david ronick
Blog Posts
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May 18th, 2009 david ronick
11 elements of a successful business plan pitch
Blog Post
Your business plan pitch deck should cover the following topics. In some cases, you can change the order around, and /or use more than one slide for each element, but make sure to cover them all (note: to see what goes on each slide, click here ): 1. Strong team ....
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May 18th, 2009 david ronick
4 keys to successful business planning
Blog Post
1. Strike a balance between planning and action. Plan too much, you might miss an opportunity or lose your momentum (aka “analysis paralysis”). Plan too little, and you might make critical errors that doom your venture to failure. 2. Planning a business is...
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May 11th, 2009 david ronick
Seek smart money investors
Blog Post
In general, always seek out “smart money” investors—people with expertise, experience, skills and the willingness to use them to help grow your business. These investors can provide far more than just a check. They can help with strategy, provide business development leads,...
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May 11th, 2009 david ronick
Why bootstrapping matters
Blog Post
Why should you care about bootstrapping? The vast majority of new businesses are financed via bootstrapping, not from angel investments [1] or venture capital funding [2] . In fact only about 3% of companies that seek angel funding actually land investments [3] , and the odds are even...
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May 11th, 2009 david ronick
When the economy serves up lemons, make lemonade
Blog Post
Just read an article in Forbes about the state of early stage venture capital investing, and it's not pretty. Shocker. Among other things, 60% of early stage VC funds aren't making any new investments. I haven't seen any recent data on the state of angel (amateur) investment...
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May 11th, 2009 david ronick
Top 5 business plan mistakes
Blog Post
1. Overstating the market opportunity. “If we get just 1% of the market, we’ll have a $100MM business!” Sound familiar? I hope not. Make sure you identify the specific segments you’ll be going after, not some arbitrary fraction of a broader market. Break the market...