction be accelerated?
Buzz, articles, awards, grants
Are the Founders Passionate and Determined?
Do the Founders Understand the Financials and Key Metrics of Their Business?
“Know exactly what you want to spend your money on. Don’t tell me how long it will last; tell me what you want to prove.
“Know your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). Effective entrepreneurs understand what their top priorities are and manage their companies by focusing their teams around a handful of critical metrics that reflect those priorities.
Has the Entrepreneur Been Referred to Me by a Trusted Colleague?
Is the Initial Investor Pitch Deck Professional and Interesting?
What Are the Potential Risks to the Business?
What do you see as the principal risks to the business?
What legal risks do you have? Will the business model comply with applicable laws, including expanding privacy protections?
What technology risks do you have?
Do you have any regulatory risks?
Are there any product liability risks?
What steps do you anticipate taking to mitigate such risks?
Why Is the Company’s Product Great?
Why do users care about your product or service?
What are the major product milestones?
What are the key differentiated features of your product or service?
What have you learned from early versions of the product or service?
What are the two or three key features you plan to add?
How often do you envision enhancing or updating the product or service?
How Will My Investment Capital Be Used and What Progress Will Be Made With That Capital?
Is the Expected Valuation for the Company Realistic?
Does the Company Have Differentiated Technology?
How differentiated is the company’s technology?
What competitive advantages will there be over existing technology?
How easy will it be to replicate the technology?
How costly will it be to build the technology into each product?
What Is the Company’s Intellectual Property?
What key intellectual property does the company have (patents, patents pending, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, domain names)?
What comfort is there that the company’s intellectual property does not violate the rights of a third party?
How was the company’s intellectual property developed?
Would any prior employers of a team member have a potential claim to the company’s intellectual property?
Is the intellectual property properly owned by the company, and have all employees and consultants assigned the intellectual property over to the company?
If the intellectual property was developed at a university or through government grants or with open source technology, how does the company have the right to use the technology?
Are the Company’s Financial Projections Realistic and Interesting?
In order to believe your financial projections, investors will want you to articulate the key assumptions you have and convince them those assumptions are reasonable.
Is Your Legal Formation Clean and in Compliance with Applicable Laws?

Sequoia Guy Kawasaki Founders Institute Pitch Deck Coach
Richard Harroch Key Slides Alejandro Cremades

Company purpose Title Title Welcome Company Overview Problem
The problem you solve Problem Vision Problem Mission/Vision Solution

Your solution Value Proposition Market Solution The Team Market
Why Now? Underlying Magic Problem Product The Problem Product
Market potential Business Model Solution Business Model The Solution Traction
Competitors Go-To-Market Plan Data Traction The Market Opportunity Team
Business model Competitive Analysis Business Market The Product Competition
Team slide Management Team Team Competition The Customers Financials
Financials Financial Projections Ask Growth The Technology Amount being raised
Vision Current Status Thank you Financials The Competition
Team Traction
Funding Business Model
Summary The Marketing Plan
Financials
The Ask

https://slidebean.com/blog/startups-what-is-a-pitch-deck-presentation
Every author agrees that the Problem, Solution, Business Model, Competition, Team and Fundraising slides need to be on your deck, making them the absolute most important slides in your presentation.
Almost equally important, 4 authors agree the Market Validation, Market Size, Go-to-Market Plan, Traction / Use of Funds should also have a their own slide.
Less popular, Press / User Testimonials as well as Executive Summary don’t seem to be required
What is a pitch deck?
A pitch deck is usually a 10-20 slide presentation designed to give a short summary of your company, your business plan and your startup vision. A Pitch presentation deck also serve very different purposes, from trying to get a meeting with a new investor, to presenting in front of a stage, and each one of them should follow a different structure.
A demo day presentation, for example, should be very visual and contain very little text. It’s going to be seen from afar and you’re going to do all the talking. On the other hand, a pitch presentation that you’re planning to email should be completely self explanatory. It’s going to be seen on a laptop monitor, so small font is not so bad.
In these cases it’s also very useful to track your investor’s activity on the presentation, to figure out if they actually read the 100% of the slides; this can be critical when determining the frequency for follow up emails. In our case, it was key to raising our most recent round of funding. A number of pitch deck platforms offer this as a feature.
What should be in a Pitch Presentation deck?
A number of authors, venture capitalists, startup founders and evangelists have created different versions of what they consider required elements to successful pitching presentations.

For the purpose of this article, we’ve reviewed the contents of the following, most popular and well-known pitch deck templates:
GUY KAWASAKI: THE ONLY 10 SLIDES YOU NEED IN YOUR PITCH

Guy Kawasaki is a renowned presentation evangelist. He was an advisor to the Motorola business unit of Google and chief evangelist of Apple. BOOM!
Kawasaki’s take is very strict on the number of slides, he emphasizes there should be 10 slides. We don’t necessarily agree with this, because you probably want 20 nice and clean slides vs 10 crammed up slides, but hey, he’s the expert.
His presentation structure is something like this:
Title
Problem/Opportunity
Value Proposition
Underlying Magic
Business Model
Go-to-Market Plan
Competitive Analysis
Management Team
Financial Projections and Key Metrics
Current status, accomplishments to date, timeline and use of funds>> (really, all in one slide?)
What we do agree with is the overall structure and storytelling of the deck. You see, it’s organic to start talking about the problem you’re solving, move to the solution, talk about how you’re going to execute it and why you are THE best person to do it.
USE THIS TEMPLATE
10 SLIDE INVESTOR DECK BY 500 STARTUPS

‍500 Startups is a leading global venture capital seed fund and startup accelerator headquartered in Silicon Valley with over $350M AUM.
This template is ideal for initial approaches to investors. If they ask to see your pitch deck, this is what you want to send. The outline of the presentation mainly focuses on your startup’s growth metrics and traction.
These are 500 Startups recommended slides:
Problem
Solution
Product
Market Size
Business Model
Underlying Magic
Competition
Better/Different
Marketing Plan
Team
Traction / Milestones
You can view the full presentation templates list here, along with their comments and recommendations.
USE THIS TEMPLATE
‍STARTUP DECK TEMPLATE – SEQUOIA CAPITAL

Sequoia Capital is one of the most well-known venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. They specialize in incubation, seed stage, start-up stage, early stage, and growth stage investments in private companies. It also invests in public and private companies from all sectors.
If you haven’t heard of them, I bet you’ve heard about the companies they’ve funded… they include, Dropbox, Yik Yak, Airbnb, Evernote, KAYAK, Stripe and Youtube. Anyhow, it’s safe to say they know their stuff.
This is the template they offer:
Problem
Solution
Why Now?
Market Size
Competition
Product
Business Model
Team
Board/Advisors
Financial
Fundraising
USE THIS TEMPLATE
STARTUP PRESENTATION TEMPLATE – NEXTVIEW VENTURES
NextView Ventures is a venture capital firm specialized in investments in seed, startup, and early-stage companies.The firm invests in software, consumer and business focused technology companies, and internet businesses.

According to David Beisel from NVV; usually, when raising a seed round, your pitch process with a VC firm starts with a small number of meetings with just one or two team members — or else you’re pitching angel investors individually. In those contexts, it’s a lot less likely that you’ll want to stand up and “pitch” a deck. Usually, a more human interaction works better. You introduce yourself, you talk about why you started your company, and you start digging into the details in a conversational way.
This is a summary of their slides. As David mentions, this deck is ideal for investor meetings, rather than pre-meeting emails:
Executive Summary
Problem
Solution
Marketing Plan
Market Size
Traction
Fundraising
Team
Competition
Use of Funds
Underlying Magic
User Testimonials
Financial
Business Model
Market Validation
‍
USE THIS TEMPLATE
AIRBNB PITCH DECK – THE DECK THEY USED TO RAISE $600K

The Airbnb original deck from 2009 has become an increasingly popular reference for entrepreneurs around the world. The company founders, Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk used this pitch presentation deck to raise $600K from Sequoia Capital and Y Ventures. The company has since become a giant in the Travel industry, closing a round in early 2015 on a valuation of over USD $20 Billion.
Originally recovered from a 2011 talk by Blecharczyk on Startup Bootcamp in Boston, we got a glimpse at the exact slides that they used to pitch investors on their original fundraise. The deck was incredibly successful at summarizing the company vision and the huge market opportunity they had before them.
Related Read: Airbnb pitch deck: teardown and redesign
These are the slides:
Problem
Solution
Market Validation
Market Size
Product
Business Model
Marketing Plan
Competition
Competitive Advantage
Team
Press
User Testimonials
Fundraising
USE THIS TEMPLATE
Related read: Pitch Deck Examples from Succesful Startups
ALL TOGETHER NOW:
Let’s look at that chart once again.
Key takeaways:

Every author agrees that the Problem, Solution, Business Model, Competition, Team and Fundraising slides need to be on your deck, making them the absolute most important slides in your presentation.
Almost equally important, 4 authors agree the Market Validation, Market Size, Go-to-Market Plan, Traction / Use of Funds should also have a their own slide.
Less popular, Press / User Testimonials as well as Executive Summary don’t seem to be required fields.
The Perfect Pitch Deck — Designed by a VC.

Iskender Dirik
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Mar 19, 2018 · 5 min read

Noah Parsons
Before joining Palo Alto Software, Noah Parsons was an early Internet marketing and product expert in the Silicon Valley. He joined Yahoo! in 1996 as one of its first 101 employees and become Producer of the Yahoo! Employment property as part of the Yahoo! Classifieds team before leaving to serve as Director of Production at Epinions.com. He is a graduate of Princeton University. Noah devotes most of his free time to his three young sons. In the winter you’ll find him giving them lessons on the ski slopes, and in summer they’re usually involved in a variety of outdoor pursuits. Noah is currently the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of Outpost and the online business plan app LivePlan, and content curator and creator of the Emergent Newsletter. You can follow Noah on Twitter.

How To Create A Pitch Deck

Alejandro Cremades

Problem
Solution
Market
Product
Traction
Team
Competition
Financials
Amount being raised
The 11 slides to include in your pitch deck
Slide 1: Vision and value proposition
This is a quick one-sentence overview of your business and the value that you provide to your customers. Keep it short and simple. A great way to think about this slide is to imagine it as a short tweet—describe your business in 140 characters in a way your parents would understand.
It’s common for tech companies to make their value proposition a comparison to another well-known company. For example, you see many pitches that start with things like:
“We’re the Uber for Pets”
“We’re the Netflix for Video Games”
This can work, but be careful to make sure your comparison makes sense and you’re not just using a high profile company like Uber to signify growth potential. Your business model has to truly be similar to the company you are referencing.
Slide 2: The problem
If you aren’t solving some problem in the world, you are going to have a long uphill climb with your business.
Use this slide to talk about the problem you are solving and who has the problem. You can talk about the current solutions in the market, but don’t spend too much time on the competitive landscape on this slide—you’ll have a chance to do that on a later slide.
Ideally, try and tell a relatable story when you are defining the problem. The more you can make the problem as real as possible, the more your investors will understand your business and your goals.
Slide 3: Target market and opportunity
Use this slide to expand on who your ideal customer is and how many of them there are. What is the total market size and how do you position your company in the market? If you can find the data, investors will want to know how much people or businesses currently spend in the market to get a sense of the total market size. This is where you tell the story about the scope and scale of the problem you are solving.
If it makes sense for your business, you’ll want to divide your market into segments that you will address with different types of marketing and perhaps different types of product offerings.
Be careful with this slide, though. It’s tempting to try and define your market to be as large as possible. Instead, investors will want to see that you have a very specific and reachable market. The more specific you are, the more realistic your pitch will be.
Slide 4: The solution
Finally, you get to dive into describing your product or service. Describe how customers use your product and how it addresses the problems that you outlined on slide two.
You’ll be tempted to move this slide closer to the beginning of your pitch deck, but try and resist the temptation. This is classic storytelling where you build up the problem and describe how bad it is for lots of people. Now your product or service is coming to the rescue to help solve that problem.
Most entrepreneurs are very focused on their product when instead they need to be focused on their customers and the problems those customers face. Try and keep your pitch deck focused with this format and you’ll tell a better story.
If possible, use pictures and stories when you describe your solution. Showing is nearly always better than telling.
Slide 5: Revenue model or business model
Now that you’ve described your product or service, you need to talk about how it makes money. What do you charge and who pays the bills? For some businesses (content sites, for example), advertisers pay the bills instead of users, so it’s important to flesh out the details here.
You can also reference the competitive landscape here and discuss how your pricing fits into the larger market. Are you a premium, high-price offering, or a budget offering that undercuts existing solutions on the market?
Slide 6: Traction and validation/roadmap
If you already have sales or early adopters using your product, talk about that here. Investors want to see that you have proven some aspect of your business model as that reduces risk, so any proof you have that validates that your solution works to solve the problem you have identified is extremely powerful.
You can also use this slide to talk about your milestones. What major goals have you achieved so far and what are the major next steps you plan on taking? A product or company roadmap that outlines key milestones is helpful here.
Slide 7: Marketing and sales strategy
How are you planning on getting customers’ attention and what will your sales process look like? Use this slide to outline your marketing and sales plan. You’ll want to detail the key tactics that you intend to use to get your product in front of prospective customers.
Finding and winning customers can sometimes be the biggest challenge for a startup, so it’s important to show that you have a solid grasp of how you will reach your target market and what sales channels you plan on using.
If your marketing and sales process is different than your competitors, it’s important to highlight that here.
Slide 8: Team
Why are you and your team the right people to build and grow this company? What experience do you have that others don’t? Highlight the key team members, their successes at other companies, and the key expertise that they bring to the table.
Even if you don’t have a complete team yet, identify the key positions that you still need to fill and why those positions are critical to company growth.
Slide 9: Financials
Investors will expect to see your financials: sales forecast, income statement (also called profit and loss statement), and cash flow forecast for at least three years.
But, for your pitch deck, you shouldn’t have in-depth spreadsheets that will be difficult to read and consume in a presentation format. Limit yourself to charts that show sales, total customers, total expenses, and profits.
You should be prepared to discuss the underlying assumptions that you’ve made to arrive at your sales goals and what your key expense drivers are.
Remember to try and be realistic. Investors see “hockey stick” projections all the time and will mentally be cutting your projections in half. If you can explain your growth based on traction you already have or compared to a similar company in a related industry, that is extremely useful.
Slide 10: Competition
Every business has competition in one form or another. Even if you are opening up an entirely new market, your potential customers are using alternative solutions to solve their problems today.
Describe how you fit into the competitive landscape and how you’re different than the competitors and alternatives that are on the market today. What key advantages do you have over the competition or is there some “secret sauce” that you have and others don’t?
The key here is explaining how you are different than the other players on the market and why customers will choose you instead of one of the other players on the market.
Slide 11: Investment and use of funds
Finally, it’s time to actually ask for the money. That’s why you’re doing this pitch deck, right? I know—I said that this pitch deck isn’t about actually getting funded. That’s still true, but your potential investors do need to know how much money you are looking for.
More importantly, you need to be able to explain why you need the amount of money you are asking for and how you plan on using the money. Investors will want to know how their money is being used and how it is going to help you achieve the goals you are setting out for your business.
If you already have some investors on board, now is when you should be talking about those other investors and why they chose to invest.
Other slides you might include in your pitch deck
While you do want to keep your pitch deck short, sometimes you may need or want to include a few extra slides that help explain your business. Here are a few additional slides that are often found in investor presentations.

The 11 slides to include in your pitch deck
Vision and value proposition
The problem
Target market and opportunity
The solution
Revenue model or business model
Traction and validation/roadmap
Marketing and sales strategy
Team
Financials
Competition
Investment and use of funds
SCOTT PAINTER

COMPANY PURPOSE

PROBLEM
SOLUTION
MARKET
WHY NOW?
COMPETITION
REVENUE MODEL
MARKETING/SALES
TEAM
ROADMAP
VISION
BY SCOTT PAINTER, FOUNDER AND CEO, FAIR
COMPANY PURPOSE
What is your mission? Condense your pitch to a simple, yet powerful sentence about the purpose of your startup.
“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe”, Simon Sinek. Watch: Start with why — how great leaders inspire action.
I personally also love to see a simple graphic that describes your product/business model directly at the beginning. Starting with as concrete an idea about the product/solution as possible helps me to categorize and understand the information on the following slides.
See The Pyramid Principle — Lessons from McKinsey.
PROBLEM
Give a striking overview of the challenges that you address and solve.
SOLUTION
Time to reveal your product. Screenshot(s) preferred.
MARKET
Show that you address an appealing market. Here is an explanation of the TAM/SAM/SOM concept.
However, TAM is not always the best way to highlight the attractivity of a market: Why ‘TAM’ doesn’t matter to me.
WHY NOW?
Timing is amongst the top reasons for startup failure. Watch The single biggest reason why startups succeed (=Timing). Show why “now” is the best time to succeed for your startup.
COMPETITION
There is always competition, direct or indirect. Stress clearly how the competitive landscape is differentiated and what makes you unique (#defensibility #unfairadvantage #secretsauce).
REVENUE MODEL
How will you earn money — and who will pay for it?
MARKETING/SALES
This could also be titled “User Acquisition” or “Go-to-Market” (GTM). GTM is normally used in B2B and Enterprise Sales. Show ideally that you are KPI driven. An overview of your marketing channels, CAC and CLV numbers as well as payback periods indicate that you do your homework, track and monitor decisive KPIs and have at least a clear assumption how this will lead to a profitable business.
See: Understanding the value of your customer: CLV 101.
However, please note: The False Confidence Of The LTV/CAC Ratio For Early Stage SaaS Startups
TEAM
Why is your team the best fit for this startup idea? Show that you have the relevant experience and skills for this business. If you have experience in working together, make this explicit. If you still need to complement your management team, make this clear.
ROADMAP
Could also be titled “Financials” or “Traction” or be divided into two slides. The overall goal is to:

Inform about the most important financial metrics and unit economics
Give a rough overview about the company history and previous (and ideally also following) financing rounds
Show traction/growth and ideally why “now” is a great (inflection) point in the company history to invest in it. This is also a good place to show your hockeystick or other striking curves/graphs that visualize your hyper growth.
Btw: Handling growth rates correctly could be tricky. Check out The problem with month-over-month growth rates by the fantastic Christoph Janz. And have a look at 3 Mistakes You’re Making with Month-Over-Month Growth Rates.
Highlight the milestones you want to achieve with the new funding.
! Don’t forget to mention the investment sum you want to raise!
VISION
End with the overall vision you have. What is your long term goal — what should your company look like in 5 or 10 years?
Attention, guys: The deck I created is meant to be provided via email/as handout. This is not the perfect deck for a (vocal) presentation and a pitching situation! Don’t do, what most founders do: Don’t present your handout slides! Your presentation slides need much less text — you present your story, the slides just support the story, but don’t repeat it.
Check the COUP Movement if you want to learn how to deliver outstanding

o here’s how to do a pitch deck right, slide by simple slide.
Slide 1: Make your statement of purpose.
When I talk with a young entrepreneur, I always start by asking, “What’s the big idea?” What I’m looking for is a statement about who they are and what they do in a sentence so elemental and polished as to adorn a statue. This isn’t just the elevator pitch; this is the pitch you need to get out before the elevator doors have closed in the lobby. This statement is worth spending a remarkable amount of time on, because it might be the most valuable dozen words you’ll ever assemble. It’s something that needs to be torn up and debated and rewritten a thousand times. It also needs to be a living statement that can grow and change as you learn about your business, what happens in your marketplace, what matters to investors, the zeitgeist, and the thousand other factors that will be crucial to the growth of your business. And if your first slide is lacking it, your deck is like a book with a bad cover–nobody’s going to buy it.
Slide 2: Introduce your team.
Ever go to the oh-so-fancy movie theater where the usher (kind of uncomfortably, in my opinion) comes out in front of everyone to tell you what the movie is about? That’s exactly what you did in the first slide. In Slide 2, the lights go down, the movie starts, and your audience gets to see how this whole thing is going to unfold–beginning with meeting your main characters. And what are investors looking for in your team? Three things, really: that they’ve done it before, that they’re the best at what they do, and that they’re incredibly charismatic. Think charisma isn’t a gigantic factor in a funding decision? Then you’re forgetting that dogs would be mere members of the wild kingdom if not for being gifted with oodles of the stuff. So bring as much of your team as you think helps your cause and show off the veritable tour de force of talent that’s going to give the room absolute confidence you can pull off everything you’re about to lay out.
Slide 3: Identify the problem.
If you’re pursuing the kind of big idea that matters to venture capitalists, you need to comprehensively and vividly identify the fundamental problem you’re solving. This accomplishes a couple of things. One, it demonstrates that you understand current market pressures and the macro trends that drive them. Second, it forces you to train a spotlight on what you’re aiming to tackle by ensuring it’s an actual problem in the world. If you’re trying to franchise a chain of “freeze the fat” body-sculpting offices, you’re not solving a problem. You’re preying on human weakness for the purpose of turning one-dollar bills into two-dollar bills–with the yawning downside that almost anyone can do the same thing. As an investment opportunity, your rich uncle Ned may jump all over this. But real investors want to solve real problems. If all you want is to turn a buck, skip the VC pitch meetings and buy vending machines.
Slide 4: Present your solution.
Your fourth slide should cover how you plan to solve the previously stated problem. It’s a simple rundown of your value propositions, illustrating how you plan to address the crucial societal need you already identified faster, more effectively, and more affordably than ever before. Surprisingly, infomercials tend to do a pretty fantastic job conveying this kind of information. “For just three simple payments of just $9.99, it slices, dices, minces, purees–and cleanup is a breeze!” This slide will be a breeze too–if your solution is solid.
Slide 5: Answer “Why now?”
Investors are like mountain climbers looking for a foothold. Ideally, it comes in the form of a Eureka! moment that happens when a new technology overlays with a coinciding shift in societal needs. The mass-market automobile. A streaming music service. The “Why now?” slide needs to focus on what’s going on in your industry and society at large that makes the timing of your business so prescient. This is where you get to stand on your soapbox and give a primer on all the things you know about the intricacies of your business, and how they match up with the dynamics of the market. You should also touch on the competition: why nobody’s doing this, how the people who are doing it aren’t very good at it, and why you’re uniquely poised to color in the resulting white space. Feel free to be a great big, annoying know-it-all here. It’s expected.
Slide 6: Explain how this will work.
This sounds pretty open-ended and hairy, but it’s really just a short and simple explanation of your revenue model. Basically, how do you plan to make money? If you’re running a digital content company, slide No. 6 might sound something like this: “Our business works because we buy premium domain names, add unique content created by our world-class team, require consumers to register with their emails, and then sell their emails for $5 each to companies that want them–and we get paid up front.” Remember those Family Circus cartoons with the dotted trail that tracked the roaming shenanigans of little Jeffy? Slide 6 is pretty much that, but for the dollars that will be flowing into your business.
Slide 7: Spell out how your business will perform for the next five years.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, you’re going to finish with two financial slides. This first one should map out the expected results of the business as told by the five narratives that matter: units sold, revenue, cost, yield, and customer acquisition cost over time. Obviously, there’s an art to presenting all of this information in a way that shows your business as the most compelling money-spawning creation in recent history. I’ll give a much more detailed rundown of this slide in a future column, but for now just prepare a simple line chart for the above information and know that slide No. 7 is a mere steppingstone to something much more critical …
Slide: 8: Show your investors how they’ll 10x.
You’ve covered the problem, walked through your solution, your team, your timing, your revenue model–now it’s time for the dramatic climax: how your potential investors can make a 10x return. There’s nothing rational about this particular number. It’s just what humans who invest for a living have decided feels good. And it is all any investor will really care about–from a tiny, early-stage VC to a late-round institutional partner looking to fund you for the long term. So explain how it’s going to happen for them–and don’t be shy. Describe the cavernously huge addressable market you’re tapping into. Demonstrate how you and your team plan to mine it to its core like a gang of crack roustabouts. And spell out how this will bring all involved the most insanely profitable investment of their careers.

Ross O’Brien

GUEST WRITER
CEO & Founder Bonaventure Equity, LLC

Cover Page
Disclaimer & Confidentiality
Executive Summary
Management Team
The Opportunity
Product or Service
Business Model
Sales and Marketing
Operations
Regulatory and Compliance
Financials
Transaction Overview
Appendix

nfinitiv

What are the key slides you want in your investor pitch deck?
You want your investor pitch deck to cover the following topics, roughly in the order set forth here and with titles along the lines of the following:
Company Overview
Mission/Vision of the Company
The Problem
The Solution
Market Validation
Market Size
Competition
Competitive Advantages
Business Model
Customer Acquisition
Management Team
Financial Projection
Current Status/Milestones
Ask
Use of Funds

Problem → What problem are you addressing?

Solution → What solution do you offer?
Product → What is your product?
Vision → What’s your vision today, in a year, in five years?
Market size → How big is your (addressable) market?
Competition → Who are your competitors (direct and indirect)?
Business Model → How does your business work? How do you plan to make money?
Status and roadmap → Where are you today? What key milestones do you want to achieve in the next 12 months?
Team → Who are you? Why are you the right team to build this?

Here are the 10 elements that will constitute a basic pitch deck, according to Ratan Tata.

Problem
What is the problem you are trying to solve? Validate the problem with real-life examples.
Solution
What is your solution to the problem?
Unique Selling Proposition
What characteristics make your solution a “never before” solution.
Competition and Barrier to Entry
How do the current solutions compare with your solution? How easy is it to replicate your solution? What category of competitors do you belong to?
Revenue Model
How do you make money off your solution? Such as subscription model, direct sales, ad-based revenues. What are your 3-5-year projections? What are your top cash burn reasons?
Target Market
Focus on the size of the market versus the percentage you are targeting. Do granular profiling of your customer such as age, geography, purchase habits, personal traits. What channels will you use to get to this market?
Your Product or Service
Explain how your product or service adds value. Try and explain in layman terms. Ideally, anyone reading the slide should understand it.
Milestones
List out the milestones you have reached so far such as prototypes, patents, pilots etc. Write about the milestones for the next 1, 3 and 5 years if possible. Mention the milestones for what you would do if you got funded.
Funding So Far
Mention funds raised through other investors and soft commitments. It helps to build credibility and validation. Mention realistic numbers for expected funding.
The Team
Introduce your founding members. Along with credentials, you can mention why they are involved. Exhibit unity in thinking and strategy.
Other than the 10-point approach to a basic pitch deck, the former chairman of Tata Group gave the entrepreneurs five more tips to make the first step of their startup journey successful.
Ultimate COVID-19 Pivot Startup Pitch Contest
Pitching competitions are to startup entrepreneurs what skydiving is to most people: a bucket-list item that’s both exciting and terrifying. To take the skydiving analogy further, joining a Startup Pitch Competition may be the only way for your business to land where it’s supposed to.
During such an event you get to pitch to multiple investors, gain some valuable exposure and get some equally valuable feedback. You will network, you will potentially build partnerships but, most importantly, you will get a chance to secure funding and accelerate your business. All you need to do is jump from the airplane
Pitch competitions are one of the most useful tools for startup founders
Whether or not a given event gives funding to the winners, its value can’t be underestimated. A pitch delivered at a competition can catch the ear of a future early employee, a key advisor, or even a potential investor.
History has proven great innovations are engendered by crisis, Many of the country’s most successful companies were born during peculiar economic times. Thus, given the current environment, there will be significant opportunities for our audience of investors to gain exposure to many exciting, high-growth companies.

We believe an organizations’ capacity to channel innovations to the economy is more potent in innovation-driven economies. Breakthrough innovation is much more likely to occur when a variety of disciplines and broad demographic diversity are represented. It brings fresh thinking to the discussion.

We believe that pitch competitions are an important part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Pitch competitions give entrepreneurs a chance to be seen by the community, practice and improve their pitches, and get exposure to potential investors.

This pitch event strives to offer
A transparent process that gives participants, judges, and audience members a shared, clear understanding of how the competition will be run
Based on best practices for developing and running a startup
Designed to improve the quality of pitches and make companies more successful

Our Audience of Investors has a heightened awareness; the willingness to examine new ideas; to listen and carefully consider. They believe this is the path to bringing disruption to industry.
Our network is populated with experts who enjoy the entrepreneurial process, who bring deep business experiences and extensive business networks; to serve as credible, trusted resources.

Our Investor Audience pursues goal oriented/milestone achievement driven investments, be socially conscious, be productive and efficient by relying on modern technology, speeding up reliable registration, KYC, and transactions; fueling a high-speed syndication model, reducing risk. with transparency, standard terms, smart contracts,

We Invite YOU to Participate
we hope to cultivate relationships with and We aggressively recruit startup founders
Of Both Genders
Representing Diverse Cultures And Ethnicities
An Array Of Backgrounds
The Full Spectrum Of Occupational Experiences
Health, Beauty, And Fitness
Advanced Manufacturing And Robotics Tech Artificial Intelligence
Virtual And Augmented Reality
Medical Marijuana,
Financial Technology
Biotechnology.
Women-Owned Businesses Agtech Blockchain
Covid-19 Influenced Businesses (Work At Home, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence) And Post Covid Era Surge Companies With Expectant Demand
Ethnically Diverse Startups
Minority Owned Businesses
Mature Founders

https://grasshopper.com/blog/startup-competition-guide/

https://www.hatchpitch.com/apply-full-form
The hype of pitch competitions can artificially increase business valuations to levels that
pitch competitions are one small experience in a much longer, complex journey – regardless if they win or not.
support startups, university and accelerator partners, regional investors, and broader ecosystems.
diversify the judging panel
Startups will likely pitch to diverse groups throughout their journey.
funders seeking a well-aligned investment opportunity
The multi-audience pitch model
teach teams to strategically explain their company’s value proposition to a mix of critical players they’ll encounter throughout their startup process.
potential business partners looking for a startup to help them solve a problem
possible customers of the product or service
technical leads who can question and support the science
early-stage innovators need training and mentorship in countless areas.
align awards with key milestones for the startups, creating criteria for how the money and resources will be deployed. (For instance, if a team needs to conduct additional testing, pay several months worth of rent at a lab)
Startups receive guidance on the best way to use the funds. From the funder’s perspective, they know the money is well-managed and properly allocated.
provide value for everyone involved
build in pre-competition networking events just for key players involved with the event – and in the ecosystem.
allow the group to engage with different people who don’t always have the opportunity to connect. The attendees feel like they receive a value-add for their time commitment to the competition.
pitch competitions as a learning opportunity.
help teams develop a post pitch competition action plan.
coaching startups to put asks in their pitch that go beyond money.
there is always someone in the room who can provide something of value such as mentorships or connections after the event. I also ask teams to provide regular progress reports that I share with the ecosystem. More often than not, the success story sparks interest from a potential business partner or investor, even if the team doesn’t make it to the podium.
A critical component of innovator and entrepreneurship programs is mentorship sessions with thought leaders in scaling, technical and clinical issues, fundraising, and marketing. But both innovators and mentors can agree: the initial mentorship meeting is a conversation starter. Innovators benefit most from expert guidance and advice through a long-term connection with mentors. There’s an unspoken promise in that moment of exchange that a follow up will take place. It’s smart to follow through on that promise sooner rather than later. You may not have an immediate need for guidance, but planting the seed soon after meeting is good way to start building an authentic relationship with a mentor.”
Connecting on LinkedIn or sending a thank you email is time well spent. “A succinct, friendly, professional note thanking the mentor for their time not only shows that you take your project seriously, but that you respect the mentor’s time and insights,”
According to the mentors we spoke with, having a balance between targeted asks and progress reports is crucial to building a solid mentor relationship. “In an ideal world, 70% of your outreach offer updates on reaching milestones, and 30% is invitations to discuss a specific problem,” said Chang.
Make Clear, Strategic Asks
Mentors are busy people with many demands on their time. Given this reality, it’s important to make concrete asks or requests of your mentors. “Avoid emailing a mentor with generic, open ended questions,” advised Sharma. “Instead, ask for something specific, such as an introduction to someone or advice on an aspect of a business plan. Specific asks make it easier for mentors to respond in a reasonable time, and provides you with valuable information or resources in a timely manner.”
Mentors also appreciate knowing that you took their advice to reach the next level. “I get tremendous satisfaction knowing I was able to help,” said Sharma. “That positive feedback encourages me to continue mentoring the innovator.”
Chang adds, “Receiving quarterly emails with a brief update provides me with valuable backstory about your journey. That backstory is helpful when you reach out to me for advice. I have a better understanding of where you are and how I might be of most use.”

assess your impact
How do teams benefit or evolve after participating in your pitch competition?
These are sensible questions to ask. It’s important to measure the impact of any activity or program that supports early-stage entrepreneurs—not only to prove to stakeholders that your programming benefits participants, but to determine how you can improve your offerings moving forward, and position your program for additional support and resources.
embrace virtual options
The pandemic has made in-person pitch competitions essentially impossible for the time being. Many are moving online—and from participating in a dozen or so virtual pitch contests so far, I’ve found that there are a few crucial keys to success.
Programs and schools need to work closely with founders to ensure that pitches are clear, succinct, and well-prepped, particularly pitch decks and any screen sharing portions. Encourage founders to create quick and easy-to-read materials on their startups that investors can read prior to the event and have handy during the pitches.
It’s also important to design and implement a seamless and consistent way of gathering investor or judge feedback through curated chats, polls, and/or private deliberations. This can help replicate the real-time constructive feedback often offered by judges at in-person pitch competitions. To avoid frustrating glitches that can leave the program and participants looking unprofessional, take time to ensure that the technology set-up is flawless. If you’re incorporating pitch decks, videos, breakout rooms, etc., it has to be smooth, rehearsed prior, and run without any difficulties. Pre-event, investors and founders need to receive calendar invites from the hosting program so it’s easy to access the event.
Virtual pitch competitions enable organizations and founders to reach a broader, potentially global audience. This can create new opportunities to better diversify a competition: judges, investors and participants can be located across multiple regions, and the competition itself can be promoted and live-streamed much more widely. Adapting a pitch competition virtually can offer students an opportunity to connect with a larger network of potential investors and employers, practice their virtual communication and presentation skills, and celebrate the culmination of their project, class or venture.
skip the glitz
Time is of the essence: keep your program 90 minutes or less. This is particularly important to keep in mind during the pandemic when Zoom fatigue is at an all time high and people are jumping from meeting to meeting all day.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form
HOW TO ORGANISE HIGH-PERFORMING STARTUP PITCHING CONTESTS
marketing plan for contest promotion
A super-duper important task for everyone who wants to organize pitches that convert, building a marketing plan is something that should occupy your mind before, during, and after an event. Here are a few simple tips on how to advertise your contests correctly:
social media schedule to enable consistent posting.
Create content in advance.
Use software tools that allow for automated posting.
Make use of shares and referrals.
Follow up on special offers.
Pitch Perfect: Five Tips for Designing Effective Business Pitch Competitions for International Entrepreneurs
Pitch competitions can be an invaluable component of entrepreneurship development programs. Preparing for a final pitch competition can keep participants motivated throughout the program as they work towards presenting their businesses to an engaged audience. While pitch competitions offer a clear benefit to winners — such as cash prizes, investments and consultancy services — benefits also accrue to those not selected for an award.
Entering a pitch competition encourages an aspiring entrepreneur to refine their business model, distill their business story to its essentials and craft a well-articulated business proposition. Practicing for and delivering the pitch at the competition allows the entrepreneur to build storytelling and communication skills, both essential for entrepreneurship. Pitching in a competition can lead to new ideas from judges and attendees, new publicity, new contacts and newfound confidence.

To encourage positive spirit, we mention at the start and again at the end of the competition that the three teams are all winners — having made it to this final round from a pool of teams. This frees students to practice a growth mindset rather than fixate on the results.
brief the pitch judges before the competition on its objectives and style. Along with the entrepreneurs, the panel of judges is the face of the event and to shape the tone of the competition, influencing entrepreneurs’ performance and confidence levels.
HELP TEAMS DEVELOP THEIR PITCHING SKILLS
We advise groups that are pitching to an international audience to use more images than words on their presentation slides, and to avoid reading their slides. We carve out sufficient time for pitch practice and organize a couple of mock pitch days complete with judges who are willing to volunteer their time to prep entrepreneurs for the big day. Teams practice the transitions between speakers: In a dolphin-style competition you might want all team members to have the opportunity to pitch, while in a shark-style competition having one key speaker could be more effective. Teams spend time coming to a deep understanding of what they want to get across, rather than rehearsing and repeating the pitch verbatim.

Judges Know The Criteria Beforehand
judges know what they’re judging.
We make it fair and even for all competitors by using one set of judges.
We Give judges any paperwork they want
We Show The Scores Right Away
it’s great to compete and get exposure. Startups don’t have to win for the event to have been worthwhile
Audience Voting Not Part Of The Scores
If you want to give a prize for most audience votes, then keep that separate. An investor pitch should be scored by investors. And audience vote is normally a popularity contest. It’s a look at who bullied their social media audience enough to get likes or votes, and what does that really mean or show. A startup contest should be decided by experienced judges and not people who hit “like” a lot.
Seeing all of these oddities and inconsistencies makes me want to back away from pitch competitions and focus on non-competition events. I hope pitch competition organizers will think about what I’ve said here, and consider making their events fairer and more transparent.
WHAT ARE THE ELIGIBILITY AND ACCEPTANCE REQUIREMENTS?
We are looking for businesses that are beyond the conceptual stage and have a team committed to the vision. You should have raised less than $500,000 in funding for your business so that we can have a true impact on helping you grow. This is not just a financial investment for our investors.
Applicants are selected based on their business idea, team member’s skills and background, and the team’s ability to execute. We also consider whether BNC can have an impact on their success and growth as part of the selection process.
Companies need to be based in the USA.
IF I DO NOT WIN AN INVESTMENT AT THE PITCH COMPETITION, DOES BNC INVEST IN COMPANIES
Aside from the investment prize being offered, BNC does not directly invest in the companies that compete in the Pitch Competition. However, if your company requires funding to launch, by participating in our accelerator we go through how to prepare a compelling pitch deck for investors. The co-founders of BNC have raised multiple rounds of angel and venture capital and can share this knowledge with you. BNC can provide introductions to investors when you are ready for investment.
DO I NEED TO GIVE UP EQUITY IF I WIN THE INVESTMENT?
Investment will take the form of a convertible note, SAFE, or another debt/equity instrument that matches the business’s needs. Depending upon your situation, there will be some form of ownership taken for the investment unless it is a pure debt instrument. This will be finalized after the awards ceremony.
Our mission is to be additive to any company for which we source investment. Our intent is to provide an attractive source of financing to help you achieve growth.
IS THERE AN AGE LIMIT?
We require all applicants to be at least 18 years of age.
WHAT KIND OF BUSINESSES WILL QUALIFY?
We accept any kind of business into our accelerator. We have had fashion businesses, retail stores, tech companies and others emerge from the Lab. The more progress and traction you have, the more likely you are to win the investment. But, if you think the idea can become a great business – go for it and apply!
CAN MY BUSINESS JUST BE A COOL IDEA I HAVE?
Yes it can be! That said, the more fleshed-out your idea is, the higher your chances of being selected. So if you have an idea, try to demonstrate some sort of validation for applying if you can. If not, apply anyway – what do you have to lose?
Feb 5, 2018
IS BNC A NON-PROFIT 501(C3) ENTITY?
No, BNC is a limited liability company. We consider ourselves a social enterprise. Any fees or donations made to the Lab are NOT tax deductible.

Appendix 1
Contest Application
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To be considered for Ultimate COVID-19 Pivot Startup Pitch Contest please fill out the form below. You can also apply which will put you in line for feedback and potential coaching opportunities throughout the year.
Pro tip: Be concise with your answers. However, the more complete the information you provide, the better your chances of being selected and receiving valuable feedback.
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Applying for: *
Ultimate COVID-19 Pivot Startup Pitch Contest
Company Name *
Short Description *
Cover customer need and why they care about your solution using 50 words or less.

Impact
How does your company make life better through social or environmental impact?

Customers *
How many paying customers do you have?

Customer Interviews
How many interviews have you conducted with potential customers in your initial market?

Customer Type
Primary customer type(s)
Small/Medium Businesses
Large Enterprises
Consumers
Professionals
Government
Revenue Model *
What is the primary way you make money?

Revenue
What is your total revenue to date? You can update this monthly.

Days Invested
Cumulative person-days spent by all team members to date.

Employee Compensation
Total $US spent on employee salaries and compensation.

More Info
Provide a link where we can find out more info about your company, e.g. your profile on Angel List, F6S, etc.

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Anything you’d like the Ultimate COVID-19 Pivot Startup Pitch Contest
team to know.

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How did you hear about Ultimate COVID-19 Pivot Startup Pitch Contest? Who told you? Please be as speciﬁc as possible.

Contact
Primary contact who will communicate with HATCH pitch.
First Name *
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By clicking the “Submit” button, I agree that the information above is true and that I have authority to share it. I understand that HATCH pitch will not share this information publicly, but our staff and evaluators will use it to make decisions and to contact me. I agree to receive emails from HATCH pitch (@hatchpitch.com).

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We will contact selected companies on a rolling basis. Submissions with the most complete, clear, and concise information will have a better chance of being selected.

Entrepreneur Presenter Registration
If you are looking for seed and early stage capital, The Gathering of Angels is a good source for you as we have since 1996, raised capital for 400+ young companies from 20k to 39MM.
What Can I Expect from GOA as a Presenter?
As a GOA presenter, you are coached and prepared for your 15 minute PowerPoint presentation and receive a template on how to polish your Executive Summary, tighten your 1-2-3 year P&L Financials, exit strategy, and develop a defensible company valuation to insure adequate funding.
GOA has developed Guidelines for Success in the Angel funding process and works with you in preparation, execution of your pitch and assists you in follow up with interested Angel Investors to insure funding.
At GOA, you can expect to present to 25-30+ accredited Angel Investors and Investment Bankers. They normally hear from 3-young companies per GOA meeting for 15 minute each with 2-5 min for Q&A. GOA practice sessions for presenters occur before the event and GOA staff and 3-5 GOA coaches helps you prepare and review your presentation and offer constructive critique and suggestions. GOA also assists and guides you in follow up sessions to facilitate capital funding. We become your focused advocate to fulfill your seed capital needs and make you a GOA Success Story.
To be considered for a presentation at our monthly GOA meetings, you will need to send to GOA a 1-5-page Executive Summary from your current business plan. Once this is reviewed by GOA principals, and it is confirmed that you, in fact, have an investable business concept, you will receive an GOA Engagement Letter from Tarby Bryant, Founder & CEO of the Gathering of Angels.
Registering to Present for The Gathering of Angels
Submit a 1-5 page Executive Summary to GOA for review.
Once approved, you will receive an engagement letter from GOA CEO Tarby Bryant with a reservation for a presentation slot at an upcoming GOA meeting.
You must submit your GOA presentation fee, and confirm your reservation for an upcoming meeting.
You will receive guidance and coaching to prepare you for your 15-minute presentation in front of our Angel Investors. You will also receive a model template for the Executive Summary.
Each month at each GOA Meeting on Zoom, we have 3 GOA presenter slots and have interest normally from 30-40 companies monthly who are looking for capital and would like to present to our Angel Network. You must have a business plan first to attract capital, and just a great idea or great invention does not make a business or an investment prospect.
What Should I Include in My Executive Summary?
Capital Sought
Use of Funds
Unfair Competitive Advantage over the competition
1-2-3 year P&L Financial Projections
Exit Strategy
Details About the Company Principals and domain expertise
Advisers
The Gathering of Angels have been helping entrepreneurs for over 24 years, and in this time GOA has developed Guidelines for Success in front of our Angel investors. We know what works and attracts investment interest, and what does not. Let us help you and your new business venture today, register to present or contact us today for more information.
Presenter Registration
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Angel Investor Registration
The Gathering of Angels meets twice a month now on the Zoom Platform and will hear from 3 young companies seeking seed and early stage capital.
Each of the presenting companies has been vetted and prepared for their presentation by Tarby Bryant, CEO and Founder of the Gathering of Angels. Angels attend GOA complimentary and normally after some level of due diligence write individual checks to the presenting companies. GOA has facilitated 400+ capital fundings from 20k to 38.5MM
Each Month, GOA hosts two Zoom meetings and 3 young companies present from a variety of product and service industries. Gambling and sex-related websites are not welcomed at GOA, but all other business concepts are welcomed to present their ex-summary for review and consideration.
These presentations are critiqued, and changes made to assure the audience that their valuable time is not wasted by unprepared or scurrilous presenters.
If you are looking to invests in young entrepreneurial companies of the highest quality, the monthly Gathering of Angels is an excellent place to find maybe the next Microsoft or Apple. Many of our presenting companies have been acquired or done a merger with a bigger company. A few have done public offerings, and exits are normally 2-4 years in duration.
Registration on the GOA site as an Investor and completion of a personal investment profile is required, and we strive to keep networkers and service providers excluded from Gathering of Angels meetings. We hope you will join us at a Gathering of Angels meeting in the near future.
Become an GOA Angel Investor!

