I so often see posts on social networks, most notably LinkedIn as it is the most widely used for the topic, wherein entrepreneurs seem to be crying about not getting funded.
Threads like this cause me to cringe as they clearly demonstrate that those
in opposition, clearly have no concept of the world of raising capital.
Whether you're going public with a Wall Street Firm, doing an M&A Deal, or
a myriad of other ventures, you're going to pay up front, even if they are
taking a slice. It happens on Wall Street every day.
For some reason, there is a rumor out there that this isn't so. It is.
Who else will pay for all the legal work? Many young ducklings suppose
that the legal work they've done (if any) is sufficient. It's not. It's
not even close.
The mere fact that people post deals in this group, is enough proof that
folks don't have a clue about deals and how they are done. There are more
SEC Violations in LinkedIn groups than there are people active in them.
This one is no exception.
Perhaps an even larger misnomer is that a private company is exempt from
Securities Laws. They are not.
The biggest mistake, however, is the entrepreneur who simply believes that
just because he has an idea, that the investment community owes it to him
or her, to consider their deal. Possibly an even bigger laugh, is the
number of times you read, "game changer," "Revolutionary Product," or some
other mangifyer for an idea. The non-investment side would probably
cringe if a film were played when they use such an expression, with someone
with a like idea, stating the exact same thing.
Are there finders out there that don't charge upfront? I suppose so, but
they are not that widely acclaimed, nor effective.
While many will send me an unsolicited proposal (some will even send mail
via linkedin, though I don't answer LinkedIn Mail) simply because our
network has a rather large percentage of millionaires & billionaires and we
generated several billion in funding just last year and the year before and
are now in our third decade, we are not a finder, simply a network. Do I
know capital sources? Yes. Will I take some Joe Schmoe from an email
group? No. A network is the most powerful component an entrepreneur can
have and a LinkedIn profile doesn't count as a network. A network is a
group of people you know personally and knows you right back.
As I wrote in an earlier blog post, many VCs get 20-40 unsolicited proposals per day. That's up to 200 per week! Can you now begin to imagine how much man-hours it would take to not only read through poorly written proposals (less than 10% are good), but to analyze them, then pursue due diligence?
This should be done for free, in the eyes of most entrepreneurs. Especially those who haven't a clue as to how to get the attention of an investor, let alone attract it like a magnet and to compel us to open our wallets and write a check.
Dave Phillipson, CP
CEO Space
The World's Largest, Oldest & Most
Successful Organization for CEOs,
Entrepreneurs & Visionary Investors
http://www.GlobalCEOspace.com
Dave@GlobalCEOspace.com
http://DauntlessDave.blogspot.com
P.S. Those that know me, understand there's not much that gets me as excited as helping a fellow entrepreneur. I'm passionate about sharing my resources, knowledge, and elite connections in order to build business cooperatively.
I do this by receiving referrals from people like you. Who do you know that's a business owner and wants to grow with strength & velocity?
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
So just what is CEO Space?
CEO Space is the world's oldest, largest & most successful network for CEOs, Entrepreneurs and Visionary investors.
CEO Space is an entrepreneurial training and world class business networking organization, providing MBA-level training and development and an immersion experience of cooperation that results in income acceleration through exponential business growth.
CEO Space was founded by Berny Dohrmann, whose father was a mentor to Walt Disney, Napoleon Hill, Buckminster Fuller, Jack Kennedy, W. Edwards Demming, Earl Nightingale and many others.
For the last thirty years, Dohrmann, whom the media refers to as "The Millionaire Maker" has been known as "Coach of the Coaches" ...Anthony Robbins, Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Cannfield, Lisa Nichols, Robert Allen, John Assaraf, Loral Langmier, Jay Abraham, Alex Mandossian, T. Harv Ecker, John Gray, Bob Proctor, Robert Kiyosaki, Les Brown and just about any other big name you can think of, including Founding Partners from elite consulting firms, Accenture & Booz Allen, as well as head execs at companies like Starbucks, Nokia, Memorex, HSN, 3M, AT&T, ConocoPhillips, and many more. He is now counseling the United Nations and many foreign nations with regard to turning around the global economic crisis via Cooperative Capitalism.
About a third of our members are investors, including millionaires & billionaires. In just 5 meetings in 2009, CEO Space generated over $3 Billion Dollars in funding for its members, while all the banks and venture capital firms were sitting on their hands. We did it again, during 2010.
Investors love CEO Space for four main reasons, among many....
1) Anonymity & Ability to get to know the principals intimately.
2) More quality deal flow in one place than anywhere on earth.
3) The opportunity to mentor and be mentored, no matter what level of one's stature.
4) The member companies are in a place where they have a lifetime membership with no annual dues and can get on-going advisement from the top business minds in the world.
For more information, including videos, click here to go to CEO Space, or simply contact me by email and let me know what you're working on and what you seek next to get to the next level. Also, let me know which videos you've viewed.
Dave Phillipson, CP
CEO Space
The World's Largest, Oldest & Most
Successful Organization for CEOs,
Entrepreneurs & Visionary Investors
http://www.GlobalCEOspace.com
Dave@GlobalCEOspace.com
http://DauntlessDave.blogspot.com
P.S. Those that know me, understand there's not much that gets me as excited as helping a fellow entrepreneur. I'm passionate about sharing my resources, knowledge, and elite connections in order to build business cooperatively.
