I would suggest spending some money and cash hanging out at bars where some of these bands perform, Also, try to find a way backstage to talk to the musicians after they perform to do your research. If you're going after well-off musicians, contact their agents or band managers. They are always l...
You can but it's dangerous. You want validation from your idea to come from who are truly likely to be your customers. Also, the setting creates more bias to answers then what you'd want in a good customer development process. This is a great place to ask about how to go about good customer de...
1) Look up local universities and email the chairperson of whichever programs relate to the type of cofounder you need (i.e. electrical engineering, marketing, etc.). You could even possibly go there in person and put up a sign on a bulletin board. 2) There may be relevant Meetups in your area, ...
As someone who is deeply involved with startup studios, here are a few hints. 1. First, calculate your optimal scale of operations. In our startup studio this was about 12-15 people core team + dedicated ceo-s for each startup experiment 2. Raise funds for the studio, for at least 12-18 months. Y...
An investor will put money into a business that they think will give them a profitable return. To convince then you will need to explain why or prove that people with use your app in large enough numbers to make it investment worthy. Who are your target users? Why will they use use your app over...
I haven't seen a deal structured this way. Usually they get 6-10% equity I exchange for some small amount of money ( ~ $25k ) and tons of mentorship. 15% for $20k seems high ( you are valuing your company at $133k ) but there might be more to it. Accelerators are great specially for unknown foun...
Hi, I currently work at Idealab and the body of knowledge and level of support for entrepreneurs is outstanding. I worked at 3 start-ups prior to joining Idealab and feel like I've learned as much in the past year here as I did at any of the start-ups. Plus the people here truly want to help an...
I've used UserTesting (and its service Peek), as well as other user behavior analysis tools like HotJar, Crazy Egg, etc. To answer your questions: 1. Do you use such services? If so, what do you choose? // I use them to either confirm or reject hypotheses I have about my product's/business' pe...
Typical pre-seed (100-500k) is 5-15% Seed (500k-2M) is up to 25% And over depends. The "potential of the next FB...." is just that, a potential. Don't fight over equity early but make sure you never give up more than 15%, don't offer board seats too early and no "right of first refusal" or "ri...
It's never too late to develop your first app. The most successful companies/apps are started by people with unique perspectives targeting like minded customers. As a 41 year old, you certainly have insights and perspectives that others do not. Are you looking to develop the app, yourself, or a...