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Present to The Gathering Of Angels Investors
Move your business forward by connecting with mature Angel Investors ready to support your venture.
Register Now!
Recent Success Stories and Testimonials
Auto Think–San Antonio based Loaner Car delivery venture raises $200,000 from Austin Angel Investor, Sloan Foster, CEO 210-845-4141
Four Burner Restaurant Services-Austin Based food delivery platform to compete with Door Dash and GrubHub….Raised 100k from Texas Angels Randy Murphy, CEO 512-795-1793
Movada Media – Winnipeg Canada venture that converts printed catalogues to web catalogues using HTML. Santa Fe Angel invests and joins Movada Board of Advisors. President Ron Saltel-204-284-9000.
Zirus Inc. – Atlanta based drug discovery company raises 75k from Atlanta Angels,
Storm Shelter Technologies – Savannah based Lightning detection company raises 22k from SAV Angela CEO Dennis Page-912-965-0435.
Cryo – Dynamics from Dallas TX raises 25k from Atlanta Angel-CEO Doug Harsey-817-854-0406.
Reality Gap – Seattle based video game developer & CEO Mike Williams gets 280k from Atlanta Angel-949-836-2294.
Reality Gap – CA based video game developer gets more capital from Atlanta Angels.
Zirus – Buford GA drug discovery company gets more capital from Atlanta Angel.
KidzToys – Atlanta based company gets $100,000 from 3 Atlanta Angels.
WebSafety – CA based software company gets $35,000 from Atlanta Angel.
MSK – Ultrasound Imaging company from Phoenix gets $100,000 investment from Santa Fe Angel.
Best View – Tom Van Ham CEO-678-999-4050
Iverson Diagnostics – Dean Sproles CEO-425-318-1332
People Helping People – Hawkinsville GA-Ashley Rogers, CEO-478-893-1503
Twitch Technologies – Savannah GA, Dennis Page, CEO-912-660-8029
My Stay – Brooks Pickering, CEO
OneCare – Gary Austin, CEO-404-405-7665
SpectroPath – Dr Roger Gaskins, CEO-404-312-5135
Southern States Regional Center – Symphony Project -Bruce Nicely – CEO-888-643-8289
TBC Energy – Tulsa OK, Jim Somers, CEO-661-877-7571
The Ivory Company – Shelley Nandkeolyar, CEO-503-901-8977
Four Burner Restaurant Services–Randy Murphy, CEO 512-795-1793
Auto Think–Sloan Foster –210-845-4141
Recent Testimonials
“The Gathering of Angels experience has been unparalled in my search for funding. The communication and organization are top-notch and very effective in moving the proverbial needle. Tarby’s advice helped fine-tune my slide show to better present my offering and the GOA coaches were able to give me an invaluable perspective from an Angel Investor’s point of view. Packaged with contacts I would not have otherwise had, the participant feedback and ongoing support GOA provides, this service has been worth the effort of getting me closer to my goals as an entrepreneur.” Anthony Short, CEO and Producer of 3-Miga Films, Atlanta GA 704-649-6382
“I wanted to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to you Tarby and your Team of seasoned coaches for the time in preparation and the GOA event in June 2020 on Zoom. We closed on The Pines at Woodcreek Apartments in Houston and we are happy to come again to Gathering of Angels for future opportunities in the multifamily space. Best Regards” Craig Berger, CPA Avid Realty Partners 314-495-6665
“Participating in the Gathering of Angels process gave us the feedback we needed to tighten our presentation and ultimately close significant funding from a GOA Angel. This funding has given us the shot in the arm to get to the next level. We are now on a rocket shipthanks to this investment from Gathering of Angels .” Sloan Foster, CEO of AutoThink-210-845-4141
“My overall experience with GOA was very positive. Tarby and his GOA coaches are very professional about helping us prepare and practice our 15 min pitch, as well as putting us in front of 30-40 real Angel Investors. I now have about a dozen of these GOA Investors that are active prospects having expressed interest in my venture. These people could potentially blossom into long-term ongoing relationships as well. The ball is now in my court to convert these prospects into actual investors. All in, Gathering of Angels offers a good bang for the buck, Thank you Tarby” June 10 GOA Presenter Craig Berger, AVID Realty Partners 314-495-6665
“Tarby Bryant’s advice was crucial to our success in seeking funding for our Christian movie Tested. His expertise guided us in honing our Pitch deck to perfection. We highly recommend his services and Gathering of Angels to any company looking to take their venture and team to the next level. He is truly a master of his craft” Chad Watson, Christian Movie Writer and Producer, Austin TX 318-344-5767 May 2020
“I got the chance to research about Tarby Bryant and the Gathering of Angels community. I was immediately impressed by the preparation and length Tarby will go through just to empower Founders and their organizations. Tarby and the GOA community have made it a very seamless experience for you to seek funding, It’s almost too good to be true, but it is True. Tarby provided coaches who help stir you in the right direction for pitching your ideas to investors! We are happy and grateful we got a chance to do this with Gathering of Angels. ” Joshua Afolabi, Founder and CEO of Juggo, Atlanta GA 401-648-5143 May 2020
The presentation process through the Gathering of Angels provides an opportunity for startup companies to benefit in more ways than just funding.
The creation of the Executive Summary and PowerPoint presentation through Tarby’s valuable mentoring offers investors a chance to see the project needs before detailed discussions occur.
I am grateful to Tarby for introducing us to the Angel Investors, and affording us the opportunity to present our project to funding sources we would not have had otherwise.”
John Norton, CEO, Caribbean Sunset Ventures

“Thank your for taking an interest in Daddy O’Brien’s Irish Ice Cream. We have “cold gold” in our alcohol Ice Cream and we are happy you believe in our potential” Lori and Frank “Daddy O” O’Brien
“ Great Venue and appreciate what you do for Atlanta Entrepreneurs” Davis Framer, Moove Guru
“Why is the US the epicenter for innovation world wide and why do innovators around the world choose to found their start-ups in the USA?……The answer to both questions is people like Tarby and entities like Gathering of Angels….Keep up the good work GOA” Walter Dean, Netify Venture Capital
“Congratulations on 22 years of GOA” Colin Brady, OBE
“Thank you for the excellent job you do at Gathering of Angels and congratulations on 22 years of service” Joe McNamara
“ Tarby, you have an outstanding program and following to create capital for small business” Wes Pennington, CPA
“Tarby, you manage, inspire and actualize better than most people I know that do what you do” Barry Flink, Angel Investor
“ Always organized process and more times than not, something of investable interest” Michael Crandal, CNG
“ Tarby, you guys are the Best! Congratulation on 22 years of making a difference in people’s lives. We are Warren Averett are gald to be a part of your efforts going forward” Jack Parsons, CPA
Dr. Tony McClain, CEO, McClainTech Enterprise. “GOA is an amazing organization! I highly recommend Tarby and his team to anyone seeking investors for their business venture. The forum is highly structured and organized. Tarby is a incredible mentor as presenters prepare for the GOA presentation, and he is a great facilitator during the GOA event!
The post-presentation investor feedback is priceless! The investors are personable, and they provide a clear and honest assessment of both the presentation and the business venture. Viewing one’s unique business proposition through the lens of investors provides invaluable information and insight that is not easily obtained through alternative channels. Arguably, the investor feedback is just as important as the funding!
Following the GOA presentation, I am fortunate to have created investor interest in McClainTech products. I am grateful for the opportunity to present McClainTech Enterprise at the Gathering of Angels! Thank you GOA!”
Adnan Merchant, Intellibidder Corp. “Thank you very much for having us for the GOA. We truly appreciated the event and your efforts in putting it together. We were particularly impressed with the format of your event – the feedback was the most significant takeaway for us and was something we value greatly. In short, we think you guys put on a great event and we were happy to be a part of it.”
Jeffrey Beal, Destination Development Partners
Bob Sherwin, CEO, Bionic Soil Solutions USA “I had the opportunity to introduce our Company-Bionic Soil Solutions at both the Atlanta and Santa Fe Gathering of Angels during the last 5 weeks. As a result, I have a number of people that have expressed a strong interest in our Company that we are currently following up with. We have one party in particular that we are working diligently with, that has a very strong interest in investing the full $3MM request within the next 60 days.

Tarby does a great job of working with the presenters in advance to help prepare them for the presentation. In addition, he does a great job of facilitating the events and making sure that each presenter receives feedback from the potential investors. He has assembled a strong network of potential investors over his 19 years in this business and has written a book that is a very helpful resource for those seeking capital to fund their visions.” – Bob Sherwin, CEO Bionic Soil Solutions USA.
Michael Nilan, CEO of TreeFree Paper Co. “Tarby – Thanks so much for inviting me and my company, TreeZero Paper, to participate in your GOA event on Wednesday. We received several interested investor inquiries and we will be meeting with each of them next week. Your event was effective and your staff was very professional.” – Michael Nilan, CEO, 404-949-3251
Cedric Peete, Cre8tive Ent. “The Gathering of Angels event was incredible! Not only did a meet a great investor to fund my company, Tarby’s advice and help guided us through this process. All the investors I spoke with after the event offered something, if not money, they gave their time, advice, and or feed back. This was a win for us. Tarby, you are truly an Angel! Thank you so much.” – Cedric Peete, Cre8tive Ent.
Cris Arnou, CEO of BioHealthonomics “Great venue and very well organized meeting” – Cris Arnou, CEO of BioHealthonomics-310-633-0362
Jamie Rosenthal, CEO of Wolfscratch Farms “Having the opportunity to pitch your ideas to a serious group of angel investors is priceless. The Atlanta GOA was a great, and very welcoming, group of angel investors. The staff was organized and a big help in preparing for the presentation, which make a world of difference for newbies like me in this arena. The angel investors that attended the event are all very friendly and amazingly helpful, both before and after your presentation. Even the investors that are not interested in investing stopped to talk, and gave invaluable advice to move my venture forward.
I learned so much about my business and the process of investing by presenting at the Atlanta GOA, and feel that it will definitely lead to success for my new venture. I made some truly amazing contacts and would highly recommend any entrepreneur to take this exciting opportunity!” – Jamie Rosenthal, Wolfscratch Farms Jasper, GA 770-617-8403
Chris Ingram, Ingram Capital Group, Inc. “It gives me pleasure to say that the GOA is an amazing organization with a following of good savvy investors who appreciate the passion of entrepreneurs. We were delighted to receive several offers and form a formidable relationship with one of the largest angel investors in Atlanta. This would not have happened without the GOA and Tarby’s commitment. “An awesome experience”…Chris Ingram, CEO Ingram Capital Group, Inc. Atlanta, GA 404-840-5697”
Keenan Conigland, ICON Medical Partners “The benefits of my association with the Gathering of Angels are layered and many. First, there is the distinct prospect of funding for my fledgling enterprise. Second, several parties at the GOA meeting gave me very good legal and financial advice about how to structure and operate my medical supplies business. Third, I’ve established new friendships—all in less than a month.
With GOA, I have found an organization and a leader in Tarby Bryant that I can follow, leadership that will help direct me toward the realization of a successful business. It’s not just an effort to make money, it’s a genuine push to help change lives. That’s what Tarby is doing, helping to fulfill dreams through his hard work by providing a multi-faceted support system in support of a common goal. On the surface and to a large degree, it is about business: but underneath, at least to me, it’s about lending a helping hand to fellow humanity.”
John Friess ” We heard about the Atlanta Gathering of Angels through one of our existing investors, who also happens to be on our Board of Advisors, as he said he had heard really good things. So, we reached out to the AGOA and had a great couple of conversations with Tarby Bryant before being accepted to present. One we were in Atlanta we understood why they had such a reputation.
The gathering was at an amazing location, overlooking the city, and the members of the group could not have been more engaged and interested in the presentations. We had ample time to both fully present the journey gym opportunity and a to answer the questions members had after the event. We ended up with 25 interested individuals based on the evaluation sheets provided post presentation.
We ended up staying in Atlanta for a full two days after the presentation, per Tarby’s suggestions, to run one on one meetings and conference calls with the members who had been there for the gathering. This expedited due diligence process proved to be highly valuable as we received a number of meeting requests and focused on nothing but follow up for 48 hours after the event.
In the end, we expect to bring on 4 to 6 new investors through the process and to have very successful results from our time with the Atlanta Gathering of Angels. We now plan on sending more Oregon and Washington companies out to Atlanta to participate in future events. It’s a hidden angel investing gem in the Southeast.” John Friess, Co-Founder & CEO of Journey Gym
M. Yvette Bond “Having the opportunity to speak in front of the Gathering of Angels was a true blessing. I can’t thank you enough Tarby for doing what you do. I am very impressed with the Angels’ feedback and their immediate interests in investing and licensing. Their input was appreciated and helpful. This is definitely a route I would recommend to others. I say go for it!”
Vicki Sturiale “I believe the GOA was a fantastic opportunity for us. We were able to “get in the game” and were forced to come up with a professional PowerPoint presentation for your Angels. We knew we needed to do it but you lit the fire! We are staying focused and continue to follow up with leads from recent GOA event. We look forward to attending future GOA events.”
Dean Smyros “Your well thought-out and managed GOA event truly maximizes opportunities for raising capital. Its made it possible for us to receive that same evening significant investment interest in SPITFIRE, and were still following up with more Atlanta Angel prospects. Both professionally and personally, its an absolute pleasure to work with you and Dean, and I look forward to our continued relationship.”
William G. Nordmark, III “It was fortuitous for Clearwave to be able to work with you and The Gathering of Angels!! Clearwave initially raised a substantial amount of capital from many small investors!! These investors have been the backbone of our company!!!
The Gathering of Angels brought Clearwave a new source of funding, many of whom were large investors!!! The Gathering of Angels was an efficient way to reach a number of investors in one meeting!!! Tarby Bryant’s advice and counsel helped Clearwave raise substantial monies!!!!
Tarby Bryant was great about working with our leaders in being cost effective in our fundraising!! He was flexible in working with us and was a real advocate for Clearwave!!!!
The Gathering of Angels and Tarby Bryant have played a huge role in the success of Clearwave!!!!!
Kind regards”

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Appendix 2
Scoring

Appendix 3
Pitch Elements

Appendix 4
Scoring Form

Appendix 5
Pitch Competition Lists
Pitch Competitions in Silicon Valley

Click here to watch the online Hatch Pitch Digital Summit and add your scores and feedback.

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Hatch Pitch is the competition for startups using information technology to make life better.
From a global applicant pool, we select finalists who receive coaching and mentoring from startup mavens. Our annual Hatch Pitch Summit is a pitch competition where finalists present their business plans to a prestigious judging panel of corporate, angel, and venture investors who provide feedback and select winners. The well-connected audience in the room and on the web, weigh in via social media tools, making the Hatch Pitch demo day one of the most dynamic of its kind.
One of the first events at the inaugural SXSW Interactive Startup Village in 2012, Hatch Pitch was an official SXSW event each year until 2016, when we branched out to become an independent program and event. We also staged a show-stopping demo day at the inaugural TechStreet Houston conference in 2013.
We’ve enjoyed capacity attendance by an enthusiastic audience and an engaged judging panel including Amazon CTO Werner Vogels, ff Venture Capital’s John Frankel, Google’s Don Dodge, and TechStars’ Nicole Glaros. See all our judges here.
Hatch Pitch companies have collectively raised over $340 million in funding. Thus far, 10 Hatch Pitch finalists have enjoyed an exit. Some success stories:
2012 winner Distil Networks raised $1.2M seed round led by Hatch Pitch judge, John Frankel of ff Venture Capital.
2012 winner RideScout (Moovel) acquired by Daimler in 2014.
2013 winner Realty Mogul dominates crowd sourced real estate investment.
2016 winner BrainCheck raised $1.5M from Hatch Pitch emcee, Kerry Rupp of True Wealth Ventures.
2017 finalist SPLT acquired by Bosch in 2018.
Hatch Pitch is run by a dedicated group of volunteers from around the USA, primarily from the Houston startup ecosystem. Each event typically involves 30+ volunteers to operate and promote the program as well as recruit, screen, coach, and judge the startup applicants.
Hatch Pitch is a program of Smart Cities TechStreet Houston, a 501c3 non-profit organization.
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A huge thank you to our awesome coaches who prepare the finalists to give great presentations for Hatch Pitch and SXSW Pitch.
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Deborah Mansfield Jonathan Ha Katie Baker
Keith Kreuer Marc Nathan Paulo Machado
Mariam Jacob Mark Streich Mike Steely
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HATCH PITCH ANNOUNCES 2020 STARTUP PITCH COMPETITIONS FOR AUSTIN AND HOUSTON
December 18, 2019
Hatch Pitch is pleased to announce two pitch competitions for Spring 2020. The Hatch Pitch Summit will return to Austin, TX for the ninth year on March 16th. Then on April 28th, Hatch Pitch will hold its first ever cybersecurity themed competition at the Houston Cyber Summit.

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HATCH PITCH 2019 WINNERS ANNOUNCED
March 15, 2019
We are pleased to announce the winners of the Hatch Pitch competition for startups using technology to make life better at the Hatch Pitch Summit 2019 in Austin, TX on March 11th.

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MEET THE FINALISTS: EHEALTH NOW!
March 10, 2019
Finalist, eHealth Now, is the first platform that connects Chinese cancer patients with US and Chinese oncologists to provide affordable world class cancer care.

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MEET THE FINALISTS: EDWEL ENERGY!
March 9, 2019
Finalist Edwel Energy empowers companies and individuals to navigate the energy process chain,
control their energy footprint, and reduce consumption of non-renewable energy.

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MEET THE FINALISTS: NEUROFLOW!
March 4, 2019
Finalist NeuroFlow Solutions promotes behavioral health access and engagement in all care settings to improve outcomes, overall wellness, and cost of care.

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MEET THE FINALISTS: MAMBO!
March 4, 2019
Finalist, Mambo, is a multi-tenant software platform that optimizes experiences within closed network communities.

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CELEBRATING 5 BLACK FEMALE FOUNDERS FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH
February 28, 2019
February is Black History Month – a month that sparks an inclusive conversation inside and outside the HATCH Pitch organization.

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HATCH PITCH 2019 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
February 13, 2019
Meet the 2019 finalists and get your invitation to attend HATCH Pitch Summit 2019.
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WHAT TO EXPECT AT HATCH PITCH SUMMIT 2019
January 22, 2019
Hi HATCH Peeps,
We’re 2 months out to HATCH Pitch Summit 2019, and we bet you’re as excited as we are.

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CONGRATS HATCH PITCH 2018 FINALISTS
November 27, 2018
Recap of the HATCH pitch Summit 2018. Thanks to our judges, coaches, and participants. Congratulations to our four finalists.

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HATCH PITCH 2018 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
March 4, 2018
The time for HATCH Pitch Summit 2018 is upon us. We are proud to announce the talented teams that will have the honor of joining the HATCH community on March 12th at 9:30 am.

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HATCH PITCH 2017 IN REVIEW
February 12, 2018
HATCHpitch 2017 was an engaging and memorable event where members from the HATCHpitch community came together to empower and educate the next class of HATCHpitch finalists.
Hatch Pitch Announces 2020 Startup Pitch Competitions for Austin and Houston

December 18, 2019
by Greg Wright
Hatch Pitch is pleased to announce two pitch competitions for Spring 2020. The Hatch Pitch Summit will return to Austin, TX for the ninth year on March 16th. Then on April 28th, Hatch Pitch will hold its first ever cybersecurity themed competition in Houston.
Applications are open for both events at www.HatchPitch.com.
FIRST HATCH PITCH CYBERSECURITY COMPETITION FOR HOUSTON
We are partnering with the Houston Cyber Summit where Hatch Pitch will introduce the inaugural innovation track to this prestigious event, now in its fourth year.
“We are excited to bring Hatch Pitch to Houston for the first time since 2013. The gathering of all this expertise at Houston Cyber Summit is the perfect place to foster innovation. It’s an opportunity to meet and exchange ideas between startups, investors, customers, partners, leaders and change-makers.” said Hatch Pitch founder, Greg Wright.

Houston Cyber Summit is a gathering of experts in the business of cybersecurity from the city, county, academia, and some of its largest businesses. They have compiled security best practices which they share with the community to help make online interactions safer and smoother for everyone. The focus of this pitch competition will be early stage startups creating safety, security, and privacy solutions for businesses, government, and consumers.
“Houston is known as a “business” town and there is tremendous need for a new commercial class of cybersecurity and privacy solutions as we enter an era of IoT, AI, and ML. The Houston Cyber Summit annually brings together a highly qualified, trusted network of business, government and academic leaders from across the Greater Houston region and beyond. Partnering with industry leader Hatch Pitch, adds a new and exciting dimension to the cybersecurity and privacy landscape of our region and creates a new set of high paying jobs.” said Umesh Verma, founder of Houston Cyber Summit and CEO of BLUE LANCE.
HATCH PITCH SUMMIT 2020 IN AUSTIN
In March, we return to Austin for the Hatch Pitch Summit. The Summit marks the final stage in the Hatch Pitch competition for startups using technology to make life better. Four finalists will present their startups to a live audience. They will field questions and receive feedback from our judging panel. Then they will be scored by the judges, the attendees, and our online audience.
The four finalists are selected from hundreds of applications from across the globe. Before the event, finalists receive coaching from Hatch Pitch certified mentors.

ABOUT HATCH PITCH
Hatch Pitch is the competition for startups using information technology to make life better.
One of the first events at the inaugural SXSW Interactive Startup Village in 2012, Hatch Pitch is known as one of the top pitch competitions in the US.
Hatch Pitch finalists have collectively raised over 360 million dollars in funding. Thus far, 11 finalists have enjoyed an exit.
Hatch Pitch is run by a dedicated group of volunteers from around the USA. Each event typically involves 30+ volunteers to operate and promote the program as well as recruit, screen, coach, and judge the startup applicants.
ABOUT HOUSTON CYBER SUMMIT
The Houston Cyber Summit is a forum designed for business leaders and executives to learn how to protect and reinforce their business through a proactive cyber security strategy that aligns with the business strategy. The Summit provides real-life case studies and frameworks on keeping your business safe.
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WHAT IS THE MIT $100K?
One competition – three independent contests – from October through May. Now in its 31st year, the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition has brought together students and researchers from across MIT and Greater Boston to launch their talent, ideas, and technology into leading companies.
The competition runs as series of distinct, increasingly intensive contests: Pitch, Accelerate, and Launch.
Each contest focuses on developing specific founder skills. For semi-finalists in Accelerate and Pitch, the MIT $100K brings together a network of resources, including mentorship from venture capitalists, serial entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and attorneys; media exposure; prototyping funds; business plan feedback; and discounted services. More than $300K in non-dilutive funding is awarded to accelerate these new ventures.

“Being a finalist in the MIT $100K really enabled me to jump start my venture — connecting me to mentors and other entrepreneurs in the Boston area.
— John Smith, Finalist, 2003

PAST WINNERS INCLUDE:
HubSpot, Finalist 2006
Akamai, Runner-up, 1998
Harmonix, Finalist, 1995
Silicon Spice, Finalist, 1995
THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Co-Managing Directors

Akhilesh Koppineni

Christian Mirabile

Jennifer Shin
Vice Presidents

Carolina Blain Campos
Judging

Leah Gonzalez Howard
Competitor Experience

Amrit Malothra
Events & Operations

Kyle Langley
Marketing

Megha Srivastava
Competitor Experience

Megha Vijayvargia
Finance & Sponsorship

JOIN THE MIT $100K PLANNING COMMITTEE!
We are actively recruiting new members! If you are interested in joining us, please reach out to 100kd@mit.edu

MANAGING DIRECTORS ALUMNI

Cy Schroeder, 2020

Kat Krieger, 2020

Harry Kainen, 2020
GENERAL RULES
There is no fee for entry.
Submissions may be entered by individuals or teams.
Each team may enter one idea.
Each team must have at least one currently registered MIT student; if you are submitting as an individual, you must be a currently registered MIT student.
Currently registered MIT students include all full-time and part-time undergraduates and graduate students, including PhD/doctoral candidates.
MIT students must submit their @mit.edu email address at submission time.
Required events must be attended by at least one MIT student on each team. Team members who are not MIT students are also encouraged to attend, but at least one MIT student per team is required to attend.
A single individual cannot be the sole qualifying student for two teams.
Entries must be the original work of entrants.
Teams must disclose any funding already received at the time of registration.
Teams must not have accepted any institutional funding for the idea being presented (i.e. the team cannot have sold equity to anyone outside the team – including non-managing founders). This includes convertible notes and Simple Agreements for Future Equity (“SAFEs”). Teams also must not have accepted any non-institutional funding in excess of $100,000 if applying to Pitch, $150,000 if applying to Accelerate, and $250,000 if applying to Launch. Non-institutional funding includes contests, grants, friends and family, bank loans, etc. where there is no equity ownership associated with the funding.
The only exception to the restriction on institutional funding is if your team has accepted an investment from a STUDENT-LED venture fund (e.g. General Catalyst’s Dorm Room Fund, First Round Capital’s Rough Draft Ventures, etc.), which is permitted only for Accelerate and Launch provided that the dollar amount accepted by your team, together with all other non-institutional funding, does not exceed the $150,000 limit if applying to Accelerate or the $250,000 limit if applying to Launch. This exception does not apply to the PITCH competition.
There are forms of funding and questions of eligibility that may fall into a gray area. In these cases, the $100K Organizing Committee will deliberate on the eligibility and communicate the decision to the team. The decision of the Organizing Committee on the eligibility of the entrant is final and cannot be appealed.
The Judging Panel reserves the right to disqualify any entry.
ELIGIBILITY DETAILS
Teams are encouraged to seek the involvement of MIT faculty, alumni, post-docs, researchers, staff, students from other schools, and people from outside the MIT community. All team members must be full-fledged members of the team.
By submitting a business plan, you represent and warrant to the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition that you have all right, title and/or interest in the business plan submitted and the information it contains is accurate and complete, and that by submitting the document to the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition you are not and will not be violating any contract or third party rights including any patent, copyright, trade secret, proprietary or confidential information, trademark, publicity or privacy right.
The Judging Panel of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition reserves the right to disqualify any entry that in its judgment violates the letter or the spirit of the Competition guidelines, processes and rules of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition. The decisions of the Judging Panel are final and binding.
PRIZE PAYMENTS
Equal shares of any prize money won will be paid to each individual on a winning team.
If equity (stock) is divided among the team members, then teams with non-MIT students can only receive equity if the MIT students on the team also have equity in the company.
The individual recipients of prize money will be responsible for the tax implications of their winnings.
Teams may forfeit their individual shares of prize money in favor of granting the full amount of the prize money to a registered business entity if, and only if, all of the following conditions are met:
Team’s business entity has a Federal Tax Identification Number (also known as an Employer ID Number) by 15 days prior to the finals date.
All members of the team have agreed in writing to forfeit their individual portions of the prize money in favor of granting the full amount of the prize money to the registered business entity. We strongly recommend that teams seek legal consultation prior to signing such an agreement.
MIT faculty are not eligible for prize money; the payment they receive is distributed among team members. However, they can participate on teams.
Note that prize payments are treated as income by MIT and the IRS, regardless of whether the payment is made to an individual or a company. Non-U.S. citizens are taxed on their prize money up front at a rate of 30%, which is withheld from their prize checks.

MIT $
CONFIDENTIALITY
Access to submitted executive summaries is only granted by the MIT $100K Organizing Committee to the members of its judging panel. The MIT $100K managing directors and judging committee are the only other individuals who may be provided with the submitted executive summaries. Reasonable steps are taken to limit access to the submitted executive summaries (collectively referred to as “summaries”).
The judges of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition are venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and lawyers who are used to dealing with confidential material on a regular basis. If some part of the entered Executive Summary is confidential, contestants will need to clearly mark that information as “CONFIDENTIAL,” and the MIT $100K Organizing Committee will retain that legend in any copy of the summary provided to the members of the judging panel. However, even if contestants mark their information as confidential, there will be no confidentiality obligation by any recipient of the summary for information which: (a) is publicly available prior to the time of its disclosure to the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition or becomes publicly available thereafter through no wrongful act of the recipient, or (b) was known to the recipient prior to the date of disclosure or becomes known to the recipient thereafter from a third party having an apparent bona fide right to disclose the information, or (c) is disclosed by recipient in accordance with your approval, or (d) is disclosed by you or any member of your team without restriction on further disclosure, or (e) is independently developed by a recipient; or (f) the recipient is obligated to disclose to comply with applicable laws or regulations, or with a court or administrative order.
The identities of the contestants and the short description of the business disclosed in the registration, as well as any pitch delivered during any MIT $100K event are considered of public domain and can be used by the MIT $100K Organizing Committee for marketing and PR purposes.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Teams can create businesses using technologies that they have permission to use. This could mean that they created the technology, that the patent is in their name, or that they have the explicit, written permission of the person or organization that owns the intellectual property. Any team that violates this will be automatically disqualified from the contest. Before submitting entries, the MIT $100K Organizing Committee urges contestants to confirm with appropriate advisors or legal counsel that any intellectual property described in their summary is protected; i.e., by appropriate intellectual property filings, notices, (patent, copyright, etc) by the owning institution and/or individuals. The MIT $100K Organizing Committee also recommends that contestants determine in advance whether their summary describes a technology, invention, copyrightable work or other intellectual property owned by MIT in accordance with MIT Policy. The MIT Technology Licensing Office is available to answer any related questions.
MISCELLANEOUS
You agree that you will not use the name of “Massachusetts Institute of Technology,” or any variation, adaptation, or abbreviation thereof, or of any of its trustees, officers, faculty, students, employees, or agents, or any trademark owned by IT in any advertising or publicity without the written permission of the Director of the MIT’s News Office.
MIT MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND CONCERNING THE MIT ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETITION, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. IN NO EVENT SHALL MIT, ITS TRUSTEES, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, STUDENTS, THE MIT ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETITION JUDGES AND MENTORS, AND AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY ADVICE, INFORMATION OR DECISIONS MADE FOR OR ON BEHALF OF THE MIT ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETITION OR FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING ECONOMIC DAMAGES OR INJURY TO PROPERTY AND LOST PROFITS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER MIT SHALL BE ADVISED, SHALL HAVE OTHER REASON TO KNOW OR IN FACT SHALL KNOW OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THE FOREGOING.

PITCH 2019
Congratulations to our
Pitch 2019 winners!
Grand Prize: allda
Audience Choice: Last Weekend

2019 FINALISTS:
allda
Community Buyer
Engimata
GigFin
Improvise
Last Weekend
Medici Technology
MyoSenses Clinical Analytics
Neotenix
ONA
PatientPort
PRISM
Text4Health
Tidbit
ViLi

PITCH
The MIT $100K returns for its 31st year, with the first of three competitions this year: PITCH!
In PITCH, finalists have 90 seconds to pitch their startup idea to a panel of judges and over 400 live audience members, all for the chance to win $5,000. No slides, just you and your idea.
In addition to the $5,000 Grand Prize, finalists will also compete for the $2,000 Audience Choice Award.
PITCH will be held on Tuesday, November 12th at 7pm in Wong Auditorium.

PAST PITCH WINNERS:
allda, 2019
Novo Space, 2018
Tactile, 2017

ACCELERATE 2020
Congratulations to our
Accelerate 2020 winners!
Audience Choice: Hikma Health
Runner-ups: Calla Health & elo

2020 FINALISTS
acelab
allda
BeTu
BlockCarbon
Boston Micro Farms
Calla Health
Cataglyph Cooling
E-FISH
Electives.io
elo
Enigmata
Green City Watch
Green Source
Hikma Health
Humaine
Identibyte
Keletic
Molo
Motor Cortex
MYAVA
PatientPort
PerioDentalis
Prothesia
SanaHeal
SILAS
SirMixABot
SympSimp
Thiozen
Vertebrx
Wala Digital Health

ACCELERATE
Accelerate is the second event of the MIT $100K. As its name suggests, Accelerate helps early-stage teams build out their ideas with the support of industry experts and experienced entrepreneurs.
Starting in Winter 2020, MIT Accelerate will serve to highlight the progress that MIT-founded businesses have made throughout the year. All companies, including those involved in other MIT accelerators, are encouraged to apply for the chance to introduce their business to the broader entrepreneurial community

Congratulations to DUO, winner of the 2019 Accelerate Audience Choice Award, in memory of Danny Lewin from Akamai Technology.
Encora and Hikma Health will join DUO in advancing directly to the Launch semi-finals.

EVENT DETAILS
MIT Media Lab on Monday, February 10th
6-7: VIP Reception; 30 teams will set up booths in the broader reception area where students, investors, and business professionals will be invited to engage with the companies
7-8: Presentations: Up to 10 teams will be chosen to also introduce their business to the audience through an on-stage presentation
8-9:30: General Reception; event attendees can continue to visit competitors’ booths to learn more about their work and use their tokens to vote for the Audience Choice award, the winner of which will receive $10,000 in non-dilutive funding to use at their discretion. In addition, three teams with the highest number of audience votes will be automatically entered into the semi-finals of MIT $100K Launch 2020
TEAM SUPPORT
In addition to the opportunity to promote their business, participants will receive mentorship and financial support as needed to help develop marketing materials for the event and facilitate further growth:
Up to $1,000 in funding will be given to each team (as needed)
Each team can be paired with a graphic designed to help develop professional-level promotional materials (upon request)
Teams can also be paired with industry-specific professional for broader mentorship and business planning (as needed and given availability)
REQUIREMENTS
Teams must have an MIT-affiliated co-founder and must not have received equity funding outside of the founding team or non-equity funding in excess of $150,000.
There are countless startups in the MIT community and tremendous opportunities for support from the broader university; $100K Accelerate aims to highlight the progress and success of MIT’s wonderful entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Thank you to our Accelerate Judges:
Akber Malik • Anjali Midha • Arjun Mendhi • Caitlin Reiche • Cecelia Shao • Chris Mannion • David Shaughnessy • Diana Alcala • Dr. Amit Sinha • Dr. Eric J. Wilhelm • Dr. Richard A. Blanchard • Dr. Winston S. Fu • Eugene Khazan • George Psyhojos • Helen R. Zelman • Ira Turner • James Alcorn • Jeff Gushard • John Buten • John Craig Whaley • Jungwon Byun • Karen Donoghue • Karl Ruping • Kevin Liu • Matt Tully • Matthew Stellmaker • Michael Shirrell • Michele Berg • Minal Mehta • Morgan Blake • Anastasios E. Gianakakos • Erdong Chen • Erik D. Larson • Jeremy D. Rishel • Jon Xu • Julian N. Nikolchev • Soo-Ah Landa • Thomas M. Stepien • Pratima B.Rao • Nancy Hua • Neil Gupta • Owen Johnson • Pablo Barcena • Rizwan Virk • Sam Clemens • Satoshi Harris-Koizumi • Stefanie Pluschkell • Stephen Boyer • Tatyana Abyzov • Yolanda Virk • Yonni Shelmerdine • Zaid Al Hamami
to our Accelerate Mentors:
Michele Barnett Berg • Andrew Silverman • Jerrold Shapiro • Stefanie Beate Pluschkell • John Gauch • Sheetal Bansal • Beth Zonis • Mitri Abou-Rizk • John Buten • Frank Honore • Durga Pandey • Inna Lobel • Tani Chen • David Morczinek
and to our Graphic Designers:
Eke M. Wokocha • Kevin Yu • Emilio Ramos • Fito Facussé • Angie Door • Farah Abu-Arja • Katherine Paseman • Kiran Wattamwar • Manya Gupta • Yue Wu • Jeremy Merle • Salina Brown • Guanyi Wang • Nicolas Ayoub • Yi Tong Zhang • Gracie Villa • Joy Fan
Congratulations to our $100k Launch Winners:
GRAND PRIZE: OCULAR TECHNOLOGIES
RUNNER-UP: AGZEN

MEET OUR 2020 LAUNCH FINALISTS
AgZen: Only 2% of sprayed pesticide reaches its target (plant surfaces). This inefficiency forces over-spraying and results in the pollution of soil, water sources and the atmosphere. This contamination leads to 200K deaths/year and illnesses including cancer and neurological disorders. Pesticides have a market size of $60B globally and $15B in the US. Our field-tested spray and formulation technology allows us to reduce pesticide usage by 50%. Based on our business model, the TAM is $7.5B.
GC Therapeutics: GC Therapeutics is developing the next generation of cell therapies (a market worth $55B by 2024). We use synthetic biology to program patient-derived stem cells into any differentiated cell-type with best-in-class efficiency (10x), speed (100x) and scalability. Leveraging this breakthrough process, our team can program additional cellular features and go beyond simply replacing damaged cells, thereby introducing the new concept of “SuperCell™ Therapy” to allow the tailoring of cells to specific clinical indications.
Harmony Desal: $30 billion dollars will be invested in seawater desalination over the next 5 years. The dominant technology in desalination today is Reverse Osmosis (RO). While RO is trusted and proven, it is also energy intensive. Our technology, batch RO, is the most energy-efficient RO configuration. In batch RO, a time-varying pressure tracks the osmotic pressure to increase water recovery while consuming less energy. Batch RO has been proven at the bench-scale (TRL: 4.5) and is ready to get out of the lab and into the market.
Hikma Health: We believe that every patient deserves personalized care, no matter where they are. To achieve this vision, we create customized health data systems to improve outcomes for patients, and deploy these systems in partnership with NGOs providing free healthcare to vulnerable populations. We launched with the support of the MIT Media Lab Refugee Learning Accelerator, and are growing driven by our vision to empower our patients and physicians with Hikma – healing wisdom.
Le Qara: Le Qara means leather in “quechua” (Inca’s native language). Le Qara is a biotech company born to give a solution to the problems in the leather industry. Le Qara is a new vegan bioleather. It’s made by microorganisms using biotechnology, so it does not come from animal slaughter. It’s 100% eco-friendly and biodegradable, we don’t use any toxic chemicals in our process and our microorganisms are fed with residues from plants and fruits. Our vegan bioleather can replicate any type of leather; because we can bioengineer it by changing its texture, thickness and flexibility.
Ocular Technologies: 220 million people worldwide suffer from preventable or treatable blindness, yet are unable to access eye care due to the limited supply of eye specialists and the distance between patients and eye doctors. Ocular Technologies is developing a hardware-enabled telemedicine platform powered by machine learning algorithms. Our solution transforms patient access to high quality eye care by capturing high magnification videos of anterior segment exams and enabling ophthalmologists to make a diagnosis remotely.
Spatio Metrics: At Spatio Metrics, we’re working towards a future in which every building makes us healthier. Our B2B analytics software helps architects and their clients bridge the gap between design, data, and performance. Our first product helps healthcare architects quantify the human and financial impact of design by analyzing hospital floor plans to reveal how facility design choices can improve quality of care, operational efficiency, and wellbeing. Our structured datasets, detailed floor plan visualizations, and holistic scorecards support architects and their clients during the design process to save time, save money, and save lives.
Thiozen: Hydrogen produced by fossil fuel reforming (96% total production) contributes to 2.3% of global warming emissions. We invented a patented process to generate hydrogen that is 20% less expensive and 75% less carbon intense than current methods used in oil and gas. As an illustration, our process would save the average US refinery $9.6M each year and avoid 60K tons of CO2 emissions, roughly 20% of a refineries annual carbon footprint.

Due to the situation surrounding COVID-19, the timing and format of the semi-finals and finals will change.
Applicants will be notified of these changes on an ongoing basis.

LAUNCH
MIT Launch is a comprehensive business plan competition in which teams compete to plan and prepare their venture for the marketplace. Semi-finalists are expected to present not just prototypes, but full business plans. They receive funding and mentorship along the way, and finalists present onstage to a 2,000+ live audience from Cambridge, Boston, and beyond. The Grand Prize?
$100,000
Apply to pitch at “The AI Summit”, the World’s Largest AI Event for Business
Deadline to apply: Friday, Novemeber 16th, 2018
Guidelines:
Must have a working product
Must be pre-seed or seed stage company
Cannot have raised more then $1 Million in funding
For this event, we are industry agnostic but you need to currently be applying artificial intelligence to your business.
Name *
First Name
Last Name
Email Address *
Your LinkedIn Profile Link *
Your Startup’s Website/Page *
Link to Product Demo (if applicable)
What stage are you? *
Companies must be Series A or earlier for consideration.

What is your region of operation?
Areas/locations you are operating in.

What is the Market your company is in? *
What is the Problem you are solving? *
(300 words or less)

What is your Solution? *
(300 words or less)

Disclaimer: If you are selected to pitch you consent for Flash Pitch to film and photograph you on stage, use your likeness as well as public company images (including logo, theme, branding, etc..) for the purpose of marketing Flash Pitch through our newsletter, social channels, and other means of communication with the general public.
What is Flash Pitching?
Flash Pitch, an event series that brings together a diverse group of founders, investors and entrepreneurs together to watch startups pitch their ventures. Each company is given 2 minutes to pitch, followed by 3 minutes of Q&A and 3 minutes of feedback with the investors. We have seen that this method keeps founders concise, and effective; in turn keeping investors engaged. The network builds on top the event series as we develop a community of NYC’s top entrepreneurs and investors.
Our core values are based around our 3 P’s:
Providing Opportunity
Promoting Diversity
Propelling Companies
Since our inception, we have had:
750+ applications to Flash Pitch
125 startups selected to pitch
50 top tier investors
20 companies featured in major publications including the NY Times, Forbes, TechCrunch, Inc and InStyle
20% of companies who pitch go on to be accepted into accelerators (AI Nexus Lab, Y-Combinator, Techstars) and/or raise venture
Sponsors

Orrick is a global law firm focused on serving companies in the tech, finance, and energy and infrastructure sectors. A leading advisor to the global technology sector, Orrick’s clients include 1,600+ high-growth companies, six of the Fortune 10 TMT companies, and eight of the 10 largest Bay Area companies.
Amazon Web Services, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, offers a suite of cloud-computing services that make up an on-demand computing platform. These services operate from 13 geographical regions across the world.
Rise New York is a collaborative co-working community shaping the future of commerce and fintech by helping startups and entrepreneurs connect, co-create, and scale innovation. In partnership with Barclays, we listen, nurture and oxygenate through our international network of Rise co-working hubs. Rise New York also houses a world-class event space and is home to the first U.S. cohort of the Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars.
Sli.do, is an audience interaction tool for meetings, events and conferences. It offers interactive Q&A live polls and real-time presentation sharing.
SPONSOR FLASH PITCH
Meet the Founders (The Future Labs)
The Future Labs at NYU Tandon School of engineering are a network of innovation spaces and programs that support early-stage startups in New York City through a venture catalyst role. We accept high-potential companies (no NYU affiliation required) and build on their success with a unique approach that emphasizes success rate, sustainability, revenue and growth,
Since 2009, incubator companies have:
Created more than 1,250 jobs
Raised more than $145 million in capital
Had a local economic impact of $352 million
With three locations in Varick, Dumbo, and Metrotech, we place our companies in the heart of NYC to capture the heart beat of this great city
LEARN MORE

Past Judges
Flash @AI Summit – December 6th, 2018

Flash @Northside Festival – June 8th, 2018

Flash Pitch Kickoff Competition – March 29th, 2018

Flash Pitch + AI X-Prize – November 28th, 2017

Falling Walls Ventures New York – September 21st, 2017

Flash Pitch Deck Demolition – August 18th, 2017

Flash Pitch at Northside Festival – June 7th, 2017
Vipin Chamakkala Jessica Peltz Jeffrey Silverman

Flash Pitch AI – April 20th, 2017
John Frankel Lucy Wang Steven Kuyan

TechCrunch + Future Labs present Flash Pitch
April 6th, 2017
Chris Fralic Anthony Ha Anu Duggal Benjamin Narasin

February 21st, 2017
Tony Peccatiello Courtney Nelson Charlie O’Donnell

January 19th, 2017
Erin Glenn Sumeet Shah Raphaela Saprie

November 17th, 2016
Sophie Bakalar Roger Chen Mateusz Kaliski Michael MacCombie

September 15th, 2016
Alex Goldberg Loren Vittetoe John Azubuike

August 18th, 2016
Brittany Gorevic Jason Shuman Andrew Der

July 21st, 2016
Heston Berkman Chris Fortunato Trace Cohen

June 16th, 2016
Joshua Siegel Andrea Hippeau David Segura

May 19th, 2016
Jason Klein Allison Kern Mary Liu

April 21st, 2016
Stephanie Weiner Tyler Flint Julie Blanc

March 24th, 2016
Claudia Iannazzo Travis Ing Nimi Katragadda

February 18th, 2016
Jessica Peltz Ryan Armbrust Adi Levanon

January 21st, 2016
Steve Anastos Christian Noske Claire Fauquier Tim Flannery

November 19th, 2015
Investors:
Eric Kroll Matthew Lee Dimitris Kouvaros Adam Carver

                         October 22nd, 2015

Owen Davis Brian Cohen Sumeet Shah Shawn Cheng

https://www.flashpitch.nyc/investors1
Upcoming Events
Flash Pitch at Northside 2018
Friday, June 8th, 2017 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Confirmed Judges:

ATTEND EVENT

Confirmed Companies – Apply Now
APPLY NOW

Apply to pitch at “The AI Summit”, the World’s Largest AI Event for Business
Deadline to apply: Friday, Novemeber 16th, 2018
Guidelines:
Must have a working product
Must be pre-seed or seed stage company
Cannot have raised more then $1 Million in funding
For this event, we are industry agnostic but you need to currently be applying artificial intelligence to your business.
Name *
First Name
Last Name
Email Address *
Your LinkedIn Profile Link *
Your Startup’s Website/Page *
Link to Product Demo (if applicable)
What stage are you? *
Companies must be Series A or earlier for consideration.

What is your region of operation?
Areas/locations you are operating in.

