Disqus - Latest Comments for sbarsh

Re: Call for Topics

sbarsh — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:58:52 -0000

Great comments CEONYC. As long as the *expectations* are set as to the objectives of meeting with a VC, I completely agree with what you are saying. I'm just not sure I would call what you describe as a "pitch." So, what are the objectives of the meetings and expectations of both parties? I take meetings all the time with entrepreneurs and start-ups where it's not a pitch, they just want my feedback. That's fine and I am more than happy to do that. Then again, I am in meetings frequently where it is a pitch, and IMHO they are "pitching too early."

Re: Call for Topics

sbarsh — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:45:23 -0000

Definition of luck?
* Being in the right place
* At the right time
* With the right ingredients
I find that luck usually does not happen by accident. Yes, sometimes there is "dumb luck," but most of the time it's not. So, you make luck happen. You work hard, work smart, have a plan, and adapt the plan. In essence, you "open windows of opportunity" and jump through them and make luck happen.

Re: Call for Topics

sbarsh — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:09:17 -0000

Happy to tell you more / discuss. I will be in NYC for the NY Venture Summit (June 24-25) next week. Do you have time to get together? My contact info can be found at http://www.stevebarsh.com.

Re: Call for Topics

sbarsh — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:35:20 -0000

Making sure that companies are not "pitching too early." I see many, many start-ups doing what I call "pre-mature pitching." They have not yet spent enough time creating an extremely compelling value proposition, and there are so many assumptions (risks) all over their business model (e.g., market demand, pricing, differentiators/positioning will work, etc).. There are many easy, "out of box" techniques that start-ups can use to "de-risk" (as Josh Kopelman likes to say) their business model before even going after angel or VC money. This way the entrepreneur has a lot more data / info / fodder when they do start pitching -- great info to include in their pitch decks. This is all easy to do and costs very, very little. The techniques are great and helpful for both the entrepreneurs AND the VC's. I am giving a brief version of this talk at Supernova in SFO today. I am based out of Philly (camping out at First Round Capital) and would be happy to come and do a 30 minute talk on this at NYC Web 2.0 Expo in September. Let me know.