6 Team Attributes That Can Make Any Idea Come Alive
Houston Advice for Women Entrepreneurs
1. Leader pitches the plan, not the product. - Investors look for entrepreneurs who talk about building a sustainable business, rather than highlighting the breakthrough elegance of the technology or the need for social change. Even social entrepreneurs need milestones, quantifiable results, and revenue to sustain their value.
2. Focus on customer needs. - Some founders are so passionate about their solution that they forget to lead with an explanation of the customer value equation. Investors assume that entrepreneurs are experts on their solution, but they want to see the same depth on customer and market dynamics.
3. Startup presents a plan to expand and lead the market. - Every investor I know has seen multiple plans to add more features to Facebook, or add yet another dating site. I’m looking for teams who are exploiting a new market niche, or adding real innovation to an existing domain. Investors like to see new intellectual property as a barrier to entry.
4. Plan includes a business model with good margins. - Counting on sustaining the business through more free users and growth in eyeballs for advertisers is a naive and risky approach and it implies investors with very deep pockets. Investors expect to hear annual revenues, average margins, customer acquisition costs and sales pipelines.
5. Founding team has business and domain experience. - An entrepreneur needs a depth of business experience on the team, as well as technical expertise. This should include financial, marketing, sales, and operations, all with a record of working together in setting milestones, managing results, and focusing on the market opportunity.
6. Business objective is clear and laser focused. - If the entrepreneur is pitching a plan that sounds like this is a solution for everyone, it’s likely that resource constraints will not allow any customer segment to be served well. The best startups are highly focused in the initial rollout, but can present an evolving strategy for broadening the market later.
Source: Entrepreneur
Patty Block, President and Founder of The Block Group, established her company to advocate for women-owned businesses, helping them position their companies for strategic growth. Charting the course for impactful, sustainable, profitable businesses, the beacon is control: of your strategic direction, your money, your time, your staffing, and your ability to bring in business. The Block Group brings together the people, resources and ideas that build results.
Houston Advice for Women Entrepreneurs.
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