What is the Market your company is in? *
What is the Problem you are solving? *
(300 words or less)

What is your Solution? *
(300 words or less)

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GlobalPitch 3 applications are closed now!
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ABOUT US
GlobalPitch is an online showcase event powered by DealMatrix, aimed to connect startup ecosystems from all over the world.
It is a space provided for entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas online to corporates, investors, accelerators and media in order to get potential investment, partnership or exposure.
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2020
September
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Research Pitch Competition launches inaugural event in October
September 14, 2020 by J.K. Devine

UNG students participated in the spring 2019 Annual Research Conference. Students currently working on research projects may compete in the inaugural Research Pitch Competition next month. Abstracts of no more than 100 words are due by Oct. 2. The new competition is an ideal precursor to the spring Annual Research Conference.
University of North Georgia (UNG) students conducting research projects may compete in the inaugural Research Pitch Competition next month.
Sponsored by UNG’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (CURCA), the virtual contest offers undergraduate and graduate students the chance to present a 3-minute pitch of their academic research. It is modeled after the University of Queensland’s Three Minute Thesis program .
The competition is open to students of all disciplines and campuses. A winner will be selected and receive an award.
“This event will help students become comfortable with presenting their research both quickly and in layman’s terms,” said Dr. Anastasia Lin, assistant vice president of research and engagement.
Students who want to participate in the Research Pitch Competition must submit an abstract of no more than 100 words by Oct. 2 to curca@ung.edu. Information sessions about the contest will be at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 24 and noon Sept. 30 via Zoom. Email curca@ung.edu for the link.
The Research Pitch Competition will be held online from 5:30-7 p.m. Oct. 29. CURCA will hold a mock pitch session for each participant prior to the event.
Presentations will be judged on the following:
Clarity of content including thesis, background information, key findings, and significance or impact to the field.
Communication style and engagement based on the speaker’s enthusiasm and pace along with a clear and impactful PowerPoint slide.
“The skills students learn during this event will help those applying to graduate school or being interviewed for a job,” Lin said.
She explained the Research Pitch Competition originally was scheduled as an in-person event in spring 2020, but UNG’s transition to remote instruction in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic prompted its postponement.
“We are excited to launch this in the fall,” Lin said. “It is a nice balance to the Annual Research Conference (ARC) we will hold in the spring.”
During the daylong ARC, UNG students present their research-based projects through oral and poster presentations. Lin explained students usually deliver an “elevator pitch” during poster presentations, then answer any questions. Others talk about their papers during panel discussions.
“They have more time to talk about their research at the Annual Research Conference,” Lin said, explaining the new contest can act as a training ground for the ARC. “By having the Research Pitch Competition in the fall, it is the ideal precursor to the ARC in the spring. Students can become more comfortable with presenting their research.”
More information is available on the Research Pitch Competition or CURCA webpages.
See who has the next great idea at the Entrepreneurial Opportunity Contest
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By The Business Journals Content Studio
Sep 21, 2020
The San Antonio Business Journal and BBVA have teamed up to find the next great idea. The five finalists of the Entrepreneurial Opportunity Contest will pitch their ideas to a panel of judges ahead of the Cultivating Growth: Strategies to advance your business online event on Oct. 22. The winning pitch will receive $10,000. Vote now for your favorite idea. Reader votes will be tallied and will count towards the finalists’ scores. Register now to attend the event.
The five finalists are:
Allosense — Designs and manufactures “always connected” asset trackers using cellular, satellite and mesh technologies to reduce logistic inefficiencies.
Express Information Systems — A technology and management consulting firm that helps clients with their accounting and business operations software.
Link New Tech — Has a mission to link new technology to the auto service world by inventing and innovating smart, safe, reliable and environment friendly products and solutions.
Mach1 Services — An on-demand roadside assistance company that automatically dispatches help when you need it, with no membership fee.
Stirista — A digital marketing agency that specializes in B2B and B2C segmentation, email marketing and display advertising.
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Code Launch 2020

Why you should go:
Do you have the next great software or app idea, but just need a little help (read: software development) reaching MVP stage?
Texan software development company Code Authority, founded CodeLaunch in 2012 to accelerate the best startups by providing them with seed services vendors — from allocated product development teams to coaching by industry professionals.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Frisco, Texas, USA
Date: You can apply for CodeLaunch VIII between March 1st and May 31st. The CodeLaunch Startup Expo usually takes place in August, where the five finalists will pitch their idea in front of a panel of judges and investors.
Cost: Free — you don’t have to worry about surrendering equity either.
Industry focus: Software technology.
Amount you can win: More than $67K worth of seed services.
Official Website
Postcode Lottery Green Challenge 2020

Why you should go:
Your innovative business plan can help change the world for the better by combating climate change and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions… but you will probably need some help as well, in order to actualize it.
Founded in 2007 and inspired by Bill Clinton, the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge is probably the best place for sustainable entrepreneurs to get financial backup.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Date: You can apply between March 1st and May 1st. The finals are usually held in September.
Cost: Free. Finalists will also be reimbursed (to an extent) for travel and lodging expenses to attend the finals in Amsterdam.
Industry focus: Sustainable entrepreneurship.
Amount you can win: €500,000 (also €200,000 for the runner-up and €100,000 each for three other finalists).
Official Website
MIT $100K 2020
Why you should go:
If you are an MIT student, or currently working with one on the next disruptive idea, the three-fold MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition (Pitch, Accelerate and Launch) will give you a chance not just to prove yourself in front of a prestigious crowd, but also to mingle and gain access to a veritable powerhouse’s network and resources.
At the competition’s first part, MIT $100K Pitch, you can give a 90-second pitch of your startup idea in front of a panel of judges and a big, live audience.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Date: TBD, as the Pitch stage takes place in October. If you are interested in the Accelerate stage, you can apply until January 13. Accelerate 2020 will be held on February 12.
Cost: Free, but only open to currently registered MIT students (or those working with them).
Industry focus: Technology oriented, but the spectrum is broad.
Amount you can win: $5,000 at the PITCH stage, $10,000 at the Accelerate stage and $100,000 at the final Launch stage.
Official Website
SevenVentures Pitch Day 2020
Why you should go:
Because your brand deserves primetime TV exposure — and the help of leading TV media investor worldwide, SevenVentures. Their signature event, 7VPD (SevenVentures Pitch Day) has been touted “one of the major start-up competitions worldwide” by Forbes magazine.
If you apply and get selected as one of the four finalists, you’ll have the opportunity to win three million euros towards TV advertising, online marketing and mentoring from companies such as Procter & Gamble.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: TBD. Previous 7VPD events have taken place in Germany, the UK and the US.
Date: TBD (usually sometime between May-September).
Cost: Free to apply.
Industry focus: B2C industries.
Amount you can win: €3,000,000 in TV media package (specific offerings change every year).
Official Website
Startup World Cup 2020

Why you should go:
The cream of the crop of the startup world will be there. The Startup World Cup (SWC), powered by Fenox Venture Capital, comprises 40+ regional events which culminate to the Grand Finale event in Silicon Valley.
There, the finalists can compete for one million USD in investment and attendees can network with top industry players. The all-star cast of judges has in previous years included names such as Apple’s Steve Wozniak and Netflix’s Marc Randolph.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Date: May 17th.
Cost: Free to apply to one of the regional events (there are currently 18 planned for 2020), for a chance to participate in the Startup World Cup Grand Finale 2020 in May. Tickets to attend range from $80-$399.
Industry focus: Geared towards improving lives and transforming industries — such as with healthcare, artificial intelligence, robotics, transportation, financial technologies, IoT, augmented reality and agriculture.
Amount you can win: €1,000,000 in investment.
Official Website
Arch Grants Competition

Why you should go:
Want to be part of a growing community of innovative entrepreneurs?
The mission of Arch Grants is to revitalize the St. Louis region through economic development and entrepreneurship.
You can apply for their annual grand, for a chance to win $50,000 as well as everything you need in order to relocate your business to the St. Louis region — from pro bono and discounted legal, accounting and banking services, to access to angel investment and educational programs.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Date: You can apply for the 2020 Arch Grand from February 1 – April 15. The Finalist Pitch Day takes place in August.
Cost: Free — but you must be willing to relocate your business to St. Louis in order to be eligible for the grand.
Industry focus: Broad, but with a focus on supporting the economy of St. Louis.
Amount you can win: An equity-free cash grant of $50,000
Official Website
Collision 2020
Why you should go:
Despite the change of venue this year (bringing its 25,000 attendees to Toronto after three years in New Orleans), Collision still remains the fastest growing tech conference in the US.
Attend various startup workshops, get in-person advice from investors and join the ultimate startup battle at PITCH, the contest section of the conference where you can compete for three days with the top 70 startups, in order to be crowned winner.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Toronto, Canada
Date: May 20-23
Cost: 695 CAD (Canadian Dollars) to become a part of ALPHA, which gets you three tickets, opportunity to access Office Hours, Mentor Hours, Startup University, startup workshops and PITCH.
Industry focus: Broad.
Amount you can win: There is no money — but there is a ton of exposure, and a PITCH trophy.
Official Website

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European Social Innovation Competition
Why you should go:
If you’re an EU citizen and believe your project/business idea can impact society, then this competition was made for you.
Run across all European countries by the European Commission, the European Social Innovation Competition focuses on innovative projects, products and services with a social aspect. Now in its seventh year, the challenge prize (launched in memory of Diogo Vasconcelos) aims to empower young people.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Brussels, Belgium.
Date: TBD (usually takes place in November).
Cost: Free
Industry focus: Broad. The theme changes every year, but the focus is on ideas which “come up with solutions to the problems affecting our society”.
Amount you can win: €50,000
Official Website
U.Pitch 2020
Why you should go:
An elevator pitch competition (you’ll only get 90 seconds) geared towards college students, to attend U. Pitch you must be currently enrolled or have graduated with the past six months. Future Founders, who believe that every youth can become an entrepreneur, bring together students from different universities to showcase their ideas in front of the entrepreneurial community.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Date: TBD. Applications for this year’s U.Pitch 2020 will open in the autumn
Cost: Free
Industry focus: Broad
Amount you can win: $10,000
Official Website
Global Startup Competition 2020

Why you should go:
You’ll literally get to battle inside a boxing ring, albeit just with your words and convincing arguments. This event, organized by the Netherlands´ Foundation ‘Get in the Ring’ is not called “the world’s coolest startup pitching competition” for nothing.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: TBD. Last year was held in Berlin, Germany.
Date: The 3-day final will be held in June 2020, but there will be several regional events until May — or you can apply online from April 1-30.
Cost: Free
Industry focus: Broad
Amount you can win: A 1-year business development support with expenses covered; an investment offer up to €500,000.
Official Website
Global Pitch 2020

Why you should go:
Because you don’t really have to go anywhere — how about pitching to a global competition from your living room? Powered by Austrian startup Deal Matrix, Global Pitch is considered the largest online pitch competition in the world, bringing your idea in front of investors, accelerators and media with just a few clicks.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Online, as you may have guessed.
Date: You can apply until November 11. Final pitching takes place December 12.
Cost: Free
Industry focus: There are five categories, ranging from sustainability-related to economy, healthcare, information and e-Government.
Amount you can win: TBD. Previous prizes include tickets to conferences, startup packages to into German-speaking/CEE market and mentorship.
Official Website
Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge 2020
Why you should go:
Created in 2013 by two PhD students, the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge helps propel emerging technologies across different industries, focusing on visibility and boosting local ecosystems. This pitch competition culminates into the annual Hello Tomorrow Global Summit in Paris.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Paris, France.
Date: March 13-15 (applications have closed for this year, re-opening in June-September for the next edition).
Cost: Free
Industry focus: Twelve different industries and technologies ranging from aeronautics to industrial biotech.
Amount you can win: A €100K grand prize for the best startup overall — plus an additional €15K prize for each winning startup at their respective industry track.
Official Website
BBVA Open Talent 2020
Why you should go:
Sometimes, if you have the next great idea on how to disrupt the banking system, the smartest thing you can do is work with a bank. But not just any bank. At the 11th edition of BBVA Open Talent, the world’s biggest fintech competition, the Spanish bank gives startups the opportunity to show their chops and connect with angel investors and corporate partners. Also, to win a €50,000 prize and be evaluated by BBVA itself.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Madrid, Spain.
Date: TBD, usually takes place in October
Cost: Free
Industry focus: Finance/fintech
Amount you can win: €50,000 for each of the three winners
Official Website
Disrupt SF 2020

Why you should go:
With previous winners including companies such as Dropbox, you know this is an event (and a pitch competition) not to miss. The Startup Battlefield at the Disrupt SF is always the place to be, for early-stage startups who dream of taking over the world and impressing the TechCrunch judges. Probably doesn’t get more Silicon Valley than that.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: San Francisco, California, USA.
Date: September 14-16th.
Cost: TBD, but you can get a $500 discount by registering early
Industry focus: Ranging from Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and VR, to HealthTech and FinTech.
Amount you can win: A $100,000 prize.
Official Website
Web Summit PITCH 2020
Why you should go:
If you haven’t had a major change in your business model in the last three years and your overall funding still amounts to less than three million euros… well it’s time to change all that. Prepare to battle live with the world’s leading early-stage startups in front of more than 2,500 global journalists — and the CEOs and founders of some of the biggest companies in the world.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Lisbon, Portugal.
Date: November 2-5.
Cost: €850, but by pre-registering you can get one extra ticket for free
Industry focus: Technology
Amount you can win: There is no monetary prize, but ask every previous winner and they will tell you the exposure is priceless.
Official Website
Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards 2020
Why you should go:
Cultivating equality and diversity in the startup ecosystem by supporting female entrepreneurs on their way to solving contemporary global challenges? That’s always a good idea. And that’s exactly what the annual international business competition, founded by Cartier, McKinsey & Company and INSEAD Business School, has been doing since 2006.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Singapore, Singapore.
Date: TBD. The application period for 2019 has already closed, but you can apply for the 2020 edition in June.
Cost: Free
Industry focus: Broad. Categories include anything from consumer goods, education & culture, hospitality & tourism to agriculture and science.
Amount you can win: The first seven winners (laureates) will get a $100,000 prize, along with a one-on-one business mentoring. The remaining 14 finalists will also get a $30,000.
Official Website
EIT Digital Challenge 2020
Why you should go:
With so many startup competitions geared towards early-stage startups, it’s good to know you’re not alone in your attempt to accelerate the growth of your scaleup. The EIT Digital Challenge is open to all 28 EU member states, for companies that showed a minimum of €300,000 in revenue until the date of application. The winners get a year’s worth in the EIT Digital Accelerator to scale up their business internationally, as well as a cash prize.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Brussels, Belgium.
Date: TBD, the final event usually takes place in October.
Cost: Free — and you will receive €1,000 towards travel expenses if you are selected as a finalist to attend the final event.
Industry focus: Digital Cities, Digital Industry, Digital Infrastructure, Digital Finance and Digital Wellbeing.
Amount you can win: 12 months in the EIT Digital Accelerator (worth €50,000) for the two best companies per category to scale up. The first prize winner in each category also wins a €50,000 prize.
Official Website
The Alconics Awards 2020

Why you should go:
If your focus is on AI, these iconic (pun intended) awards take place yearly in London and SF as part of the AI Summit roster of events. A great opportunity to position yourself and your startup among world-class experts.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: London, UK and San Francisco, California, USA.
Date: June 11 for the London event, September 24 for the SF event.
Cost: TBD.
Industry focus: AI.
Amount you can win: No monetary prize, but winning the award will bring top industry recognition.
Official Website
Hatch Pitch 2020 Summit

Why you should go:
Started as an official SXSW event, HATCH pitch has now grown into its own program — helmed by Smart Cities TechStreet Houston, a non-profit organization run by volunteers. If you get selected as a finalist, you’ll receive free pitch coaching before presenting at the HATCH Pitch event.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Austin, Texas, USA.
Date: March 16th. You have until January 10 to apply for this year’s Hatch Pitch.
Cost: No fee to apply.
Industry focus: Broad.
Amount you can win: There is no monetary prize, but finalists get the chance to receive one-one feedback from mentors
Official Website
New York StartUP!

Why you should go:
If you and your startup are located in Manhattan, The Bronx or Staten Island, then this one’s for you. The New York Public Library is organizing, for the tenth year in a row, a New York StartUP! Business Plan Competition where you can win a cash prize as well as get insights on how to scale.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: NYC, New York, USA.
Date: You have until January 31 to submit an entry, and until May 30 to upload your business plan for review. In between, you have to attend four workshops.
Cost: Free.
Industry focus: Broad, as long as it’s NYC based.
Amount you can win: $15,000
Official Website
Seedstars World Competition 2020

Why you should go:
With a presence in more than 60 countries, Seedstars World supports and invests in emerging market startups at the seed-stage. Join a regional pitch competition for a chance to make your case at the finals in Switzerland, where you will have five minutes to pitch your idea in front of the audience, five minutes to answer judge’s questions, and perhaps one million dollars in equity investment afterwards.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Switzerland.
Date: TBD, there are many regional events taking place throughout the year in preparation for the Seedstars Summit
Cost: Free — the winners of regional events get a flight ticket to attend the finals in Switzerland.
Industry focus: Broad.
Amount you can win: Up to one million USD in equity investment, plus cash and in-kind prizes
Official Website
Slush 2020

Why you should go:
This is the cool kids table. Or tables, given that Slush events take place in Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore and Helsinki, where the festival/conference first started. Slush is all about community building and facilitating founder and investor meetings, run by successful entrepreneurs such as Nokia’s Risto Siilasmaa.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: There are four Slush events taking place throughout the year in Helsinki, Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore.
Date: February 22-23 (Tokyo), September 7-8 (Shanghai), September 14 (Singapore), December (Helsinki).
Cost: Free.
Industry focus: Tech.
Amount you can win: There is no monetary prize, but you can take advantage of the Slush community; get speed mentoring and resources
Official Website
South Summit Startup Competition
Why you should go:
If you think your startup belongs among the world’s 100 most innovative, South Summit Startup competition gives you the chance and the tools to prove it. Taking place in Madrid and Mexico and wIth almost half of the projects having a Spanish origin, South Summit is a great place for all entrepreneurial voices to be heard.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Madrid, Spain and Mexico City, Mexico.
Date: TBD, usually taking place in October and December
Cost: Prices range from €80-€790, depending on types of ticket and areas of access.
Industry focus: Broad.
Amount you can win: $1,000,000 in funding at Silicon Valley. All 100 finalists get South Summit tickets and one-on-one meetings with investors.
Official Website
StartCon 2020

Why you should go:
If you feel like the Southern Hemisphere is a bit neglected when it comes to quality startup pitch competitions, “Pitch for $1 Million” is here to rebuke your belief.
The first of its kind in Asia Pacific, this pitch contest started last year as part of StartCon (formerly SydStart) taking place in Sydney. Powered by Right Click Capital, the winner of this competition can walk away with one million in investment.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Sydney, Australia.
Date: TBD, usually takes place in December
Cost: TBD.
Industry focus: Broad.
Amount you can win: $1,000,000 in investment
Official Website
Demo Day 2020

Why you should go:
Demo Day is less of a startup competition and more of a culmination of a “slower” process. It starts with applying to Y Combinator for seed funding — they do two batches of mass funding per year, in return for small equity in the funded companies — and relocating to the Bay Area if you are selected. Demo Day takes place about 11 weeks after, so that you can present your startup to an invite-only audience and find later stage investors.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Mountain View, California, USA.
Date: March 18-20, with a second event taking place at the end of August
Cost: There is no cost, but the event is private and attendance is invitation-only. You just need to snag that invite!
Industry focus: Broad.
Amount you can win: No monetary prize in Demo Day, but to even be in the process means you’ve already gotten funding from Y Combinator.
Official Website
The Lovie Awards 2020

Why you should go:
Want to skip the live pitching entirely? Enter your internet/digital media company to compete for a Lovie Award. The European sibling to Webby Awards, Lovie Awards were named after Ada Lovelace and aim to highlight and honor Europe’s top web creatives in categories such as online advertising, apps and websites.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: London, UK.
Date: TBD, usually taking place in December
Cost: TBD
Industry focus: Internet, Digital & Social Media.
Amount you can win: No monetary prize — but a ton of exposure.
Official Website
Next Founders 2020
Why you should go:
Another slower and more immersive option — this one geared to the Canada startup ecosystem. Next Founders accelerates your startup’s growth, as well as your personal growth as a founder, through mentoring and access to capital. If you get accepted, you become eligible for up to $30K in non-dilutive grant funding. You will also get your chance to present your startup during various events and attend many workshops before the big presentation on Venture Day.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Toronto, Ontario.
Date: TBD. There are events happening throughout the year, with Venture Day usually taking place in August
Cost: There is no cost to participate in the program
Industry focus: Broad, but your business has to be located in Southern Ontario.
Amount you can win: Up to $30K in non-dilutive grant funding.
Official Website
Utah Entrepreneur Challenge 2020
Why you should go:
This statewide business model competition, is an excellent opportunity for students at one of Utah’s universities to compete for a cash prize — and also get valuable feedback and coaching.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Date: You have until February 14 to apply for this year’s challenge, final judging takes place March 30
Cost: Free — but you can only join if you are a university student in Utah
Industry focus: Broad
Amount you can win: $100,000 in cash and prizes.
Official Website
gener8tor Madison 2020

Why you should go:
Most accelerators take on many companies at a time. That’s not the case with gener8tor however: if you are selected as one of their five handpicked startups for this year’s program, not only do you get $100K in funding, but also a concierge accelerator experience. The program culminates in Premiere Night, where you will have five minutes to pitch in front of investors.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Date: You have until February 10 to apply, the program starts March 28 – June 13, culminating in Premiere Night
Cost: Free — but invite only
Industry focus: E-commerce, IT, hardware, life science, medtech, software, SaaS, web
Amount you can win: $100,000 in investment ($20,000 in cash and $80,000 guaranteed follow-on capital) plus access to gener8tor staff and one million dollars’ worth of deals and perks from vendors such as Microsoft, Amazon and PayPal.
Official Website
SparkHealth Startup Competition 2020

Why you should go:
Backed by Enventure, SparkHealth aims to showcase seed stage companies in the digital health and medical device industries by offering exposure and helping them network with investors. If you are a student, the industry scope you can compete in is broader, including therapeutics and diagnostics. Although Texas-based, you can still apply if you’re company is located outside of Texas.
KEY INFORMATION
Location: Houston, Texas, USA.
Date: You have until February 1 to apply, the competition takes place May 17-18.
Cost: Free to apply — tickets to join the event range from $100-$300 (but are free for students).
Industry focus: Biotechnology, medical devices and equipment
Amount you can win: No cash prize, but funding opportunities.
Official Website

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Year

Pitch contests
CodeLaunch Startup Competition
Comerica Center – Frisco, TX
Register Now
ABOUT CODELAUNCH
2020 Panelists and Emcee
Hackathon Team
One Finalist
$11K
3 Pros, 24 Hours
Hackathon Team
One Finalist

$11K
3 Pros, 24 Hours
Hackathon Team
One Finalist

$10k
3 Devs, 24 Hours
Advanced Student Team
Student Finalist

$30k
Legal Services
All Finalists

$12K
Social Media
Campaign
Winner & 1 Other Finalist

$17.5k
Preparing for Funding
Workshop
All Finalists Present

$27K
3 Pros, 24 Hours
3 Hackathon Teams
3 Finalists
Last year, CodeLaunch provided over $120,000 in seed services to Finalists
ABOUT CODELAUNCH
2020 Panelists and Emcee

$10k
3 Devs, 24 Hours
Advanced Student Team
Student Finalist

$30k
Legal Services
All Finalists

$12K
Social Media
Campaign
Winner & 1 Other Finalist

$17.5k
Preparing for Funding
Workshop
All Finalists Present

$27K
3 Pros, 24 Hours
3 Hackathon Teams
3 Finalists
Last year, CodeLaunch provided over $120,000 in seed services to Finalists
Interested in sponsoring or sponsorship benefits?
CodeLaunch provides seed services that are invaluable to early-stage startups. Sponsors and partners help guide winning startup ventures down the path of success while minimizing their financial risk. To learn more about the benefits of CodeLaunch and the experience of last year’s winners, click on the video below.
Answers to All of Your CodeLaunch Questions
What does CodeLaunch cost startups?
What’s the Curation Schedule?
Is CodeLaunch right for my Startup?
What is required to apply?
How do I apply?
What kinds of ideas can I pitch? Can someone steal my ideas?
If I have already worked on my idea, can I still apply?
How does the selection process work?
CodeLaunch is awesome! How can I get more involved?
How does CodeLaunch work?
What is Pitch Day and how does it work?
What is the Startup Expo and how does it work?
How are winners selected? What criteria are the presenters judged on?
Is there a virtual option at CodeLaunch events?
What can I expect if I win?

Appendix
Investors Lists
TOP SEED INVESTORS
SV Angel
Initialized Capital
Fundersclub
Sound Ventures / Grade A investments
TOP VENTURE INVESTORS
Sequoia Capital
Andreessen Horowitz
Accel Partners
Khosla Ventures
GV
Index Ventures

Appendiix
Sponsorship
INVEST IN A COMMUNITY THAT WILL DRIVE YOUR GROWTH FOR THE LONG TERM
SPONSOR ALL OF OUR EVENTS
LEADERSHIP
Sponsors are placed in leadership roles during the events to build trust with the community
EXPERTISE
Sponsors are given many opportunities to demonstrate their expertise and value to the community
INFLUENCE
Sponsors are established or reinforced as experts through our own influence within the community
REACH
Sponsors gain the benefit of our personal reach and the extended reach of our entire community
Recurring Sponsors attach themselves to all of the events that we organize over a six month time span.
You will generate far more momentum as you are continually integrated within the community events and media.
You will also see extra savings as a recurring sponsor versus sponsoring a single event.

Recurring Sponsorship Packages Run for Six Months
SILVER
$15,000
5 passes each month to our VIP Lunch
Highlighted as a Sponsor on 805 Startups Home Page
2 Exhibitor Spaces, 1/4 Page Ad in Event Program, and 1 Sponsored Workshop Station at 2 Innovation & Growth Fairs
Branding on All Event Materials
Short Blurb About Your Company Placed on All Event Pages
Your Signage Placed at All Events
Ad Campaign Featuring Your Brand Support For Each Event
Community Related Content Marketing Materials – Enough for 2 Pushes a Week
Social Media Marketing Campaign – 1 Push Per Week
6 Months of Advertising in our Podcast and Video Channel content – End Credits
Get It Now!
GOLD
$30,000
10 passes each month to our VIP Lunch
Highlighted as a Sponsor on 805 Startups Home Page
5 Exhibitor Spaces, 1/2 Page Ad in Event Program, 3 Sponsored Workshop Stations, and 1 Seat at a Speaker Panel at 2 Innovation & Growth Fairs
Large Branding on All Event Materials
Medium Blurb About Your Company Placed on All Event Pages
Your Signage Placed at All Events
Ad Campaign Featuring Your Brand Support For Each Event
Community Related Content Marketing Materials – Enough for 4 Pushes a Week
Social Media Marketing Campaign – 3 Pushes Per Week
6 Months of Advertising in our Podcast and Video Channel content – End Credits and Announcements Segment
Featured Interview in our Podcast, Video Channel, and Digital Magazine
Up to Three Minutes to Address Audience at All Events (except Fairs)
1 Custom Event Produced
Get It Now!
Limited to Ten (10) Sponsors
PLATINUM
$50,000
20 passes each month to our VIP Lunch
Highlighted as a Sponsor on 805 Startups Home Page – Featured Position
10 Exhibitor Spaces with Branded Section, Two Full Page Ads in Event Program, 5 Sponsored Workshop Stations with Branded Section, 1 Sponsored Speaker Panel, 1 Seat at Your Panel, and Video Capture From Your Panel at 2 Innovation & Growth Fairs
Top Branding on All Event Materials
Large Blurb About Your Company Placed on All Event Pages
Your Signage Placed at All Events
Ad Campaign Featuring Your Brand Support For Each Event
Community Related Content Marketing Materials – Enough for 1 Push a Day
Social Media Marketing Campaign – 7 Pushes Per Week
6 Months of Advertising in our Podcast and Video Channel content – Intro, Announcements Segment, and End Credits
Featured Interview in our Podcast, Video Channel, and Digital Magazine
Up to Five Minutes to Address Audience at All Events
3 Custom Events Produced
Space to Set Up a Table at All Events

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES The SUN Pitch Competition will host entrepreneurs from 15 SUN Countries for the Global SUN Pitch Competition final, which will take place as a virtual event on 9th July 2020. This prestigious event brings together 20 innovative Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), selected from national pitch competitions in 24 SUN Countries across Africa and Asia, that can provide big, inspiring and disruptive investment solutions to one of the following food system innovation challenge areas: (i) food design, (ii) post-harvest loss reduction, (iii) market connectivity and (iv) food safety. This event serves as a follow-up to the 2018 Nutrition Africa Investor Forum where the first edition of the SUN Pitch Competition took place. The feedback from the 2018 competition was an indication that this process added real value to the businesses as Access to Finance and Investor Readiness remain a challenge, especially for SMEs who operate within the nutrition space. This year’s SUN Pitch Competition finalists have received extensive business development support, investor readiness and nutrition training from our global accelerator, BoP Innovation Center. As sponsors of this event, your organisation will have access to a diverse global audience with an opportunity to showcase your brand in support of enhancing the contribution of SMEs towards improved nutrition in emerging markets. In addition, your sponsorship will include a cash or technical assistance prize which will be awarded to your selected entrepreneur so that they can scale their business and grow their impact on nutrition. SUN PITCH COMPETITION 2019/2020 Company logo added to all event promotional materials, including event invite, SUN Pitch Competition website, social media banners (Twitter, Facebook & Linkedin) and brand placement on the broadcasted event video. Company video displayed during sponsor break. Interview slot for media push across print and digital platforms. Demonstrate your thought leadership on innovation for improved nutrition by contributing an article as a guest blogger on the SUN Pitch Competition website. Add promotional materials or content to the SUN Pitch Competition virtual event bag. Brand visibility Global recognition as a SUN Advocate Platinum sponsorship package of USD 15,000 Sponsorship benefits include: This sponsorship package includes a cash prize of USD 10,000 which will be awarded to your selected entrepreneur. Receive post-event report, including high level event analytics. Participate on the judging panel. Sponsor a prize and have the opportunity to provide an overview of your company and present the prize. One to one interaction with pitch competition finalists of interest (follow up meetings to be arranged after the pitch event). Access to event insights Support a SUN Pitch Competition winner Company logo added to all event promotional materials, including event invite, SUN Pitch Competition website, social media banners (Twitter, Facebook & Linkedin) and brand placement on the broadcasted event video. Interview slot for media push across print and digital platforms. Add promotional materials or content to the SUN Pitch Competition virtual event bag. Brand visibility Global recognition as a SUN Advocate Gold sponsorship package of USD 10,000 Sponsorship benefits include: This sponsorship package includes a cash prize of USD 5,000 which will be awarded to your selected entrepreneur. Receive post-event report, including high level event analytics. Participate on the judging panel. Sponsor a prize and have the opportunity to provide an overview of your company and present the prize. Access to event insights Support a SUN Pitch Competition winner Silver sponsorship package (including technical assistance prize) Sponsorship benefits include: Company logo added to all event promotional materials, including event invite, SUN Pitch Competition website, social media banners (Twitter, Facebook & Linkedin) and brand placement on the broadcasted event video. Add promotional materials or content to the SUN Pitch Competition virtual event bag. Receive post-event report, including high level event analytics. Sponsor a technical assistance prize and have the opportunity to provide an overview of your company and present the prize. Brand visibility Global recognition as a SUN Advocate Access to event insights Support a SUN Pitch Competition winner This sponsorship package includes a technical assistance prize, e.g. nutrition assessment of products, digitalisation of business processes, website development support. Sponsorship ‘Add Ons’ Sponsor additional activities to support the SUN Pitch Competition finalists meet with investors and further develop innovative solutions for improved nutrition. Sponsor an investor dealroom to facilitate 1:1 meetings between investors and the pitch competition finalists. Company logo added to all promotional activities related to the Investor Dealroom, including invites to investors, SUN Pitch Competition website, social media banners (Twitter, Facebook & Linkedin) and brand placement during the virtual meetings. Demonstrate your thought leadership on investing in SMEs for improved nutrition by contributing an article as a guest blogger on the SUN Pitch Competition Investor Dealroom (USD 5,000) Create an opportunity for finalists and other participants to exchange ideas and network constructively. Co-facilitate two design thinking sessions with our global accelerator, BoP Innovation Center around a problem statement of your choice. During the sessions you will have the opportunity to introduce the problem statement and BoP will facilitate an ideation session to generate ideas to address the problem. At the end of the session the participants will present their ideas to the group, and you will have the chance to offer a prize to the best idea. Company logo added to all promotional activities to the Design Sprint, including SUN Pitch Competition website, social media banners (Twitter, Facebook & Linkedin) and brand placement during the event. See example Design Sprint here. Design Sprint (USD 5,000)

Appendix
Potentioal Sponsors

Appendix
Speakers

BLOG POST 1
Welcome to the kickoff entry of the BNC Venture Forum Blog.

Our Community Knows a Lot! KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER
While serving the BNC community, we’re afforded extraordinary opportunities to observe trends, be the first to see breakthrough innovations, and learn from the amazingly smart people who are part of the BNC community (and who show up at our events). We hope to use this blog post forum to share Investor Pitch Deck best-practice insights embracing our BNC philosophy and report on the consensus of our crowd.

PITCH DECK MASTERCLASS
Our knowledge is gleaned, and our process fine-tuned, because of our decade and a half of preparing startup founders to present to our online audience of investors. This means we encourage future presenters to tell simple, compelling, & memorable stories. These pitch deck best practices are shared via our highly customized Masterclass, readying founders to present at a monthly pitch event, the BNC Venture Forum.

THE BNC VENTURE FORUM
BNC Brings Together Mentors, Entrepreneurs & Accredited Investors. Len Bland and Loren Minkus of Concept Equity Group lead the BNC Venture Forum. Each month three companies routinely present in the BNC format, aiming to deliver the information investors require to make good decisions. BNC’s leadership and our extensive network of talented mentors work with and coach presenters. We strive to ensure founders deliver a first-class, quality experience to our investor audiences.

HOW TO TELL A STORY THAT GETS A FOLLOW UP MEETING
There are many experts who will tell you how to shape your investor pitch deck.

MY INFORMED OPINION
My name is Ron Shulkin, part of the BNC leadership team. Learn more here. On behalf of startup founder clients, I’ve surveyed what the “experts” tout as the perfect number and order of pitch deck slides. For over a decade, I’ve been engaged with Chicago’s incubator ecosystem, as a speaker, coach, mentor, advisor, and fractional marketing executive.

I’ve served as a judge at many pitch contests (and attended more). Audience demographics and the sponsor’s goals vary, but these variables influence the founders’ experience. Here’s what I learned:

Some Pitch Events are better than others. Some investor pitch decks are better than others.

PITCH EVENT PAYOFFS
Pitch events can prove to be great sources as founders seek investor capital. These moments should provide exposure to new investor audiences. Sometimes these pitch contests can be harsh proving grounds, providing unexplained poor scores or rankings, perhaps fueled by biased vote contributions. For founders, these experiences fail to enrich their decks. No advice is provided to enhance their story telling.

JOINING A COMMUNITY
This isn’t lip service, the people who show up to BNC events project a positive, congenial vibe. They are respectful and generous to their fellows. Attending a BNC Venture Forum is always a good experience.

DEMOCRACY IN ACTION
I attended my first BNC Venture Forum event back when we all still assembled in person. I was one among an audience of about 30 folks (BNC virtual events get between 45 and 80 attendees every month nowadays). This was during an evening after work, It was held in downtown Chicago, in a tiered, carpeted room, perfect acoustics, all good seats. There was an opportunity for networking upon arrival (and good appetizers & free drinks). Meeting everyone, I immediately noticed something different.

POSITIVE COMMON CAUSE
Most Apparent Distinction? Everyone, including the BNC hosts, the coaches, and the congenial audience of investors…all appear to want the presenter to benefit from the experience. This is a group of business professionals rooting for each presenter; a crowd happy to serve as cheerleaders. Often advice is offered, likely by a subject matter expert.

The BNC team’s benevolent approach is on display during the Masterclass coaching process, while hosting the founder at the BNC Venture Forum, and after the event (facilitating introductions to any accredited investors who indicate they have an interest to learn more).

INVESTOR PITCH DECK BEST PRACTICES MASTERCLASS
Each founder attends a personalized Investor Pitch Deck Best Practices Masterclass. The BNC Masterclass shares lessons assembled, honed, and refined, mostly informed from the nearly 600 experiences as founders were coached to present at previous BNC Venture Forums.

Founders, presenters at an upcoming BNC Venture Forum, are coached to deliver the information investors need to see in a pitch deck.

Future blog posts will include examples of the BNC Masterclass framework. The approach is designed (and constantly refined) by Concept Equity’s Len Bland and Loren Minkus.

The Big Picture

There are a lot of moving parts in your investor pitch deck presentation. We over achievers like to get all those things lined up, thought out and executed perfectly right.

When you give your pitch presentation, your audience of investors is judging you by what information you are delivering. Your voice, your charisma, your story telling skills, the story itself, your solution, your business plan.

Wait, don’t stop there! The appearance of your slides. The content of your slides. The number of slides. I think a presenter must ensure his or her story is being heard, therefore we don’t want to provide any distractions from the message.

We must be aware of wearing a shirt with a collar, sleeves rolled up, like we’re “ready to go to work”. Stand up! Speak up! The background shouldn’t be a bedroom with an unmade bed, a cat and a kid pacing behind.
We like to think holistically for the investor pitch deck delivery. A great way to think is to note the moment we’re describing is THEATER.

During the Masterclass, moderators like to lead founders using the Socratic Method. They ask questions. Here’s a good feel for how a session might start…

Answer This Question
What is your objective when you deliver your pitch?
To get investors to write a check?
To get a business card and set up a more in-depth meeting?

To get a business card and set up a more in-depth meeting?

First let’s talk about something elemental:
Where should you stand when you present your investor pitch deck?
This is not as important in our Zoom era, but even online, where do you think the speaker should be positioned regarding the deck?
We believe there is a right answer to this question.

What’s the most important part of the presentation?

WHAT SHOULD BE IN THE SLIDES?

The BNC philosophy doesn’t dictate how many slides you present. If you deliver your message in ten minutes, it doesn’t make a difference. The number of slides is not important. The number of minutes is.

https://docsend.com/view/p8jxsqr

The average Series-A pitch deck has 9.9 photos.
We counted the number of photos, illustrations, and screenshots on each pitch deck in our database.
The average number of images in the Seed round and Series-A were both pretty close.
Startups in our study used visuals to communicate ideas, evoke emotions, and even introduce their teams. Series-A pitch decks had a lower number of photos compared to early stage funding rounds as they tend to be more data-focused. However, the gap between both rounds is almost too close to call.

How to Start

Here are the information investors will like to see
Get to The Point at The Start
Use a Shark Tank opening: We are raising X amount of money for Y% of the company

An audience of investors is different from an audience of prospective employees or potential clients. Each of those audiences requires a story tailored to their point of view.

PEOPLE BUY FOR EMOTIONAL REASONS.
Why do people buy anything (except for food, clothing, shelter…)?

People buy for emotional reasons.

Then comes the emotional release of hearing how we can solve this problem.

Solution
But don’t worry! There is a solution. There may be others who have a partial solution but only we have the entire answer to the problem.

Financials
We have traction: who paid (use logos and testimonials) what you’ve sold so far

Explain how you make money using a “unit of one”; your gross margin

If you have a big, well-known investor leading the round say so, it is an unbiased 3rd party blessing
If you explain how you’ll use the money, use a Pie, four slices or less

Investors want you to show how they will make money.
The easiest way is to show comparable companies with exits. Use logos lonely on this slide

Architecting My Own Pivot
Not only did I take a pivot, I completely reinvented myself. It seemed like an insurmountable challenge when it occurred to me it was necessary. It turned out to be not all that hard.
Why I Wanted To Pivot
In June of 2009 social networks were bubbling up into the world’s consciousness. Suddenly people were using MySpace to tell their story and students were using Facebook. As an enterprise software solutions sales professional, I thought every big company would deploy an internal social network for their employees to communicate and share. I was wrong.
There were a number of software applications contenders trying to break into the corporate world, pitching themselves as a “townhall” for fellow employees. Yammer was the one I heard about. The problem was young employees were posting what they had for dinner last night. And senior (both in company position and in age) wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot-pole (those guys, and they were mostly guys, were averse to reading and writing their own emails, having their admins handle it). So, the applications were installed at some companies with progressive HR departments. But because of the “optional” nature of social media, they floundered, then withered, and made quiet exits.
But I did discover one use case for enterprise social networks that was beginning to thrive: collaborative idea management. It appeared a social network dedicated to the discussion of ideas was gaining a foothold. It was used primarily for new product development. Think about a company like Hamilton Beach or a more modern example, Vitamix. They need to update their blenders every two years. If Hamilton Beach wants to improve their instrument panel, they would ask their internal teams for suggestions. A collaborative idea management social network would act as a forum for employees from marketing, engineering and manufacturing for their ideas how to improve the instrument panels. The best idea would get promoted to project management to be turned into the next generation product.
As a student of emerging digital marketing technology (I’m an intentional learner, I’m always interested to know “what’s next”), I thought this was a great use of new technology. Wanting to join a team selling it offered me several things: 1. I could learn a new technology (using brain science!); 2. I could put all my talent and experience as an enterprise solution sales professional to work on behalf of a cool product. I would be able to map the technology offering to the challenges faced by my prospects; and 3. I could grow in a new industry and make money.
There were several companies carving out spots for themselves. Several were headquartered in the US. One was headquartered in Belgium. I didn’t just look for open jobs. I studied the technology, the players in the space. I called up the heads of these companies and those responsible for sales to introduce myself. I was summarily rejected in this effort by all of them.
They all had a similar response: We DO want to hire talented sales people. But we only want to hire “experts” in the idea management, or innovation space. And this response pissed me off. One, because I’m an overachieving sore loser by nature. And Two, the completely illogical nature of the thinking involved. This nascent field was only about two years old. Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule, posits that 5 years of experience is required in order to become an expert. Here was the insurmountable obstacle I mentioned earlier.
I knew I couldn’t suddenly accumulate 5 years of experience in idea management (although I had a dozen years’ experience as a very successful enterprise software solutions sales professional, selling emerging digital marketing technology to very senior marketing people at very large companies.

High Energy Driven Entrepreneurs
When you have a great idea (or new product, or service, or company) you’re anxious to tell the world about it. Your pride, your enthusiasm, inspires you to “get the show on the road”. From where you sit, “Everyone needs to know about this!”

But, wait! Before you wade into the battle swinging your sword…It is a good idea to think through what’s in your message. Your outreach’s success is improved when you refine and test your messaging first.

Develop Your Go-To-Marketing Strategy
At the heart of your message you’ll find your marketing strategy. This strategy serves as the foundation for the tactics you later put into play.

If the backbone of a successful product launch is great content, you can think of your strategy as the brain.

Confidently having an in-depth, intimate understanding of your offering’s purpose and a description of how your breakthrough will change the world, can inform all the marketing tactics and messaging you later push out into the universe.

The Marketing Tactics Smorgasbord
Before any tactical marketing elements are put into place. Before content creation.
Before you work on… Market Awareness, or a Lead Generation Program, populate prospect databases, Marketing automation support systems, Webinar Programs, A Social Presence, Marketplace Credibility Cultivation, White paper publishing (blog posts), Speaking Engagements at Industry Events, Industry Analyst Outreach, Content moving buyers through the stages of their sales journey, Testimonials, Infographics, Videos, Slide Presentations, Live Events, SlideShare, Emails, newsletters, white papers, surveys, workbooks, E-Books, Product centric assets designed to be delivered by sales team members, Live demos, Product one-pagers, FAQ’s, Spec Sheets, talking points, demo scripts, value propositions, Internal product training, RFP templates, pricing guides, ROI Calculators, competitive differentiators, or case studies…

Strategies to Inform Your Tactics
Consider first being able to clearly state your team’s purpose. Make sure you can define what your breakthrough is. A breakthrough that is responsive to current market demand dynamics; to the changing competitive landscape; and to the major trends currently defining your targeted audience.

Think through what words describe what you do (and what words don’t). Gather your best stories, ones that are memorable and that capture the essence of what you’re offering.

Research what industry or segment make up the most likely buyers for what you’re selling.
Compose a memorable story that captures the essence of your message. Compose the message that best describes how you can help your buyers address their challenges; help solve their problems.

Designing Your Go-To-Market Strategy
This is an interactive workshop to develop a marketing plan for your emerging product or service. Sales & marketing professional Ron Shulkin will guide participants through exercises designed to help refine your product or service’s purpose, define your breakthroughs, identify strategic growth opportunities, and enable the market to appreciate its value.
We’ll collaboratively work on exercises designed to refine your product or service’s purpose, define your breakthroughs, identify strategic growth opportunities, and enable the market to appreciate its value.

