I have netted out a couple of key suggestions I made to the three presenting companies at Monday’s SDForum Marketing SIG “Marketing Lab” so that they are more generally applicable. I was impressed: all three start-ups were well prepared, they managed their presentations to the time limits and were serious about their businesses.
- Two key questions start-ups need to answer:
- Who Are You? Don’t be Anonymous, Sign Your Work.
- Who Are Your Customers – What Results Have They Achieved.
- Use Website Grader to get a quick assessment of your website (we blogged about it in January of 2007).
- Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank is a great book on the customer development process for start-ups.
- Georgi Dagnall looked for it in the local libraries and couldn’t find it.
- It’s $10 cheaper on CafePress, so if you are thinking of buying a copy, compare the Amazon link above with Four Steps to the Epiphany on CafePress.
It was a good format: my only change, given how well everyone managed their time, would be to allow 5 minutes of audience questions after each pitch as well. It was a very enjoyable event.