After reviewing your site I found there was a potential for confusion with openup.com which is a completely different site. How does the name reflect what you are providing? Would be good to explain this somewhere. I also found the About Us page was way too vague and the FAQ's, while better, sti...
Instead of calling it "comedy", aim for humor. Humor that supports a key discovery helps to anchor that insight in the investor's mind. I've coached many pitches, and find that when presenters are nervous they try to go for an improvised laugh, thinking it will cut the tension. However, in most ...
Probably not but not because it's impossible to raise on a deck. Raising based purely on a deck almost only happens by seed funds backing an established team. In this case, the raise is much larger (usually between 1 to 2 million). Without a technical founder, and without you both having a tra...
After spending alot of time interviewing developers for many years. I think the next thing to do is to find a problem to solve. Make it open source so you potential employer can see the code thats being written. Be prepare to discuss how he has chosen this way of solving something over another.. ...
The most important legal ramification of a Canadian launching a business in Silicon Valley is immigration. You must have a visa that allows you to operate the business (hire and manage employees, etc) in order to be running a business. I started a business in Canada and was able to attract grea...
Just because two people are connected to each other on LinkedIn, doesn't mean that these two people have a strong connection to one another. So first, ask your Mentor directly whether (s)he knows this person well enough to make an introduction. Also, I'd suggest that instead of asking that th...
Steve Blank has already covered this in depth in his book 4 Steps to the Epiphany, as well as a video here: http://startupweekend.wistia.com/medias/tao3s8hf7l My approach is based on his outline, with a twist. 1) I try and conduct the interviews at the customers office or place of work, at minim...
Yep. Although I don't think that's limited to MVPs. It's just always the case. You can copy code, features, etc. but you can't copy soul. There will always be people who copy you. It's better to keep moving forward and accept the copy cats than it would be to try and shield yourself. Keep an e...
I think as others have said, that idea itself may not be quite right and you are looking to us to brainstorm. However, I do know someone who does exactly this, for free. He makes his money by facilitating the ability of others to think outside their proverbial boxes, using what at the core, is ba...
Understanding your market is key. Without a market, products flounder, or worse, fail. I've conducted research on markets where a product didn't exist yet. The research doesn't have to be expensive or lengthy. The purpose of research is to understand the true needs of the market. Based on the...