The Problem Slide is the single most important slide in our entire Pitch Deck. If we can’t convince an investor to care about our Problem Statement Slide then our Solution Slide isn't going to matter to potential investors.

Everything Hinges on the Problem Slide.

Our pitch deck Problem Slide is the North Star for a winning pitch deck. Our Problem Slide will be what we map every aspect of our investor pitch deck too, from our Competition slide to our Revenue Traction, to our Marketing Plan. The best pitch deck examples absolutely nail the problem slides every time.

How do Most Investors think about the Problem Slide?

Before we begin building the Problem Slide for our pitch deck, let’s think about this slide from the investor’s perspective.&...

Startup Accelerators are programs that invest a small amount of capital into early-stage companies while providing programming and mentorship over a period of 3-6 months.

While startup accelerators have become wildly popular among early-stage startups, the answer to "What is an accelerator?" has morphed quite a bit over time. We hear about startup accelerators providing seed capital, mentorship with the business model, and ultimately introductions to venture capital at a "demo day" but how much of that is truly valuable?

Let's dig into what accelerator programs actually do, who they help, what benefits they provide, and what are some of the cons to joining them - and some new alternatives to the traditional startup accelerators.

What's the Bus...

How to Sell an Idea to a Company Without Them Stealing It

For many, coming up with an innovative idea leads to a desire to do something with it — and in the absence of knowing how to commercialize a great idea, many people jump to the conclusion that it can simply be sold to a big company. Then they worry that the big company will simply take their idea, and leave them in the dust. It’s a great story — it just tends to be a tale of fiction, on many levels.

Before We Answer the Question of a Company Stealing My Great Idea, Can I Sell My Idea to a Company at All?

I talk to thousands of startup founders, inventors, creatives, engineers, and other ideating and innovating types every year.

At least 100 times a year I'm asked "Ryan, I've got this gre...

Search engine optimization is an area of digital marketing that involves using certain tactics to help your website climb the search engine results pages for queries relevant to your business.

Focusing on boosting your SEO should be a key part of your plan to build an audience, as it can help you to reach a lot more of your target customers.

In this guide, we are going to outline 7 different tips for improving your on-page SEO and improving your site’s search engine visibility. Read on to find out more.

What is on-page SEO?

When we talk about on-page SEO, we’re referring to changes you can make to your own website in order to boost your search engine rankings. This can involve writing optimized copy, creating SEO-friendly content, and e...

Caution — This is a topic people feel very strongly about. My goal here is to open up a conversation to help Founders and their staff to find common ground to build from.

Over the past year, there have been heated reactions to companies like Coinbase and Basecamp instituting strict policies to remove discussions about "societal issues" from workplace forums. This has subsequently spawned some really passionate discussions among Founders about where they stood on the issue.

The workplace is changing rapidly, as well as the voices within it, yet many Founders aren't entirely clear as to what is "normalized" in workplace culture and what is taking things too far one way or the other. We're all going to need to think through these issues very c...

When a well-known brand like IBM or Nike is recruiting new people, they don’t only have the advantage of the brand but also of high salaries and good perks. An employee signing up at Microsoft essentially gets paid while learning and building up a good CV. And if she would want to leave later, she is well-positioned.

As a startup, you have to compete with this, with no initial brand, no impressive salaries, and no perks. Therefore, you need to deliver something else. What you can deliver is a superior culture.

Culture is one aspect where it should be easy for startups to compete with big corporations. Because startups are small and young, they can be innovative, flexible, fast-moving, and fun. They can be more grounded in their values and b...

What is product-market fit?

While the term “product-market fit” gets thrown around a lot in the startup world, it’s not always very well understood. In fact, we can’t even agree on who created it! Some people say that the concept of product-market fit was first developed and named by entrepreneur and investor Andy Rachleff. Others give credit to famed investor Marc Andreessen, who at the very least popularized term product-market fit when he wrote about in a 2007 blog post. He said, “Product-market fit means being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market.”

In other words: You could have an amazing, sophisticated, well-thought out idea — and people just don’t get it. (Think: That first focus group for Pied Piper on HBO’s ...

The investor pitch. It's feared. It's desired. It's terrifying.

But don't worry: We've got you covered. Here's everything you need to know about that all-important investor pitch.

What should your investor pitch include?

Invisu.me Co-Founder and CEO Donna Griffit is a master pitcher who has helped countless founders distill their pitch down to exactly what they need — and nothing they don’t. She had the opportunity to sit in on a private pitching event where a delegation of startups had the opportunity give a five minute pitch and receive direct feedback from a group of top-tier Silicon Valley VC’s. (So top tier that she can’t even say who was there but, trust us, you will want to memorize this section before your next pitch.)

Here’s what ...

What is product design?

Product design/a> is the entire process of taking a product from idea to customers — and everything in between.

“There’s a widespread misconception that design is all about aesthetics,” product designer Eric Eriksson [writes](https://uxdesign.cc/what-is-product-design-d95cd5339f5c). “Most people don’t seem to understand that it’s about solving problems instead.”

There’s another, more limited, definition of product design which we’re not going to explore in detail here. But basically, that other definition is talking just about how a product looks and functions. For the sake of product design for startups, we’re focusing on the more holistic, process-oriented definition.

What’s the difference between product design a...

Question: What is one part of starting up that was easier than you anticipated?

Finding a Support Network

“A support network of other entrepreneurs will make any journey a lot more enjoyable—and a lot easier, too! By joining key networking groups, like YEC, and moving into a co-working space, building a support group of like-minded entrepreneurs after starting ZinePak was easier than I would have imagined. I never expected to make so many close friends so quickly!”

— Brittany Hodak
ZinePak
@brittanyhodak

Forming the Business Entity

“What I initially believed would be the most difficult part about starting a business for myself, which I would say is the process of coming up with and registering a name, filling out the prope...