Startups Archive

4.5 Videos Every Web Entrepreneur Needs to Watch

A piece of advice to web entrepreneurs just getting started: rather than becoming consumed with starting the next Google or Facebook, focus on creating a remarkable company with a niche target market that solves a problem that you yourself have had. Here are four and a half great videos from six entrepreneurs to help you focus, get inspired, and launch a successful startup.

1. Make Money – David Heinemeier Hannson, Co-founder of 37signals

David from 37Signals gives an uplifting, straightforward talk on creating a profitable company, charging money for your product, and to solve simple problems. David and I have similar views on growing a business: do it yourself without venture capital, focus on entrepreneurs (he calls them Fortune 5,000,000), and solve a problem you face yourself. What changes can you implement to either make or create an additional $1 million a year from your niche target?

Connect with David on Twitter: @dhh

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How to Pitch an Investor in 90 seconds

elevator-pitch3

You have 90 seconds to pitch an investor about your new, incredible business idea that’s going to change the world and make millions of dollars. How do you do it? Simply break your story into five parts using this guideline of how I’d want to be pitched:

  • What is it, who’s your target and what’s the value? (20 seconds)

    Get me excited. Focus on the value of your service rather than the features. Tell me quickly what it is, who your target market is, and tell me how it’s going to help them do something better, faster, or more easily. Focus on value and the void you’ll be filling.

  • Pricing model? (10 seconds)

    How much does it cost and how do you plan on making money? Recurring revenue or one-time fee?

  • Why is it unique or buzzworthy? (20 seconds)

    What makes your product or service unique? Why will anyone care? What are you going to do to get people talking about it?

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MINDdrift: Learn how to fund a web app startup from nothing to $170M acquisition

Check out David’s latest blog post on MINDdrift:

“If you’re in the web app startup space, no doubt you’ve heard the big news during TechCrunch50 that Mint was acquired for $170M. That’s a very high return on a company that did a great job visualizing data from Yodlee. What is Mint? It’s a great service that allows you to track all your accounts, expenses, budget and more. Many people, even ones that use the service, didn’t know that Mint actually gets their data from Yodlee, which preforms all the heavy lifting and connecting with financial institutions.”

Read the rest of “Learn how to fund a web app startup from nothing to $170M acquisition“

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