Your fans; your audience will advocate for you (if you let them)
Are you incorporating UGC (User Generated Content) into your marketing messages? You really have no excuses not to…(read on).
Some facts:
We know Consumers trust their peers more than the messages created by and from big brands.
The lion’s share out there in your audience acknowledge UGC’s influence.
A fan is more likely to get engaged with a brand when the UGC is mixed in with professional content.
Statistics tells us there is a higher conversion rate with these organic UGC.
And we also know that when this UGC is on a brand’s web site, more people visit; they stay on the web site longer and they click through to more of your content. Audiences respond better to the calls to action associated with UGC.
So if it is generally agreed upon that using UGC leads to more traffic, more engagement and more sales, why aren’t we seeing it on every brand’s web site?
There seems to be some common (marketing & technical) challenges:
The legal team has concerns about what UGC gets posted; whether the brand has the rights to share.
With marketing teams operating leaner, its harder assigning someone to curate the UGC.
By agreeing to include UGC, the IT folks are reluctant to relinquish control to marketing the responsibility for what otherwise is in IT’s wheelhouse.
UGC is difficult to generate.
Marketers won’t be able to control the brand message.
The good news is, you can embrace the incorporation of your audience’s social postings onto your web presence pretty painlessly. Today’s Content Management Solutions (CMS) are robust.
All the challenges are easily overcome. Experts have figured out how to get it done in a reliable fashion.
Social sharing from fans of your brand are easily discovered out there in the social sphere (the miracle of the #hashtag will surface pretty much exactly what you’re hoping for!).
Curation dashboards are easily navigated, and so require very little training (one of your team members can whip through it for 10 minutes every morning, find the right UGC & get the mission accomplished).
Even though social postings are in the public domain once posted, today’s integrated (and low friction) rights management tools can secure UGC’s use to the satisfaction of the legal team (Legal can even write the Ts&Cs of the usage agreement).
The UGC you identify can be part of a campaign, be on your Facebook presence, on a microsite and reliably post on your web page (using API’s or iframes) satisfying the toughest IT due diligence process.
The goal is to have your audience advocate your position for you. Your fans will step up and tell your story on your behalf…and tell it passionately. The message to your audience is more compelling coming from a peer.
The audience needs to be trusted to tell the right story. The payoff is the inherent sharing nature of social posts. Consumers will be inspired to share the UGC with their network. If one person is sharing your brand’s story, it is easy for the next “share” to happen. Your first instance of UGC is the launch pad for all the rest.
We’re in a new area of marketing: The marketing team and the audience are in this together. The trust and the bond that ensues, will provide a remarkable payoff. What you get for all that trust…More loyal (& vocal) fans. Nurturing the relationships with your customers, your audience, so they see how others expressed passion about your brand, can truly provide a digital companion to all of your brand’s other marketing efforts.
Ron Shulkin is a director for EngageSciences. His team offers a highly config

Content
Every group of social media marketers I speak to point to the most difficult part of their job: to consistently produce good content.
They get their content from:
Agencies,
From subject matters from throughout their organizations
They rely on listening tools to discover and amplify mentions of their brands.
Another common theme is the quest for the holy grail of posted content: A viral posting. Well scientists are trying to find out what’s in the secret sauce; whether a viral posting can be predicted.

Comparing How Many Initial Same Posts
Two Types of Viral Content
A posted photo doesn’t have to be posted by a very popular page in order to trigger a large cascade. It can be an Average Joe with a compelling story or message.
The research points to two different types of postings that proved viral worthy:

A posting by someone famous (think Ellen DeGeneres at the Oscars) or
a posting from a less famous source that found appeal for other reasons.
How Viral Content Spreads
These viral cascades typically start fast; early reproduction speed, the initial velocity across the network, seems to be a key marker. Further, as the photo spreads, it begins to matter less who spread it originally, and the actual kind of content matters less. One thing about pictures though, captions do seem to be important.
The Odds Are Against You
You can try to post something that goes viral, but the odds are against you. In studies, one of out every 3,000 links produced a ‘large event,’ or a sharing phenomenon that reached at least a 100 additional persons. But truly viral events with multiple generations of sharing occur only about once in a million instances.
Postings that start from a very popular source (again think about Ellen DeGeneres or The President with David Ortiz) start with an initial big spurt and then fall off. On the other hand a viral posting with more modest beginnings (one of those ‘Please repost this to prove to my girlfriend how much I love her’ or ‘If we get a million shares this young girl will get her medicine’) demonstrates smaller & consistent growth over time.

Viral Path Patterns
Who Is Doing All This Sharing?
Well you can guess some obvious things. A picture of Mrs. Obama doing a good deed will get more shares from women and liberals. A picture of a couple with a guy asking sharers to support his commitment to his girlfriend will get more shares from males.
Well Connected Followers
Still the viral likelihood of the share depends on the importance of well-connected followers. Or in some cases if there are outside factors like having the news media acknowledge the phenomenon. Some of the hottest shares were successfully driven primarily by word-of-mouth adoption. They had to rely on Word of Mouth, in part because those that created them did not initially have large advertising budgets, and in part because, by design, they contained features to explicitly encourage sharing.
So do we know how to produce viral content? Not yet, but we do know how some viral content became viral.

The Top 5 Reasons for UGC on Your Web Site
In the never ending quest to keep a brand’s website refreshed, the incorporation of user generated content is a no brainer method. And now technology exists to easily get social engagement with your brand. And you can own the data.
The Top 5 Reasons to Put UGC on Your Web Site:
First off, your customers trust their friends way more than they trust any given brand. When common folks share their thoughts in reviews, they’re considered peers by those who are reading them.

User generated content (UGC) is authentic. Branded UGC content is compelling and the dynamic nature of social provides an interactive experience that keeps visitors coming back repeatedly to see “what’s new”. It drives loyalty, engagement and optimizes lifetime value.
When organic images are used, rather than glossy product shots from the brand, conversion rates go up. Plenty of studies show consumers respect and trust a peer’s reviews more than recommendations of the brand itself. Millennials say UGC influences their decision of what to buy.
There’s a big win when brands can own the social sharing rather than sending consumers to a social network. The brand owns the data and they can use the data to improve the customer experience (which is this year’s hottest pursuit).
The effort engenders a reduction in costs (less spent on images for instance) and the campaign is always running. The socially infused web site increases sales conversions and that is easy to track.
It used to be a technological challenge to get the UGC on the web site, but now platforms can easily set up what’s required. It’s easy and cost effective.

The Top 4 Key Capabilities for the Consumer Engagement Journey
Or Getting Your Customer Irresistibly and Permanently Engaged (Hint: It’s About Creating Value )
We know marketing teams who are able to skillfully manage the entire consumer experience journey reap enormous rewards. Because these efforts touch on so many touch points, the deployments become Enterprise Software decisions.
Big budgets usually come with big expectations and with customer experience there’s a lot at stake.
Meeting Consumer Expectations
Simply put, consumers are demanding interactions and relationships with brands on their own terms. They are willing to give up a lot of information in return for analytic driven notifications, transactions and recommendations. They expect a seamless brand offering no matter their channel of choice: voice, text, social, web.
Consumer Experience Journey Best Practices
The goal is to design journeys to attract shoppers and keep them, creating customized experiences so finely tuned that once consumers get on the path, they are irresistibly and permanently engaged.
Cutting-edge journeys succeed because they create new value for customers: Customers stay because they benefit from the journey itself.
It’s Not the Right Platform Just Because the Software Includes the Word “Journey”
Certainly a good software platform is mandatory, however a number of the bigger players with “marketing suites” have just slapped the word “Journey” onto a module to satisfy those organizations committed to their stack. Most of these are missing a couple significant attributes.
Most CX platforms are limited by channel, providing access to only website data, maybe also social media. They can design the website to be as accessible to mobile customers with responsive design, however incremental changes often aren’t enough.
The Key Capabilities To Succeed
Contextual Interaction. This is only enabled if the platform can sense consumer location; blend in the time of day; and note the customer’s history with the brand. You can only get contextual relevance by incorporating real time monitoring.
Real Time monitoring. Constant course correction is the hallmark of anticipatory personalization.
Anticipatory Personalization. Consumer’s expect germane communications. You may get them engaged but if you want to keep them your messaging better be useful and interesting. And the path to “useful, interesting, exciting and delightful” is with interactive content.
Interactive Content. Passive content is not enough! It is going to wash right over today’s consumer. The very best interactive content continues to engage the consumer even when the brand is not top most in their minds. It can be exciting from the very start and keep the consumer coming back.
Only interactive content provides the means to get an emotional connection with consumers.

Remember to choose wisely.
Let’s face it, you have to choose. But make sure your due diligence guides your selection.

How Successful Brands Make Consumers The Hero of Their Own Story
The New Approach
As marketers we know we can no longer think of our outreach as a series of campaigns. We now must provide ongoing consumer experiences. We understand each consumer is entitled to follow their own story-line (please stop saying journey, it’s giving me a headache).

The New Goal: No matter what channel a consumer encounters our brand, they’ll get aconsistent, contextually relevant & in-the-moment, interactive message, tailored to their own unique attributes.
This requires a new technology, of course. But we can’t replace all of our marketing infrastructure to get there. The new platform inherently must integrate easily with all of our existing execution channels.
If we’re going to take the word “ongoing” seriously, we marketers need to open up the lines of communication using a strategic tool. Not campaign based, but able to accommodate all the campaigns to come. Then consumers just get a boring message from us, they get interesting, unique, bespoke journeys (ah..there it is), each architected for that individual.
The Mechanics
There are some key ingredients to this new approach. Brands need to monitor each consumer’s behavior in real time, collecting the behavioral information to capture an understanding of each person.

As each consumer interacts with our brand, this new, deep knowledge of each person helps nurture an emotional connection. We can encourage desirable behaviors (i.e., like our Facebook page, watch this video, go into this store).
The emotional connection is supported with interactive communication, not passive. We can no longer send out “here’s our message”.
To operate on an exciting, spontaneous, let’s say…interesting level, we instead ask lots of questions (“would you like to tell us how you feel about this?”, “please get involved with this challenge, you might win something”).
In fact, the only message a brand should send needs to fit the consumer’s conditions on the ground when it’s sent. Poignant brand communiques are cognizant of what time of day it is, where the consumer is standing (geographically), and how has the consumer interacted with us in the past.
The Results
Today’s consumers have high expectations. While willing to give up a lot of information… today’s savvy consumers expect brands not to waste their time.
Consumers are willing to engage with our brand if we ask them to be the hero of the story.

With this approach brands can feel proud of their efforts. The consumer is flattered the brand is paying attention to them specifically; always sending something useful, something interesting.
We may measure our success by engagement statistics, but revenue will ensue when the consumer feels like they’ve been treated as an individual.
Brands win when consumers feel respected.

Laurent Craste

Only Interactive Content Makes Consumers Drop Everything
Published on August 23, 2016
Personalized content represents table stakes. If you want consumers to drop everything and engage with your brand, your content has to be highly engaging…and that means Interactive.
Interactive
Breaking through the cacophony of marketing noise gets more difficult all the time. Today’s consumer has high expectations.
For brands to capture the attention of a modern consumer, messages have to be emotional and highly engaging. Personalization as a result of a trigger behavior is mandatory…but not exceptional. Sure Personalization lets marketers dynamically recommend, substitute or change content. But when you walk into the store and you get pushed a message saying “Welcome to X”, it is pretty easy to swipe that thing away.
If you want your brand advocates to drop everything and engage with your brand, your messaging should be Interactive.

Anticipatory
This means technology needs to be in place monitoring and responding to the consumer’s journey in real time. The interactive experience delivered is a consequence of a sequence of events.
To meet expectations, breaking through the noise, a brand’s message should be based on where the consumer is, what time of day it is, and the consumer’s past history with the brand.
With Technology, Real Time Marketing is poised to respond to consumer trigger behaviors with contextually relevant, interactive challenges and rewards.
The goal is to nurture desirable behaviors. The result is a highly engaging, personalized & INTERACTIVE experience.

Example forms of interactive content
Polls & Quizzes
Games & Contests
Guided Tours
Refer-a-Friend
Interactive eBooks
Multi-Step Signups
Personalized Portals
Location Based Offers

Friction-less
Interactive content eases the consumer into the process before asking for too much. A graphically enhanced survey provides immediate engagement. There is no barrier of “fill out a form” or “install our app on your phone”, just one interesting question with a click then another.
Once the consumer has bonded with the brand at the end of the survey, imbued with the trust the brand will deliver value in return, asking for contact information is more readily contributed.
Because the engagement is memorable the promised email that follows is eagerly awaited. Now THAT’s demand generation. And the consumer is engaged.
The difference between interactive content vs. passive content is simple:
It is the difference between merely consuming content and participating in it.

Meeting The Expectations Of Today’s Savvy Consumer
Or The Emergence of (and Requirement For) Real-Time On-Line Digital Marketing Experiences
Brand marketers can no longer try to do outreach one channel at a time, doing their best to push out messaging they think their audience of consumers might be interested in.
Today’s savvy consumer has very high expectations about the messages they receive.
They have no patience for brands who send out calls to action that have nothing to do with them.
GenZ and Millennial consumers expect consistent, relevant, real time, interactive digital stories and to find them delivered no matter the channel.
They understand that brands are collecting all sorts of behavioral information each time the brand is encountered. It’s considered a fair trade when the brand properly profiles this audience member and tailors the content that ensues.
This level of intimacy is evidenced when brands acknowledge that consumers are co-creators of the brand’s messaging. They look for messages that are holistic, coordinated, data-guided, real-time, digital experiences.
Recognizing that your consumers are now the voice of your brand, the heat is on for brands to open up the lines of communications with audiences. Brand marketers best practices include actively encouraging sustainable and self-evolving co-creation with these stakeholders.

The good news is that great digital marketing technology exists that can shape interactions that cultivate loyalty.
Armed with a knowledge of each consumer, brands can architect a dynamic delivery of pleasant surprises. In this world every touch will distinguish your brand. Your consumer engagements will be great experiences that are intentional and emotional.
These new technologies leave nothing to chance. As each consumer is a very unique individual, they help you design their bespoke engagement journeys.
Easily integrated with your consumer databases and the universe of touchpoints that comprise the customer experience, you can manage each moment very intentionally; choreographing interactions so they not only address the customers’ rational expectations, but also stirs their emotions in a positive way.
A study commissioned by Google recently showed the average consumer, digitally connected, performed over 600 on line searches in the pursuit of a purchase within a month. About twenty percent on the mobile, the rest on a desktop.
Although the requirement for consistent multi-channel experiences is part of the bargain, most GenZ members consider the mobile phone their channel of choice. Think about it, their phones are always in their hands. They text, they post and…they play games.

With an ongoing engagement requirement game play is a natural choice for ongoing interactive brand experiences. A great game can lure consumers back to a brand every day. It usually comes with great prizes of course, but the human instinct to compete frequently drives the encounters just as much. If no encounter is ever wasted, brand messages don’t have to rely on chance for success. Brands will find willing partners among their consumer audience as they shape customer impressions through game science.
Game science can contribute to the creation of more positive and loyalty enhancing customer impressions.
Emerging Digital Marketing Technology improvements are enabling a great time for brands. For those adopting platforms capable of two-way, real time, thoughtful communications with their consumer audiences, the opportunity exists to make their messages, friction-less, anticipatory and immersive.
You CAN Hyper Personalize!
Hyper Personalization can be driven by real data
Social Activity Can More Accurately Figure A Consumer Out Better Than Their Family Member!
A recent study out of Stanford proves computer-based personality judgments are more accurate than those made by humans. Apparently people’s personalities based on their social activity are more accurate and valid than judgments made by friends, family, spouse, colleagues, etc.
Judging others is an important skill in our daily interactions, whether we’re interacting within our social relationships, managing our direct reports at work or parenting. And with this year’s mantra for digital marketers to embrace hyper personalization, the fact is consumer behavior collected on social networks can yield enough information to truly deliver an audience experience likely to catch the audience member’s fancy. And therefore be able to inspire the right call to action.
All this sounds very Orwellian on one hand. On the other hand digital marketers want to present an optimized, personalized experience for their customers. One’s digital footprint can predict substance use, political attitudes, and physical health; for some outcomes, they even outperform the self-rated personality scores.
The ability to accurately assess psychological traits and states, using digital footprints of behavior, occupies an important milestone on the path toward more social human-computer interactions. It’s up to digital marketers to take advantage of the tools available in order to provide the most personalized, and ergo best, experience for fans, prospects and customers.

The Top 10 Moving Parts in This Year’s Digital Marketing Machine
No one said it was going to be easy. Brands have new challenges in 2015. They not only have to get consumers’ attention, but they have to jump through hoops to get it.
This year there are a lot of moving parts in the digital marketing mix:
Brands strive to be personal, informative, engaging, entertaining, authentic & present.

A common experience in every channel
If your audience is on mobile, they need to find you there. If your audience is on your web site, on the cusp of making a purchase, they need to find your message in the critiques that your other customers publish. Your brand experience needs to present a cohesive, consistent look, feel, message and call to action no matter where our audience finds you.
The Blurred Lines of Content and Advertising
You can’t just tout your brand’s best features. You have to be benevolently educating your audience about things that matter. You have to perfectly describe an experience where your brand fits in nicely. You have to deliver new information.
Entertaining
You can’t just show up and throw up. You have to be entertaining. This means multi media. Or augmented media. And interactive media. And if that’s not challenging enough, your audience needs to be able to see a call to action embedded in that video they can act upon. Without disturbing the entertaining moment.
Personalized
You need to know a lot about every member of your audience. Whenever someone interacts with your brand, you have to be able to scoop up the resulting data the moment generates, synthesize the information, figure out how it translates to the interests of the viewer and then deliver your tailored message in that entertaining, appealing way.
Curating the Dialog
Your appearance on the customer’s radar doesn’t happen by chance. Brands have to curate the conversation. When someone searches for a topic germane to your brand, whether that search occurs on a social network or in a search engine, appropriate, germane content must appear.
Channel
Brands must have a steady supply of interesting, informative, entertaining content. Delivered in the language of the searching consumer and via the channel in which they search.
Content
You need to produce lots of great content. But the best content might not be content your brand generates. It might be content from the news, from sports or from the world of the bizarre. But it does have to be content that gets clicked on, is informative, relates to your brand and has a call to action yielding a conversion you can monitor.
Listening
You need to know about every audience interaction which, thank goodness, is possible in today’s interactive, two way marketing environment. Rapidly responding to your audience’s complaints, inquiries and comments via social are table stakes. Your consumer leaves their digital footprint every time they click on something. It’s up to you to capture the information and make use of it on your audience member’s behalf.
Peer to Peer
And if you think the pursuit of brand advocates is hooey, think again. The average consumer trusts the word of other consumers way more than the messages you’re delivering. Some say the power of social networks is fading but consumers rely on reviews and they even buy via social (think about those disruptive technologies like Waze, Airbnb, Uber, Lyft). The power of advocates, those voices we listen to in the social ether, are very important steps in the buyer’s journey.
Surprise & Delight
This may be no surprise to you, but your audience is a bit jaded. They see premium, multi-media content everywhere and from everyone. Brand messages frequently outnumber (and can drown out) the personal status postings of some people’s real life friends. That phrase “surprise and delight” may be bandied about carelessly, but it has real meaning to the audience member’s life because only those messages truly appealing will get clicked. And only those messages have a fighting chance of pushing out a Call to Action the consumer can act upon.
Wrap Up
The good news is brands have smart people paying attention to message delivery. They’re armed with emerging technologies to enable the real time, interactive message delivery concepts we’re embracing. We just need to pay attention to a lot of moving parts.
How To Use Digital To Optimize Your Event Investment
A Digital Event Companion Will Improve Show ROI
…and Create Footfall at The Booth
We know the risks begin…when an organization invests in an event.
Digital Enhances Your Event Investment
Adding a digital attribute or a “Digital Event Companion”, can reach exhibition registrants, encouraging them to learn about a brand’s products before the show and to visit the booth during the event.
This “Digital Accessory” to the event will lead show attendee’s to embrace an ongoing engagement journey with the brand.
After the show is over, a Digital Event Companion will nurture show attendees’ ongoing relationship with the brand (and the brand’s message).
FYI, At the beginning of this year, I wrote how digital technologies are available to enhance an event’s success.
Now let’s take a look at how a Digital Event Companion, can be specifically designed to support your brand’s exhibit investment.
Filling Your Booth with Prospects
Event Goals: A company’s goal for an event is usually to have a significant number of conversations during the show, to generate a certain number of leads, and ultimately produce enough interest in your company offering to cost justify the vast amount of money spent on the booth.
Event Costs: When companies exhibit at an industry exposition, they’re investing a significant amount of money for the booth, more to bring in all the people who staff it, and toward promoting it. To ensure attendees pay the booth a visit, companies frequently pay premium amounts to be sponsors and to get prime booth positions on the show floor.
The Challenge: If there are hundreds of booths, and dozens of sponsors, companies can “bet the bank” yet “miss the mark” …and get lost in the shuffle.
Why A Digital Companion Works
Today’s shift to Digital works in our favor. We know the power of digital marketing; how digital outreach has changed the way companies communicate with their audiences of prospects and customers. Virtually everyone works in front of a computer. And everyone has a smart phone in their hands. The valuable Millennial and GenX segments use smart phones to text, to watch movies, to listen to music and to play games. A Digital Companion taps into those trends.

Brands can continue to take advantage of traditional marketing efforts. Good booth position and sponsorship continues to have an impact.
A great way to emotionally engage with attendees before, during and after the event is to conduct ongoing, digital outreach with show registrants using a Digital Event Companion. When looking at a show budget, this virtual add-on is a minor incremental show cost yielding tremendous ROI.
A Digital Event Companion is Easy To Set Up & Launch
When the company’s booth participation is being promoted, a digital experience can be offered via a URL, or a mobile phone app. A QR code included as part of the show promotion materials or a sign in the booth can be pointed out to registrants. Scanning it brings them to the digital event companion registration page. And we’re off to the races.
Another great way to launch an event’s digital companion experience is to get a list of show registrants and their email addresses, from the show exposition company. You can also send invitations to your company’s marketing database of customers and prospects who are also going to the show. Registrants planning to come to the show get an email inviting them to the exhibit’s “digital show experience”.
Creating Fans of a Great Experience
The digital experience can be heavily branded. Interacting with it should be self-explanatory. It should be fun, exciting, and interesting. The registrants should enjoy it so much they become advocates of the experience itself. This is a great step along the journey of having attendees advocating the company’s brand.
The Initial Attraction Might Be To Win Prizes
The Digital Experience is the initial primary focus. Show registrants are encouraged to engage with the experience. They can win prizes they can later pick up in the booth. There might be one big prize, otherwise unobtainable. Even the most dispassionate business person will dive into the experience for the right reward.
For Instance: I might not download just any old frivolous mobile app, but with an opportunity to say, be part of a Chicago Cubs practice, I’m the first in line.

Sign Up: Registration should be frictionless, but most folks today are comfortable registering with their email address. The experience can progressively profile as a level of trust is achieved and the relationship deepens. Eventually you can gather phone numbers and street addresses (so we can alert you about prize winners or to send you a prize you won). With location sensing via GPS or QR treasure hunts or iBeacons, the experience can respectfully track the experience user’s movement throughout the show.

Collecting Data: Eventually you’ll amass a ton of behavioral data based on the attendees’ engagement with the experience. Plus, it’s easy to encourage folks to fill out a survey so the brand can learn even more (and the audience has more opportunities to win). This can enable better segmentation and allow the brand to target various segments with the best matched opportunity to earn prizes, points or more spins of the game during the event experience.

Daily Repeat Visits
Flexible Customization: You can use the experience to help fulfill the brand’s goals for the show. Consider…are you an auto company? Use a driving game. Are you a casino? Use a gambling type game.. Registrants can get one or two throws of the dice each day to win prizes. So, they have good reason to return to the experience every day leading up to and through the show.

Attendee Digital Engagement: The digital experience encourages attendees to learn about the brand’s products before the beginning of the show. Show attendees can win symbolic prizes (with no cost to the brand), like badges or additional throws or spins, by watching product videos or reading white papers. They can get additional throws or spins when they fill out a simple survey; by sharing the brand on Facebook; by following the brand on Twitter. And here’s a great one: Registrants can win more turns at the game by booking a meeting with your company in the booth, during the show.

What Makes a Digital Event Companion a Success?
Engagement Science: The best of these experiences deliver value to the registrant from the very first interaction. Breaking through the first interaction threshold is important. Players of the experience can win instant prizes but the prizes must be picked up in the booth. When players earn 2 out of 3 symbols required to get a prize, they have “banked value” in the experience, so out of spins for today, they return to the experience tomorrow to cash in their investment of time and game play.

Driving Booth Footfall: Digital outreach coupled with game science has been proven to work. Your audience of show attendees will be delighted, surprised and will appreciate the innovation involved. No one else at the show will have an outreach program like this; as intimate or interesting. They’ll be happy to book booth meetings in advance so they can meet the people behind the experience in person.
Case Studies

Case Study 1: Head & Shoulders Above The Rest
The Challenge: To maximize the brand presence (and investment) among 100’s of exhibitors and dozens of sponsors at a show this year. A digital companion was created for this event.
The Process: My company, 3radical, used our platform to create and launch a customized, digital event companion. Our experience was designed to optimize the company’s show investment with improved booth attendance at the Technology for Marketers show (TfM) this past September in London. We used all the previously mentioned tactics. We monitored the real-time activity and location of our digital experience registrants. Constantly collecting real-time audience data, we course corrected as required.
The Results: Hundreds of registrants played the game, with many returning to the experience every day. Thoroughly invested in the experience, many show registrants scheduled meetings at the booth, in advance, and during the event. The brand was shared on Facebook by almost every player (the brand team designed the graphic images and the status lines to manage the shared social message). The brand gained new Twitter followers. Hundreds of folks in read product literature and watched videos about the offering.
ROI was achieved, the daily goals of 1200 leads per day surpassed.
You Can Try It: We kept the digital experience live after the event so you can try it. You’ll see the experience, how its populated with content and how engaging it is. Your brand’s experience may look very, very different. Of course, the 3radical team helps clients introduce bespoke, branded, interactive, games for attendees that produces interest in your offering & footfall in the brand’s booth. Let your creative juices flow as you enjoy our experience.

You can try the Experience here.
You can see the booth activity here.

Case Study 2: The Digital Experience Is The Event
Internal Meetings: A Digital Event Companions works for internal team meetings. Coworkers and other participants can be encouraged to study meeting materials prior to their arrival. This way they’re well prepared to contribute to the event. Once assembled, folks are encouraged to network with peers; to join teams and to collaborate toward common company goals.
Creating valuable interaction, Southeast Asia’s largest bank, DBS Bank, assembled 1500 of their VP’s to team build and contribute to company strategy.
Wrap Up
Knowing your product offering is unique, your event’s digital experience can reflect your brand’s very specific messaging.
Your brand’s digital event companion can encourage your audience of prospects and customers to take a journey with your brand.
Your Digital Experience can use your own beautiful, interactive, content, enabling your audience to learn about your offering.
Your audience members become advocates of your digital experience…and fans of the brand.
Once they’re engaged, you can monitor your audience’s location & behavior in real-time enabling highly personalized messaging.
The 3radical Platform is easy to use and these experiences are easy to deploy. The technology is designed to present a consistent experience across all of a brand’s channels. It’s designed to easily integrate with the brand’s audience databases, reflecting the distinctions of each segment in the outreach. The platform is poised to enhance a brand’s existing touch points and to optimize the event’s results.

Top 5 Ways for Digital & Social to Augment Event Marketing
Published on February 1, 2016
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Digital and social technologies can serve to augment experiential marketing.
Digital & Social, these two way marketing channels can reach specific audiences, drive attendance, deeply engage with attendees and gather valuable information otherwise unavailable.
One to One: Marketing to Influencers
This year every brand wants to tap into Influencers. Experiential marketers have an immediate leg up in their pursuit.

Using Geo Fencing they can identify attendees at an event.
With the deep analysis that can ensue, attendees with significant digital presences are easily identified, contacted and cultivated.
The initial shared moment is a great ice breaker. By soliciting the influencers’ opinions, mutual respect can lead to valuable relationships.

Reaching Digital Natives
Everyone in your event audience is a digital native; armed with their very own smart phone.

Instead of a clip board, Interactive portions (surveys, polls) of the experiential campaign can be facilitated right on the device in their hands; they already know how to use it.
They can easily capture and promote the moment (and therefore the brand).
Periscope and Snapchat can provide live coverage and lure additional attendees.
Providing content deserving of being shared, gets your message to the top of the list of what gets pushed, extending your audience.
Experiential marketing is doing only half the job if it is ignoring digital and social possibilities. And they’re leaving money on the table.

Digital Companions
A web site, hashtag and social campaign can serve as a Digital Companion to the event.
The social sphere is a great promotional tool prior to the event to drive attendance. Your fans become your brand event advocates.
Digital companions to the event can enhance the experience while it is going on, especially if game mechanics are in place to encourage an interactive moment for the audience.
Social is the perfect vehicle to nurture a dialog after the event; extending the good feelings from the initial encounter and providing a forum for discussion, feedback and poll results.
These post event encounters can be great sources of progressive profiling, capturing the audiences’ email and other contact information beyond their social handle.

More Engagement
Social and Digital means can accomplish some things other methods can’t.

Some questions are more easily answered anonymously. If one layer of interview is conducted during the experiential moment, sensitive subject matter can be pursued on line before, during or after the event.
A poll, quiz or contest can provide a great way to
gain audience attendance,
keep audiences engaged (even while waiting their turn in line),
to nurture a relationship post event.
These relationships founded in social can lead to future event attendance or to informed polling.

Great Data
Acknowledging that First Party Data is valuable, digital & social are great conduits for collection.
By analyzing consumption data, share data and post event sales of the advertising sponsor’s product, digital technology can measure the strength of the content used for the experiential moment. This can inform the brand and the event agency of what to use next.
This same data can help justify the ROI for the event. This works even better when the experiential strategy includes multiple simultaneous types of events to compare performance.
Just like no question goes unanswered in our digital era of smart phone use (although the answer might be wrong J), every business endeavor can be enhanced with a social layer or a digital companion. In fact social is perfectly designed to capture a live moment and share it. Thank goodness it came along.
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The Marketing Technology Consolidation Trend
Published on September 24, 2015
There is a consolidation trend of emerging marketing technologies. No, I’m not talking about the mergers and acquisitions of software platforms. Although that’s happening too, there’s more marketing technologies emerging every year (See a chart here).
It’s easy for me to spot an enterprise marketing trend: I talk to senior marketing folks at big companies every day.
The latest trend is this scenario: a new member of the executive team comes on board and is chartered to consolidate agencies. And to consolidate marketing technologies.
These smart people come into the job and are handed this full plate:
Multiple brands and multiple geographies gone rogue; hiring agencies who are “the only ones to understand their unique problems”.
They select a new marketing platform to execute their plan.
The next thing you know, you have over 50 agencies claiming your brand as a client…and you have a management problem.
It’s daunting to support every digital technology on the market place when they all:
Listen for mentions,
Curate user generated content,
Manage UGC rights,
Create engaging digital marketing experiences,
Collect user contact information
Is relied on to communicate via social networks with their audience.
The Resultant Problem Defined
It’s not just a lot of vendors that’s the problem. Multiple departments have been pulled in to conduct the due diligence process. This means the Marketing team in question, plus Procurement, Legal, IT, and Security have all contributed significant time.
Cross training is impossible, as each team knows a different dashboard.
The expense is extraordinary. You can forget about economies of scale.
The New Order: Organic Consolidation
Executives are smart. They bring on someone without the history and baggage of having made those myriad decisions.
These new players come in with a charter to organically consolidate.
There are lots of ways to go about this consolidation (I’ll leave that method to those smart new-hires) but the results are a reduction to something like five agencies tops. The remaining agencies understand the brand and can appreciate how a consistent global message is helpful.
They select less expensive, easier to understand, easier to use, highly configurable, flexible digital marketing technology platforms to replace all (or most of ) the others.
The Payoff
The results are more agile, more competitive, brands accomplishing their goals more economically.
Are you part of the old guard? Or are you part of the new trend.

Digital Marketing needs to tell engaging stories
You know this picture of a plaque has to have a good story behind it. If you’re like me, you’re making one up the second you read the words. Who are “Ron & Peggy”? How exactly did their romance bloom? Tell me more!
Digital Marketing: Engaging Stories
We have to get the audience engaged. We have to earn that engagement. We have to use our noodles to figure out how to get an audience to want to come back to our site; to engage with our content. And we need technology platforms just as clever to execute these creative visions.
Example 1: User Generated Content Is Compelling
I’ve seen some great executions on that kind of strategy. Web sites dedicated to travel where audience members are encouraged to submit their social pictures to help tell the story of their trip. People who visit that web site keep coming back because they plan similar travel. They learn about others’ trips by clicking on those images…it is really interesting. They will hit a web site like that over and over.
Or their fan allegiance to a team and the players on those teams, encourage audience members to post pictures that emulate their heroes. If I can create a picture and look like a WWE wrestler, I’ll share it on Twitter or Instagram with that #WWE hashtag. And for some strange reason others will want to look at that too. And tomorrow I’ll be curious to see what other fan pix get posted.
Example 2: What Do I Win?
It might be that I want to win the contest or the sweepstakes. But more likely the audience gets engaged because they find the premise of the quiz questions intriguing. And because they’re promised a payoff. Either they can see their own social images posted or find out what the right opera is for them by sharing what their interests are in other entertainment types. Either way, the audience gets to kill some time in an interesting way…and they get some sort of payoff.
Digital Marketing Execution requires Two Key Elements.
The creative folks need to be clever and novel and have to figure out how to use the technology best to get audiences to engage.
The producers need a really easy to use and flexible set of platform tools to execute those creative thoughts. The technology can’t impose the limitations of templates, and it can’t cause lengthy lead times because it’s created with all custom code.
If the platform makes it easy to produce, and the results are 100% responsive, then these beautiful digital marketing experiences can be knocked out quickly (and therefore less expensively). You can find lots of examples here: http://bit.ly/1Hby9QA

A Romantic Story Is Engaging
And if you’re still curious about the plaque above, I can tell you about the time twenty years ago when my wife and I shared our first kiss. We had that moment while walking hand in hand around a beautiful lake near where we live. I memorialized that moment, that first kiss by making a donation to the park district so a bench was placed on that spot with the plaque you see. If we could have a great romance there, why not others? Unless you made up a better story, in which case go with that.
I’d love to hear about the digital marketing experience you’re most proud of in the comments!

Top 5 Paths to Consumer Interaction
We all know that our audience is changing – in terms of their expectations, how they want to interact with us, and what it takes to get and keep their attention.
But what are the changes? What should we do about it?
Organizations need to “fundamentally change the way they create and use content”, and ” stop thinking about campaigns and start thinking about interactions”.
Here are Five Paths to Learning Better Consumer Interaction:
Join 3radical Chief Visionary Mike Talbot on Tuesday 13th September at 1pm EST/Noon Central/11am Mountain/10am Pacific as he addresses in depth this topical challenge in our free webinar.
You can check out my latest blog: “Only Interactive Content Makes Consumers Drop Everything”
Forrester Research’s Principal Analyst Rusty Warner and Mike Talbot tell us how consumer’s expectations are changing and how marketers should respond in this short video.
To find out more about 3radical and how we help organizations like Dell, Anytime Fitness and DBS Bank create emotional engagement with their audience, visit our website
Come and see me at this years Technology for Marketing show, 28-29th September at Olympia, London.
Ron Shulkin is the Vice Presid

The top 3 methods to make certain
Here’s a “How To” designed to get your message noticed, read and acted upon.
This article is about how to optimize your chances that someone will get your message.
We’re not writing this down for our health. We want our message heard.

We all want our the messages we send to customers to be heard.
We want our selling message to a potential customer to be persuasive.
We want our message to customers acted on.
There are some clear steps you can take to increase the chances your message will get processed in the manner you’re hoping for.
Of course your message has to have merit. This blog entry is not discussing content. But let’s at least say, you should be trying your best to say something important. Time is short and we’re all busy so let’s not waste people’s time.
Statistics tell us the odds of being heard are against you. Consider that we receive 5x as much information today as we did in 1986. We consume about 100,500 words on an average day. We’re overloaded.
We’re consuming most of these words on line but it’s tough to get people to interact. Up by hour each year, people spend over three hours a day on social networks while TV, Radio, newspaper and magazine reading/watching is down year after year. Your chances of getting someone to interact with your posting are low’consider that people average 36 posts per month on FB and spend 20 minutes per FB visit.
People are spending their time on social networks more than any other medium. They have a lot of information to choose from. This is why it’s important to make sure your message counts.
Most of these suggestions are things you probably either know, or thought you knew. But I think in our haste we forget how important these persuasive steps can be to help us be successful.
Be Concise
We’re humanly no better at reading this overload of information than we were 30 years ago. When you put your message in front of your audience, they take in about 20% of the words. Think about that. That means you have to keep your message short. Concise.
Be Aware of the Medium
Don’t forget your audience may encounter your message via a variety of media. They can look at it:
on paper,
on their desktop computer,
on their laptop,
on their tablet,
on the screen in a meeting,
on their smart phone.
Make sure your message has a self adapting component. In other words, it works in any format.
Use Color
Color increases readers’ attention spans and recall by 82%. Researchers found that color visuals increase the willingness to read by 80%. Color gains readership by 80%. It’s 39% more memorable. Color increases comprehension by as much as 73%. And increases retention even more. It increases sales results and brand recognition. Are you getting this?
Use Pictures
People following directions with text and illustrations do 323% better than people following directions without illustrations. In fact this works for in person presentations and in tests 67% of the audience were persuaded by the verbal presentation that had accompanying visuals. Think about it’when you’re looking at a news-feed, aren’t you more likely to click on the entry with a picture?

Brain Scans?
Adding pictures of brain scans and mentioning cognitive neuroscience make people more inclined to believe what they are reading. It’s kind of hard to sneak it into your message, but it does fit into this story so what the heck.
Conclusion
We’re inundated with information. Yet we all want OUR message to be heard. Maximize your chances for successful communication by being Concise, by using Pictures and Pictographs. Of course make certain you’re writing something worthy of being read.

Personalization Is Where It’s At! (That’s right, I’m talking to you, pal!)
Every single meeting I’ve had lately with marketing professionals focused on the brand’s need to be able to better personalize their messages to audiences. I talk to senior marketing professionals responsible for brands every day of the week. When the same message is broadcast consistently from every source, it’s obvious a trend is afoot.
That means that television, radio and magazine advertising is not going to be able to help these brand marketers achieve this goal. The only way to convey a personalized message is via individual correspondence. And that means for the most part digital marketing. (OK, it also includes the direct mail pieces that go out to their database of contact names, but beyond a first name, those postcards can be hard to personalize).
To make those digital communications personal, brands need to understand their consumers.
…and know an increasing amount of information about each one of them.
The quest for good and complete contact information is table stakes. We’re talking about capturing and analyzing behavioral information so the brands know what the consumer is interested in…at any given time.

Millennials with Smart Phones have high expectations
Today’s consumers, plugged into a variety of digital communication devices, have very high expectations. First of all they may encounter brands via a variety of channels: the web, an online game, cable TV, but their channel of choice is always in their hands: their smart phone. And if a push notification pops up from one of their favorite brands, it better make sense…it needs to be contextually relevant.

Contextual Relevance
This means a consumer’s view of the world, their purchasing behavior, their physical location and the time of day contribute to the making of an ideal brand communication, whether it comes in the form of a text message or from within a mobile app the consumer has signed up for and downloaded.
Capturing Consumer Information
Knowing the consumer’s purchasing behavior might require an integration with the brand’s database. Common methods to capture world views, or behavioral data, include surveys, quizzes, polls, games and contests (Did you think they wanted to know how you feel about travel because the brand likes to chit-chat?). Location is easy now-a-days; its collected via the smart phones GPS, via the phone’s Bluetooth connection to a nearby beacon, or in some cases because the consumer has been encouraged to scan a QR code to win.
Surveys. We all have egos and your consumers can be happy to let you know what their opinions are on a variety of subjects. These answers can be revealing.
Polls. When consumers are passionate about a brand, it can be flattering to think the brand is interested in how they feel about it. Knowing the reasons why the consumer is attracted to a brand helps shape the reasons why they’ll find your message appealing.
Quizzes. I know full well these are out there to learn more about me. But even I succumb to filling them out when they challenge me on a subject where I take pride in having an in depth knowledge.
Games. Millennials like to play games on their smart phones. You may not be aware of Shadow Fight, Quantum Break, Roll the Ball, Stack, or Dark Souls, but your audience likely plays them. They even made a movie of World of Warcraft. Including a game as part of your consumer engagement is by definition interactive. And an interactive experience for your consumer is a straight forward path to engagement with your brand.
Contests. If a consumer finds the prizes appealing, they can be thrilled to share all sorts of information if it increases the odds of winning. The best contests award prizes weekly, monthly and annually…keeping consumers engaged on an ongoing basis. And giving the consumer a good reason to keep the brand’s mobile app on their phone all year.
Social Is Digital Too. If it’s a “Selfie Contest”, requiring the consumer to take a picture of themselves with the brand’s product, friends get news of the brand (and the consumer’s brand loyalty). If the contest sign-up is easily accomplished with their Facebook ID, it provides the brand with access to behavioral information, and likely gives the brand permission to push messages.
How it All Comes Together for The Brand and The Consumer
This means if you like a fitness club or a department store, when you park nearby, the brand has an opportunity to send you a coupon encouraging you to come inside.
If its lunch time and you’re near your favorite restaurant brand, it’s a good time to get a coupon for a free dessert.
In the grocery store and approaching the baking goods aisle, the flour brand you like can send you that cake recipe.

Offers to use a certain credit card, to get a coffee from the right drive through, to shop at the right store work, if they’re tailored to the consumers’ point of view, with knowledge of what they like, where they are, and what time of

Top 3 Ways Content Propels B2B to Buy
Published on February 13, 2019
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The Backbone of a Successful Product Launch: Great Content
You can propel your buyer through their buying journey
The most successful B2B product launches come prepared with content moving their business targets through every stage of their buying journey
Each set of messaging, and the tactics used to deliver them, should provide actionable guidance for the buyer
Buyers Expect Different Content At Each Stage Of Their Journey
Messaging should be clustered into major content pillar assets, each pillar propelling buyers to the next stage of their journey
The buyer first becomes aware of the product
Then gains an understanding how this new product addresses their needs
Finally, the buyer is secure in their decision, gaining confidence this product is a wise choice
Create Content to be Repurposed
This may sound like a lot of material to prepare. But content can be created to be repurposed.
Content can be designed to be easily broken down to to serve each level of the sales funnel
20-30 social posts
four to six blog posts
two to three emails
a webinar
a SlideShare
an Infographic
Divide The Customer Journey Into Three Parts
At first Attract, then Engage while you guide them toward the content designed to engender Alignment
To Serve The Top of The Funnel, Create Awareness
Identify the markets with the best fit for your product, and identify the right buyers
Tell the product’s story using the language of your audience
Engage Your Buyer Working to Align Your Offering To Their Needs
Your story serves to funnel buyers toward content leading to Face-to-Face Discussions
Prepare your team with Sales Enablement Tools delivered by a sales team member
Secure Your Buyer’s Confidence
Nurture Relationships
Close the order
HEY CHICAGO!
LEARN SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT LAUNCH BEST PRACTICES!
Ready to Rollout Your Product?

ut because this is an interactive workshop… the theme of the Lunch & Learn is Collaboration.
You may appreciate the approach for designing a Go-To Market strategy I’ll be sharing…
The very best marketing launch plans follow a collaborative, agile development methodology. The marketers on the team solicit opinions from potential buyers. Then brainstorm with product development folks to refine both the product and the messaging iteratively until perfected.
This collaborative approach yields compelling messaging that addresses problems buyers are trying to solve; it translates the new offering’s features into solutions; It frames the product’s story using the language of buyers in each target market; and it maps the emerging offering to buyers’ requirements and challenges.

