As an entrepreneurship professor, every semester I have about 20-30 student teams developing concepts and the first big question they struggle with is: What should we name our company? While there are […]
As you may have read in my previous post The Business Plan is Dead, the pitch deck is the key to garnering an investor’s attention. If you cannot tell your story in […]
It’s the big day. You and your partners have prepared your slide deck, you have your executive summary printed, and are ready to share your amazing investment opportunity. Here are five simple tips that […]
If you’ve read my previous post on unit economics you know how important assumptions are in building a financial model for your business. However, building assumptions into a financial model requires some strong […]
There are certainly more than just seven mistakes that you can make when pitching to investors, but these seven could definitely be the nail in the coffin that prevents you from getting […]
This week, I attended a venture capital (VC)/angel investor conference in the Bay Area and part of the event involved entrepreneurs pitching their concepts to a panel of VCs and angels. I was […]
This is one of my favorite exercises for entrepreneurs. In nearly every single case, this simple exercise will help improve just about any kind of introduction for a business (it works for salespeople […]
After over fifteen years of working with entrepreneurs, investors, and professors in the realm of entrepreneurship, new ventures, and business plans; I’ve learned there are some very simple, yet devastating red flags that […]
Ah, the common problems of cell phones in class. We seem to have all become somewhat addicted to our phones. A recent study actually found that female college students, in particular, spend […]
Can you spell graduation without a computer? A college senior probably couldn’t. I remember what shocked me the most when I began teaching college students – their poor grammar and spelling skills. […]
This was me about 10 years ago: Hi, I’m Colleen. I’m an entrepreneurship professor. I listen to ideas all day long and I can’t get enough of them. I dream about my students ideas and […]
While most entrepreneurs in the United States tend to start businesses after the age of 35 according to the Kauffman Foundation’s Index Start Up Activity, about 25% of entrepreneurs start businesses earlier. […]
Our semester at Chico State just wrapped up. As part of my final exam, the students are required to pitch their concepts to a panel of external judges from the community. We call […]
Anyone who has been involved in a board conversation or a management discussion within a nonprofit has faced the following question: Do we do what is best for the cause or best […]
I was speaking with a close associate of mine the other day about boards of directors. He is considered by many to be an expert in the area of philanthropy and he […]
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