Turn Down for This

It’s been a good run, but this may be the last post on this WordPress blog for the foreseeable future.

For the past 5 years, this site has been the home of my thoughts and stories. But like other areas of life, the time for change has come and jon808.com now redirects to a Medium hosted publication.

While the loss of email followers will hurt, and there are less integrations (Twitter, Goodreads, etc.) with Medium, the Medium platform is slowly becoming the next generation of blogging, and the establishment of custom URLs on Medium is accelerating this shift. For more details on the reasons behind the move, you can read my first post on the new site to learn more.

Native following of the new site will require a Medium account, but I am confident that the benefits do/will outweigh the transition costs. I have enjoyed using WordPress tremendously, but I have a feeling Medium will be an improved experience for both readers and writers alike.

I would be grateful to see you at the new jon808.com. Thank you for reading.

A Slide by Slide Guide to a Killer Investor Pitch

The below is a great framework for creating a solid pitch deck. As the primary Venture Associate for Brinc, I review a large amount of pitch decks and analyze them before presenting the promising ones to our internal team for further discussions.

Before presenting additional resources to optimize pitch deck structure, I wanted to simplify and present the 3 P’s we generally use to evaluate a deck. They are People, Product and Pitch. Otherwise phrased with the 3 why’s: “Why you? Why this? Why now?”.

• People – who is the team, and why are they they the right people to solve this problem. What experience, background and characteristics sets this team apart from the others working on this solution (there inevitably is someone else working on your idea – trust me, I see a lot of pitch decks).
• Product – the problem might be real, but why is this product or solution the optimal one that consumers will adopt to? Where is your validation or traction that showcases this doesn’t just look good in paper, but is also demanded in real life?
• Pitch – this is where the investor is sold. Craft a story where the VC can see why this is the right time for this, how big the market could be and how lucrative the business model is. Drive an emotional response here and secure the chance that your pitch moves forward.

With this framework in mind, below are resources we recommend to help founders craft a better pitch and business plan.

A good starting point is the Sequoia Capital Business Plan Template: https://www.sequoiacap.com/grove/posts/6bzx/writing-a-business-plan

A basic template on pitch decks can be found here: http://guykawasaki.com/the-only-10-slides-you-need-in-your-pitch/
Here is a direct link to the infographic: http://files.guykawasaki.com/downloads/TheArtofStart_10slides_r3.jpg

A finished version of the pitch deck should look like the AirBnb’s first pitch deck: http://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-a-13-billion-dollar-startups-first-ever-pitch-deck-2011-9?op=1

If stuck, or seeking another angle to visualize the business, feel free to go through the Lean Canvas model (https://leanstack.com/LeanCanvas.pdf) popularized by The Lean Startup (https://hbr.org/2013/05/why-the-lean-start-up-changes-everything); also a book (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10127019-the-lean-startup).
A template of the Lean Canvas can be found here: https://hbr.org/resources/images/article_assets/hbr/1305/R1305C_A_LG.gif

MergeLane

I’ve seen thousands of entrepreneurs pitch in dozens of different pitch formats, but the following is the format I’d recommend. I’ve compiled this through my own experience as an investor, the best of the existing resources I found, and input from several angel investors.  

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Factories Aren’t Dying To Take Your Order And Other Hardware Startup Follies

Rui Ma of 500 Startups shared what she has learned about hardware startups recently. It was an insightful post for those unexposed to the manufacturing space, as it covered what happens on the ground with the factories and suppliers – particularly in China. Despite its strides towards development and modernization, China remains the premier location for hardware execution, not only for its low labor cost (this is actually weakening over time), but also for its efficiency, scalability, accuracy, and infrastructure. However, the challenges pointed out by Rui are very much real, which is summarized by: don’t expect outsourced manufacturing to be easy; there are many challenges people are ignorant of due to a lack of understanding and education.

The core reason for this is because there is a fundamental shift in the founding team composition for hardware startups. Traditionally, a hacker and a hustler were the foundational pillars of a pre-seed startup. This was primarily because software was king and allowed a company to scale globally like never before. Between the two apps stores and a browser, a company could grow from a desk to multinational corporation in a few short years. Now, as hardware has become increasingly accessible for smaller companies, a new leg to the triangle is needed: a full-stack hardware engineer.

Previously, the ideal programmer was a full-stack developer that could handle front-end and back-end coding for a startup. In the same regard, the mythical full-stack hardware engineer is needed to take ownership of the industrial, electrical and mechanical design and engineering for hardware projects – including understanding of firmware integration to connect the device back to the software and services layer. However, this role is extraordinarily rare at the moment, as the disciplines are quite separate from one another, and very rarely would they overlap in a large organization. And since hardware startups are a relatively recent phenomenon, it will take time for such a skillset to permeate the ecosystem.

In the interim, it is likely that a new type of startup supporter will appear in the ecosystem: the fulfiller. This entity will take care of hardware design and engineering, in addition to tooling and DFM, so that manufacturing and delivery can occur. There are organizations currently promoting such packages, but since the category is new, there is no transparency on offering, clients, operations, and cost. As hardware and IoT startups run through seed accelerators, it makes sense that a handover should occur to fulfillers so delivery and shipment of product can occur. Just as startups benefit from accelerators, a fulfiller is likely to be an inevitable part of hardware/IoT startups in the near future. What that process looks like, is up to us to define.