Top Ten Marketing Trends for 2019
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Savvy marketers are making certain they’re allocating budget for a number of maturing marketing trends and new channels for 2019. If you want your brand to compete effectively, you need to be diving into the thinking discussed in this trend report. These trends are gleaned from conversations with leading brand marketers and technology vendors.
Here’s Your Top Ten Marketing Trends for 2019
The Consumer Digital Experience
Integrated Marketing Communications
Omni-Channel Marketing has always been the holy grail for marketers. This year, enabled by Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, it is more important than ever to present a consistent outreach to your audience.
Consumer audiences expect …Integrated digital marketing strategies across multiple channels, that are seamless, integrated, and consistent are now table stakes for brands.
The new generations use various devices at any given moment and they research products and services online extensively before they buy.
They often demand, personalized experiences that flow seamlessly from channel to channel.
Omni Channel Marketing or “integrated marketing communications” (IMC) is a strategic approach delivering a consistent message (and brand image) to consumers (your buyers) via every channel including ones you’ve thought of like advertising, direct marketing, public relations, sales promotion, digital marketing, content marketing, plus a unified front on all social media.
It also means you need to conduct brand outreach on new channels you probably haven’t been considering but should.
Personalization
The future of marketing is real-time, behavior-based personalization. (I said that three years ago, I was just testing you. It is more important than ever in 2019).
What makes it more relevant in 2019 is that machine learning and artificial intelligence are at the center of deep personalization.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning assess purchase history, consumer behavior and links clicked enabling hyper-personalization including personalized content, banner, carousels, order, artwork, text, search, products, landing pages, emails, and unique journeys.
Email marketing and marketing automation
Email Is Getting More Personalized
Email is here to stay, it’s evolving and email marketing itself continues to be important.
Email continues to be a major channel of communication, with billions use email for personal, commercial, industrial, legal, scientific, and academic purposes.
Generic marketing emails aren’t as effective as they once were. It is now a combination of automation and, more importantly, personalization that makes email marketing important for 2019. Email is often the final “trigger” to motivate an action, especially when combined with your remarketing techniques.
Audiences
This year is not offering the same list of target markets as before.
Baby boomers are still a big market, and they seemingly have lots of time to shop, seeing as they are straddling retirement age.
However, many are taking the pivot and initiating their second careers. Lots of brands are targeting these folks including investment advisory and travel.
There are also new buyers who are grown up enough to make their own buying decisions in 2019.
The latest generation is formed of those born anywhere from the mid-90’s to the mid-2000’s so the oldest in their early 20s while the youngest are just barely teenagers right now. They have credit cards and you should be reaching out to them with messages that resonate with their outlook and through the channels they use to communicate.
Generation Z
Of course, a marketer’s bigger focus should be on the older of the Generation Z who are gaining in size and representing more buying power
Gen Z account for approximately $29 – $143 billion in direct spending, and they are well on their way to becoming the biggest generation of consumers by 2020, which is right around the corner.
Born with access to incredible technology, they grew up using social media, smartphones, online shopping and all kinds of other technologies daily.
They also care a lot about worldwide issues and their own impact on the world, particularly when it comes to environmental issues. So your outreach will do better with a benevolent spin, and not too mercenary.
Oddly, Generation Z prefers brick-and-mortar stores to online shopping (57% said they prefer online shopping).
The number one way you’re going to reach GenZ — and many other markets — is through your social media marketing plan.
Social media
This year more than ever you must aggressively market on all your social accounts including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
The Rise of The Social CEO
Today top executives need to be social. It boosts the company’s reputation, helps build trust with users, makes the company more appealing to job applicants.
In 2016 only 40% of CEOs were active on social media (OkToPost).
Of those users, 70% only used LinkedIn.
More than a half of B2B prospects say that social media has a strong influence when it comes to their purchases.
66 percent of the Top B2B marketers think of LinkedIn as incredibly important
Social media is effective because B2B buyers and researchers are on these platforms constantly. Seeing you and your brand each day in the form of a “friend” or trusted connection builds a relationship over time.
LinkedIn particularly with its skyrocketing video usage—helps you position your business as one that provides consistent value.
Social Continues to Boom
There are 3.196 billion global social media users, which equates to 42% market penetration (We are Social).
As social media has become embedded in almost everyone’s daily life, understanding the changes implemented in social networks is essential for businesses. And these change a lot. The most popular social trends right now are video, automation, and influencers, but there is much more.
What you should remember above all is that dominating a single platform is not enough anymore. Your leads on Facebook are not on YouTube, and those on YouTube are different to those reading your website content.
BTW, All social media networks are offering increasing options for Live Video.
Facebook
The 55+ age group is the biggest group still on Facebook, the only market hanging in there. Think baby boomers.
Usage is either static or declining in all the other age groups.
Still, Facebook ad spend grew 40 percent year over year.
There are 2 billion active monthly users on Facebook
1.3 billion people use Messenger every month; 8 billion messages exchanged between people and businesses every month (Think customer service)
78% of people with smartphones using messaging every month.
Facebook May Be Peaking
The good news is that Facebook is still currently the #1 social media platform in the United States, with an impressive 41% of its users being over the age of 65.
For marketing that targets a senior demographic, there simply isn’t a better platform.
On the other hand, Facebook had a difficult 2018, with a data breach that affected 14 million users, gaining a reputation for being the platform of data sharing ignorance (or outright abuse).
Instagram
Still growing with increases in every age demographic.
Instagram boasts around 1 billion monthly users.
The biggest groups are the 25 to 34 age group followed by 18 to 24.
Ad spend on Instagram jumped 177%
Snapchat
The 25 to 34 age group is growing
There are also increases in users in older age groups.
LinkedIn
Going strong, mostly for B2B.
LinkedIn revenue increased 37%
LinkedIn sessions growth of 41% by 562 million users logging in from more than 200 countries.
Twitter
Daily active user growth of 11% and a revenue increase of 24% YoY
Social Media Stories
Social media stories are growing to promote engagement and brand awareness,
Along with Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, and even YouTube now has introduced the stories feature. Snapchat was first introducing “My Story,”
Then Instagram and Facebook offered stories
Now YouTube has unveiled their own story format, “Reels.”
Since stories disappear after a set period of time, this is a great opportunity for marketers to make good use of FOMO (fear of missing out).
Although you need 10000 subscribers on your YouTube channel to use the new feature, for now, the earlier you start using stories to promote your content, the easier it would be for you to build your audience base.
Social Messaging Apps
1.3 billion monthly users are active on Facebook Messenger
2 billion messages are sent between people and businesses on Facebook Messenger every month
WhatsApp has 1.3 billion monthly active users
55 billion messages are sent via WhatsApp every day
WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat have more combined users than Facebook or YouTube
Messenger Ads
The number of messenger app users surpassed social media users, invest your ad spend in Facebook Messenger ads.
Native Content
If you have a video marketing plan in place, it’s not enough to focus exclusively on YouTube. Upload your videos on Facebook and LinkedIn as well; the news feed algorithms will work in the favor of native content.
Content
Content Marketing
Content Clusters for improving SEO
Search engines now show preference to clusters of content around particular topics.
Marketers have begun linking content to form clusters around pillars (topics) relating to their category.
Authenticity and Transparency
The great majority of consumers (86 percent) states that authenticity is an important factor when deciding what brands to support (Stackla Report). This is higher among millennials.
Authentic content, generated voluntarily by fellow customers, catches our eyes easily.
Brands are admitting where there are faults or areas the product/brand doesn’t cover, as well as addressing negative feedback directly.
They are also encouraging open two-way communication channels with their consumers to help form better relationships and build trust.
Helpfulness and authenticity will combat relationships lost through the impersonal nature of tech and automation.
Good Content
Now more than ever content needs to be thoughtfully targeted to a specific audience. It’s part of the Personalization topic.
Improved measurement of content marketing effectiveness allows marketers to consider every outreach a test…and enables course correction.
Creativity Sets Marketers Apart
The best content outreach is uncommon, resonates with audiences, are part of integrated campaigns and use creative distribution tactics
“Marketing Is No Longer About The Stuff That You Make, But About The Stories You Tell – Seth Godin”
Users Demand More Immersive Storytelling
Not just being told a story, but where the consumer is the hero of the interactive experience. See this prediction from September 2016.
User Generated Content
People are putting more trust in others they know and reputable content, not ads.
Consumers respect their family, friends, and peers for recommendations, positive reviews, and even stories. Marketers who figure out how to have consumers generating content are winners. Make it easier for customers to leave reviews.
Influencer Marketing
Social media influencers are having more and more influence. Many of which having more followers than small nations.
The winners at digital marketing make an effort to motivate customers to share experiences with their brands.
Consumers are three times more likely to say that content created by a consumer is authentic compared to content created by a brand.

Advertisements on Search Engines and on Social Newsfeeds
Ads are near the bottom of list of trusted sources of information before a purchase
30 percent of all internet users are expected to be using ad blockers by the end of 2019 so traditional ads now won’t even reach 30 percent of possible target audience members.
There’s a place for some ads, but they have to be more relevant and valuable to the consumer. This is why we see more marketing budget money going to content marketing, influencer marketing, referral partnerships, and other methods that are designed to deliver actual value to audiences. This shift isn’t going to stop until ads start being more valuable for the consumer.

Video
I say every year is “the year of video”. I’ve been right. Every year it gets more important. Every brand should be using video to tell their story, in a variety of lengths. It used to be a 3 minute threshold of attention span, but now “snackable” videos of 10 seconds are being deployed. Marketers should consider adding video for their 2019 social media strategy.
Video is the consumers’ preferred content format. All social media networks are offering increasing options for Live Video.
Plus, Google give priority to video content
YouTube is also the second largest search engine
Video is today’s consumer’s preferred content format.
More than half of all Americans are watching videos
Video has inherent SEO benefits (Google gives priority to video content)
YouTube is also the second largest search engine.
73% of all Americans engage with YouTube
70% of consumers say that they have shared a brand’s video.
72% of businesses say video has improved their conversion rate.
52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them more confident in online purchase decisions.
65% of executives visit the marketer’s website
39% call a vendor after viewing a video.
Video can bolster a blog post or start a live broadcast on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.
A large number of businesses use Live video for interviews, product demos and “behind the scenes” glimpses of events, life in the office, or how products are made
Personalized video messages rather than phone calls or emails, are called the 1:1 video approach.
360-degree video content, which allows for a more interactive experience, is on the rise
Live Video Will Keep Growing
Live video growth is partly due to the massive spike in streaming services, like “Twitch”
67% of live viewers say they are more likely to purchase a concert ticket to see a band or attend an event if they’ve seen a live stream of a similar event online.
45% of live audiences would pay to see a favorite athlete, team, or performer on an online stream.
Studies expect video to account for a whopping 85% of total internet traffic by 2019.
54% of internet users already watch video on a social media platform monthly, and that number will only grow over the coming years.
65% of ad impressions on Instagram were the result of video content
“Snack Ads”
89% of the audience are engaged during ads below 10 seconds.
When video is shown for 60 seconds, almost half of the audience loses interest.
Micro-Moments
Micro-moments are taking over the consumer journey mostly because today’s consumers are bombarded by content, ads, offers, emails, push notifications and everything else.
People spend an average of 3 hours and 35 minutes on their smartphones every day, and by 2019, mobile devices will be the medium that gets the most minutes in the U.S. (finally surpassing television).
Micro-Moments deliver your marketing message clearly and concisely in a way that is of interest to the consumers – all within a span of seconds
The micro-moment is a new type of consumer behavior, which occurs when people reflexively turn to a device, usually a smartphone, to act on a need to learn something, do something, get to know something or buy something.
There are a lot of different types of micro-moments such as I-want-to-know moment, I-want-to-go-moment, I-want-to-do moment or I-want-to-buy moment.

Users experience “micro-moments” on average 150 times a day.
Why are micro-moments so important? Because people, in general, make instant decisions on what to buy, where to go or which restaurant to eat at, which gives you a span of only seconds to catch their attention. Micro-moments work, because they provide consumers with the right information exactly when they need it.

Partner Channels Gets You There Faster
Published on October 22, 2018
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Ron Shulkin

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The power of partnering
When you architect your product launch, it is always a good idea to explore how to be more productive by augmenting your direct sales efforts (whether on line or with a direct sales force) with alternate channels.
Partner channel business development is an art form like any other business activity. There are clear, reasonable guidelines, pioneered by those who have traveled this path in the past. You don’t have to follow these steps mechanically. In fact you should think about every step, execute each with the most creativity. Each partner requires a unique approach, so don’t be handcuffed by guidelines either.
Let’s take a high level look at a significant part of any product launch plan: the Partner Channel business development pursuit.
Why Partner Channels
To augment the direct sales effort, research potential partners and assemble a plan to develop a new channel.
Each partner should serve to address a specific challenge your team faces in the product launch plan
I’m a passionate beiliever in the partner channel’s usefulness. This belief is fueled with the foundation of a history of successes achieved through collaborative partnerships. Typically these partners offer non-competitive, complimentary offerings.
Developing the partner channel has its own rules and attributes including the consideration of joint marketing, loyalty and trust, education and capturing the mindshare of the partner’s sales teams. The process of producing an initial inventory of potential partners is straight-forward, but researching and assessing partners is time consumptive.
I think about these key factors when assessing partners:
Market presence, capabilities, market reach, reputation
Real fit, alignment with our capabilities and theirs; alignment of our cultures
Desire of the partner, commitment to our cause, clear economic benefit to both parties
Assembling a list, I like to inventory and prioritize potential parterners based on fit.
Partners may have our answers

We can reach out to many different types of partner

Strategy Consultants
Agencies
Vertical Industry experts
Geographic Coverage
Existing Relationships with Our Target Market Prospects
System integrators
They can help your organization:
Reduce cost of travel
Increase Marketing Outreach
Reach more prospects quickly
Ideally your partner offers:
Complimentary Non-Competitive Offerings
Mutual Benefit
Aggregate or Incremental Revenue
In other words, you’re better together.
How To Get Results
Users First
After identifying a desirable target partner, one approach is to initially sell to their organization directly; hoping to make them clients of your offering. If they are successful users of your product, they are more likely to be passionate advocates (and can provide positive reviews, case studies and take reference calls).
As one of your clients, you can work to build multiple relationships within the organization, ideally capturing the fancy of senior executives, different departmens or disciplines, those with vision who can step up as champions, and members of the sales organizations (your ultimately desirable relationship at the company). The organization’s sales force needs to be supported with meaningful content (generally) and sales support for each prospect selling opportunity they encounter (at least initially).
Nurturing the Partner Channel is frequently about being a pleasure to work with & available
Make It Easy
It’s up to you to make it easy for your partner to sell your offering to prospects. Joint marketing email campaigns and webinars are a great way to generate a list of handraisers. It enables you to exploit your partners marketing resources (like lists, email technology, newsletters, etc.). When a lead pops up you can go after it together with your partner. Your first sales cycle together provides an opportunity to design a road map using an iterative process.
Content
All the tactics and content you provide to your direct sales effort should be tweaked and provided for the partner: literature, demo scripts, decks, feature lists, benefit lists, vertical market framed mapping of the offering to prospect challenges, competitive analysis, cost justification calculators.
Open Communication
Most importantly when you’re joint selling into a prospect, it is handy to provide a written selling plan so everyone knows why we’re doing this, who we’re talking to, what our messaging is. And the rules of engagement need to be clearly stated so everyone knows who the leader is on this opportunity.
Land and Expand
Just like when you’re breaking into a new vertical market or a new geographic territory, while you’re working with your partner, you should identify your first target prospects. Closing a deal at a target provides you with the initial beach head you need to show off to all the other prospects and partner sales people.
An Example
While selling licenses to software solutions, I’ve gone through this process with IBM. Just by the nature of their matrix organization, they had 6 different professionals on every con call (product specialists, pre sales support, the account manager who owns the relationship and makes the first introduction, their managers). Because we were selling my offering together, they were happy to let me lead every con call. Proving my subject matter expertise and social relationship skills on the con calls, gave confidence to the account manager I could be relied on in front of his customer.
The Goal
Working with the partner channel has a couple of rules, that if you break, your partner is leaving and not coming back to work with you. Here’s some of my rules.

It is my job to build a relationship with my partner
It is my job to earn the trust of my partner
My challenge is to help make my partner a success; help them close the sale. It is not for me to shoulder everyone aside and grab the steering wheel.
We win or lose the deal together. If the prospect wants my offering but not my partners’ offering (who made the introduction), bringing in another partner to close the deal is taboo.
Then…
Once a member of your partner’s selling team helps you close a sale to a new client together, you’re wise to find ways to publicize it across the rest of the partner’s organization. This use case proves to the rest of the sales force it can be done. One of their peers made money, and garnered success, by working with you as a partner. The others will now believe you deserve their attention.

How Sales & Marketing Collaborate to Find the Goldilocks Market™
Published on September 18, 2018
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Ron Shulkin

Fractional CMO: Marketing & Sales Authority. Go-to-market product launch strate… See more
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The Best Path to Discovering a Market That is “Just Right”
During a product launch the Marketing team develops a Go-to-Marketing Strategy. This shared, written manual identifies an offering’s optimal markets and compelling messaging.
Even if the marketing team is great, they’re better when they work hand-in-hand with the sales organization.
A Swing & a Miss: Wasted Time, Energy, Enthusiasm and Money
Even armed with great research, sometimes marketing’s assessment of what demographic defines our customer can be slightly off. When they see the company is not selling as much as they forecast, they reassess their original choices, strategies, and tactics.
This slippery slope has an exponential negative impact
If they chase an imperfect ideal market, they get the messaging wrong
Spending money pushing out the wrong message attracts the wrong interested buyers
The sales team is following the wrong map; the sales effort is inefficient; the qualification process rejects a huge percentage of leads
Back to the Drawing Board
In these moments we need to consider hitting the reset button. We need new information, we need to get prepared to pivot.
When marketing collaborates with the entire team, including technologists, the company’s visionary and representatives from all the other disciplines, especially the sales team, marketing is much more likely to find the best markets and messaging. We can better understand client challenges, current market demand dynamics and the changing competitive landscape.

Likely the best insights come from customer and prospect feedback. Customer dialogs allow marketing to test their thesis outside of the conference room and in the real world. Their feedback helps us find the best markets.
When the marketing department makes an initial mis-step, customers’ insights inspires a pivot.
First Things First/ Getting Ready to Pivot
Of course, there are more steps to assembling a great go-to-market strategy.
Purpose – The company needs to collaboratively develop, agree, and publish, the company purpose; our philosophical heartbeat.
Breakthrough – Define the “Breakthrough”; what makes the offering innovative, new, different and unique to us; why customers should buy the offering.
Market Selection – Identify potential vertical markets and personas; rank these markets by most optimal, looking for blue ocean opportunities; get poised to make key bets
Message Development – Make a list of the offering’s most positive and unique attributes; ranking these features by the most compelling; ensure the message is responsive to current market demand dynamics, to the changing competitive landscape and to the major trends currently defining our audience
Channels, Partners & Tactics – Armed with the previous steps, selecting the right partners, channels and tactics is apparent.
Read Details Here: What’s Your Breakthrough? The Top 6 Go-To-Market Strategy Best Practices
The Collaborative Marraige of Sales & Marketing
Customer Interaction Informs the Launch Plan; Using prospect and customer feedback. This might be one of the best examples why a company’s sales organization needs to work closely with the marketing team.

When an emerging technology, or any new offering, is seeking to find their best market, a lot can be discovered by picking up the phone, trying to sell to the target prospects, and listening to their feedback. Everything the customer says is likely to be valuable information, ranging from questions to objections. The first couple of dozen contacts with prospects is certain to evidence trends. It’s a good example of why every version of a go-to-market strategy document needs to be just another draft. Every subsequent dozen prospect interactions make new trends apparent.
The First Customer Encounters
A modern product launch plan requires testimonials and reference accounts. The sales team is chartered to capture initial beachhead, early-adopter, customers, in each target vertical market. This fuels the creation of case studies and generate positive reviews.
For More On Tactics Read Here: Slow Down! Get A Map Before You Drive Down Marketing Tactics Street
The sales and marketing collaboration is a two way street
A collaboratively authored launch plan can point the sales organization to focus on the best opportunities and key bets. The plan from marketing enable the sales team members to know who to start calling. Marketing’s insights help sales people know what a qualified prospect looks like. The marketing effort serves to make those sales people as effective as possible.

In turn, the sales team on the front lines with prospects, gain an understanding of the language customers use. Sales learns client’s biggest challenges and most important goals. During sales calls, sales people learn how to frame the messaging in the language of each market; to map the technology to client requirements
Go-To-Market Strategy Development Workshop

If you’re in Chicago the evening of October 18 at 6PM, I’ll be conducting a Go-to-Market Strategy development workshop at the 2112 Creative Incubator (a ten-minute Uber ride from the Loop). Titled “10…9…8…Launch Your Offering!”, it is a great opportunity to hash out your specific challenges.
You can register here.
Further Reading: The Devil is in the Details
Download the White Paper! You can learn more about my process by reading my white paper detailing how to bring emerging offerings to market; how to help buyers appreciate value. Send me an email at ronshulkin@gmail.com with your request and your contact information. I’ll send you an easy to read detail program outlining the specifics of the go-to-market strategy development process.
Your Goldilocks market awaits to be identified, your messaging refined, your pivot on offer. Good luck.

Marketing your business has four stages: plan, execute, track and measure.
Four Stages of the Marketing Execution Process
If you haven’t had a marketing plan in the past, we’ll start with a review of last year so we can see how you did. Can you directly attribute revenue to your marketing activities? If so, which ones gave you the highest return? Don’t know? That’s ok – we’re looking forward to the New Year, not into the past. From this point on you will plan, execute, track and measureon a regular basis so that there are no more year end surprises.
Create a simple plan for your business
Having a great marketing plan is critical to its success. You absolutely must do it before you begin marketing. It’s not difficult or time consuming to write a marketing plan – just a few hours is all you need. Register for a simple worksheet to help you get started. If you download this worksheet, I’d appreciate your feedback in the comments section.
Execute the activities consistently
A great marketing plan is done to guide you in your marketing activities. The plan helps you understand how each activity works in synergy with your other marketing activities and it ensures you give a consistent message throughout. But the real key to success in marketing is the ability to execute the plan, working each activity until you have attracted more clients than you can handle. I’ve seen many businesses put together a plan but then don’t follow through with the plan, wasting so much time and missing real opportunities to build a successful business.
Develop a system for tracking marketing effectiveness
Determine now how you will track sales against the activities. Make sure you always ask how someone find you. Put it on your web site as part of the contact form. Have your office manager ask everyone who calls. Use the online tracking mechanisms available with Google Adwords and Yahoo Search. Knowing what’s working and what’s not will help you make budget decisions when you get an opportunity and you need to “find” some money in the marketing budget.
Measure
Review at least quarterly to see how your activities are working. I wrote a more lengthy post on this subject a few weeks ago so I won’t go into great detail. However, it’s important enough to remind you to be aware of where and how you spend your marketing dollar.
Continuous Cycle
Make a resolution this year to plan, execute, track and measure on a regular basis. You’ll find that your marketing becomes more effective and you can make adjustments along the way. Being flexible with your plan helps you take advantage of opportunities without wondering how you will fit it into your budget.
As we enter the final days of 2008, I’m spending time with clients reviewing their marketing results in order to determine their marketing plan for the new year. You can do this yourself by spending a few hours looking at how your marketing has helped your business grow. Ask these questions and don’t be afraid of the answers. If your results aren’t the best, now is the time to make some changes.
What Are We Measuring?
Marketing is used to generate leads and awareness. You need to balance both so that you have the revenue you need to stay in business while developing your reputation or brand. Each marketing activity should be developed with a specific goal – i.e. public relations to build awareness and Google AdWords for lead generation. However, every marketing campaign will accomplish both at some level.
Can the business directly attribute revenue to marketing activities?
If you are not asking clients where they found your business, you are missing the opportunity to track your results. Make sure your Web site asks the question on the contact form. Train whoever answers the phone to ask the question, “How did you hear about us?”. Most people will tell you and you may just be surprised by their answers. By asking them, you get a better understanding of where your clients look for your types of services.
How much did you spend on each activity and in total?
First you should determine the cost of your sales tools:
Web site / Blog (development / hosting)
Business cards
Brochures
Promotional items (unless part of a specific campaign)
Designer and marketing coaching fees
Then determine how much you spent on each marketing program:
Internet marketing (Google Adwords / Yahoo Search / other sponsored ads / article marketing)
Social media marketing
Direct mail (printing / postage / list purchases / follow up)
Advertising
Networking and referrals (memberships in BNI / Chamber of Commerce / Better Business Bureaus)
Public relations (fees to a specialist)
Events (seminars, tele-clinics, etc.)
The Big Picture
Take the total revenue attributable to marketing and divide it by the total marketing dollars spent, including the sales tools and marketing services. This number better be at least 4 or more. If you are spending $1 and making $4 or better, you’re in good shape in general. Remember we’ve included all the “overhead” costs in this number which I do to make sure the business is covering all of its marketing expenses.
Which ones gave you the highest return?
Now we will measure each activity specifically. Take the revenue attributable to each activity listed and divide it by the marketing dollars spent directly on that activity. You can do each individual campaign or combine those that were developed to work together. For example, a direct mail postcard campaign would include the costs of the postcard design, print, postage and mailing list. However, you may want to measure your Internet marketing ROI as one major effort. Did you recoup your investment and then some (the number is greater than 1)?
Ideally you want at least a 3 times return or better or the campaign may not be worth your time and effort. In addition, you may want to use the money on something else. Look at each activity with a perspective on what you gain monetarily as well as from an awareness and reputation perspective. In a service based business, sometimes awareness and reputation are just as valuable as the dollar return.
What to do next year?
Now that you have a good idea about how your marketing has performed, you can determine what marketing you will invest in next year. Look at each activity and ask the following questions:
Which activities were the most successful?
Do they make sense to continue?
Which activities were marginal? Do you know why? Could they be improved?
Should I invest the money somewhere else?
What new activities should I look at?
If your marketing is working, keep doing what is successful, eliminate what isn’t, and leave some room in your budget for unexpected marketing opportunities if they should arise.
Strategy without execution is only theory.
This is a powerful statement and one that we find ourselves repeating all too often. In the chaotic world of marketing (we call it The Jungle) it seems like there are a lot of starts-and-stops these days. Brands and their agency partners work diligently to put together strategic long-term programs, then watch them go under- or un-implemented. Unfortunately, we’ve seen this happening more commonly lately.
So we’ve been asking ourselves, “Why is this happening?” and “How can we prevent it from happening again?” The answer to the first question is usually due to one of these three things:
Budget cuts or a change in management (which are often unforeseeable and unpreventable reasons)
Higher-ups kill the program
The task at-hand seems too daunting and brands don’t know where to start, so they don’t
Since the first reason is usually something out of our/our clients’ control, I won’t address it further here. However, we do believe there are ways to prevent #2 and #3 from happening to your brand. The most straightforward and easiest solution to #2 is to ensure that those “powers that be” are highly involved in the brand planning process and are an integral part of the program’s development. The extent to which top management is involved in the research and strategy design along the way is the extent to which they will feel ownership of the plan and be more interested in seeing it implemented.
As a marketer, you may be thinking, “Our CEO doesn’t have the time or the interest to help create our brand and marketing plan. That’s my job.” Yikes! We firmly believe that the CEO (as the ultimate representative of the brand) must contribute to the development of the strategic branding program. He or she should be able to make the time to help determine how the company or product will come to life in the marketplace. If that’s a non-starter, then you have a different problem (we can help with that, too).
Regarding the third reason (the task seems too daunting), we’ve outlined a fairly simple process for determining the best way to successfully execute and implement a long-term, integrated marketing program.
Step 1. Place all of the tactics down on one piece of paper and organize them by marketing category – advertising, direct, social, PR, event, in-store, promotion, website, etc. This allows us to easily see what the plan really looks like.
Step 2. Eliminate any redundancies and prioritize ideas with a simple A, B or C system. We found that it’s best to use our instincts here and not over-analyze our decisions.
Step 3. Assign available resources to each tactic by choosing one specialist to head-up each item. We try our best not to assign two or more resources to one tactic. If we don’t have an available resource for a particular idea, we simply write TBD next to it and make a note to find a partner.
Step 4. Roughly determine how long it will take to execute each tactic. We think of time in terms of whether it will take one month or less, two to six months, or seven or more months.
Step 5. Make our best guess at the cost associated with producing and delivering each item. If necessary, consult with vendors to determine these costs. We don’t want to estimate too low, but we also don’t want to guess too high and scare ourselves out of executing something before we know how much it will really cost.
Step 6. Now, we put away for a day or two the work we’ve done so far. Then we come back, take another look, and make any appropriate changes. Lastly, we create a flowchart with a timeline across the top that includes for each tactic: brief description, cost estimate, launch date, and responsible party. The timeline on this spreadsheet could start now and span over two to five years depending on the breadth and depth of the strategic plan. That’s okay. The point is that each item has a budget, timing and resource allocation associated with it. That way, it seems more digestible and hopefully less daunting to allow for more efficient execution.
You may be surprised at how these six straightforward steps help our clients ensure that work gets done. And, we’ll also help you remember to invite (or help you convince) your CEO to participate throughout the strategy development process.
DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY: A FRAMEWORK FOR HOW TO PLAN, EXECUTE, AND WIN
March 2, 2018
By Betsy McLeod

As a business owner, you’ve probably already identified your company’s marketing goals for 2018. And, like most business owners, you’re probably optimistic about keeping—and meeting—those goals.
But, let’s be honest—it’s hard for most business owners to stick to the plan they made in January because, well, life happens. Your operations manager takes maternity leave. Your top salesman gets poached by another company. A burst pipe causes your office to close for a week.
I’ll let you in on a secret—there is a playbook that will make your digital strategy execution run like a well-oiled machine. Our clients who have successfully executed their goals used this playbook to help them stay on-track and focus. So, what is this playbook? How can you implement the right habits to see your goals through? What are the top digital marketing trends in 2018? Allow me to fill you in.
The Key to Any Successful Digital Marketing Strategy in 2018
Here’s the thing about playbooks: they’re tailored to the team and the team’s competition. Your 2018 digital marketing strategy should be no different.
Let me put it this way: Have you ever gone to a party to find that you were embarrassingly under-dressed? I’ll bet at that moment you wished you had found out what others were wearing beforehand so you knew what the baseline was.
The same principle goes in the digital world. If you don’t establish a baseline of where your company stands vs. your competitors, you’ll have no idea of the areas you need to focus on in order to beat them.
The best way to establish a baseline and get a good handle on where you stand compared to competitors is to have a digital competitive analysis done. It dissects every aspect of both you and your top competitors’ digital presences and spits out an easy-to-understand summary of the playbook you need to adopt and execute.
Learn more about digital competitive analysis here.
FREECOMPETITOR ANALYSIS
The Importance of Properly Executing Your Digital Marketing Plan
Once you’ve established the baseline of where your company stands, it’s time to get to work executing your plan. It doesn’t matter how great your strategy is—if you aren’t able to put your plan into action, there’s no way you’ll see the results you were hoping for. In fact, strategy implementation can be one of the biggest challenges a small business faces. The way I see it, the heart of your strategy isn’t the plan itself—it’s the execution.
Here are five things you need to practice in order to get the execution down pat.

YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS TO BE FINDABLE ONLINE

Let’s start at the beginning: you need to be easily found online, which means you need a website. But, you can’t just toss up any old website and call it good—people need to be able to find it. After all, how can a potential customer call you if they can’t even find you? The first place in which you need to be findable is where these potential customers typically look for businesses: Google. After all, 93 percent of online experiences begin with a search engine. If that’s not reason enough, people use search engines to find an answer—and your services just might be the answer if you pop up.
Not sure how to determine whether or not you’re “findable?” Try this trick: plug your top keywords and service areas into Google. If you notice you’re not on the first page for any of them, don’t worry. This gives you a great opportunity to focus more effort on SEO or PPC. No matter what you end up trying, consistency is of the upmost importance. Learn about Google’s ranking factors here, and we recommend you check your rankings at least monthly—if you need help doing this, drop us a line.

WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY IS KEY
When you go to a business’ website, you want to be able to easily navigate the site, load pages quickly, and find a clear call to action in case you want to call the company for services. In other words, the user experience is important—arguably one of the most important parts of your online presence. After all, if users aren’t able to easily use your site, they’ll move on to another company.
Here are just a few questions you can ask yourself when determining whether your site is user-friendly:
Is your site mobile friendly? 2015 was the year of Mobilegeddon, but it didn’t stop there. Now that 80 percent of internet users own a smartphone, consumers are now using mobile phones for what used to be restricted to desktops and laptop PCs. Mobile traffic surpassed desktop traffic in late 2016, and the gap will continue to widen.
What is your site speed? Did you know that with every second it takes for your website to load, you lose revenue? It’s true. After three seconds, 53 percent of mobile consumers will click the “back” button. Take a look at how speeding up your website can impact your bottom line: Below is an example of a website that has an average of a 5-second load time. Look what happens when we increase site speed to three seconds:

And then to 1.5 seconds:

That’s more than $100k this company is throwing out your window! Learn more about how fast your website should be here.
Is your website secure? In 2017, website security was front and center. Google began labeling secured and unsecured websites with either green or red/gray labels right there in the search bar. Would you click on a website with a bright red “unsecured” label on it? Most consumers won’t. Learn more about HTTPS here.

Are the navigation and the font on your website easy to read and click through on a mobile device? If not, you’re in trouble—48 percent of people cited a website’s design as the number one factor in deciding the credibility of a business. Your font should be large enough to read on a mobile device, and your navigation should be large enough that it’s easy to tap on.
Once you can confidently say yes to those questions, make sure you keep up to date with Google’s recommendations for a user-friendly site.

BE INFORMATIVE AND ANSWER QUESTIONS
Once you know your site is easily findable and boasts great user experience, it’s time to ensure the information your potential customers find is helpful. Consumers are more empowered than ever before, and they like to do their research. In fact, B2B researchers do 12 searches on average prior to engaging on a specific brand’s site, and 81 percent of shoppers conduct research online before buying.
Does your website answer every single question they might have about your product or service?
Do you have a page for each of your services? Are you targeting the right service areas? Do you blog at least monthly? If you don’t do any of this, don’t worry—you’re not alone. We’ve worked with a lot of small business owners who didn’t know the importance of consistently uploading relevant, quality content.
I recommend you add pages and blogs that target your top keywords and service areas to your site a few times a month. Whether you make it a task in your calendar to blog bi-weekly or you hire a digital marketing agency to handle it for you, adding content to your site will only help your digital strategy.
ESTABLISH TRUST

Now you need to establish authority by clearly communicating who your company is. Think about it—when you’re thinking about hiring a company, isn’t it comforting to see a list of their awards and certifications? Perhaps you take a moment to look at the “meet the team” page to put a face to the business. These small touches can help separate your company from the rest and ultimately create a trustworthy digital presence for your business.
Here’s a tip: Add testimonial videos on your home page, and video introductions to your employees on your meet the team page. Prominently display any sort of awards or certifications on your home page as well.

STAY IN TOUCH WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS
I’ve been preaching consistency in this blog post—and this last tip might be where consistency is the most important! After you’ve provided services to a customer, how can you make sure you stay in touch with them throughout the year?
Make communication with your customers a priority this year by sending an email newsletter. Whether you send it weekly, monthly, or even quarterly, your customers will simply have to check their inbox to be reminded of you—it’s that easy.
Digital Marketing Trends 2018: Themes to Capitalize On

There are four big digital marketing trends shaping 2018. While it’s not necessary to dive in head-first, if you want to dominate your local market acting now could pay dividends for years to come.
Customer Loyalty: Customers are getting more involved with brands that show them loyalty. I highly recommend you bank on this trend now and start remarketing to your existing customers as well as engage with them on social media. Tons of business owners are so focused on getting new customers that they neglect their current ones. That’s insane—the cost of keeping a customer vs. the cost of acquiring a new one just doesn’t compare! Use email marketing, social media, and videos to stay connected with your customers even when they don’t need your services.
Voice Search: You’ve seen the commercials—the ones that make virtual personal assistants seem like they’re the answer to all your problems. While voice search isn’t technically advanced enough for consumers to ditch their screens altogether, that’s certainly the direction it’s headed. Experts even predict that at least 30 percent of searches will be done without a screen by 2020. What this means for you is that you need to start thinking about optimizing your website for natural questions and requests. Instead of “AC repair in [city]” think more along the lines of “Find an AC repair contractor near me.”
Learn more about voice search here.
Video Marketing: technologies like VR, AR, and 360-degree videos are already the mainstay for Fortune 500 companies, and soon the trend will trickle down to the rest of us. While you may brush off platforms like YouTube because it’s “kid stuff,” think again—Gen-Xers account for more than 1.5 billion views on YouTube every day. By 2019, video content will be the driving factor behind 85 percent of the search results. If you don’t have video content that ranks by then, you’re going to be left behind by competitors who thought ahead. We recommend getting started with testimonial videos, how-to videos, and videos that highlight your company’s history and culture.
Big-Data Personalization and Segmentation: Marketing used to be about mass messages. Now, we’re seeing a shift in the opposite direction—hyper-personalized campaigns. Thanks to big data and the age of assistance, you have more information about your target audience than ever before—so put it to good use. AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning are taking much of the legwork out of creating personalized campaigns—by setting up advanced tracking and analytics, you can deliver an automated, personalized ad experience that matches where they are in the modern buyer’s journey.
Here’s an example: If both Sally and Joe are your target customers, they each see different ads and messaging that’s tailored to the web pages they’ve visited, how they’ve behaved on your website, and what their messaging preferences are

Left off at CONTENT FOR BOOK slide 60 PPT

Switching Gears
A Step-by-Step Checklist to
Propel Your
“Second-Act”
Career Launch

Introduction
My Dad had one vocation his whole working life. He began as an apprentice in a dental laboratory, where the new, young fellow was a “plaster man”. To get ahead he needed to learn on-the-job. The more experienced, senior coworkers had no interest to teach him. Their skill was hard won; they owed my Dad nothing. They felt threatened, retaining their skills close to the vest for employment security. Only one man, who I later called “Uncle Morrie” took my Dad under his wing, showing him how to perform the various tasks required to be a dental laboratory technician.
Dad worked that job for over 50 years, becoming a business owner with over 40 employees along the way. It never occurred to him to do something different for a living.
On the other hand, I’ve had to “switch gears” several times during my working life. I started out working for my Dad in the dental laboratory. Although I learned all the various skills, and was a terrific craftsman, there were two problems. One, at the top of my game in that industry, I wasn’t making enough money. And Two, my personality wasn’t well suited to sitting at a workbench all day.

I’ve enjoyed a sequence of jobs, some of which might seem a logical next step to its predecessor. Because some of my job choices had no logical upward career step, I had to completely reinvent myself to qualify or succeed at the next career step. I had to pivot.

Pivot is such a great word. You have one foot firmly placed to steady you, in your past, while you move your other foot in a new direction.

The pivot’s are obvious in my sequence of jobs. Some were natural progressions in a career path. Other job changes required me to research, plot, scheme and plan to get to the next step. Occasionally I’ve had to completely reinvent myself. These moments are required to stay employed or to stay happy at work, but with one foot firmly supporting you in the past, your other foot is turning you (and your life) into a new direction. * See note.

So many of us are poised to take our next pivot. A whole slew of baby boomers are reaching retirement age. They spent the last thirty- or forty-years accumulating experiences and achievements enabling an extraordinary competence at “something”. They might have this deep understanding of how industry or finance works as a career accountant or banker. What’s their next move? Maybe they want to take all those fiscal insights but apply them to a different job. Perhaps a consultant to other bankers or accountants.

Or maybe they have been lifelong baseball fans yet giving short shrift to their true sports interests. While devoting the lion’s share of their time and energy to responsibly supporting their families, it is only upn retirement they can finally answer their true calling. Now they can take the pivot and put all the insights into their favorite team to work, as a journalist, or a coach, , or an artist drawing sports in action, or a creator of a new little league in their geography.

Note: Working for the family business, I learned how to be a dental technician on-the-job (just like Dad). Started as a “plaster man”, low man on the totem pole. Gradually accumulated all the skills to pass tests and qualify as a “Certified Dental Technician”.
Dental Laboratory Technician (Partial Denture Specialist),
Dental Laboratory Technician (Crown & Bridge Specialist),
A salesman of dental laboratory services to dentists in the Chicago area
Sales person selling NorthStar PC’s (they were unique at the time because you could network several together) to small businesses in a suburban Chicago territory for General Binding Corporation (they made a bad decision, thinking because they sold binding equipment that they were in the “office automation” business and PC’s were just one more device. Their existing sales force failed, and I was hired on as one of a group of “specialists”. Not that we knew any more about computers at that time)
Account Executive for Datapoint (the inventor of networking). This was sales to major accounts with serious sales & product training. I had a portion of the Chicago territory.
Account Executive for Prime Computer. Prime was known for CAD/CAM selling into Architects and Engineering. As the new guy I got Financial Services. The only way to succeed selling these mini computers was to partner with software vendors. Learned how to partner, how to build a database of prospects, how to conduct marketing outreach (I put together seminars in downtown hotels every other week with one of my partners, one week a bond trading system, the next a stock analysis system, etc.).
Sales to Marketing Arc
Remove Barriers
IVT Production Houses/Partners
Engage Networks
DoubleClick: All Early Stage

Build your strategy

Today we’ll enable you to better Tell your story
Refine your product or service’s purpose
Define the Breakthrough you bring to the world
Enable the market & investors to appreciate your value
What is your innovation? What makes you different? What’s your Purpose & Breakthrough?

At a bare minimum

Is it Inspiration?

Purpose
What is your product or service’s existential purpose?
What is it?
“This is what we’re doing for someone else”
It’s motivational, because it connects with the heart as well as the head.
The company’s “philosophical heartbeat”
The “why” behind your company
Can be aspirational but it must be authentic

What does it do for you?
Should inspire your staff to do good work
Express your impact on those you serve
Give your team & brand human values; a purpose to connect with and relate to
Things to think about as you refine…
What are the things the company cares about the most?
What’s non-negotiable?
What legacy would you’d like the company to leave?
Does this purpose transcend revenue?

Purpose: Examples
So What Else Does It Do?
I made a long list of every possible attribute
I also made a list of my competitors’ features, noted overlap and scratched those off my list
What was left…much improved
Interactive Engagement coupled with Real-Time behavior monitoring
Contextually Relevant Messaging & Offers

Reframing Your purpose
Odeo, a Web site where people could find and subscribe to podcasts from around the world
A limited micro-messaging and status update service
A full-fledged social network with over 300 million users
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

PURPOSE
Architect your pivot
Architecting a Pivot
And Shopper Marketing was something all those prospects were in the market for

Breakthrough
Define the Breakthrough you bring to the world
Why should anyone listen to you?
Name your breakthrough
Why should you achieve greatness?
Have you cured a problem?
Invented a better mousetrap?
Changed the way people do something?
What are you doing differently than everyone else? Different from your competitors?
EXAMPLE: REDEFINED BREAKTHROUGH
The Point: An online fundraising site for social good projects
Using the notion similar to Malcolm Gladwell’s “tipping point” to create a unique system for funding social good projects back in 2007
Once a social cause acquired enough backers on The Point, it would receive funding
The concept of a daily deal that is only activated when enough users sign up
Groupon was launched in 2008

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

BREAKTHROUGH
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
BREAKTHROUGH
Define the Breakthrough we bring to the world
Why should anyone listen to us?
Name our breakthrough
Why should we achieve greatness?
Have we cured a problem?
Invented a better mousetrap?
Changed the way people do something?
What are we doing differently than everyone else? Different from our competitors?

