10 Ways To Get Money To Chase You

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10 Ways To Get MoneyTo Chase You!

• Devin D. Thorpe
• Managing Director
• Thorpe Capital Group

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1. Network, network, network

• Be involved with your alma materfootball doesnt
  count
• Join UVEF, MWCN, UTC or ACGjoin a committee
• Meet someone new for breakfast every dayat the
  same place
• Try to get introduced to VCs and Angels without
  pitching them on your deal

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2. Network On-line

• Read VC and entrepreneur blogs
• Comment, comment, comment
• Write a blog
• Use LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube other social
  networking sites
• It is important to be Internet literate

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3. Find Mentors

• Find two or three
• The best mentors are those who have done what you
  want to do
• Choose people you respect
• About 8 to 12 meetings per year
• You have to be willing to take some of their
  advice

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4. Know the NumbersCold

• Every CEO needs to know the key numbers
• How much cash is in the bank right now?
• How long will it last?
• What is year-to-date revenue? Target for the
  full year? Next year?
• When is break-even?
• Its not someone elses job! Its yours!

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5. Under-promise, over-deliver

• Financial projections neither are nor should be
  conservativedont pretend they are simply
  because you can imagine even better scenarios.
• Beat the numbers.

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6. Have A Clear Elevator Pitch

• Describe your business in language a bright
  14-year-old would understand.
• The goal of the pitch is just to have people know
  what you do so theyll ask for more information.
• The pitch should not include an ask for money,
  but should include a question like, do you have
  an interest in businesses like mine?

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7. Have a Good Web Site

• Goes without saying?
• Web sites rarely drive sales
• Web sites facilitate sales and distribution of
  information

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8. Execute

• Focus more energy on running the business and
  less on funding the business
• Build a team of people who can come to work every
  day
• Just Do It
• Make do with the available resources

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9. Have Great Public Relations

• What the media says about you is 10 times more
  important than what you say about yourself.

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10. Prove the Dog will Eat

• Revenue is the best proof
• Good gross margins bolster the case
• Pre-orders, order backlogs, etc.
• Ask the customer
• Prove the dog will eat the dog food.

• Remember
• The first sale is the easiest
• A starving dog will eat anything
• Your mother will eat dog food to please you

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11. Pay It Forward

• Before you get, give back
• Mentor a less experienced entrepreneur
• Introduce a VC contact to someone elses deal
• Donate time or money to a school or charity