Startup Roadmap Workshop

Editor's Notes

• #14: But where should you start in your Pitch? Just like I did here, give an Agenda of what you’re going to cover, mainly to set expectations. What expectations you ask? Well, given my comment earlier that presentations often replace business plans, it’s important to set out your pitch. Is it a comprehensive coverage of your business that will go into detail covering your entire business plan, or is it brief introduction to your business to encourage your audience to learn more in person? Or is it something in between like an update to your current stakeholders on progress in the business with an interim capital raise? Whatever the case, present your agenda and set your audience’s expectations clearly so you can exceed them with that Steve Job’s like zeal for “one more thing” to put your audience over the top.
• #15: To entertain you along the way, as this is  pretty dry subject, I will tell a story, as that is often a key element of any presentation. Usually it’s a story about you and how you came to decide to devote your working life to this new idea. In my case it is the story of a recent trip I made and you can try to guess where I was and then as you do I’ll tell you my story. It's in italics if you want to skip it during this read and just focus on the main slides So here is my starting point on that journey. It was a hazy morning. I really couldn’t see much except a few glimpses of the fall foliage. But I’ll tell you it wasn’t New England as you can probably tell from the terrain.
• #22: Ash’s initial idea
• #23: Ash’s initial idea
• #25: Ash’s initial idea
• #29: Amazon
• #31: For (target customers—beachhead segment only)  Who are dissatisfied with (the current market alternative)  Our product is a (new product category)  That provides (key problem-solving capability).  Unlike (the product alternative),  We have assembled (key whole product features for your specific application). Moore, Geoffrey A. (2009-03-17). Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Technology Project (p. 154). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
• #32: For Great Wall of China, the value proposition was really quite simple, protect the Chinese from the northern nomadic invaders like the Mongols or risk losing their country. And as I walked along the Jinshangling section, I could not help but be struck by the domineering watchtowers, of which there were no less than 67 on this section alone.
• #33: In this picture I capture a section of the wall where the contrast between the new bricks on the left and the old bricks on the right is clear. Your value proposition should be equally clear.
• #34: However you describe your value proposition, ensure your audience really “gets it”, before proceeding.  And be careful not to make any assumptions here, that may come out of your familiarity with the opportunity. Instead be explicit about what could  simply not be done without the solution you are proposing and why that is so compelling.  (One other word of caution here. Many entrepreneurs, particularly technically driven thinkers spend too long on this section of the pitch. Just present it and don't try to describe every detail of the solution, no matter how proud you are of it! Present just enough to be clear as to why it is a breakthrough. And then use outside examples as proof points. See later on for more of this. ) You can test you value proposition without buiding a product by trying out this story and validating what customers are experiencing now, and what they would pay to get to the “after” scenario…
• #35: Ultimately no matter what you claim, examples and case studies that proved from your customer’s viewpoint what you can deliver, are more credible than anything else. So if you have that proof try to explain the tangible benefits the customers are enjoying from your solution. And try to explain in terms of ROI and payback period.  As investors these mean more to us than random superlatives. But for you as an entrepreneur they should also help you in the pitch to your customers.  To state the obvious if you can walk in with a solution that takes just a few days to show results and thereafter provides a clear ROI, it will be much more successful than an offering that takes months to implement years to show a return and is not measurable in dollars and cents For extra credit articulate in these proof points how from your own viewpoint the solution was both easily and repeatedly sold and therefore represents a scalable business for you. This will help you lead up to your business model and how you will make money from it later in the presentation.
• #38: As I looked down the wall,  I imagined the immense vision one must’ve had to have even started the wall.   As I took this photo, I began thinking about how many bricks must’ve been used to build it.  I subsequently learned that in fact before the use of bricks the Great Wall was mainly built from rammed earth stones and wood. It was only during the Ming Dynasty that bricks and other new materials such as  bricks and tiles came to be used and helped quicken the pace of construction. 
• #39: People often don’t include the 3rd point around customer urgency. You could say it’s optional, but in uncertain economic times, the default option for any customer is to do nothing. It’s incumbent on you to make sure that your solution, is considered at the top of the list of other potential projects or priorities, as many vendors will no doubt be vying for dollars from your potential customer. And remember that as a startup, you will usually be seeking funds from an existing budget,  so you’re actually displacing planned spending priorities. Hence understanding customer urgency is very important.
• #41: People often don’t include the 3rd point around customer urgency. You could say it’s optional, but in uncertain economic times, the default option for any customer is to do nothing. It’s incumbent on you to make sure that your solution, is considered at the top of the list of other potential projects or priorities, as many vendors will no doubt be vying for dollars from your potential customer. And remember that as a startup, you will usually be seeking funds from an existing budget,  so you’re actually displacing planned spending priorities. Hence understanding customer urgency is very important.
• #44: This  should lead you up to describing your vision, for how the market will evolve and how you plan to lead it.   Vision is very important to us, because you will usually be looking at  markets that will emerge over many years.   And  because it will be important to be early  into a market to lead the  it, we look for entrepreneurs who have the vision to see how it will unfold into a big opportunity down the road. What are the possibilities opened up by your vision?
• #66: NOTE: Hyperlink is in the diagram
• #67: Insert this slide