Defend Your Premise
If we’re making our case to the world,
Let’s enhance our message; our strong beliefs
Flush out our description
Add meat to the bones
Add color to your story
When we exhaust the possibilities
…start ranking in importance
These are the words we’ll use to describe our offering
Don’t Start From Scratch
Along the way, I’ve accumulated lots of good word lists
Enhance Our Defense
Flush out our description
Add meat to the bones
Add color to your story
When we exhaust the possibilities
…start ranking in importance
These are the words we’ll use to describe our offering
Don’t Start From Scratch
Along the way, I’ve accumulated lots of good word lists
Key Words

This not that
Word pairs
Make a list of words that you want to define your company
Then couple with a list to help define what your company isn’t
THIS NOT THAT
SMART COMPLICATED
SIMPLE BORING
TRANSPARENT CHATTY
A Clear Breakthrough
Must Educate Marketplace
MARKETING
PLAN
DEVELOPMENT
Action Plan
Not Research
Not Thinking

MARKETING PLAN DEVELOPMENT
High Level Rolling List
Deploy Marketing Database
Web/Email Tools
List Acquisition
Bolstering Channels: Taking on partners who have relationships in our selected optimal verticals
Messaging: Aligned with vertical partners
Identify Vertical Markets
Identify and conduct outreach to various stakeholders
Strategically Capture initial installs
Salesforce
Pardot
No Budget for more people
So Infrastructure even more important
Gonna Pick Verticals
Need to support each one to succe
Deliverables for every selected optimally chosen markets
Sample demo. Demonstrate how this works so much like the vertical we’re talking to
The Story. What happens. Series of PPT slides easily converted to pdf brochures
How we do it. Why you should have confidence we can do it, not fear it
Benefit statements and Case Studies
Features that differentiate us. Competitive Analysis required
Messages and Value statements known to resonate among our various market places. If we can demonstrate something they haven’t thought of that improves their business, their job role, then we’ve captured their attention for the remainder of the sales cycle
Audience, how to get to them. What do they read, what partners focus here, what LinkedIn groups, what shows do they go to, who knows someone over there that we know that can introduce us?
Build a ROI worksheet
ed
Digital Action Plan for each vertical market
Outbound – email enrichment
Systematic outreach
Inbound marketing branding
Copy paid traffic
Automated sales process
Database is the answer
Email / webinar campaign – mailshake, mixmax, docsify or infusionsoft
Custom audience, remarketing thru search, and straight remarketing
Facebook and LinkedIn group members
IP enhancement
Social and key influencer
Paid db enhancement
Custom landing page by ad group
Outbound events and influencers
Automating social

Wonderful world of digital right now
Small window maybe
But great options
Because some contacts you can buy from list brokers, but if not we have a growth hacker methodology available
Ongoing Quantative Testing
CONTENT CREATION
Once Infrastructure in Place…
Start Quant
Salesforce/Pardot
Test which messages resonate with Opens and Clicks
Plus I get Leads for interested buyers (Hand Raisers)
And results lets me Pair Tactic Metrics with Spend
Messaging Validation Email
Messaging Validation LinkedIn
Webinar Report
MARKET ANALYSIS
Identify strategic
growth opportunities
Responsive to current market demand dynamics
To the changing competitive landscape
To major trends currently defining your audience
Optimal markets
Read Slide!
Start with detective work
Look for places we can make a Strategic Impact
Initially pursue a small number of functional use case
Be THE best for this space
Gain a Beachhead/Land & Expand
Work toward a fuller inventory of potential use cases
Identify strategic growth opportunities
Filter
Create a 2×2 matrix to assess potential
axes are level of customer engagement and existential impact

Rolling List
ID Optimal Markets
Align our offering
Architect How to Engage; Title
Translate our features into Solutions
Demonstrate we understand issues
Explain how we solve
Vertical Market Audience Engagement Existential Impact
Restaurant Chains Creates Differentiation Brand Top of Mind at Decision Time
Experiential Marketers Delivers a Multi-Channel Experience Captures Attention and Builds Loyalty
Pursue Beachheads
Solutions to Problems Buyers are trying to solve
Address Buyer’s Needs
Identify strategic growth opportunities

Vertical Market # F1K Challenge
Retail Banks with Social Presence 33 Combo Employee Engagement, Product Launch
Fitness Chains 19 Desperate for Case Study
Retailers 37 Must break out from other loyalty programs
Grocery 22 Co-Op Money
Restaurants 16
Major Brands 32 Key Target Market with multi brand
Sub Brands 427 Average of 15 to 35 brands each, times geographies and sub brands

Top Targets
By
Vertical
Who exactly are we targeting?
Media Dining Fitness Banks Brands Grocery Retailers
1 Discovery McDonald’s LA Capital One Coca Cola Lowe’s Yankee Candle
2 CBS Starbucks 24 Hour BofA Pepsico WalMart Home Depot
3 Abc, Inc. Wendy’s Life Time Wells Fargo Quaker Kroger Lowe’s
4 Fox Burger King Equinox Citi Yum Costco L Brands
5 NBC Dnkin Dnts ClubCrp TD Bank Frito Lay Target Best Buy
6 ABC Darden TwnSprts Chase Genel Mills CVS Publix
7 MTV Chick-fil-A Planet RBC Kelloggs Safeway Macys
8 Turner B & Noble Capital Gldmn Sachs Mars Rite Aid Sears
9 Scripps Jack in Box Bay Club CIBC Wrigley HEB TJX
10 Panera Crunch Scotiabank Pedigree Albrtsons Kohl’s
11 Domino’s GldsGym USAA Unilever Meijer Doller General
12 Chipotle dvdbrton Fifth Third J & Johnson Whole Fd Ace Hardware
13 Sonic MVP US Bank P & Gamble Aldi Nordstrom
14 Pizza Hut Wllbridge Zions Kraft 7-Eleven Gap
15 LEYE Midtown Regions Mondelez Trdr Joe’s JC Penney
16 Chels Prs Bk Mntreal Nabisco Wegman’s Bd Bth Beyond
17 Leisure Tangerine Kmbrly Clk Gnt Eagle Ross Stores
18 Anytime PNC Treehouse A&P Family Dollar
19 Core Pwr TD Bank Cgte Plmlve Menard
20 BMO Pfizer Dollar Tree
21 M&T SC Johnson AutoZone
22 Capital 360 Clorox Toys R Us
23 Silicon Vally Mead Jhnsn Shwin Williams
24 Ally Spectrum Dick’s
25 Umpqua Bsch Lomb Staples
26 Simple Scotts Office Depot
27 Santander Elzbth Ardn Dillard’s
28 Eastern Revlon GameStop
29 SunTrust Church & Dwight PetSmart
30 BBVA Compass Prestige Brands Barnes & Noble
31 Ntl Bank Canada Blistex Foot Locker
32 RBS Citizens Hartz Mountain Big Lots
33 NetSpend Neiman Marcus
34 Williams Sonoma
35 Michael’s
36 True Value

PARTNERS
Partners may have our answers
Strategy Consultants (McKinsey, Bain)
Agencies
Industry experts; Geographic; Relationships
System integrators
Good Reasons Check
Feet On The Street C
Geographic Coverage C
Joint Marketing C
Career where success has been based on Partnering successfully
Has its own rules: Joint Marketing, Loyalty, Educating, Mindshare
Producing an initial inventory of potential partners is straight-forward, but researching & assessing partners will be more time consumptive.
Key factors in assessing partners:
Market presence – capabilities, reach, reputation
Real fit – alignment in capabilities, culture
Desire of the partner – commitment, economics
Inventory (& prioritize) potential partners based on fit to
Software companies – marketing
Loyalty providers
LIST
List Services Crop
Aspira Gatehouse
Digitas Razorfhish
Blue Venn Merkle
The Taylor Group
Wasserman Factory 360
CONTENT FOR BOOK slide 60

It’s All About…

Feedback Loops
Collaboration
Partnerships
Process

It’s All About…

Feedback Loops
Collaboration
Partnerships
Process

Act & Adapt

Agile
Iterative
THE CHALLENGE
Finding Your Perfect Market

PROCESS
It’s worth noting my process
Help explain the steps I took moving forward in this story

Feedback Loops
Your Brain
Your Buyers
Your Team
Working Together

Guideposts
Learn product; Work Team; Work for Synergy
Research space online, talk to peers & prospects
Refine our product or service’s purpose
Define the Breakthrough we bring to the world
Enable the market & investors to appreciate our value
These activities are hard to present in sequence
They happen in an ongoing fashion
In parallel
Remove Barriers
Work a Process
Road Map
A lot of Detail
A lot of Steps
A lot to Do
Demands Ranking Exercise
Collaborative with other Disciplines

Not Mechanical
Think through
Intuitive Leaps
Creatively Execute each step
Research driven
Dynamic/Agile
Provides Gates & Guideposts
Think of my approach as Pragmatic Marketing
Marketer Prioritizing with Minimal Infrastructure
Heavily influenced by Unique blend of Marketing & Sales Skills
Come from Enterprise Solution Sales,
All the Solution Training, Miller Heiman, Wilson, Sandler
Solution Oriented
Trained to Understand Client Challenges
Consensus Environments/Senior People
Frame Our Stories Providing Solutions w/ROI’s
Plus All these Emerging Digital Marketing Technologies
B2B & B2C Insights
First things first. Research & Develop a First Draft Plan
Puzzle Solving Challenges: Seeking Gestalt; Grand Unifying Theory
Success via collaboration, partnerships, cheerleading
INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Fine tune message
Develop an initial approach that helps “land and expand” into the US market
Identify initial recommendations for best functional use cases, vertical industries & partners
We should embrace a “land and expand” strategy
Land initial beachhead(s)
specific functional use case for a
specific vertical industry with
a specific partner
Then, expand along 3 dimensions:
Extend to other customers in same vertical
Extend to others with same functional use case in different verticals
Extend to additional partners
Fine Tune Message
improving marketing ROI OK
Too general and unfocused (likely to get lost in the noise of alternative) / Instead, focus on use cases that has implications beyond marketing
a small number of Verticals
Marketing with strategic impact:
B2B organizations transitioning to B2C : imperative to create consumer engagement
Risk pricing arbitrage – insurance (imperative to drive loyalty)
Organizations transitioning revenue model from transactional to service (imperative to drive fixed asset utilization)
Title Filter
Low engagement industries – very senior level sponsorship/High engagement industries –mid-level managers.
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT MESSAGING

ONGOING QUALITATIVE TESTING

Personal Meetings
Phone Calls
Network
Partners
Research
Personal Meetings
Phone Calls
Network
Partners
COLLABORATE – STRATEGY
COLLABORATION
COLLABORATE WITH BUYERS

Challenges
Highly Competitive Landscape
Your buyers need to grasp what’s good about the offering easily and quickly
Clear Purpose & Breakthrough
Confusion in the market
Hard for the prospect to develop a vision
Tough to take risks on an offering like ours
Your buyers need to grasp what’s good about the offering easily and quickly
Case studies required to create vision (Stories)
Simple explanation how it works; gets deployed & used (Refined Pitch; Lit)
ROI to get any budget
Clear Purpose & Breakthrough
Be More Succinct: so many features, and the product is so flexible, it is difficult for prospects to take intuitive leaps
PROCESS – STRATEGY
Rolling List – Infrastructure/Literature
Illustrate ROI
Case studies by Vertical Market (written & 3 minute videos)
Short Explainer Videos
Go to war with sales Coverage
Additional marketing staff
Pre sales systems engineer
Business Development
Lead Gen: Videos, Case Studies, Webinars, List purchase
Database: Hubspot, Marketo, Pardot, Salesforce.com
Mail software apps
Case study for is required to provide this credibility.
Must educate our market
Each Market Differrent
Need more budget
Rolling List – Outreach
Align with vertical market partners
Refine message
Develop simple to understand; simple to explain; memorable story
Explain how we do it, How easy it is to deploy; How we help; How partners can augment and contribute
Create Vertical Messaging
Strategically Capture initial market installs
Vertical Industry Shows
Create easy to understand cost justification
COLLABORATE – STRATEGY
Go Back to the Team
In Depth Demonstrations
Time with Developer Team
Customer Success/Support
Current Customer Interviews
Additional Strategy Sessions
PUZZLE SOLVE:
USE AN INNOVATION FILTER

Develop Your Go-To-Marketing Strategy
At the heart of your message you’ll find your marketing strategy. This strategy serves as the foundation for the tactics you later put into play.

If the backbone of a successful product launch is great content, you can think of your strategy as the brain.

Think through what words describe what you do (and what words don’t). Gather your best stories, ones that are memorable and that capture the essence of what you’re offering.

Tactics

YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS TO BE FINDABLE ONLINE

WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY IS KEY
When you go to a business’ website, you want to be able to easily navigate the site, load pages quickly, and find a clear call to action in case you want to call the company for services. In other words, the user experience is important—arguably one of the most important parts of your online presence. After all, if users aren’t able to easily use your site, they’ll move on to another company.
Here are just a few questions you can ask yourself when determining whether your site is user-friendly:
Is your site mobile friendly? 2015 was the year of Mobilegeddon, but it didn’t stop there. Now that 80 percent of internet users own a smartphone, consumers are now using mobile phones for what used to be restricted to desktops and laptop PCs. Mobile traffic surpassed desktop traffic in late 2016, and the gap will continue to widen.
What is your site speed? Did you know that with every second it takes for your website to load, you lose revenue? It’s true. After three seconds, 53 percent of mobile consumers will click the “back” button. Take a look at how speeding up your website can impact your bottom line: Below is an example of a website that has an average of a 5-second load time. Look what happens when we increase site speed to three seconds:

And then to 1.5 seconds:

BE INFORMATIVE AND ANSWER QUESTIONS
Once you know your site is easily findable and boasts great user experience, it’s time to ensure the information your potential customers find is helpful. Consumers are more empowered than ever before, and they like to do their research. In fact, B2B researchers do 12 searches on average prior to engaging on a specific brand’s site, and 81 percent of shoppers conduct research online before buying.
Does your website answer every single question they might have about your product or service?
Do you have a page for each of your services? Are you targeting the right service areas? Do you blog at least monthly? If you don’t do any of this, don’t worry—you’re not alone. We’ve worked with a lot of small business owners who didn’t know the importance of consistently uploading relevant, quality content.
I recommend you add pages and blogs that target your top keywords and service areas to your site a few times a month. Whether you make it a task in your calendar to blog bi-weekly or you hire a digital marketing agency to handle it for you, adding content to your site will only help your digital strategy.
ESTABLISH TRUST

STAY IN TOUCH WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS
I’ve been preaching consistency in this blog post—and this last tip might be where consistency is the most important! After you’ve provided services to a customer, how can you make sure you stay in touch with them throughout the year?
Make communication with your customers a priority this year by sending an email newsletter. Whether you send it weekly, monthly, or even quarterly, your customers will simply have to check their inbox to be reminded of you—it’s that easy.
Digital Marketing Trends 2018: Themes to Capitalize On

Sales, Marketing & Team Leadership Skills
Assignment Overachievement | Pragmatic Go-to-Market Strategies | Problem Solver

sales skills
Strategic Introduction of Emerging Technologies to New Markets
Framing Offerings as Solutions to Problems Buyers Are Trying To Solve
Targeting Strategic Growth Opportunities
Expert at Engagement Process, Discovery, Research, Informed Intuitive Leaps
Delivering the Mapping of Offerings to Client Requirements
Inspiring & Quarterbacking Teams Toward Securing Buyer Confidence
GO TO MARKET STRATEGY development
Defining Product’s Existential Purpose & Breakthroughs
Helping Brands Find Their Voice
Actionable Feedback for Strategic Outcomes
Creating Market Awareness & Credibility
Identification of Optimal Markets for Rapid Market Share Growth
TEAM LEADERSHIP
Consistent Delivery on Expectations
Logical Assignment Delegation, Diplomatic Guidance

Experience
On Demand Marketing Resource Fractional CMO FractionalCMOGroup.com
US Sales & Marketing VP 3radical Real-time, interactive engagement
Western US Sales Director EngageSciences Digital content management
US Sales Director-NFP Spredfast Social Relationship Management
US VP Sales & Marketing CogniStreamer Collaborative Innovation/Idea Management
Global VP of Sales & Marketing Interactive Video Real Time multi-media video/audio
VP US for CRM DoubleClick CRM Marketing Optimization

Subject Matter Expertise

Account Based Marketing
Interactive Consumer Engagement
Employee Engagement
CRM, Database Builds, Segmentation, Optimization & Personalization
Real-time Audience Monitoring
Digital Content Management
Loyalty
Gamification
Video, VR, AR
Interactive Collaborative Innovation
Knowledge Management
Incubator Launch
Social Media Management

Ron shulkin capabilities

In depth engagement with Chicago’s Incubator Ecosystem

A unique blend of sales and marketing skills, coupled with an analytical approach, based on decades of successful experiences guiding emerging technologies. Built on a foundation of ongoing dialogs, and nurtured relationships, with senior industry executives
GO TO MARKET STRATEGY development SKILLS
Contributions leading to Actionable Feedback: Recommendations to achieve desired strategic outcomes. Refinement of the Technology’s Existential Purpose, Defining Breakthroughs. Identification of Strategic Growth Opportunities; Responsive to current client demand dynamics; To the changing US competitive landscape; To major trends currently defining the market

Translation of the product technology features into Solutions to Business Problems. The mapping of opportunities determining the distance from current core capabilities. Enabling the market to appreciate the technology’s value. Identification of Adjacent Moves with the highest probability of achieving long term profitability. Identification of Optimal Vertical Markets for rapid market share growth. Aligning the product offering with optimal markets and verticals. Architecting How to Engage with each identified vertical and title for a path to decision

Guidance Framing the Problems Buyers Are Trying to Solve. Clearly defining our understanding of the various issues for each vertical; Clearly and accurately explaining our product; How it helps solve the problem
marketing leadership skills
Creating Market Awareness
The backbone of a successful product launch is great content; Guidance for the provision of the creation and provision of content moving buyers through every stage of the sales journey; Designing content, messaging and delivery for each buyer journey by stage. Lead Generation Program Creation & Execution; Creation and execution of prospect databases. Overseeing the implementation of salesforce, Pardot and other marketing automation support systems; Creation of Webinar Programs; Creation of the Social Presence; Cultivation of Marketplace Credibility; Extensive white paper publishing (blog posts); Speaking Engagements, Event Management; Industry Analyst Outreach
Always remember, joy is not incidental to spiritual quest. It is vital.
Arbitration is justice blended with charity.
Knowledge that is paid for will be longer remembered.
Common sense is strengthened by joy.
“I conquered my hostility by putting it away until the day I might need it.”
RULES TO TEACH YOUR SON.

Never shake a man’s hand sitting down.
Don’t enter a pool by the stairs.
The man at the BBQ Grill is the closest thing to a king.
In a negotiation, never make the first offer.
Request the late check-out.
When entrusted with a secret, keep it.
Hold your heroes to a higher standard.
Return a borrowed car with a full tank of gas.
Play with passion or don’t play at all…
When shaking hands, grip firmly and look them in the eye.
Don’t let a wishbone grow where a backbone should be.
If you need music on the beach, you’re missing the point.
Carry two handkerchiefs. The one in your back pocket is for you. The one in your breast pocket is for her.
You marry the girl, you marry her family.
Be like a duck. Remain calm on the surface and paddle like crazy underneath.
Experience the serenity of traveling alone.
Never be afraid to ask out the best looking girl in the room.
Never turn down a breath mint.
A sport coat is worth 1000 words.
Try writing your own eulogy. Never stop revising.
Thank a veteran. Then make it up to him.
Eat lunch with the new kid.
After writing an angry email, read it carefully. Then delete it.
Ask your mum to play. She won’t let you win.
Manners maketh the man.
Give credit. Take the blame.
Stand up to Bullies. Protect those bullied.
Write down your dreams.
Take time to snuggle your pets, they love you so much and are always happy to see you.
Be confident and humble at the same time.
If ever in doubt, remember whose son you are and REFUSE to just be ordinary!
In all things lead by example not explanation.
Vulnerability is ok and isnt anything to be ashamed about.
It’s not weak to speak. Hold the door for her
Stand up when she arrives or departs
Treat everyone the same despite their station
If everyone outside the bathroom door at a party can hear you inside, pee like a race horse
Loveis the most thing
Love is an action verb
When you’re not the leader be a cheerleader
As people get older they boil down to their essence; Decide who you’ll be
Think about what your mantra will be when you meditate
God made you beautiful and smart; I’m proud of you when you’re kind to those that need it
You’re the sum total of the five people you surround yourself with
Be humble
Stay a student
In some situations the only thing you can hold on to is your integrity
Service work is good for the soul

Business
Business
It seems Blockchain is giving a second life to many companies.

New business functions, rethought using blockchain technology, will drive bottom line impact. These companies will likely develop new business models.

This is true for companies and industries with a steady flow of documents and document changes. For them, the cost savings implications are huge.

Attorneys, real estate agents or governmental bodies and industries such as manufacturing, finance and telecommunications have blockchain projects in the pipeline.

Numerous opportunities exist in the health care industry like keeping patient data secure and accessible.

How Blockchain Fixes Forecasting
Blockchain ensures entirely accurate transaction records to support data analysis and therefore forecasting. This level of accuracy is in demand; in fact, it is sparking a new market focused on predictions.

Sales and Marketing
Loyalty and rewards
With Blockchain, I can monitor my customer’s purchases in real-time and provide very personalized offers immediately.

This helps brands to create a more captivating loyalty and rewards program, delivering performance for both the marketer and the consumer. It certainly enhances engagement.

Gift cards
With fewer middle-men needed to process the issuing of cards and sales transactions, the process of acquiring and using blockchain-reliant gift cards is more efficient and cost effective.

Sales
Over the years, sales tactics have evolved to meet new customer demands. Finance leaders will start relying on more than the sales team, and include other business functions as drivers of the sales process.

Using blockchain in marketing and sales would allow my business to track customers through the entire sales process using the technology’s protected ledger; a clear accounting of every contribution to the sales cycle from all sources.

Advertising
Companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon collect information about you with every click and search term. Using Blockchain, coupled with Artificial Intelligence (Machine Learning), these advertisers can target individual customers like you and me directly.

Cross-promotional B2B contracts
Smart contracts will make B2B cross-promotional marketing much more efficient, especially in the age of influencers and bloggers, who use platforms such as Instagram and YouTube to cultivate personal brands. If you visit a website because you clicked a link in my social post, I get paid.

Transparency in contracts and with consumers
Companies can use blockchain to show consumers whom they are selling their data to. And, since this information cannot be changed or copied,
the transparent nature of blockchain data can make consumers feel at ease knowing companies cannot manipulate their data. This tells consumers the information they are viewing is factual and accurate. Something consumers want.

Procurement
A report from Harvard Business Review, highlights cost savings realized through sourcing improvement drops directly to the bottom line.

Machine learning will become a must-use.
Machine learning is a trend that is truly becomes mainstream. Businesses are realizing the importance of gathering all of their data into easily digestible insights — whether that be customer data for more personalized service, or past project workflow data to predict project timelines. As we enter the new year, machine learning will be seen as less of a phenomenon and more of a critical business technology used to support decision-making.

Even More Use Cases in Our Lives

III. Private Records

Contracts
Signatures
Wills
Trusts
Escrows
GPS trails (personal)

IV. Other Semi-Public Records

Degree
Certifications
Learning Outcomes
Grades
HR records (salary, performance reviews, accomplishment)
Medical records
Accounting records
Business transaction records
Genome data
GPS trails (institutional)
Delivery records
Arbitration

V. Physical Asset Keys

Home / apartment keys
Vacation home / timeshare keys
Hotel room keys
Car keys
Rental car keys
Leased cars keys
Locker keys
Safety deposit box keys
Package delivery (split key between delivery firm and receiver)
Betting records
Fantasy sports records (!)

VI. Intangibles (?)

Coupons
Vouchers
Reservations (restaurants, hotels, queues, etc)
Movie tickets
Patents
Copyrights
Trademarks
Software licenses
Videogame licenses
Music/movie/book licenses (DRM)
Domain names
Online identities
Proof of authorship / Proof of prior art

Distributed cloud storage
Blockchain data storage will become a massive disruptor shortly. Current cloud storage services are centralized. Thus you, the user, must place trust in a single storage provider (Think Verizon or Amazon Cloud Servers). They control all of your online assets. But Blockchain can improve security and decrease this dependency. Users can rent out their excess storage capacity, Airbnb-style, creating new marketplaces. Having the data in multiple locations is the key to securing it.

Energy
People with solar panels generate more power than they use. The power companies, by law, must buy it back from them Smart Meters can register what energy is produced and consumed by each home on a blockchain, allowing for consumption of the surplus energy in a different location, providing credits or currency to the original producer. The credits can then be redeemed against the grid when the microgenerator needs additional electricity from the grid by one of those homeowners with solar panels.

Transportation
Auto
Your car is expensive and therefore has a lot of information associated with it. With Blockchain, we can track and verify automotive parts, track and verify a vehicle’s provenance, streamline the supply chain and business processes for assembly and replacement parts, accelerate autonomous vehicle development and even build a mobility platform for electric vehicles

Ridesharing applications
The Problem
It’s so easy to love your Uber driver and yet despise Uber, the corporate entity. Lyft and Uber use centralized business models. They operate as dispatch hubs, using algorithms to control fleets, instructing which driver gets which riders, and they dictate charges.

How Blockchain Fixes Ridesharing Democracy
With Blockchain’s decentralized and distributed ledgers, drivers’ availability and your need for a ride becomes transparent, providing a more user-driven and value-oriented market environment. Drivers earn more; Riders pay less.

Chasyr is already offering blockchain based ridesharing.

Parking
Here’s another use case for blockchain: parking solutions. By combining smart contracts with advanced sensors—sensors capable of detecting cars and automatically reading their license plates—it becomes possible to automatically deduct parking charges from citizens using either digital parking wallets or credit cards linked to their identity. The implications, and potential upshots, of such a model for parking payments are huge: 100% compliance, payment accuracy, no manual patrolling, automatic computation of occupancy ratios, and more.

Analytics similar to those used today by Conduent Parking Systems could then be applied to this continuous data to predict occupancy percentage and automatically adjust parking costs based on demand.

Attorney messaging for an email, blog posts and social

A/B Subject Lines:
How to avoid being speechless when clients ask about bitcoin & blockchain
The Top 3 Reasons for Attorneys to Attend the Blockchain Summit

One Stop Shop for Blockchain Education
The Blockchain Summit on October 10th includes expert speakers providing the inner works of the technology from legal, corporate, government, finance, and real estate perspectives.

Comprehensive Insight into Cryptocurrencies
Because attorneys help facilitate the secure transfers of assets regularly they need to pay attention to what is going on with Bitcoin, and in particular the technology that underlies Bitcoin: Blockchain.

Learn from Expert Perspectives
Attending the Blockchain Summit on October 10th, attorneys can create the foundation to incorporate this technology into their practices.

For more information and to enroll, click the “Register Now!” button and take your first steps toward in-depth understanding of blockchain.

See you there,
George Vukotich
Managing Director
FinTank
PIONEERING USE OF BLOCKCHAIN TRANSFORMS BANKING
IBM & NORTHERN TRUST DELIVERS TRANSPARENCY FOR FUND MANAGER, CUSTODIAN, INVESTORS, REGULATORS AND GOVERNMENT

Northern Trust, in collaboration with IBM, has launched the first commercial deployment of blockchain technology for the private equity market.

investors are seeking greater transparency, security and efficiency, yet the infrastructure supporting private equity has seen little innovation in recent years.

Northern Trust and IBM has built a security-rich blockchain, already in use by Unigestion, a Geneva, Switzerland-based asset manager with $20 billion in assets under management. This innovative private equity ecosystem provides real-time insight and transparency to all parties, including the fund managers and investors. It is designed to deliver increased efficiency, security and transparency – all of which are longstanding challenges.

“Current legal and administrative processes that support private equity are time consuming and expensive,” said Peter Cherecwich, president of Corporate & Institutional Services at Northern Trust. “Northern Trust’s solution is designed to deliver a significantly enhanced and efficient approach to private equity administration.”

“Blockchain is an ideal technology to bring innovation to the private equity market…to deliver greater transparency and efficiency,” said Bridget van Kralingen, Senior Vice President, IBM Industry Platforms.

“Northern Trust anticipates substantial opportunities to bring improvements to the private equity market by using blockchain technology,” said Justin Chapman, global head of market advocacy and research at Northern Trust. “This is an important first step to connecting participants much more effectively, including investors, managers, administrators, regulators, advisors and auditors.”

You can hear from experts in the blockchain space at the upcoming Blockchain Summit on October, 10. For more information and registration click here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fintanks-blockchain-summit-2017-tickets-36730658388?ref=ecal

The smart money is banking on Blockchain. That means that those with foresight recognize the need to understand the topic to utilize the immense amount of potential it presents. Here’s a great opportunity for you to get involved. You’ll be informed by experts from government, academia, real estate, banking, the SEC, Investing and more. FinTank welcomes you to join us and empower yourself with awareness and education to grow your business foundation and personal repertoire.

Speakers include:

Zabrina Smith is a Vice President within Northern Trust’s Market Advocacy & Innovation Research (MA&IR) team; a dedicated group that is focused on leveraging Fintech innovation and business disruption opportunities across Northern Trusts’ enterprise. Zabrina’s responsibilities include providing advocacy in relation to market developments and technology innovation in order to positively influence market change in line with Northern Trust’s strategic direction, and providing innovation leadership in relation to the development and execution of key business initiatives leveraging emerging technologies.
FINTANK GO TO MARKET STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

Ron Shulkin
847.612.2139
ronshulkin@gmail.com

FINTANK GO TO MARKET STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

To Do List
Define Ron’s charter, enabling outreach and contributions officially
George to agree to Ron’s outreach to speakers to solicit content for blog posts & share summit promotional posts and to journalists for promotional coverage
George to write an email thanking Ron
Ron to post social CTA’s driving traffic to the registration page and set up a marketing content calendar in Hootsuite (or SocialOomph, Mavsocial, tweetdeck, social pilot)
Tate to share the log ins to our social accounts (twitter, linkedin, facebook group).
Ron to share the log in information and access to Hootsuite with Tate
Ron to post blog posts
Tate to share the access rights to post blog entries
Until we capture Speaker content for blog posts, Ron will create blog post content (See Appendices for first two to get us going)
Ron to solicit speakers to submit 300 to 700 words on their topic as content for possible emails, blog entries and social posts.
Ron to also solicit speakers to share our posted content in return
Ron to send out a list of current social posts for speakers to share periodically
Ron to reach out to Industry specific reporters to get them to report on our event
Tate to share access to FinTank’s Google Analytics information
Tate to share access to FinTank’s emailing platform
Tate to share access to Summit registration data

Initial Marketing Strategy
Short Term Promote: FinTank’s Blockchain Summit 2017
Long Term: Take short term progress and roll out Larger Fin Tank Marketing Strategy

Summit Messaging:
The Sponsor:
FinTank: The Leading Fin Tech Ecosystem
The Event:
One Stop Shop for Blockchain Education
Comprehensive Insight into Cryptocurrencies
Learn from Expert Perspectives
Vertical Audience Messaging
Aligning the Summit offering with optimal verticals
(Missing vertical messages coming)
Government Perspective: How the State of Illinois is spearheading a Leadership
Attorney Perspective: Because attorneys help facilitate the secure transfers of assets regularly they need to pay attention to what is going on with Bitcoin, and in particular the technology that underlies Bitcoin: Blockchain.
Investors
Academics
Banking: Recognizing that blockchain technology has evolved to the stage where it could help overhaul traditional bank operating models, and potentially drive industry-wide opportunities, leaders must be prudent and act now in evaluating blockchain as the types of deployments evolve.
Legal
Real Estate
Technology
Spider Graph of interest (possible Inforgraph for marketing)

Measurable Goals
300 Seats
Current Number 9/6/17: 18

Identify Call To Action
Register for Summit

Tactical Marketing
Primary Effort:
Blog Posts
Blog posts by Ron with CTA for registration
Blog posts by speakers with CTA for registration
Optimal Vertical Markets Aligning Solutions to Vertical Problems
Flush out each vertical’s issues addressed
Speakers should be solicited to submit 300 to 700 words on their topic to provide content repurposed as blog entries and social posts.
Other curated blog posts alerting audiences we are expert in Fin Tech, Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies

Content Calendar for Social
Sign up for automated posts with S/W platform (Hootsuite?)
Repurpose blog post content
Use Messaging with CTA’s with image of Spider Graph:
One Stop Shop for Blockchain Education
Comprehensive Insight into Cryptocurrencies
Learn from Expert Perspectives

Emails
See Appendices for samples
Additional content pending speaker responses

Press
Outreach to Industry specific reporters to compel them to report on our event
Guest blog posts to industry related websites

Analysis

Google Analytics
Email Analytics

Appendices
Appendix 1. initial Blog posts
These should be posted on our blog site.
LinkedIn: The first paragraph & headline should be posted on LinkedIn with the line: “For the whole story click here” with a link to the blog site.
Twitter posts (4 times a day the first day each, then once a day for a week) follow each blog post
TECHNOLOGY/CONSULTING PERSPECTIVE
A Breakthrough in Blockchain Commercial Applications
By Ron Shulkin, Digital Marketing Coordinator

The accounting house leader EY, along with technology giant Microsoft collaborated to provide Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, launching the first marine insurance blockchain platform. It applies blockchain’s transparency, security and standardization.

The blockchain platform — built on Microsoft Azure global cloud technology — is positioned to provide significant value to the insurance industry and is planned to be implemented from 2018 onward. The first of its kind in the insurance industry, the platform’s initial phased rollout will involve deploying the benefits of blockchain for end-to-end use across the marine industry.

Based on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, the blockchain common ledger connects clients, brokers, insurers and third parties. It captures data about insurance contracts, shipments, logistics, and risk.

Shaun Crawford, EY’s global insurance leader, shared, “Blockchain technology has the potential to facilitate the desired development that is long overdue.” The blockchain platform will address challenges of different facets of a complex international ecosystem including long paper chains, high transaction volumes and reconciliation levels, according to Crawford.

One Stop Shop for Blockchain Education
You can hear from experts in the blockchain space at the upcoming Blockchain Summit on October, 10. For more information and registration click here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fintanks-blockchain-summit-2017-tickets-36730658388?ref=ecal

Comprehensive Insight into Cryptocurrencies
The smart money is banking on Blockchain. That means that those with foresight recognize the need to understand the topic to utilize the immense amount of potential it presents. Here’s a great opportunity for you to get involved. You’ll be informed by experts from government, academia, real estate, banking, the SEC, Investing and more. FinTank welcomes you to join us and empower yourself with awareness and education to grow your business foundation and personal repertoire.

Learn from Expert Perspectives
Speakers include:
OBreahny O’Brian from E&Y leads the development of business solutions for the Blockchain and Distributed Infrastructure Strategy team within the EY Financial Services Office. Her primary role is to advise client executive teams on broad based business strategy as it relates to FinTech and disruptive innovation solutions.
Omkar Naik from Microsoft. Omkar brings the foundation of a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) focused in Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Marketing from The University of Chicago – Booth School of Business Solutions. He has a demonstrated history of enabling industry transformation with technology.

Twitter Posts: Linked to blog site:
Amazing read: the first marine insurance blockchain platform #blockchain
Learn how blockchain captures insurance contracts, shipments, logistics, & risk data #blockchain
Breakthrough: blockchain meets challenge of a complex international ecosystem #blockchain
Learn how blockchain common ledger connects clients, brokers, insurers #blockchain

BANKING PERSPECTIVE
PIONEERING USE OF BLOCKCHAIN TRANSFORMS BANKING
IBM & NORTHERN TRUST DELIVERS TRANSPARENCY FOR FUND MANAGER, CUSTODIAN, INVESTORS, REGULATORS AND GOVERNMENT
By Ron Shulkin, Digital Marketing Coordinator

Northern Trust, in collaboration with IBM, has launched the first commercial deployment of blockchain technology for the private equity market.

Investors are seeking greater transparency, security and efficiency, yet the infrastructure supporting private equity has seen little innovation in recent years.

Learn from Expert Perspectives
Speakers include:
Zabrina Smith is a Vice President within Northern Trust’s Market Advocacy & Innovation Research (MA&IR) team; a dedicated group that is focused on leveraging Fintech innovation and business disruption opportunities across Northern Trusts’ enterprise. Zabrina’s responsibilities include providing advocacy in relation to market developments and technology innovation in order to positively influence market change in line with Northern Trust’s strategic direction, and providing innovation leadership in relation to the development and execution of key business initiatives leveraging emerging technologies.

Twitter posts:
Breakthrough: the first commercial deployment of blockchain technology for the private equity market #blockchain
Blockchain innovation provides real-time insight and transparency #blockchain
Learn how blockchain brings improvements to the private equity market #blockchain
Pioneering use of #blockhain is transforming banking

Appendix 2. Spidergraph Style Infograph
This highlights the various industry experts you’ll learn from at the event. Can be used as the image for our LinkedIn Posts

Appendix 3. Emails

Revised Attorney Email

A/B Subject Lines:
How to avoid being speechless when clients ask about bitcoin & blockchain
The Top 3 Reasons for Attorneys to Attend the Blockchain Summit

Learn from Expert Perspectives
Attending the Blockchain Summit on October 10th, attorneys can create the foundation to incorporate this technology into their practices.

For more information and to enroll, click the “Register Now!” button and take your first steps toward in-depth understanding of blockchain.

See you there,
George Vukotich
Managing Director
FinTank

Banking Professional email

A/B Subject Lines:
How to avoid being speechless when banking clients ask about bitcoin & blockchain
The Top 3 Ways Blockchain will reshape traditional banking

One Stop Shop for Blockchain Education
The Blockchain Summit on October 10th includes expert speakers providing the inner works of the technology from banking, corporate, government, and real estate perspectives. A special session will explore how one custodian bank embraced blockchain innovation and disruption.

Comprehensive Insight into Cryptocurrencies
Recognizing that blockchain technology has evolved to the stage where it could help overhaul traditional bank operating models, and potentially drive industry-wide opportunities, leaders must be prudent and act now in evaluating blockchain as the types of deployments evolve.

Learn from Expert Perspectives
Attending the Blockchain Summit on October 10th, banking professionals can create the foundation to incorporate this technology into their institutions.

For more information and to enroll, click the “Register Now!” button and take your first steps toward an in-depth understanding of blockchain.

See you there,
George Vukotich
Managing Director
FinTank

Appendix 4. Fin Tech Journalists

Adele Peters
apeters@fastcompany.com

Focus:
The Unbanked, Cashless Society

Alex Barinka
abarinka2@bloomberg.net

Focus:
mPOS

Ambereen Choudhury
achoudhury@bloomberg.net

Focus:
Fintech in Banking

Ananthalakshmi A
ananthalakshmi.as@thomsonreuters.com

Focus:
Online-lending

Andrew Pollack

Focus:
m-wallets, Asian Fintech

Andy Greenberg
agreenberg@wired.com

Focus:
Blockchain

Anisa Menur
anisa@e27.sg

Focus:
Remittances

Anthony Ha
anthonyha@techcrunch.com

Focus:
Trading

Ariel Bogle
abogle@mashable.com

Focus:
Trading

Austen Hufford
atausten.hufford@wsj.com

Focus:
P2P-lending

Austin Carr

Focus:
Opportunities in Fintech

Brad Stone
Brad.Stone@gmail.com

Focus:
mPOS

Brian Womack
bwomack1@bloomberg.net

Focus:
mPOS

Ben Schiller
schiller@f2s.com

Focus: Big Data, Asia, Online-loans, Unbanked, Financial Inclusion, Cashless Society, Blockchain

Ben Woods
ben@thenextweb.com

Focus: m-Banks

Cade Metz
cade_metz@wired.com

Focus: Blockchain

Carl O’Donnell
carl.odonnell@thomsonreuters.com

Focus: Blockchain

Caroline O’Donovan
caroline.odonovan@buzzfeed.com

Focus: Crowdfunding

Catherine Shu
shu@techcrunch.com

Focus: e-Wallets, Remittances, O2O

Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul
chalida@dealstreetasia.com

Focus: Banks, Fintech

Chris Skinner

Focus: Fintech

Charlie Custer
custerc@chinageeks.org

Focus: e-Wallets, China, Blockchain, P2P-loans

Colin Lecher
colin.lecher@theverge.com

Focus: Crowdfunding

Colin Tung
colin@e27.sg

Focus: Remittances

Connie Loizos

Focus: Fintech for Insurance

Dan Primack

Focus: Crowdfunding

Daniel Huang
dan.huang@wsj.com

Focus: Opportunities in Fintech, m-Banks

Dave Smith
dsmith@techinsider.io

Focus: m-Wallets

David Gelles
david.gelles@nytimes.com

Focus: Crowdfunding

Daisuke Wakabayashi
Daisuke.Wakabayashi@wsj.com

Focus: m-Banks, e-Wallets, Remittances

Diana Budds
dbudds@fastcompany.com

Focus: O2O

Don Reisinger
donreisinger@gmail.com

Focus: Big Data, Online-loans

Drew Olanoff
drew@techcrunch.com

Focus: Cashless tech

Elena Mesropyan
elena.mesropyan@gmail.com

Focus: Fintech-ecosystems, Fintech Deals, VC

Erik Crouch
erik@techinasia.com

Focus: Blockchain

Erin Hobey
erin@crowdfundinsider.com

Focus: Remittances

Faisal Hoque
faisal.hoque@shadoka.com

Focus: Big Data, Entrepreneurship

Fitz Tepper
fitz@techcrunch.com

Focus: Online-acquiring

Grace Chng
chngkeg@sph.com.sg

Focus: Opportunities in Fintech, Singapore

Ingrid Lunden
ingrid@techcrunch.com

Focus: m-Banks

Izabella Kaminska
izabella.kaminska@ft.com

Focus: m-Banks

James Vincent
James.Vincent@TheVerge.com

Focus: NFC, Payments

Janet Novack
jnovack@forbes.com

Focus: Opportunities in Fintech

Jason Del Rey
jason@recode.net

Focus: mPOS, Online-acquiring, m-Wallets, e-commerce

Jason Hickel
j.e.hickel@lse.ac.uk

Focus: Unbanked, Financial Inclusion

Jeevan Vasagar
jeevan.vasagar@ft.com

Focus: Online-lending, Big Data

Jessica Leber
jessicaL@gmail.com

Focus: Donations

Jillian D’Onfro
jdonfro@businessinsider.com

Focus: mPOS, Online-loans

Jill Treanor
jill.treanor@guardian.co.uk

Focus: Innovations in Banks

Jim Marous

Focus: Opportunities in Fintech, Innovations in Banks

Joanna Seow
joseow@sph.com.sg

Focus: Remittances, Singapore

Jonathan Shieber
shieber@techcrunch.com

Focus: Online-loans, Trading, Fintech for Insurance

John Biggs
john@biggs.cc

Focus: Blockchain, Trading, Payments, e-Wallets

John Brownlee
john.brownlee+fastco@gmail.com

Focus: Blockchain

John Paul Titlow
johnpaultitlow@gmail.com

Focus: Online-acquiring, m-Wallets, Payments, Online-loans

Jon Evans
jon@rezendi.com

Focus: Blockchain

Jon Marino

Focus: Millennials

Jon Russel
jr@techcrunch.com

Focus: m-Wallets, Asia, Venture Debt, Blockchain

Josh Constine

Focus: Online-lending, e-Wallets

Josh Nicholas

Focus: Opportunities in Fintech

Josh Steime
josh@mwi.com

Focus: China, Opportunities in Fintech

Judith Balea
judith@techinasia.com

Focus: Online-scoring

Juro Osawa
juro.osawa@wsj.com

Focus: Asia, Remittances, Online-loans

Jeff Quingley

Focus: Social Remittance, PFM

Hadley Malcolm
hmalcolm@usatoday.com

Focus: m-Banks, Millennials

Harry McCracken

Focus: mPOS, Remittances, m-Wallets, Crowdfunding

Katie Roof
katie@techcrunch.com

Focus: PFM, SME-loans, mPOS

Ken Yeung
ken@venturebeat.com

Focus: Fintech for SMEs

Kevin Ohannessian
kevin@kevinohannessian.com

Focus: Crowdfunding

Kim – Mai Cutler

Focus: Crowdinvesting

Kristen Scholer
kristen.scholer@wsj.com

Focus: VC, Investments

Lauren Davidson
lauren.davidson@telegraph.co.uk

Focus: Payments, Remittances

Laura Noonan

Focus: Cashless Society, m-Payments

Marion Dakers

Focus: Payments, Remittances

Leena Rao

Focus: Remittances

Lianna Brinded
lbrinded@businessinsider.com

Focus: Blockchain

Lindsey Rupp
lrupp2@bloomberg.net

Focus: mPOS

Liz Lee
lizlee@dealstreetasia.com

Focus: F&B, Crowdfunding, Crowdinvesting

Lizette Chapman
lchapman19@bloomberg.net

Focus: Opportunities in Fintech

Lucas Matney
lucas.matney@techcrunch.com

Focus: Crowdfunding, Online-acquiring, Payments, Blockchain

Lucas Kawa
LKawa@bloomberg.net

Focus: Blockchain

Luke Parker
luke@bravenewcoin.com

Focus: Blockchain

Lydia Dishman
lydia.dishman@gmail.com

Focus: Big data, Online-loans

Margaret “Peggy” Collins

Focus: Trading

Maria Aspan
maria.aspan@gmail.com

Focus: Opportunities in Fintech

Mark Wilson

Focus: mPOS, m-Wallets

Marcus Baram
marcusbaram@gmail.com

Focus: Blockchain

Martin Arnold

Focus: Opportunities in Fintech

Matt Burgess
mattburgess100@gmail.com

Focus: E-wallets

Matthew Lynley

Focus: POS Systems, mPOS

Max Slater-Robins
maxslaterrobins@ymail.com

Focus: Online lending

Megan Rose Dickey

Focus: SME Fintech, Enterpreneurship, Women in Tech, mPOS

Megha Rajagopalan
megha.rajagopalan@thomsonreuters.com

Focus: China, e-Wallets, Online-loans

Meghna Rao

Focus: Social Remittances, e-Wallet, Online-lending, Cashless Society

Michael Bennet

Focus: Social Remittances

Michael Erman

Focus: Crowdfunding

Michael Moore

Focus: Banking, Fintech

Michael Tegos
michael@techinasia.com

Focus: Opportunity in Fintech, Remittances, Payments

Mike Isaac
Mike.Isaac@nytimes.com

Focus: Crowdfunding, Fintech

Mike Kentz
mike.kentz@thomsonreuters.com

Focus: Millennials, Trading

Nadine Freischlad
nadine@techinasia.com

Focus: Trading

Nathaniel Popper
nathaniel.popper@nytimes.com

Focus: Blockchain

Neal Ungerleider

Focus: mPOS, O2O, Remittances, m-Wallets, Payments, Trading, Crowdfunding

Nitish Kulkarni
nitish.kulkarni@techcrunch.com

Focus: Social Remittances

Olga Kharif

Focus: Blockchain, e-Wallets, m-Banks

Oscar Williams – Grut

Focus: Blockchain, Remittances, m-Banks, Innovations in Banking, Opportunities in Fintech

Osman Husain
osman@techinasia.com

Focus: Opportunities in Fintech, Asia

Paul Sawers
paul@venturebeat.com

Focus: m-Banks

Pavithra S. Mohan

Focus: mBanks

Patrick John Lim

Focus: Opportunities in Fintech, Fintech Ecosystem, Singapore

Peter Rudegeair
Peter.Rudegeair@wsj.com

Focus: Opportunities in Fintech

Portia Crowe

Focus PFM

Rachel Banning – Lover

Focus: Unbanked, financial inclusion

Rich McCormick
rich@theverge.com

Focus: m-Wallets, e-Wallets

Richard Kastelein
expathos@gmail.com

Focus: Cashless Society, Blockchain, Unbanked

Rick Carew
rick.carew@wsj.com

Focus: online-lending, e-wallets

Rieva Lesonsky

Focus: SME-loans, e-Wallets, mPOS

Rita Gunther McGrath

Focus: Remittances, Innovations in Banking, Leadership

Robin Sidel

Focus: mPOS, Cards, m-Banks, e-Wallets, Remittances

Romain Dillet

Focus: e-Wallet, m-Banks, Remittances, Blockchain, Crowdfunding

Rusty Foster
rusty@kuro5hin.org

Focus: Blockchain

Ruth Reader
ruth.reader@gmail.com

Focus: POS systems, F&B, Online-acquiring

Sainul K Abudheen
sainul@e27.sg

Focus: India Fintech trends

Samantha Sharf
ssharf@forbes.com

Focus: Trading, Millennials

Sarah Kessler
skessler@fastcompany.com

Focus: Online-acquiring, F&B, Insurtech, IoT

Sarah McBride

Focus: M-banks

Sarah Perez
sarahp@techcrunch.com

Focus: m-Wallets, IoT, m-Banks, O2O

Sean Captain
seanjcaptain@gmail.com

Focus: Online acquiring

Selina Wang
swang533@bloomberg.net

Focus: Trading

Susan Pulliam
susan.pulliam@wsj.com

Focus: Venture Debt

Shannon Pettypiece
spettypiece@bloomberg.net

Focus: m-Pos

Shiwen Yap
shiwen@dealstreetasia.com

Focus: Venture Debt, Opportunities in Fintech

Stephanie Baker

Focus: m-Banks

Stephanie Vozza
stephanievozza@gmail.com

Focus: Opportunities in Fintech

Steven Melendez
smelendez@gmail.com

Focus: Blockchain

Steve O’Hear
steve@ohear.net

Focus: Online-loans, Fintech for Insurance, Trading, SME-loans

Tanaya Macheel

Focus: Blockchain

Telis Demos
telis.demos@wsj.com

Focus: Venture Debt

Tim Wallace
tim.wallace@telegraph.co.uk

Focus: m-Banks

Tom Groenfeldt

Focus: Fintech for Insurance, Accelators, Big Data, m-Banks

Tom Noda
tomnoda@dealstreetasia.com

Focus: Remittances

Trey Williams
cwilliams@marketwatch.com

Focus: e-Wallets, Remittances

Vinod Sreeharsha

Focus: m-Banks

Vivek Wadhwa

Focus: Blockchain

Yang Jie

Focus: m-Banks

Lingling Wei
Lingling.Wei@wsj.com

Focus: m-Banks

Yon Heong
yonheong@e27.co

Focus: Remittances, Venture Capital in Fintech

Yulia Chernova
yuliya.chernova@wsj.com

Focus: Opportunities in Fintech, VCs

An Engagement Proposal for XXCUSTOMERNAMEXX:
Go-to-Market Planning and Strategic Roadmap Development Engagement

Background

XXX (“or the “Company”) is a(n) XXCOMPANYDESCRIPTION that XXVERBXX XXPRODUCT/SERVICEOFFERINGXX. The Company has developed XXTYPEOFPRODUCT/PRODUCTNAMEXX delivering XXBREAKTHROUGHXX to XXTARGETMARKETSEGMENTXX. XXPRODUCT/SERVICEOFFERINGXX enables XXTARGETMARKTSEGMENTXX to XXBENEFITSXX. Clients such as XXCLIENTNAMESLISTXX and many more are leveraging XXPRODUCT/SERVICEOFFERINGXX. The Company was founded in XXDATECOOMPANYFOUNDEDXX and is based in XXHQCITYXX, with additional offices in XXSATELLITELOCATIONSXX.

About Ron Shulkin & Team

Ron Shulkin (and his team) (RS) is a unique research and strategic consulting organization that helps organizations with new product or services to prepare to launch their offerings and grow value. RS offers its clients strategic perspective that is unparalleled in its addressable industries and maintains exceptional relationships with industry executives and business owners. This combination of market intelligence, research and strategic operating experience (as well as the ongoing dialogue among buyers and sellers of emerging businesses) provides an educated outside perspective that we bring to each engagement.

Over the past decade, RS has successfully completed dozens of engagements for a broad, global range of marketers, service providers and technology developers, as well as the private capital firms that invest in these businesses. RS’s clients include GroundBreaker, XXCUSTOMERXX, Interactive Video Technologies, CogniStreamer, DoubleClick, Thought Leaders and others.

In addition to its frequent speaking engagements, RS maintains an active independent research and publishing agenda that complements its engagements and allows its consultants access to senior industry executives across multiple service sectors and vertical markets. Over the past four years, the firm has published more than a dozen major white papers, and has released countless articles and conference presentations for the benefit of all industry constituents. RS-authored articles and white papers have appeared in many leading business publications, including LinkedIn, CustomersFirst, Chicago Incubators, Innovation Excellence, Edge of Innovation, and The Front End of Innovation.

RS’s recent white papers, research reports and book publications include:

Slow Down! Get A Map Before You Drive Down Marketing Tactics Street
What’s Your Breakthrough? The Top 6 Go-To-Market Strategy Best Practices
The Top 5 Social Media Trends for 2015
The Top 10 Moving Parts in This Year’s Digital Marketing Machine
The Top 5 Digital Marketing Trends for 2016
The Top Ten Trends in Digital Marketing Technology for 2017
Top Twenty Digital Marketing Technology Trends for 2017 (The Second Tier)
Top 3 Employee Engagement Best Practices
Top 5 Methods to Get Your App to “Stick”
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RS’s research capabilities are deep, far-reaching and uniquely tuned to the needs of its technology, intellectual property and other startup clients. With a heritage in enterprise solutions sales of emerging digital marketing technology and go-to-market strategy planning, the firm enjoys access to a set of informational resources and relationships that we believe to be unparalleled in the marketing industry. These include:

A powerful network of executives who guide the efforts of companies presenting their various offerings incluiding digital technology, consumer marketing, consumer packaged goods, retailers, marketing automation, finance, real estate and others.
Deep, long-standing relationships with non-governmental organizations, as well as major industry trade associations and their respective research departments. These include Direct Marketing Associations worldwide, the Association of National Advertisers, Canadian Marketing Association, Four A’s, Interactive Advertising Bureau (U.S.) and Internet Advertising Bureau (U.K.), National Association for Printing Leadership, Network Advertising Initiative, Universal Postal Union and multiple local industry associations throughout North America.

Objectives
In an effort to drive business growth, U.S. market expansion and enhance shareholder value, XXCUSTOMERXX is seeking to develop a strategic roadmap that will optimally position both the Company and its products for further U.S. market penetration over the short and long term. Additionally, the Company is seeking to develop a better understanding of how its current product strategy and offerings align with market trends and, given these trends, how their strategy may be refined to better meet client need, influencer requirements and drive growth. To that end, RS has prepared this Go-to-Market Planning and Strategic Roadmap Development Engagement proposal, through which RS will:

Provide a high-level analysis of the Company’s current situation (its “as-is” state), and offer actionable feedback on the Company’s existing strategic position, operational gaps and likely platform for growth
Identify a set of strategic growth opportunities that respond to current client demand dynamics, the changing U.S. competitive landscape and other major trends currently defining audience engagement space as well as the broader XXVERTICALMARKETXX industry
Collaborate with the Company’s management team (and other key stakeholders) on prioritization of those opportunities that are most attractive and actionable given the Company’s current situation; and
With these priority opportunities (as well as management’s broader objectives for the business) as a foundation, develop and articulate a comprehensive growth strategy and full-year roadmap for the Company, inclusive of “buy, build, partner” recommendations for each desired strategic outcome as well as a recommendation for the Company’s future-state positioning.

Scope & Methodology

Phase I: Current Situation Analysis

In line with the key objectives outlined above, RS’s work on this Engagement will be divided
into two consecutive phases: Phase I will focus on assessment of XXCUSTOMERXX’s current business situation, as well as identification of preliminary growth opportunities, while Phase II will include identification, evaluation and prioritization of opportunities—as they relate to both the Company and its products—as pillars of a full-year growth strategy. The Engagement will culminate with the delivery of a Strategic Roadmap Summary Report, which will summarize and document final discussions and strategic recommendations.

Phase I will begin with a high-level assessment of the Company’s current platforms, capabilities, marketplace position and organizational assets. This process shall serve to
both identify immediate items for strategic action and establish a foundation for the more
thorough strategic planning that will follow during the Phase II Strategic Opportunity Development and Go-to-Market Strategy portion of the Engagement.

This approach provides the base scenario to:

Identify strengths within XXCUSTOMERXX’s core business
Capture gaps in the operating model and business that have—or may have—a negative impact on current and future value and ability to expand within the U.S. Market; and
Determine which future strategic growth opportunities should be considered.

In initiating this work, RS will request a set of background materials from the Company—including strategic planning documents, sales presentations and documentation compiled in support of previous strategic assessment initiatives—that will be critical to understanding the current situation of the Company. Following this preliminary data collection RS would plan to meet with senior stakeholders from XXCUSTOMERXX as well as engage in a series of one-on-one meetings with Company leadership to better understand the current corporate, product, services and go-to-market strategy. These meetings will take place over a two-day period at the Company’s XXHQCITYXX headquarters and supplemented by additional telephone interviews, as needed.

As a component of this phase of the Engagement, RS will also request from the Company a list of 10 to 15 current customers to whom RS may refer for assistance in identifying anticipated changes in demand for XXCUSTOMERXX’s products and to assess the Company’s opportunities for growth within the existing client base.

The deliverable from this process will be an MS PowerPoint presentation followed by a
discussion and review of conclusions with Company management.

The Phase I Current Situation Assessment Report will provide:

An assessment of the Company’s prevailing business model, including an analysis of corporate strategy, business strengths, weaknesses and risks, as well as degree of competitive differentiation
Insight on the Company’s current state competitive positioning (as it pertains to breadth of capabilities, technological sophistication and market perception)
A perspective on the Company’s organizational design, including the extent to which its current base of talent, internal operating processes/alignment and supporting platforms appear suited to address the demands of the next phase of growth; and
Preliminary recommendations on those incremental growth initiatives that may be needed to prepare the Company for more transformative growth.

Phase II: Strategic Opportunity Development and Go-to-Market Strategy Phase II of the Engagement will focus on strategic review and development of the Company’s future state positioning. In this phase, RS will leverage our proprietary Opportunity Mapping methodology. This process is designed to support the identification, assessment, prioritization and selection of specific growth opportunities—from a roster of categories that will address the Company’s customers/key audience verticals, core capabilities/solutions, sales process/channels and geographic footprint—that will drive a clear roadmap and future state positioning that is actionable for product and go-to-market planning as well as influencer relations.

Working with Company management, and supplemented by independent research and analysis, RS will fully explore a series of growth opportunities that show a propensity to meet the Company’s objectives. For each potential opportunity RS will:

Assess the relative risk/reward components in relation to the core competencies, competitive intensity and mission of the Company
Map the opportunity along its appropriate radius from the core business to determine distance from the Company’s current core capabilities
Identify the adjacent moves that have the highest probability of achieving long-term profitable growth for the Company
Provide RS’s external opinion on the resources needed by the organization to capitalize on each opportunity
Collaborate with management to rate each opportunity based upon the opportunity’s:
Market size/growth
Revenue opportunity
Profit potential
Fit with current products
Executional risks
Alignment with management objectives
Identify whether individual opportunities may best be pursued through a “buy, build or partner” strategy.

In conducting their analysis, RS’s influencers will utilize all resources necessary to provide a
comprehensive study of the applicable market segments, competitors and marketplace
dynamics. This includes accessing RS’s studies of and collaborations with advertising and
marketing industry leaders, as well as all available external resources, including secondary network materials (e.g. published databases, articles, directories and websites) and primary resources (e.g. phone and in-person interviews with company executives, industry experts and marketers).

At the conclusion of this project, RS will synthesize findings from Phases I and II to produce a Strategic Roadmap Summary Report which will present a three-year roadmap for growth and include a perspective on future state positioning as well as recommendations on those elements (i.e., people, process, platform) required to maximize value in XXCUSTOMERXX’s growth effort. These recommendations will be presented through an organic growth, partnership and potential acquisition framework.

Anticipated Engagement Timeline
It is anticipated that the Engagement will require approximately 8 working weeks to complete. The anticipated Engagement timeline is as follows:

Objectives Week (estimated)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Information request to the Company followed by logistical planning
In-person meetings with Company management
Analysis of Company materials and marketplace research
Client telephone outreach and calls
Delivery of Phase I: Current Situation Analysis
Research and analyze strategic options based upon market demand, current and potential capabilities and the evolving competitive landscape
Deliver Phase II: Strategic Opportunity Development and Go-to-Market Strategy report; lead a collaborative strategy session with Company management to prioritize growth options
Synthesize feedback from strategic workshop into a three-year roadmap for growth; deliver Strategic Roadmap Summary Report

Term & Pricing

The base consulting fee for this Engagement is USD $95,000.00. Payment terms are as follows:

USD $47,500.00, payable on project approval signature

USD $47,500.00, payable net 30 days following initiation of Phase I

Expenses

Indemnification & Other Matters

Other Matters In addition to the above consulting fees, XXCUSTOMERXX agrees to pay all reasonable expenses incurred in the execution of this Engagement, inclusive of research fees, fees to publishers and travel to fulfill our obligation. All international travel will be booked business class. Expenses are due within net 30 days of invoice.

This proposal anticipates a two (2) day visits with the management team in XXHQLOCATIONXX will be required for this Engagement (one visit during Phase I diligence for in-person meetings and interviews and a second visit for the Strategy Workshop, after delivery of the Phase II Strategic Opportunity Development and Go-to-Market Strategy Report.

Actual, documented travel and living expenses incurred by RS in order to execute this Engagement shall be billed to XXCUSTOMERXX and paid by XXCUSTOMERXX as specified above. RS agrees to use XXCUSTOMERXX’s preferred hotels or extended-stay facilities for housing for its personnel while executing the Engagement in the vicinity of XXCUSTOMERXX’s sites and to use XXCUSTOMERXX’s approved travel agencies, where possible, to take advantage of any negotiated discounts on airfare, car rental and hotels. XXCUSTOMERXX will assist RS in taking advantage of such arrangements where they exist. International travel is billed at lowest business class expense assuming adequate provision of notice prior to travel. Travel and living expenses shall be billed to XXCUSTOMERXX at RS’s actual cost, with no mark-up or administrative fee.

All payments (including base consulting fees and expense reimbursements) shall be billed and paid in U.S. dollars.

In the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of services hereunder, neither RS nor any officer, employee, affiliate, director or stockholder of RS shall be subject to any liability to the Company or to any officer, employee, director or stockholder of the Company, for any error, inaccuracy or omission, material or otherwise, which may appear in any report delivered by RS to Company. The preceding sentence shall not apply with respect to any liability arising out of or related to (i) any breach of the Service Agreement by RS (including without limitation any breach of confidentiality obligations); (ii) any indemnification obligation of RS; (iii) any violation of law or obligation that RS has to any third party; (iv) any gross negligence or willful misconduct of RS; and/or (v) any infringement of intellectual property rights by RS.

The Company agrees to indemnify RS and its affiliates, employees, stockholders and representatives (the “RS Party(ies)”) and hold the RS Parties harmless against any and all losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the RS Parties become subject solely based upon third party claims based upon the results Company achieved by following the advice set forth in deliverables provided by RS to Company under this Engagement Proposal. The Company will not be liable, however, to the extent that any loss, claim, damage or liability is found in a final judgment by a court to have resulted from RS’s gross negligence or willful misconduct in performing services hereunder. The Company shall have no indemnification or hold harmless obligation, and no liability for any loss, claim, damage or liabilities, with respect to any Action or liability arising out of or related to (i) any breach of the Service Agreement by RS (including without limitation any breach of confidentiality obligations); (ii) any indemnification obligation of RS; (iii) any violation of law or obligation that RS or any RS Party has to any third party; (iv) any gross negligence or willful misconduct of RS or any RS Party; and/or (v) any infringement of intellectual property rights by RS or any RS Party.

If an action, suit, or proceeding (each an “Action”) is brought against a RS Party pursuant to which indemnification may be sought, the RS Party will promptly notify the Company in writing of the institution of such Action. The Company will be entitled to assume the defense of such Action, including the employment of counsel and the payment of its expenses in connection with such Action. The indemnification and hold harmless obligations are conditioned upon RS providing (i) prompt written notice of any Action; (ii) full information and all reasonable assistance necessary to defend such claim; and (iii) full authority and control of the defense and settlement of any claim.

It is agreed that changes to scope may have an effect on pricing and timing of the Engagement. Changes to scope that are agreed between RS and XXCUSTOMERXX will be made via a mutually acceptable add/change schedule.

RS is utilizing proprietary research and methodologies in the execution of this Engagement, which will remain the property of RS during and following the completion of this Engagement. XXCUSTOMERXX will own reports and other deliverables provided as part of this Engagement, but may not sell, share or repurpose those reports with any third party without the explicit consent of RS.

XXCUSTOMERXX understands and agrees that reasonable access to XXCUSTOMERXX management, staff, internal reports and other documentation will be required to complete this Engagement in professional and timely manner. XXCUSTOMERXX will make available such persons and information as reasonably required to complete the Engagement. RS understands that XXCUSTOMERXX management and staff have ongoing business obligations and will use its best efforts to efficiently use the time and resources of those management stakeholders.

This proposal is valid for 30 days from XXSIGNATUREDATEXX. Receipt of a signed copy of this Engagement Agreement constitutes acceptance of this Agreement.

We are looking forward to working with you on this Engagement. Please give me a call at (847) 612.2139 to discuss next steps.

Agreed and Accepted By For Ron Shulkin:

Ron Shulkin
Managing Director

For XXCUSTOMERXX:

Name:
Title:
Date:

Appendix: Biographies of the Principal Consultants

Bruce Biegel
Senior Managing Director

As Winterberry Group’s senior managing director, Bruce Biegel leads the firm’s consulting practice and establishes its strategic and operational agenda. A seasoned executive with more than 25 years of hands-on experience in building businesses from the ground up, his diverse responsibilities have included strategic and business planning, financing, global multichannel marketing, technology development and support, legal coordination and financial management.

At Winterberry Group, Mr. Biegel has led more than 175 engagements over the past fourteen years, serving a wide range of marketers, agencies, direct and digital marketing service providers and many of the private equity firms who invest in the sector. Among others, these include assignments for Acxiom Corporation, Alterian, arvato Services (Bertelsmann AG), Epsilon, Capital One Financial Corp., Citi, Facebook, Hewlett-Packard Co., IPG, KRG Capital KKR, L’Oréal, Meredith, Mountaingate Capital, Omnicom, Selligent, Time Inc., Time Warner and WPP.

A DMCNY Silver Apple and Mal Dunn Leadership award winner, Mr. Biegel is a frequent, in-demand speaker at major marketing industry conferences and symposia; recent speaking engagements include those of the Direct Marketing Club of New York, D+MA, RampUp, Mirren Agency conferences, the Institute of Direct Marketing (IDM) and The 4As—as well as events tailored to the direct mail, print production and digital media segments of the industry.

In addition to his role at Winterberry Group, Mr. Biegel serves as a senior advisor to its affiliated investment bank, Petsky Prunier LLC. He also serves as a member of the Data +Marketing Association’s (DMA) leadership council, on the board of directors of Throtle Inc., Zipscene and Bond Brand Loyalty and on the advisory boards of 3 additional early stage companies.

Prior to joining Winterberry Group in 2002, Mr. Biegel served as a director and CFO of IMXI, owner of ThinkDirectMarketing, where he was president, chief operating officer and co-founder. Earlier, Mr. Biegel served as a consultant to leading Web services integrator iXL Holdings as part of its iXL Ventures group. From the late 1980s through mid 1990s he served as director and executive vice president, sales and marketing, at VideoFax Systems, a marketing technology company he co-founded that focused on place-based media. He began his career at Kidder Peabody as manager of international telecommunications.

Mr. Biegel received a B.A. in history and international relations from the University of Pennsylvania with corresponding coursework at the Wharton School in management and marketing.

Michael Harrison
Managing Director
With over 15 years of marketing experience, Michael Harrison leads Winterberry Group’s marketer consulting practice. He brings strategic and executive competencies in all aspects of consumer marketing, spanning campaign development, marketing operations, supplier management, database design, data procurement, statistical modeling and quantitative analysis.

With over 15 years of marketing experience, Michael leads Winterberry Group’s marketer consulting practice. He brings strategic and executive competencies in all aspects of consumer marketing, spanning campaign development, marketing operations, supplier management, database design, data procurement, statistical modeling and quantitative analysis.

Prior to joining Winterberry Group, Mr. Harrison served as Chief Strategy Officer at Ansira Engagement Marketing. In his capacity Mr. Harrison led the strategic direction of Ansira and their clients including, but not limited to Domino’s, Panera, Nestle N.A., Ford, Mitsubishi and La-Z-Boy. He was accountable for strategic planning, technology development (data and digital), data analytics, programmatic media and social media.

Prior to Ansira, Mr. Harrison has built data and digital competencies focused on the retail, automotive, and consumer packaged goods at Doner Advertising, EuroRSCG 4D, and Circuit City.

Mr. Harrison has served on university and supplier advisory boards and presented at numerous industry and supplier events. He holds a B.A. in economics from Elon University, and a M.A. in economics from Eastern Michigan University and is an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University.

Samantha Braverman
Director Samantha Braverman is a director at Winterberry Group. Since joining the Firm in 2012 she has contributed to more than a dozen strategic consulting, research and publishing engagements serving the broader data-driven marketing and technology industries.
Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Braverman served as a senior project researcher at Harris Interactive, primarily overseeing the development and publication of The Harris Poll. Previously, Ms. Braverman held positions at Condé Nast, supporting advertising sales and marketing. Ms. Braverman holds a B.A. from Colgate University

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The End of the Middleman: Blockchain, Your Identity, and Smart Contracts

Ron Shulkin

Fractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | Troubleshooter
82 articles
January 10, 2018
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Establishing Your Digital identity
The Problem

Once you register your identity on the blockchain you can re-use that identification for everything. Plus, with blockchain you are able to choose how to identify yourself and who will be informed.

Intellectual Property

Here is a link to Part II, “Blockchain? Here’s Why! (A Glossary)”.

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Blockchain? Here’s Why! (A Glossary)

Ron Shulkin

Fractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | Troubleshooter
82 articles
January 9, 2018
Open Immersive Reader
Basic Blockchain Facts and Glossary
We keep reading about Blockchain, how so many companies are turning to this new technology. Blockchain appears to be poised to revitalize companies and industries.

Blockchain isn’t complicated The following simple overview defines the Key Terms. It is an easy way to understand why it’s creating such a stir.

Why’s It Called Blockchain?
With Blockchain…
Information is stored in blocks.
Blocks are chained together
If someone changes the information you store in Blockchain, everyone will know.

Here’s the payoff:
Unlike a database of centralized transaction and customer information, Blockchain uses a Decentralized Ledger, with information stored in multiple places, all in agreement, making it harder to hack. Hackers can’t get into all those copies of your blockchain ledger transaction. Therefore, your information is safe because it is Immutable (can’t be changed).

Blockchain is Secure and Reliable

These distributed ledgers enforce the Integrity of the transactions; they cannot be Repudiated, as there are ways to verify the supposed sender of one part of the transaction is who they are supposed to be. There is Transparency: It can be Private or Public, with Permission (or not) to look at the transaction details only given to those who are intended to see it. These Blockchain transactions are Auditable and Traceable.

Blockchain is Cheaper
This Decentralized Governance relieves a central authority and uses Consensus to Authenticate and Confirm transaction finality.

This also means any given local Government Can Stay Out of it (unless invited in to look at violations of the law), so these transactions can Cross Borders without the fees banks charge, making Blockchain Less Expensive.

By the way, it’s Fault Tolerant, as the network operates efficiently and quickly, even if some computer servers fail or slow down. And it Performs Efficiently, with these systems purposely designed with fast throughput, availability and scalability.
You can read Part I of this Blockchain series, “Blockchain is definitely going to change your life this year. Whether you understand it or not.” for a quick overview of the Blockchain Revolution phenomenon.

Armed with intellectual curiosity, Ron Shulkin monitors emerging digital technologies. He writes about and shares discoveries, to generate interest and enlighten audiences.

Feel free to reach out and Contact Me: ronshulkin@chicagoincubators.com
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronshulkin/
Follow on Twitter: @ChgoIncubators or @Shulkin
Follow the LinkedIn Chicago Incubators Company Page for Updates
Join the LinkedIn Discussions at the Chicago Incubators Group Page

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Fractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | TroubleshooterFractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | Troubleshooter
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Blockchain isn’t complicated. It’s Decentralized, Immutable, Secure, Reliable,
Cheaper, Private or Public, Auditable, Traceable, Less Expensive, Fault Tolerant, Crosses Borders without cost, cannot be Repudiated, and Performs Efficiently. No wonder it’s sparking a revolution.

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Blockchain is definitely going to change your life this year. Whether you understand it or not.

Ron Shulkin

Fractional CMO | Creative Ideation | B2B Expert | Troubleshooter
82 articles
January 8, 2018
Open Immersive Reader
Blockchain is definitely going to change your life this year. You don’t have to understand it to appreciate the benefits.

There are great reasons this movement is taking place. Blockchain will touch each of us in so many ways. And the transition is happening already.

Blockchain is the future for Banks, Investments, Sales, Marketing, Loyalty Programs, Media, Healthcare, Energy, Real Estate…Even your Identity.

Not only do you not have to learn it, as Marta Piekarska, Director of Ecosystem, Hyperledger, told me…
“If my mother needs to understand what Blockchain is then I failed. I think it’s an amazing technology that should sit as a backend of most systems and not being noticed by anyone. I love evangelizing it but only to people who want to listen.”
Here’s a great chart to help you understand the scope of Blockchain’s impact:

The Blockchain Revolution
There is something brewing out there with Blockchain. And those getting involved can sense it is something BIG. In Chicago alone, hundreds show up multiple times per week at Meet-Ups to share knowledge and collaborate on the topic. Some say the advent of blockchain on the scene in 2018 has a similar significance to the early days of the internet or social media.
Blockchain Is Well Suited for Progressive Thinkers
When I go to Blockchain meetups and talk to Blockchain enthusiasts, no matter how many times I ask how they plan to monetize this phenomenon, I only hear how…
Blockchain brings democracy, creates equality and gives access to wealth creation to everyone.
The same faces repeatedly show up at meetups when Blockchain is up for discussion. One charismatic person I met is Disruption Joe (Joe Hernandez). He filled a hotel ballroom with folks there to hear him speak. This is from his web site:
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT BLOCKCHAIN…
My goal is to help us move from the economic paradigm of competition to collaboration. We have the greatest incentive mechanism ever created in our hands and we will shape how it is used.
I believe it is in the interest of all mankind to help our neighbors. Without jealousy, but with desire. Without greed, but with competition. Without fear, but with enthusiasm. If this belief holds true, then every individual’s motive whether self-interest or benevolence, is logically aligned to the same goal.
When the individual succeeds, so does the whole. We function together as a society. Throughout the history of the world people have been driven to fear the others. To say “us” versus “them” rather than realizing we are all part of one connected society. The growing inequality of wealth in the face of poverty, homelessness, and war, tells me we could be better to one another. The class based systems of yesterday are no longer needed. Software, cryptography, and game-theoretic incentive structures allow us the promise of a better future.
The Promise of Blockchain is Rules Without Rulers.
This needs to change. We all have a choice.
“Us” versus “Them” or WE
Divided we are conquered. Together we rise.
A Blog in Six Parts
I’m publishing this in multiple parts. Each one is only a page or two long, lots of pictures. This should make for easy reading.
In the next installment, you’ll be thrilled Blockchain is happening, making your information secure and free from government interference.
In another segment, I’ll let you how Blockchain will help you define your identity, give access to wealth creation to the poor, get rid of middlemen, and makes Fair Trade coffee really fair. This is also a review of Smart Contracts.
Although it seems some governments are running scared of blockchain, I have a post to show how progressive governments are piloting applications for property records and even voting in elections.
I’ll review all the commercial applications for Blockchain, with many businesses being reinvigorated by adopting.
The last entry closes with all the Blockchain uses in Financial Services.
To give you another insight into how many people think Blockchain spells opportunity, take a look at this long list of technology companies jumping into the fray.

Armed with intellectual curiosity, Ron Shulkin monitors emerging digital technologies. He writes about and shares discoveries, to generate interest and enlighten audiences.

Feel free to reach out and Contact Me: ronshulkin@chicagoincubators.com
Follow us on Twitter: @ChgoIncubators
Follow the LinkedIn Chicago Incubators Company Page for Updates
Join the LinkedIn Discussions at the Chicago Incubators Group Page

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Ron ShulkinRon Shulkin
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Blockchain is the future for Banks, Investments, Sales, Marketing, Loyalty Programs, Media, Healthcare, Energy, Real Estate…Even your Identity.
Blockchain brings democracy, creates equality and gives access to wealth creation to everyone.

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Anurag Pandey out of network3rd+Investment Specialist with JP Morgan Asset Management

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in your section about the next blogs, please put up the links for navigation to them. thanks
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BNC Venture Forum

Savvy marketers are making certain they’re allocating budget for a number of maturing marketing trends and new channels for 2019. If you want your brand to compete effectively, you need to be diving into the thinking discussed in this trend report (Part II of this report, out later this week, will cover a variety of other topics listed below).

The Consumer Digital Experience
Integrated Marketing Communications
Omni-Channel Marketing has always been the holy grail for marketers. Integrated digital marketing strategies across multiple channels, that are seamless, integrated, and consistent are now table stakes for brands. Consumer audiences expect it.
The new generations use various devices at any given moment and they research products and services online extensively before they buy.
They often demand, personalized experiences that flow seamlessly from channel to channel.
Omni Channel Marketing or “integrated marketing communications” (IMC)
is a strategic approach delivering a consistent message (and brand image) to consumers (your buyers) via every channel including ones you’ve thought of like advertising, direct marketing, public relations, sales promotion, digital marketing, content marketing, plus a unified front on all social media.
It also means you need to conduct brand outreach on new channels you probably haven’t been considering but should. Read my upcoming trend report to learn more about Voice Search, Chatbots, and more.

Personalization
The future of marketing is real-time, behavior-based personalization. (I said that three years ago, I was just testing you. It is more important than ever in 2019).
What makes it more relevant in 2019 is that machine learning and artificial intelligence are at the center of deep personalization.
They assess purchase history, consumer behavior and links clicked enabling hyper-personalization including personalized content, banner, carousels, order, artwork, text, search, products, landing pages, emails, and unique journeys.

Email marketing and marketing automation
Email Is Getting More Personalized
Email is here to stay, it’s evolving and email marketing itself continues to be important.
Email continues to be a major channel of communication, with billions use email for personal, commercial, industrial, legal, scientific, and academic purposes.
Generic marketing emails aren’t as effective as they once were. It is now a combination of automation and, more importantly, personalization that makes email marketing important for 2019. Email is often the final “trigger” to motivate an action, especially when combined with your remarketing techniques.

Audiences
It’s not the same list of target markets. Baby boomers are still a big market, and they seemingly have lots of time to shop, seeing as they are straddling retirement age. However, many are taking the pivot and initiating their second careers. Lots of brands are targeting these folks including investment advisory and travel.
There are also new buyers who are grown up enough to make their own buying decisions in 2019.
The latest generation is formed of those born anywhere from the mid-90’s to the mid-2000’s so the oldest in their early 20s while the youngest are just barely teenagers right now. They have credit cards and you should be reaching out to them with messages that resonate with their outlook and through the channels they use to communicate.
Of course, a marketer’s bigger focus should be on the older of the Generation Z who are gaining in size and representing more buying power
Gen Z account for approximately $29 – $143 billion in direct spending, and they are well on their way to becoming the biggest generation of consumers by 2020, which is right around the corner.
Born with access to incredible technology, they grew up using social media, smartphones, online shopping and all kinds of other technologies daily.
They also care a lot about worldwide issues and their own impact on the world, particularly when it comes to environmental issues. So your outreach will do better with a benevolent spin, and not too mercenary.
Oddly, Generation Z prefers brick-and-mortar stores to online shopping (57% said they prefer online shopping).
The number one way you’re going to reach GenZ — and many other markets — is through your social media marketing plan.
This year more than ever you must aggressively market on all your social accounts including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Social media
Social Media Integrated Into Other Services
Social media companies continue to integrate their services into third-party applications.
Facebook and LinkedIn allow users to sign up for third-party services with their accounts and share data with third-party services.
Social media apps will start to share more user data with their audiences and create a more seamless experience across third-party apps.
Integration helps social media companies gain more info about users and provide better services for smaller websites and apps.

The Rise of The Social CEO
Today top executives need to be social. It boosts the company’s reputation, helps build trust with users, makes the company more appealing to job applicants.
In 2016 only 40% of CEOs were active on social media (OkToPost).
Of those users, 70% only used LinkedIn.
More than a half of B2B prospects say that social media has a strong influence when it comes to their purchases.
66 percent of the Top B2B marketers think of LinkedIn as incredibly important
Social media is effective because B2B buyers and researchers are on these platforms constantly. Seeing you and your brand each day in the form of a “friend” or trusted connection builds a relationship over time.
LinkedIn particularly with its skyrocketing video usage—helps you position your business as one that provides consistent value.
BTW, All social media networks are offering increasing options for Live Video.

There are 3.196 billion global social media users, which equates to 42% market penetration (We are Social).
As social media has become embedded in almost everyone’s daily life, understanding the changes implemented in social networks is essential for businesses. And these change a lot. The most popular social trends right now are video, automation, and influencers, but there is much more. If you want to learn more about the hottest social media trends, click here.
What you should remember above all is that dominating a single platform is not enough anymore. Your leads on Facebook are not on YouTube, and those on YouTube are different to those reading your website content. As
Facebook –
The 55+ age group is the biggest group still on Facebook, the only market hanging in there. Think baby boomers.
Usage is either static or declining in all the other age groups.
Still, Facebook ad spend grew 40 percent year over year.
There are 2 billion active monthly users on Facebook
1.3 billion people use Messenger every month; 8 billion messages exchanged between people and businesses every month (Think customer service)
78% of people with smartphones using messaging every month.
Facebook May Be Peaking
The good news is that Facebook is still currently the #1 social media platform in the United States, with an impressive 41% of its users being over the age of 65.
For marketing that targets a senior demographic, there simply isn’t a better platform.
On the other hand, Facebook had a difficult 2018, with a data breach that affected 14 million users, gaining a reputation for being the platform of data sharing ignorance (or outright abuse).

Instagram
Still growing with increases in every age demographic.
Instagram boasts around 1 billion monthly users.
The biggest groups are the 25 to 34 age group followed by 18 to 24.
Ad spend on Instagram jumped 177%
Snapchat
The 25 to 34 age group is growing
There are also increases in users in older age groups.
LinkedIn
Going strong, mostly for B2B.
LinkedIn revenue increased 37%
LinkedIn sessions growth of 41% by 562 million users logging in from more than 200 countries.
Twitter
Daily active user growth of 11% and a revenue increase of 24% YoY

Social Media Stories
Social media stories are growing to promote engagement and brand awareness,
Along with Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, and even YouTube now has introduced the stories feature. Snapchat was first introducing “My Story,”
Then Instagram and Facebook offered stories
Now YouTube has unveiled their own story format, “Reels.”
Since stories disappear after a set period of time, this is a great opportunity for marketers to make good use of FOMO (fear of missing out).
Although you need 10000 subscribers on your YouTube channel to use the new feature, for now, the earlier you start using stories to promote your content, the easier it would be for you to build your audience base.

Social Messaging Apps
1.3 billion monthly users are active on Facebook Messenger
2 billion messages are sent between people and businesses on Facebook Messenger every month
WhatsApp has 1.3 billion monthly active users
55 billion messages are sent via WhatsApp every day
WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat have more combined users than Facebook or YouTube

Messenger Ads
The number of messenger app users surpassed social media users, invest your ad spend in Facebook Messenger ads.
Native Content
If you have a video marketing plan in place, it’s not enough to focus exclusively on YouTube. Upload your videos on Facebook and LinkedIn as well; the news feed algorithms will work in the favor of native content.

Content
Content marketing
Content Clusters for improving SEO
Search engines now show preference to clusters of content around particular topics.
Marketers have begun linking content to form clusters around pillars (topics) relating to their category.
Authenticity/Transparency
The great majority of consumers (86 percent) states that authenticity is an important factor when deciding what brands to support (Stackla Report)
This is higher among millennials.
Authentic content, generated voluntarily by fellow customers, catches our eyes easily.
Brands are admitting where there are faults or areas the product/brand doesn’t cover, as well as addressing negative feedback directly.
They are also encouraging open two-way communication channels with their consumers to help form better relationships and build trust.
Helpfulness and authenticity will combat relationships lost through the impersonal nature of tech and automation.

Good Content
Now more than ever content needs to be thoughtfully targeted to a specific audience. It’s part of the Personalization topic.
Improved measurement of content marketing effectiveness allows marketers to consider every outreach a test…and enables course correction.
Creativity sets marketers apart
The best content outreach is uncommon, resonates with audiences, are part of integrated campaigns and use creative distribution tactics
“Marketing Is No Longer About The Stuff That You Make, But About The Stories You Tell – Seth Godin”
Users Demand More Immersive Storytelling
Not just being told a story, but where the consumer is the hero of the interactive experience. See this prediction from September 2016.
Art of Story Telling on Social Media
User-Centric Online Interactions:
Video
I say every year is “the year of video”. I’ve been right. Every year it gets more important. Every brand should be using video to tell their story, in a variety of lengths. It used to be a 3 minute threshold of attention span, but now “snackable” videos of 10 seconds are being deployed.
Video is the consumers’ preferred content format. All social media networks are offering increasing options for Live Video.
Plus, Google give priority to video content
YouTube is also the second largest search engine
User Generated Content
People are putting more trust in others they know and reputable content, not ads.
Consumers respect their family, friends, and peers for recommendations, positive reviews, and even stories. Marketers who figure out how to have consumers generating content are winners. Make it easier for customers to leave reviews. Influencer Marketing
Social media influencers are having more and more influence. Many of which having more followers than small nations.
The winners at digital marketing make an effort to motivate customers to share experiences with their brands.
Consumers are three times more likely to say that content created by a consumer is authentic compared to content created by a brand.
Advertisements on Search Engines and on Social Newsfeeds
Ads are near the bottom of list of trusted sources of information before a purchase
30 percent of all internet users are expected to be using ad blockers by the end of 2019 so traditional ads now won’t even reach 30 percent of possible target audience members.
There’s a place for some ads, but they have to be more relevant and valuable to the consumer. This is why we see more marketing budget money going to content marketing, influencer marketing, referral partnerships, and other methods that are designed to deliver actual value to audiences. This shift isn’t going to stop until ads start being more valuable for the consumer.

Video
Marketers should consider adding video for their 2019 social media strategy.
Video is today’s consumer’s preferred content format.
More than half of all Americans are watching videos
Video has inherent SEO benefits (Google gives priority to video content)
YouTube is also the second largest search engine.
73% of all Americans engage with YouTube
70% of consumers say that they have shared a brand’s video.
72% of businesses say video has improved their conversion rate.
52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them more confident in online purchase decisions.
65% of executives visit the marketer’s website
39% call a vendor after viewing a video.
Video can bolster a blog post or start a live broadcast on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.
A large number of businesses use Live video for interviews, product demos and “behind the scenes” glimpses of events, life in the office, or how products are made
Personalized video messages rather than phone calls or emails, are called the 1:1 video approach.
360-degree video content, which allows for a more interactive experience, is on the rise
Live Video Will Keep Growing
Live video growth is partly due to the massive spike in streaming services, like “Twitch”
67% of live viewers say they are more likely to purchase a concert ticket to see a band or attend an event if they’ve seen a live stream of a similar event online.
45% of live audiences would pay to see a favorite athlete, team, or performer on an online stream.
Studies expect video to account for a whopping 85% of total internet traffic by 2019.
54% of internet users already watch video on a social media platform monthly, and that number will only grow over the coming years.
65% of ad impressions on Instagram were the result of video content
“Snack Ads”
89% of the audience are engaged during ads below 10 seconds.
When video is shown for 60 seconds, almost half of the audience loses interest.

Micro-Moments
Micro-moments are taking over the consumer journey
People spend an average of 3 hours and 35 minutes on their smartphones every day, and by 2019, mobile devices will be the medium that gets the most minutes in the U.S. (finally surpassing television).
Micro-Moments deliver your marketing message clearly and concisely in a way that is of interest to the consumers – all within a span of seconds
The micro-moment is a new type of consumer behavior, which occurs when people reflexively turn to a device, usually a smartphone, to act on a need to learn something, do something, get to know something or buy something. There are a lot of different types of micro-moments such as I-want-to-know moment, I-want-to-go-moment, I-want-to-do moment or I-want-to-buy moment.

Today’s consumers are bombarded by content, ads, offers, emails, push notifications and everything else.
Users experience “micro-moments” on average 150 times a day.
Why are micro-moments so important? Because people, in general, make instant decisions on what to buy, where to go or which restaurant to eat at, which gives you a span of only seconds to catch their attention. Micro-moments work, because they provide consumers with the right information exactly when they need it.

The Consumer’s Digital Experience
Integrated Marketing Communications
Omni-Channel Marketing has always been the holy grail for marketers. Integrated digital marketing strategies across multiple channels, that are seamless, integrated, and consistent are now table stakes for brands. Consumer audiences expect it.
The new generations use various devices at any given moment, they research products and services online extensively before they buy, and they often demand, personalized experiences that flow seamlessly from channel to channel.
Omni Channel Marketing or “integrated marketing communications” (IMC)
is a strategic approach delivering a consistent message (and brand image) to consumers via every channel including ones you’ve thought of like advertising, direct marketing, public relations, sales promotion, digital marketing, content marketing, and a unified front on all social media. Plus channels you probably haven’t been considering but should. Read my upcoming part II to this trend report to learn more about Voice Search, Chatbots, and more.

Personalization
The future of marketing is real-time, behavior-based personalization. (I said that three years ago, I was just testing you. It is more important than ever in 2019).
Machine learning and artificial intelligence are at the center of deep personalization. They assess purchase history, consumer behavior and links clicked enabling hyper-personalization including personalized content, banner, carousels, order, artwork, text, search, products, emails, and unique journeys.

Audiences
It’s not the same list of target markets. Baby boomers are still a big market, and they seemingly have lots of time to shop, seeing as they are straddling retirement age. However, many are taking the pivot and initiating their second careers.
There are new buyers who are grown up enough to make their own buying decisions in 2019.
The latest generation is formed of those born anywhere from the mid-90’s to the mid-2000’s so the oldest in their early 20s while the youngest are just barely teenagers right now. They have credit cards and you should be reaching out to them with messages that resonate with them and through the channels they use to communicate.
Of course, the bigger focus should be on the older of the Generation Z who are gaining more and more buying power
Gen Z account for approximately $29 – $143 billion in direct spending, and they are well on their way to becoming the biggest generation of consumers by 2020, which is right around the corner.
Born with access to incredible technology, they grew up using social media, smartphones, online shopping and all kinds of other technologies on a daily basis. They also care a lot about worldwide issues and their own impact on the world, particularly when it comes to environmental issues.
Generation Z prefers brick-and-mortar stores to online shopping (57% said they prefer online shopping).
The number one way you’re going to reach Genz — and many others — is through your social media marketing plan. You must aggressively market on all your social accounts including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
(One study noted Generation Z actually prefers brick-and-mortar stores to online shopping (57% said they prefer online shopping))

Social media
Social Media Integrated Into Other Services
Social media companies continue to integrate their services into third-party applications.
Facebook and LinkedIn allow users to sign up for third-party services with their accounts and share data with third-party services.
Social media apps will start to share more user data with their audiences and create a more seamless experience across third-party apps.
Integration helps social media companies gain more info about users, and provide better services for smaller websites and apps.

There are 3.196 billion global social media users, which equates to 42% market penetration (We are Social).
As social media has become embedded in almost everyone’s daily life, understanding the changes implemented in social networks is essential for businesses. And these change a lot. The most popular social trends right now are video, automation, and influencers, but there is much more. If you want to learn more about the hottest social media trends, click here.
What you should remember above all is that dominating a single platform is not enough anymore. Your leads on Facebook are not on YouTube, and those on YouTube are different to those reading your website content. As such, the key to your success is to repurpose your content across multiple (relevant) platforms.
Facebook May Be Peaking
The good news is that Facebook is still currently the #1 social media platform in the United States, with an impressive 41% of its users being over the age of 65. So for marketing that targets a senior demographic, there simply isn’t a better platform. On the other hand, Facebook had a difficult 2018, with a data breach that affected 14 million users, gaining a reputation for being the platform of

Facebook –
The 55+ age group is the biggest group still on Facebook, the only market hanging in there. Think baby boomers.
Usage is either static or declining in all the other age groups.
Still, Facebook ad spend grew 40 percent year over year.
There are 2 billion active monthly users on Facebook
1.3 billion people use Messenger every month; 8 billion messages exchanged between people and businesses every month (Think customer service)
78% of people with smartphones using messaging every month.
Instagram
Still growing with increases in every age demographic.
Instagram boasts around 1 billion monthly users.
The biggest groups are the 25 to 34 age group followed by 18 to 24.
Ad spend on Instagram jumped 177%
Snapchat
The 25 to 34 age group is growing
There are also increases in users in older age groups.
LinkedIn
Going strong, mostly for B2B.
LinkedIn revenue increased 37%
LinkedIn sessions growth of 41% by 562 million users logging in from more than 200 countries.
Twitter
Daily active user growth of 11% and a revenue increase of 24% YoY

Social Media Stories are growing to promote engagement and brand awareness,
Snapchat was first introducing “My Story,”
Then Instagram and Facebook offered stories
Now YouTube has unveiled their own story format, “Reels.”
Since stories disappear after a set period of time, this is a great opportunity for marketers to make good use of FOMO (fear of missing out).

Messenger Ads: The number of messenger app users surpassed social media users, invest your ad spend in Facebook Messenger ads.
Native Content: If you have a video marketing plan in place, it’s not enough to focus exclusively on YouTube. Upload your videos on Facebook and LinkedIn as well; the news feed algorithms will work in the favor of native content.
Stories: Along with Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, and even YouTube now has introduced the stories feature. Although you need 10000 subscribers on your YouTube channel to use the new feature, for now, the earlier you start using stories to promote your content, the easier it would be for you to build your audience base.

Speed
Consumers have high expectations. And so does Google. A fast response is now table stakes. Google’s Speed Update penalizes slower sites.

Channels
Search
SEM/SEO/Targeting
Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and retargeting are still crucial to optimize a brand’s marketing outcomes. Higher SEO rankings almost always end up in more traffic and more customer engagement.

Search algorithms are always changing, so marketers need to constantly monitor and apply course corrections.
Voice search
Think The four smart assistants – Siri, Cortana, Alexa, and Google Now.
The Verge reports 39 million Americans uses smart speakers.
Gartner predicts 30 per cent of all web browsing will be done via voice-activated searches by 2020.
Campaign Live predicts 50% of all searches will be voice searches. 20% of mobile queries; 25% of all Bing searches.
65% of smart speaker owners say they wouldn’t want to go back.
By the end of the year, voice search will account for half of all search queries.
Almost one third of the 3.5 billion searches performed on Google every day are voice searches (TheeDesign)
The use of AI keeps improving voice search results, making it more reliable and therefore more frequently used.
Voice Optimized Content makes machine interaction more conversational and natural. Voice is easy, novel and fun. Optimized voice search is more likely to attract an audience.
When you ask Siri a question, it will give you just a few results. Many times, only one. So tailoring your SEO strategy for voice search is
ComScore estimates, that by 2020, half of all search queries will be voice-based
More online publications embrace voice and publish audio content to these devices. They hope to be selected for the “Flash Briefing”, encouraging their followers to follow daily. Publications need to monetize content. Amazon, Google, and Apple may very well launch their own advertising platforms for this, making it easier for companies to buy and sell ad space. Think Adwords but for your Google Home.

Visual Search
Pinterest has Lens, a new visual search tool that allows users to take a photo of an item to find out where to buy it online, search for similar products, or view pinboards of related items.
CamFind is a visual search mobile app, which enables users to search for anything from their mobile phones simply by snapping a picture and this app will tell you what it is
Google Lens is a visual search engine
If you take a photo of a:
Business card: You can save the phone number or address to a contact.
Book: You can get reviews and other details about it.
Landmark or building: You can get more details about it.
Painting in a museum: You can get details about it.

Internet
Internet Catches Up To Television
People will spend 2.6 hours a day online and 2.7 hours a day watching the tube in 2019.
45 minutes of an average person’s internet time will be spent watching mobile video.
Brands will spend less money on television ads and more money on web video, social media, and web ads in 2019.
More Than Half of World Online
This equates to 4 billion internet users
Seven out of the top 10 markets expected to post the highest percentage growth in internet users in 2019 are in Africa.
105 million – Number of combined internet users coming online in India and China
The billion-people markets of China and India are forecasted to add the highest number of internet users. More than 100 million will come online from those two countries in 2019.
This is driven via the prevalence of cheap mobile handsets and more affordable mobile network infrastructure.
China and India will add more internet users over the next three years than what exists in the US today – the third-largest internet base.

Mobiles
Mobile Marketing
More than 1.2 billion people worldwide use mobile
Users spend an average of 2.8 hours on mobile daily compared to 2.4 hours on desktop
By 2019 79% of US advertising spend will be on mobile advertising
80% of social media time is spent on mobile
88% of users who search for a local business on mobile visit it within 24 hours
89% of mobile usage is spent on apps

Influencer Marketing
Social media influencers are having more and more influence. Many of which having more followers than small nations.

Digital Marketing Agencies Transform
“Consultancy” and “agency” capabilities are converging, driven by a need to build out deep expertise in AI, data integration, customer experience analytics, mobile apps, and custom solution development.
MarTech + AdTech = The Holy Grail of Marketing – Although extensively debated, 2019 will at last be the year marketers lean more into the benefits of programmatic ad spending. By achieving better data connectivity between their martech and adtech stacks they will have real-time understanding of customers and ad spend optimization using AI.

Chatbot technology is booming. Gartner says 25% of customer service will use it by 2020 (less than 2% in 2017 last year). With 1.4 billion people interacting with chatbots, 80% of savvy businesses are already using or plan to use chatbots by 2020. And by 2022, chatbots will help businesses save over $8 billion per annum, especially in the banking and healthcare industries. chatbots as they are responsive, give answers promptly, accurately recall your entire buying history, and never lose patience. Facebook Messenger has a Click Through Rate (CTR) of 80%. There are a lot of free Chatbot options (i.e. Snatchbot). huge steps continue to be made in the way of natural language processing and sentiment analytics—so many, in fact, that some believe NLP will shake up the entire service industry in ways we’ve never imagined.

Programmatic Advertising
Using AI to automate ad buying enables marketers to target more specific audiences. Bidding is more efficient and faster, which means higher conversions and lower customer acquisition costs. 90% of digital display ads in the U.S. will be programmatic by 2020.

Mixed Reality is just experiential or event marketing using the latest technology to heighten the experience.
more than 150 million users of virtual reality. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR): the virtual reality market is expected to reach $26.8 billion in the next 4 years (Zion Research).

Email marketing and marketing automation
Email Is Getting More Personalized
email is here to stay, it’s evolving and email marketing itself continues to be important.
Email continues to be a major channel of communication, with billions use email for personal, commercial, industrial, legal, scientific, and academic purposes.
Generic marketing emails aren’t as effective as they once were. It is now a combination of automation and, more importantly, personalization that makes email marketing important for 2019. Email is often the final “trigger” to motivate an action, especially when combined with your remarketing techniques.

Research
Understanding how your customers communicate is vital
We live in a world where smartwatches and smart speakers are the norm.
Customers expect companies to communicate with them the way they like. That’s why it’s so important for marketers to be aware of their customers’ communication preferences.
You can’t personalize if you don’t know who your customer is, what they like to buy, when they buy, etc. Technology has evolved tremendously over the last several years.
Analytics and reporting
Growth of “marketing data” roles continue as they drive human and technology connections across their organization. This enables artificial intelligence and machine learning-based marketing tools to analyze data and customer behavior, make recommendations and predictions, and become smarter based on the data fed into them.
Big Data
if you can understand how to gather and investigate Big Data, you will be able to understand your leads and customers in a better way; hence, improving the marketing efforts.
With the help of Big Data technologies, it has become easy to procure an incredible amount of data from online purchases, social media, app downloads, and more. And, availing the advantage of such data, marketers now make well forecasts about customer behavior, allowing them to create even customized content.
Also, the technology of Big Data is going to help marketers target only such customers who are genuinely interested in their products and services; thus, lessening the amount of money spent on advertising.
GDPR Forces Brand Hands:
about 1/3 of companies were still not compliant with the Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR),
about 1,000 U.S. newssites still aren’t available in Europe,
GDPR is the start of a more global trend that will hold companies accountable for how they treat privacy and personal data.
serve as a warning to companies to figure out better ways to genuinely build relationships with their audience as opposed to the often clear misuse and abuse of personal data in the name of marketing and selling.

Artificial Intelligence
AI is going to be used to analyze search patterns and behavior of customers.
By striking a conversation with users, AI is even going to make customer support experience easier on both the ends.
59% – Professionals expect artificial intelligence will improve consumer engagements
Almost 60% of the 602 industry professionals Euromonitor International surveyed in September ranked the impact of artificial intelligence ahead of other technologies like the Internet of Things, robots/automation and the cloud. In the next 12 months,

Here are the main ways that AI can help salespeople be more productive:
The ability to analyze huge amounts of data in a very short time will help you personalize your sales strategy
Get recommendations based on massive amounts of data, thus saving time with following up and reaching out to the right people
What will your next quarter look like based on your past work? What can you do to improve the results of your next quarter?

by 2020, more than half of the customer interactions will be handled by artificial intelligence, which is going to facilitate the work of humans.
AI technology gives marketers a chance to finally be able to deliver on the promise of “right user, right message, right time, right place.” Not only by anticipating who might engage with an ad, but also by being able to quickly pass on a bid opportunity in their media-buying system.

AR & VR –
: to be engaged and to be an active participant in the brand’s messaging.
The VR and AR market is supposed to be worth 27 billion dollars. It is expected that in only four years, it will reach the size of 209.2billion dollars (Statista).
AR Yes, VR (Still) No

Data to Analytics to Machine Learning to AI:
Data is key to companies being able to make good decisions about products, services, employees, strategy and more.
Think about this: We created 90% of the world’s data in the past year, and we are only using 1% of the data effectively.

Content
Content marketing
Content Clusters for improving SEO
Search engines now show preference to clusters of content around particular topics.
Marketers have begun linking content to form clusters around pillars (topics) relating to their category.
Authenticity Transparency:
The great majority of consumers (86 percent) states that authenticity is an important factor when deciding what brands to support (Stackla Report).
higher among millennials.
authentic content, generated voluntarily by fellow customers,, catches our eyes easily.
Brands are admitting where there are faults or areas the product/brand doesn’t cover, as well as addressing negative feedback directly.
They are also encouraging open two-way communication channels with their consumers to help form better relationships and build trust.
Helpfulness and authenticity will combat relationships lost through tech and automation.

Ads are near the bottom of list of trusted sources of information before a purchase.
30 percent of all internet users are expected to be using ad blockers by the end of 2019 so traditional ads now won’t even reach 30 percent of possible target audience members.
There’s a place for some ads, but they have to be more relevant and valuable to the consumer. This is why we see more money going to content marketing, influencer marketing, referral partnerships, and other methods that are designed to deliver actual value to audiences. This shift isn’t going to stop until ads start being more valuable for the consumer.

Video: has inherent SEO benefits and Google gives priority to video content. YouTube is also the second largest search engine. Video is the preferred content format.
70% of consumers say that they have shared a brand’s video.
72% of businesses say video has improved their conversion rate.
52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them more confident in online purchase decisions.
65% of executives visit the marketer’s website
39% call a vendor after viewing a video.
Video can fuel a post or start a live broadcast on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.
A large number of businesses usie Live video for interviews, product demos and “behind the scenes” glimpses of events, life in the office, how products are made, etc.
Personalized video messages rather than phone calls or emails, are called the 1:1 video approach.
360-degree video content, which allows for a more interactive experience, is on the rise
Live Video Will Keep Growing
67% of live viewers say they are more likely to purchase a concert ticket to see a band or attend an event if they’ve seen a live stream of a similar event online.
45% of live audiences would pay to see a favorite athlete, team, or performer on an online stream.
Studies expect video to account for awhopping 85% of total internet traffic by 2019.
54% of internet users already watch video on a social media platform monthly, and that number will only grow over the coming years.
65% of ad impressions on Instagram were the result of video content
Marketers should consider adding video for their 2019 social media strategy.
“Snack Ads”:
89% of the audience are engaged during ads below 10 seconds.
When video is shown for 60 seconds, almost half of the audience loses interest.

73% of all Americans engage with YouTube.
More than half of all Americans are watching videos

Live Video Is a Separate Yet Important Thing
Live video is partly due to the massive spike in streaming services, like “Twitch,”

Micro-Moments
People spend an average of 3 hours and 35 minutes on their smartphones every day, and by 2019, mobile devices will be the medium that gets the most minutes in the U.S. (finally surpassing television).
Micro-Moments is a “new consumer behavior,” as termed by Google, that delivers your marketing message clearly and concisely in a way that is of interest to the consumers – all within a span of seconds
Micro-Moments Are Taking Over A Consumer Journey
Today’s consumers are bombarded by content, ads, offers, emails, push notifications and everything else.
users experience “micro-moments” on average 150 times a day.
The micro-moment is a new type of consumer behavior, which occurs when people reflexively turn to a device, usually a smartphone, to act on a need to learn something, do something, get to know something or buy something. There are a lot of different types of micro-moments such as I-want-to-know moment, I-want-to-go-moment, I-want-to-do moment or I-want-to-buy moment. According to Google’s content marketing team, Think with Google,
Why are micro-moments so important? Because people, in general, make instant decisions on what to buy, where to go or which restaurant to eat at, which gives you a span of only seconds to catch their attention. Micro-moments work, because they provide consumers with the right information exactly when they need it.

Video on Demand
Today, billions of videos are being watched every day.

Audiences

Efficiency and Cost Savings: As per a McKinsey report, AI could turbocharge business productivity by up to 40%, equating to an annual value of a staggering $5.8 trillion. That’s not just a substantial number; it’s a testament to resource optimization.
Enhanced Decision-Making: AI-enabled decision-making tools have demonstrated an average performance surge of 15% over their traditional counterparts. The numbers speak louder than words when establishing the effectiveness of AI.
Superior Customer Experience: AI personalization can orchestrate bespoke customer experiences, bolstering customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Risk Management and Competitive Edge: Refined AI solutions fortify risk management and carve out a competitive advantage.
Innovation and Data-Driven Insights: AI fuels innovation, offering invaluable insights that foster prudent decision-making.
Navigating Data Security and Privacy in ChatGPT: Maximizing Benefits While Minimizing Risks
Introduction Concerns about data security and p
n this recent interview, summarized here, our AI expert provided valuable insights on the future of AI in small and large businesses, highlighting the opportunities, challenges, and key considerations for each.
Key Outcomes and Concepts
Opportunities and Challenges: Both small and large businesses can benefit from AI by streamlining processes, automating tasks, and enhancing decision-making. However, they must also navigate potential risks such as data security, ethical concerns, and workforce displacement.
Best Practices for Ethical AI Usage: Businesses should establish clear ethical guidelines, involve diverse perspectives, conduct AI impact assessments, ensure data privacy and security, strive for transparency and explainability, and continuously monitor and evaluate their AI systems.
Workforce Preparation and AI Adoption: To prepare the workforce for the future and minimize negative employment impacts, businesses should emphasize lifelong learning and upskilling, focus on human-AI collaboration, invest in reskilling, promote a culture of innovation, and adopt forward-looking HR strategies.
AI Applications for Small Businesses: Small businesses can leverage AI tools such as CRM systems, chatbots, marketing automation, social media management, and financial management to compete with larger organizations. They can overcome resource limitations by focusing on clear objectives, leveraging pre-built AI tools, seeking external expertise, investing in employee training, and monitoring success.
Responsible AI Usage and Transparency in Large Businesses: Large businesses can create a competitive advantage with AI while fostering responsible usage and transparency by developing a clear AI strategy, establishing AI governance and ethical guidelines, investing in AI talent and training, encouraging cross-functional collaboration, leveraging explainable AI, implementing ongoing monitoring and evaluation, engaging with stakeholders, and contributing to AI research and policy development.
Conclusions
The future of AI in small and large businesses presents both opportunities and challenges. By implementing best practices for ethical AI usage, preparing the workforce for AI adoption, and leveraging appropriate AI tools, businesses can harness the potential of AI while navigating its risks. Open communication, collaboration, and transparency will be key to building trust and driving success in the age of AI.

Here are the top 10 AI applications that small businesses can use to help them compete better:
Personalized marketing: AI can be used to create personalized marketing campaigns that target specific customers with relevant content. This can help businesses increase brand awareness, generate leads, and drive sales. Some easy-to-use AI tools for personalized marketing include:
ChatGPT: This AI tool can be used to create chatbots that can interact with customers in a personalized way.
DALL·E 2: This AI tool can be used to create custom images that are relevant to your brand or product.
Bricabrac: This AI tool can be used to find and curate relevant content from across the web.
Customer service: AI can be used to automate customer service tasks, such as answering FAQs and resolving simple issues. This can free up customer service representatives to focus on more complex issues, and it can also improve customer satisfaction. Some easy-to-use AI tools for customer service include:
Jasper.ai: This AI tool can be used to create personalized responses to customer inquiries.
Tome: This AI tool can be used to create presentations that are tailored to specific audiences.
Lumen5: This AI tool can be used to create videos from text or images.
Fraud detection: AI can be used to detect fraudulent transactions, such as credit card fraud or identity theft. This can help businesses protect their customers and their bottom line. Some easy-to-use AI tools for fraud detection include:
IBM Watson: This AI platform can be used to detect fraudulent transactions in real time.
Sisense Fraud Detection: This AI tool can be used to identify suspicious patterns in customer behavior.
Forter: This AI tool can be used to verify the authenticity of credit card transactions.
Risk assessment: AI can be used to assess risk, such as the risk of a customer defaulting on a loan or the risk of a product recall. This can help businesses make better decisions about lending, marketing, and product development. Some easy-to-use AI tools for risk assessment include:
FICO: This AI platform can be used to assess the creditworthiness of customers.
Google Cloud AI Platform: This AI platform can be used to build custom models for risk assessment.
SAS Risk Analytics: This AI tool can be used to identify and mitigate risks.
Product development: AI can be used to develop new products and services that are more likely to be successful. This can be done by understanding customer needs, identifying trends, and testing new ideas. Some easy-to-use AI tools for product development include:
Google AI Platform: This AI platform can be used to build custom models for product recommendations.
Amazon SageMaker: This AI platform can be used to build and deploy machine learning models.
IBM Watson Assistant: This AI platform can be used to create chatbots that can help customers with product research.
Data analysis: AI can be used to analyze large amounts of data to identify patterns and insights. This can help businesses make better decisions about everything from marketing to operations. Some easy-to-use AI tools for data analysis include:
Tableau: This AI tool can be used to visualize data in a way that is easy to understand.
Qlik Sense: This AI tool can be used to explore data and identify patterns.
Looker: This AI tool can be used to build custom dashboards and reports.
Content creation: AI can be used to create content, such as blog posts, articles, and social media posts. This can free up human employees to focus on other tasks, and it can also help businesses create more consistent and engaging content. Some easy-to-use AI tools for content creation include:
Jasper.ai: This AI tool can be used to create content that is tailored to specific audiences.
Grammarly: This AI tool can be used to proofread and improve content.
Hemingway Editor: This AI tool can be used to simplify and improve the readability of content.
Sales forecasting: AI can be used to forecast sales, which can help businesses make better decisions about inventory, marketing, and staffing. Some easy-to-use AI tools for sales forecasting include:
Forecast Pro: This AI tool can be used to forecast sales based on historical data and trends.
SalesForce Einstein Analytics: This AI tool can be used to forecast sales based on customer data and behavior.
Microsoft Power BI: This AI tool can be used to visualize sales data and identify trends.

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Top 10 AI applications for small businesses
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the business landscape, and small businesses are no exception. AI can be used to improve a wide range of business functions, from marketing and customer service to fraud detection and risk assessment.
Here are the top 10 AI applications that small businesses can use to compete better:
Personalized marketing: AI can be used to create personalized marketing campaigns that target specific customers with relevant content. This can help businesses increase brand awareness, generate leads, and drive sales. For example, ChatGPT can be used to create chatbots that can interact with customers in a personalized way, DALL·E 2 can be used to create custom images that are relevant to your brand or product, and Bricabrac can be used to find and curate relevant content from across the web.
Customer service: AI can be used to automate customer service tasks, such as answering FAQs and resolving simple issues. This can free up customer service representatives to focus on more complex issues, and it can also improve customer satisfaction. For example, Jasper.ai can be used to create personalized responses to customer inquiries, Tome can be used to create presentations that are tailored to specific audiences, and Lumen5 can be used to create videos from text or images.
Fraud detection: AI can be used to detect fraudulent transactions, such as credit card fraud or identity theft. This can help businesses protect their customers and their bottom line. For example, IBM Watson can be used to detect fraudulent transactions in real time, Sisense Fraud Detection can be used to identify suspicious patterns in customer behavior, and Forter can be used to verify the authenticity of credit card transactions.
Risk assessment: AI can be used to assess risk, such as the risk of a customer defaulting on a loan or the risk of a product recall. This can help businesses make better decisions about lending, marketing, and product development. For example, FICO can be used to assess the creditworthiness of customers, Google Cloud AI Platform can be used to build custom models for risk assessment, and SAS Risk Analytics can be used to identify and mitigate risks.
Product development: AI can be used to develop new products and services that are more likely to be successful. This can be done by understanding customer needs, identifying trends, and testing new ideas. For example, Google AI Platform can be used to build custom models for product recommendations, Amazon SageMaker can be used to build and deploy machine learning models, and IBM Watson Assistant can be used to create chatbots that can help customers with product research.
Data analysis: AI can be used to analyze large amounts of data to identify patterns and insights. This can help businesses make better decisions about everything from marketing to operations. For example, Tableau can be used to visualize data in a way that is easy to understand, Qlik Sense can be used to explore data and identify patterns, and Looker can be used to build custom dashboards and reports.
Content creation: AI can be used to create content, such as blog posts, articles, and social media posts. This can free up human employees to focus on other tasks, and it can also help businesses create more consistent and engaging content. For example, Jasper.ai can be used to create content that is tailored to specific audiences, Grammarly can be used to proofread and improve content, and Hemingway Editor can be used to simplify and improve the readability of content.
Sales forecasting: AI can be used to forecast sales, which can help businesses make better decisions about inventory, marketing, and staffing. For example, Forecast Pro can be used to forecast sales based on historical data and trends, Salesforce Einstein Analytics can be used to forecast sales based on customer data and behavior, and Microsoft Power BI can be used to visualize sales data and identify trends.
cBy adopting AI, small businesses can improve their efficiency, productivity, and customer service. They can also gain a competitive edge by developing new products and services, identifying risks, and making better decisions.
If you are a small business owner, I encourage you to explore the many ways that AI can be used to improve your business. There are a number of AI tools and platforms available that are specifically designed for small businesses. With a little research, you can find the right AI tools to help you achieve your business goals.

Sure, here are some readily available AI application tools you can use to build a landing page, including text generation covering a topic, image generation, explainer video production, text to speech for audio on the video, and others:
Text generation
Jasper.ai is a powerful AI writing assistant that can generate text for a variety of purposes, including landing pages. Simply provide Jasper with a brief outline of your landing page, and it will generate all the text for you, including headlines, body copy, and calls to action.
Writesonic is another AI writing assistant that can be used to generate text for landing pages. Writesonic offers a variety of templates and settings that you can use to customize your landing page text.
CopyAI is a newer AI writing assistant that is quickly gaining popularity. CopyAI can generate text for a variety of purposes, including landing pages, social media posts, and product descriptions.
Image generation
DALL-E 2 is a powerful AI image generation tool that can create realistic images from text descriptions. This makes it a great tool for creating custom images for your landing page, such as product images or screenshots of your software.
Midjourney is another AI image generation tool that is similar to DALL-E 2. Midjourney offers a variety of features that make it easy to create custom images, such as the ability to add filters and effects to your images.
VQGAN+CLIP is a free and open-source AI image generation tool that can be used to create realistic images from text descriptions. VQGAN+CLIP is not as easy to use as DALL-E 2 or Midjourney, but it is a great option if you are looking for a free tool.
Explainer video production
Synthesia is an AI explainer video production tool that can create high-quality videos from text and images. Synthesia offers a variety of features that make it easy to create explainer videos, such as the ability to add voiceovers, music, and animations.
InVideo is another AI explainer video production tool that is similar to Synthesia. InVideo offers a variety of templates and features that make it easy to create explainer videos, even if you don’t have any video editing experience.
Wave.video is a free and easy-to-use AI explainer video production tool that can be used to create short videos from text and images. Wave.video is a great option if you are on a budget or if you need to create a quick and simple explainer video.
Text to speech
Google Text-to-Speech is a free and easy-to-use text to speech tool that can be used to create audio for your explainer video. Google Text-to-Speech offers a variety of voices and languages to choose from.
Amazon Polly is another free and easy-to-use text to speech tool that can be used to create audio for your explainer video. Amazon Polly offers a variety of voices and languages to choose from, as well as the ability to add emotion to your speech.
NaturalReader is a paid text to speech tool that offers a variety of features that make it a great option for creating audio for your explainer video. NaturalReader offers a variety of voices, languages, and emotions, as well as the ability to create custom audio files.
Order of use
Here is an order you can follow to gradually create and assemble all the components of your landing page:
Use Jasper.ai or Writesonic to generate the text for your landing page.
Use DALL-E 2, Midjourney, or VQGAN+CLIP to generate the images for your landing page.
Use Synthesia, InVideo, or Wave.video to create an explainer video for your landing page.
Use Google Text-to-Speech, Amazon Polly, or NaturalReader to create the audio for your explainer video.
Assemble all the components of your landing page into a cohesive and visually appealing design.

Sure, here are some readily available AI application tools you can use to build a landing page:
Text generation: You can use AI tools like Jasper.ai, Writesonic, or Bard to generate text for your landing page, such as the headline, body copy, and call to action. These tools can help you create engaging and persuasive text that is tailored to your target audience.
Image generation: You can use AI tools like DALL-E 2 or MidJourney to generate images for your landing page. These tools can create realistic and visually appealing images that will help you capture attention and communicate your message.
Explainer video production: You can use AI tools like Synthesia or Wave.video to create explainer videos for your landing page. These tools can help you create engaging and informative videos that will help you explain your product or service to potential customers.
Text to speech: You can use AI tools like Google Text-to-Speech or Amazon Polly to convert your text into audio for your explainer video. This will make your video more accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Here is a possible order you can follow to gradually create and assemble all the components of your landing page:
Use an AI text generator to create the headline, body copy, and call to action for your landing page.
Use an AI image generator to create images for your landing page.
Use an AI explainer video production tool to create an explainer video for your landing page.
Use an AI text-to-speech tool to convert your text into audio for your explainer video.
Assemble all the components of your landing page into a cohesive and visually appealing design.
Here are some additional tips for creating a landing page with AI:
Use AI tools to target your landing page to your specific audience. AI tools can help you understand your target audience and create content that is tailored to their interests and needs.
Use AI tools to test and optimize your landing page. AI tools can help you track the performance of your landing page and identify areas where you can improve.
Use AI tools to personalize your landing page for each visitor. AI tools can help you create a personalized experience for each visitor to your landing page, which can increase conversions.

Certainly, here’s a list of AI application tools you can use to gradually build and assemble all the components of a landing page. I’ll provide

1. Text Generation:
Tool: OpenAI’s GPT-3
Description: Use GPT-3 to generate engaging and relevant text content for your landing page.

2. Image Generation:
Tool: Runway ML
Description: Runway ML offers various AI models for generating images, allowing you to create visuals for your landing page.

3. Explainer Video Production:
Tool: Vyond
Description: Vyond provides an easy-to-use platform for creating animated explainer videos.

4. Text to Speech for Audio:
Tool: Amazon Polly or Google Text-to-Speech
Description: These services convert text into lifelike speech, which you can use as audio for your explainer video.

5. Video Editing:
Tool: Adobe Premiere Pro, iMovie, or DaVinci Resolve
Description: Use video editing software to compile your explainer video, add audio, and make necessary edits.

6. Web Development:
Tool: WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or HTML/CSS/JavaScript
Description: Choose a platform or coding approach to build your landing page’s structure.

7. Content Integration:
Tool: HTML/CSS/JavaScript
Description: Integrate the generated text and images into your landing page using code.

8. Design and Layout:
Tool: Canva or Adobe XD
Description: Use design tools to create a visually appealing layout for your landing page.

9. Hosting and Domain:
Tool: GoDaddy, Bluehost, HostGator, etc.
Description: Choose a web hosting service and a domain name for your landing page.

10. SEO Optimization:
Tool: Yoast SEO (for WordPress) or Google Search Console
Description: Optimize your landing page content for search engines to improve its visibility.

11. Analytics:
Tool: Google Analytics
Description: Integrate Google Analytics to track visitor statistics and behavior on your landing page.

12. A/B Testing:
Tool: Google Optimize or Optimizely
Description: Test different versions of your landing page to optimize its effectiveness.

13. Chatbot Integration (Optional):
Tool: Dialogflow or Microsoft Bot Framework
Description: Integrate a chatbot to engage visitors and answer their questions.

list with five AI application tools for each step, excluding products from Google, Amazon, or IBM:

1. Text Generation:

Tool: ChatGPT by OpenAI
Tool: Copy.ai
Tool: Snazzy AI
Tool: ShortlyAI
Tool: Wordtune

2. Image Generation:

Tool: Runway ML
Tool: DeepAI’s Art Generator
Tool: Artbreeder
Tool: DALL-E by OpenAI
Tool: Deep Dream Generator

3. Explainer Video Production:

Tool: Vyond
Tool: Animaker
Tool: Toonly
Tool: Moovly
Tool: Renderforest

4. Text to Speech for Audio:

Tool: iSpeech
Tool: Natural Reader
Tool: Voicepods
Tool: Notevibes
Tool: Oddcast TTS

5. Video Editing:

Tool: Magisto
Tool: Clipchamp
Tool: InVideo
Tool: Kapwing
Tool: Animoto

6. Web Development:

Tool: WordPress
Tool: Wix
Tool: Squarespace
Tool: Weebly
Tool: Webflow

7. Content Integration:

Tool: HTML/CSS/JavaScript
Tool: Brackets
Tool: Atom
Tool: Sublime Text
Tool: Visual Studio Code

8. Design and Layout:

Tool: Canva
Tool: Figma
Tool: Crello
Tool: Vectr
Tool: Gravit Designer

10. SEO Optimization:

Tool: Yoast SEO (for WordPress)
Tool: Moz
Tool: Ahrefs
Tool: SERPstat
Tool: Screaming Frog SEO Spider

11. Analytics:

Tool: Mixpanel
Tool: Heap Analytics
Tool: Clicky
Tool: Matomo
Tool: Crazy Egg

12. A/B Testing:

Tool: Optimizely
Tool: VWO (Visual Website Optimizer)
Tool: Convert
Tool: AB Tasty
Tool: Unbounce

13. Chatbot Integration (Optional):

Tool: Dialogflow (by Google)
Tool: Microsoft Bot Framework
Tool: Botpress
Tool: Landbot
Tool: Tars

Title: Demystifying AI: Practical Applications for Small & Medium Businesses

Are you ready to embrace the future of business? Artificial Intelligence, or AI, isn’t just for tech giants and sci-fi movies anymore. It’s here, it’s accessible, and it’s waiting to supercharge your small or medium-sized business. You might be thinking, “AI sounds complicated and expensive.” But fear not, dear business leaders, because we’re about to unravel the mysteries of AI and show you how to leverage it for real, measurable gains. Buckle up, because your business is about to get a turbo boost!

AI: Not Just for Rocket Scientists

Let’s bust the first myth wide open: AI isn’t just for rocket scientists or Silicon Valley hotshots. It’s for you – the small business owner, the determined entrepreneur, the pragmatic CEO. In fact, you might be using AI without even realizing it. Ever wondered how your email filter catches all those pesky spam messages? That’s AI in action. So, let’s dive into some practical AI applications that you can put to work today.

Customer-Centric Chatbots: 24/7 Service, Zero Overtime

Imagine having a tireless employee who handles customer inquiries, day or night. Meet the chatbot – your digital customer service champion. These friendly bots can answer FAQs, guide users through your website, and even process orders. They never tire, never take breaks, and never ask for a raise.

Payoff: With chatbots in place, you’ll see increased customer satisfaction due to quick responses and 24/7 availability. Plus, your human support team can focus on complex issues, improving efficiency.

Tailored Marketing with AI Insights: Like a GPS for Your Strategy

Marketing isn’t about throwing darts in the dark and hoping something sticks. AI can analyze data faster than you can say “target audience.” It learns from your customers’ behavior and helps you fine-tune your marketing strategy. It’s like having a GPS that guides you to the heart of customer preferences.

Payoff: Your marketing campaigns become more precise, reaching the right people with the right message. This reduces ad spend wastage and boosts conversion rates, giving you more bang for your marketing buck.

Predictive Analytics: No Crystal Ball Required

Do you wish you had a crystal ball that could predict trends and customer behavior? AI is the next best thing. Predictive analytics crunches numbers to foresee future trends, helping you make smarter decisions.

Payoff: You’ll anticipate demand, optimize inventory, and reduce overstock or stockouts. This means happier customers, reduced costs, and increased revenue.

Smart Financial Management: Dollars and Sense, Literally

Managing finances isn’t everyone’s favorite cup of tea. But AI can make it as easy as brewing a morning cuppa. AI-powered tools can automate bookkeeping, track expenses, and even identify potential cost-saving opportunities.

Payoff: Fewer manual errors, streamlined financial processes, and better insight into your cash flow – all of which contribute to increased profitability.

Personalized Customer Experiences: Your Business, Their Way

Ever walked into a store and the salesperson knows your name and your preferences? AI lets you recreate that personal touch online. By analyzing customer data, you can provide tailored recommendations and experiences that keep customers coming back.

Payoff: Increased customer loyalty, higher average order values, and more word-of-mouth referrals as customers share their fantastic experiences.

Enhanced Cybersecurity: The Guardian of Your Digital Castle

AI isn’t just about making money; it’s also about saving your digital assets. AI-powered cybersecurity can detect and prevent threats before they cause havoc. It’s like having an AI superhero guarding your business from cyber villains.

Payoff: Protect your sensitive data, maintain your reputation, and save thousands (or more) in potential losses due to data breaches.

Embrace AI – Your Secret Weapon for Success

Now that we’ve unveiled these practical AI applications, you might be wondering about the investment. Here’s the kicker: AI applications often pay for themselves, and then some. Think about it: reduced operational costs, increased efficiency, higher customer satisfaction – these all directly impact your bottom line.

So, let’s shake off the misconceptions, roll up our sleeves, and put AI to work. Embrace it as your secret weapon for success. Remember, AI isn’t a distant dream; it’s a tangible tool that’s within your reach.

In the dynamic world of business, those who adapt thrive. With AI on your side, you’re not just adapting; you’re soaring.

So, ready to take the plunge? Your AI-powered business journey begins today. Get ready to revolutionize, rejuvenate, and rocket-launch your business into the future!

AI: Demystifying the Future
Dear Small and Medium Business CEOs, owners, and leaders, if there is one buzzword that has been thrown around in the tech industry more than any other, it’s AI. Artificial Intelligence has been the talk of the town for years, but for most SMBs, it seems like a far-fetched concept. The truth is, with the right applications, AI can help businesses of any size streamline processes, boost efficiency, and save costs. In this blog post, we will demystify AI and provide some simple, pragmatic AI applications that are easy to deploy. We’ll show you how each application example will pay for itself so that you can put AI to use today.
What is AI, and how does it work?
Before we jump into AI applications, let’s have a brief understanding of what AI is and how it works. AI is the simulation of human intelligence via machines. AI-enabled machines can perform tasks that usually require human intelligence such as recognizing speech, visual perception, and decision-making. The most common types of AI are Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL).
Machine Learning refers to a subset of Artificial Intelligence where we train machines using data, algorithms, and statistical models. The machine then learns from the data and makes decisions based on that learning. Deep Learning is a subset of machine learning that enables the machine to perform complex tasks like automated speech recognition, image classification, and natural language processing. With the deep learning algorithm, the machine can learn from the data without any human intervention.
Simple and pragmatic AI applications
Chatbots for improved customer service
One of the easiest and most practical AI applications for SMBs is the implementation of Chatbots. Chatbots is a computer program that conducts a conversation via text or voice. For SMBs, chatbots make perfect sense because they provide immediate customer service and support. By using Chatbots, you can save personnel cost and can handle simultaneously more queries. It ensures timely responses thus most customers leave satisfied. AI-based chatbots can interpret the customer query and direct them accordingly, minimizing the need for human intervention.
In simple terms, Chatbots will improve response time, reduce manual labor cost, improve customer service, and enhance the overall experience. The cost of a chatbot setup is minimal, as per the requirement and scale. In the long run, you will save on personnel costs and potentially earn a higher customer satisfaction score, which translates into higher customer retention.
Predictive analysis for smarter decision-making
Another AI application that’s easy to deploy and pays for itself is predictive analysis. Predictive analysis involves finding patterns in historical data and using that analysis to predict future trends, patterns or events. Predictive analysis also helps in forecasting with increased accuracy trends that are hard to predict with traditional business methods. Such predictions may vary from future demand to fraud detection or predicting risks of a merger or acquisition.
Imagine having access to data-driven insights and predictions that can help you predict market trends, customer behavior, and operations optimization. By using machine learning algorithms, you can identify and analyze data patterns that you may not see with human eyes.
By doing so, you’ll make smarter, data-driven decisions that will save you time, money and increase revenue over time. Predictive analysis can help you optimize your decision-making across departments. From production to marketing, from HR to customer service, predictive analysis can help you make decisions based on past data.
Automated customer segmentation
Understanding customers’ behavior and needs are vital for small and medium businesses. However, manually segmenting customers based on their behavior, demographics, etc., can be time-consuming and inefficient.
Automated customer segmentation is an AI-driven process that can help SMBs save time and find valuable insights about their customer base. By using different data sources, you can identify patterns and segment customers based on their interests, needs, and behavior.
Using automated customer segmentation, you can target and personalize your marketing strategies according to customer segments. For example, you can create an email campaign customized for customers who frequently cut back and take follow-up measures. Email campaigns customized for returning visitors to your website can optimize your conversion rates. Personalized product recommendations and website features can improve customer experience and lead to higher loyalty.
Voice Recognition for enhanced accessibility
Voice recognition is another AI application that’s easy to deploy, and many businesses benefit from it. Voice recognition technology allows machines to recognize human speech and respond or take action accordingly. Voice recognition can revolutionize the accessibility of your business, allowing customers and employees with disabilities to have a more inclusive experience.
Voice recognition can both integrate and optimize your customer service. Rather than having customers type out their query, they can simply speak it. With voice recognition, you can identify and route customer queries automatically and handle with minimal or no human intervention.
For businesses that rely on a phone-based customer service model, voice recognition can replace the manual response of customer service executives and save money. By embracing voice recognition, you will improve your customer experience, lower the cost of manual customer service labor, and make your business more accessible.
Wrapping Up
AI is not the future–it’s already here. SMBs can benefit significantly from AI and its various applications that simplify daily working operations and provide insights that lead to smart decision-making. By adopting AI applications like chatbots, predictive analytics, automated customer segmentation, and voice recognition, SMBs can reduce labor costs, improve customer interactions, and land on cost-effective business decisions.
These practical use cases show that AI isn’t just for significant corporations with big budgets and vast sets of data. With the right tools, SMBs can unlock the power of AI and streamline their operations, improve customer satisfaction, and make cost-effective decisions. So don’t be afraid to explore the possibilities of AI, because the future is here, and you don’t want to get left behind.
Orange #F5793B
Deep purple #230344
Blush beige #C99383
Gray #AAABAB
Buttercream #f7e8d3
Galaxy blue #223651

create graphical elements for an infographic showcasing AI applications for small and medium businesses (SMBs), including marketing content, chatbot customer service, risk analysis, and fraud detection, follow these instructions:

Marketing Content Icon:

Shape: Circular badge
Color: Deep purple (#230344)
Centered capital letter “M” in white
Around the badge, add a thin orange (#F5793B) border

Chatbot Customer Service Icon:

Shape: Rounded speech bubble
Color: Galaxy blue (#223651)
Add a simple chat icon in white, slightly off-center
Place a smiley face emoji inside the speech bubble in blush beige (#C99383)

Risk Analysis Icon:

Shape: Shield with rounded corners
Color: Gray (#AAABAB)
Divide the shield into two halves diagonally
Top half: Background color of blush beige (#C99383)
Bottom half: Background color of buttercream (#f7e8d3)
Draw an upward-pointing arrow connecting the two halves, indicating upward growth

Fraud Detection Icon:

Shape: Magnifying glass
Color: Orange (#F5793B)
Incorporate a subtle fingerprint pattern on the magnifying glass frame
Use the handle of the magnifying glass to form a question mark
Highlight the question mark in deep purple (#230344)

Arrange icons on THE canvas in a visually appealing manner, balance colors and sizes. Use clean lines and subtle drop shadows to add depth and refinement to the icons.

Create icons:

Marketing: Circular badge, deep purple (#230344), white “M”, orange (#F5793B) border
Chatbot: Rounded speech bubble, galaxy blue (#223651), white chat icon, smiley face in blush beige (#C99383)
Risk Analysis: Shield, gray (#AAABAB), blush beige (#C99383) top, buttercream (#f7e8d3) bottom, arrow indicating growth
Fraud Detection: Magnifying glass, orange (#F5793B), fingerprint pattern, handle forms “?” in deep purple (#230344)

Marketing Content Icon:

Shape: Circular badge
Color: Deep purple (#230344)
Centered capital letter “M” in white
Around the badge, add a thin orange (#F5793B) border
Create the icon in a visually appealing manner, balance colors and sizes. Use clean lines and subtle drop shadows to add depth and refinement to the icon
Create an icon vector to use in an infograph circular in shape, place a symbol for “ai generated marketing content”,
Create an icon vector for marketing content use colors #230344 and #f5793B, use crisp, clean lines
Title
“Unlocking Success: Power Up Your Small Business with AI”
“AI-Powered Growth: Unleash Your Small Business Potential”
“Jump On Board! Put AI to Work for You!”
“Unlocking Growth: The AI Advantage for Small Businesses”
“Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Embracing AI for Business”
“Business Metamorphosis: Empowering Small Biz with AI”
“Turning Point: AI-Powered Future for Small Businesses”
“Catalyst AI: Ignite Your Small Business Potential”

Premise:
AI is not a mystery; Won’t set off any missiles in your direction; & is Just Getting Started
Productivity & new capabilities (so cost savings & increased revenue)
AI will change the anatomy of work
Significant impact across all industry sectors and disciplines, though there is Low Hanging Fruit
Some entries on the agenda are designed to produce personalized content we can share with attendees after the event to engender a follow up meeting.
Agenda:
Introduction
Welcome and brief overview of the webinar.
Introduce the hosts and their expertise in AI, marketing, sales, web design and business.
PART I: High Level View & AI State of the Union (got this from your website)
Opportunities
Challenges
Ethical AI
AI Adoption
Workforce Preparation
Navigating The AI Advantage for Small Businesses
Highlight key benefits of AI adoption for small businesses: productivity, efficiency, and revenue growth.
Share success stories of small businesses that harnessed AI to their advantage.
Address common misconceptions and fears about AI.
Explain how AI can be accessible and tailored to small business needs.

AI Applications for Small Businesses
Explain how AI can be accessible and tailored to small business needs.
Introduce AI tools and platforms suitable for small businesses.
Offer practical steps for small business owners to integrate AI into their operations.
Provide resources for learning more about AI tools and implementation strategies.
PART II: Introduce The Top 7 AI applications for small businesses (I can speak to Marketing, sales forecasting, content creation, customer service. I know a lot about product development, but not AI usage. Even though Risk Analysis and Fraud Detection are perfect for SMB, I don’t know those topics. THOUGHTS?)
Personalized marketing
Content creation
Anyone Can Do It – Workshop One/Build a Landing Page (brochure, press release, webinar, etc.)
Generate the text for your landing page
Generate the images for your landing page.
Create an explainer video for your landing page.
Create the audio for your explainer video.
Assemble all the components of your landing page, brochure, press release, webinar, etc. into a cohesive and visually appealing design.
Use AI tools to provide information of interest to your specific audience in the voice of an industry expert
Use AI tools to test your page, track the performance and identify areas where you can improve.
Use AI tools to create a personalized experience for each visitor
Anyone Can Do It – Workshop Two/Showcase an AI Tool
Showcase an AI tool generating personalized content in real-time based on attendees’ input
Everyone contributes suggestions to build text and/or image
This could be a memorable moment that demonstrates AI’s immediate value in a tangible and engaging way.
We can ask everyone to help build this “class” image, nick name to feel part of our tribe
Include a copy in the follow up as a gift.

Q&A Session
Closing and Next Steps
Summarize key takeaways from the webinar.
Encourage attendees to explore AI options for their businesses.
Encourage attendees to visit our two websites (create landing page) special discount for attendees.
Share contact information for further inquiries and assistance.

To keep it simple, I think each of us should put together a low-priced entry package, along with a landing page each. Let’s talk about what those offers should be.

SPECIAL BONUS!
A LIST OF AI APPLICATION TOOLS
TO GIVE TO ATTENDEES

Text Generation:
ChatGPT by OpenAI
Copy.ai
Snazzy AI
ShortlyAI
Wordtune

Image Generation:
Runway ML
DeepAI’s Art Generator
Artbreeder
DALL-E by OpenAI
Deep Dream Generator

Explainer Video Production:
Vyond
Animaker
Toonly
Moovly
Renderforest

Text to Speech for Audio:
iSpeech
Natural Reader
Voicepods
Notevibes
Oddcast TTS

Video Editing:
Magisto
Clipchamp
InVideo
Kapwing
Animoto

Web Development:
WordPress
Wix
Squarespace
Weebly
Webflow

Content Integration:
HTML/CSS/JavaScript
Brackets
Atom
Sublime Text
Visual Studio Code

Design and Layout:
Canva
Figma
Crello
Vectr
Gravit Designer

SEO Optimization:
Yoast SEO (for WordPress)
Moz
Ahrefs
SERPstat
Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Analytics:
Mixpanel
Heap Analytics
Clicky
Matomo
Crazy Egg

A/B Testing:
Optimizely
VWO (Visual Website Optimizer)
Convert
AB Tasty
Unbounce

Chatbot Integration
Dialogflow (by Google)
Microsoft Bot Framework
Botpress
Landbot
Tars

ü Led the 1000+ strong LinkedIn Idea Management Group

Go-To-Market Strategy $47,500

60-90-day delivery