I do this by receiving referrals from people like you. Who do you know that's a business owner and wants to grow with strength & velocity?
CEO Space is an entrepreneurial training and world class business networking organization, providing MBA-level training and development and an immersion experience of cooperation that results in income acceleration through exponential business growth.
CEO Space was founded by Berny Dohrmann, whose father was a mentor to Walt Disney, Napoleon Hill, Buckminster Fuller, Jack Kennedy, W. Edwards Demming, Earl Nightingale and many others.
For the last thirty years, Dohrmann, whom the media refers to as "The Millionaire Maker" has been known as "Coach of the Coaches" ...Anthony Robbins, Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Cannfield, Lisa Nichols, Robert Allen, John Assaraf, Loral Langmier, Jay Abraham, Alex Mandossian, T. Harv Ecker, John Gray, Bob Proctor, Robert Kiyosaki, Les Brown and just about any other big name you can think of, including Founding Partners from elite consulting firms, Accenture & Booz Allen, as well as head execs at companies like Starbucks, Nokia, Memorex, HSN, 3M, AT&T, ConocoPhillips, and many more. He is now counseling the United Nations and many foreign nations with regard to turning around the global economic crisis via Cooperative Capitalism.
About a third of our members are investors, including millionaires & billionaires. In just 5 meetings in 2009, CEO Space generated over $3 Billion Dollars in funding for its members, while all the banks and venture capital firms were sitting on their hands. We did it again, during 2010.
Investors love CEO Space for four main reasons, among many....
1) Anonymity & Ability to get to know the principals intimately.
2) More quality deal flow in one place than anywhere on earth.
3) The opportunity to mentor and be mentored, no matter what level of one's stature.
4) The member companies are in a place where they have a lifetime membership with no annual dues and can get on-going advisement from the top business minds in the world.
For more information, including videos, click here to go to CEO Space, or simply contact me by email and let me know what you're working on and what you seek next to get to the next level. Also, let me know which videos you've viewed.
Dave Phillipson, CP
CEO Space
The World's Largest, Oldest & Most
Successful Organization for CEOs,
Entrepreneurs & Visionary Investors
http://www.GlobalCEOspace.com
Dave@GlobalCEOspace.com
http://DauntlessDave.blogspot.com
P.S. Those that know me, understand there's not much that gets me as excited as helping a fellow entrepreneur. I'm passionate about sharing my resources, knowledge, and elite connections in order to build business cooperatively.
I do this by receiving referrals from people like you. Who do you know that's a business owner and wants to grow with strength & velocity?
Friday, February 18, 2011
Boot Strapping is Foolish
Based on the principles of Napoleon Hill's, Think and Grow Rich and just as Napoleon insists that one does not boot strap, CEO Space teaches people how to avoid it as well. In addition, CEO Space teaches those who do not have the necessary funds, how to generate $12-15k in an average of 72 hours.
Even further, it is found that most who are engaged with investors, are not in compliance. In fact, most believe that they don't have to be simply because they have a false belief that a private company is immune to the laws. Moreover, we find that they give up way too much of their company, for far too little. For example, one should not give up more than 20% for as much as $50 Million, but often we find that some will give up as much as 50 percent for as little as a couple hundred thousand, simply because they aren't aware of a simple formula that will attract money like a magnet.
Also, most have not even seen the "Show Me The Money" video at www.CEOspaceInternational.com
If there is anything I can do for you in the mean time, I'm happy to help.
It's not that last year was a great year for our members, every year has been - for over 20 years. Sure, last year and the year before were down years, but we still generated more than the government and VC did, for small business.
Now this:
Dave Phillipson, CP
CEO Space
The World's Largest, Oldest & Most
Successful Organization for CEOs,
Entrepreneurs & Visionary Investors
http://www.GlobalCEOspace.com
Dave@GlobalCEOspace.com
http://DauntlessDave.blogspot.com
P.S. Those that know me, understand there's not much that gets me as excited as helping a fellow entrepreneur. I'm passionate about sharing my resources, knowledge, and elite connections in order to build business cooperatively.
I do this by receiving referrals from people like you. Who do you know that's a business owner and wants to grow with strength & velocity?
Even further, it is found that most who are engaged with investors, are not in compliance. In fact, most believe that they don't have to be simply because they have a false belief that a private company is immune to the laws. Moreover, we find that they give up way too much of their company, for far too little. For example, one should not give up more than 20% for as much as $50 Million, but often we find that some will give up as much as 50 percent for as little as a couple hundred thousand, simply because they aren't aware of a simple formula that will attract money like a magnet.
Also, most have not even seen the "Show Me The Money" video at www.CEOspaceInternational.com
If there is anything I can do for you in the mean time, I'm happy to help.
It's not that last year was a great year for our members, every year has been - for over 20 years. Sure, last year and the year before were down years, but we still generated more than the government and VC did, for small business.
Now this:
Dave Phillipson, CP
CEO Space
The World's Largest, Oldest & Most
Successful Organization for CEOs,
Entrepreneurs & Visionary Investors
http://www.GlobalCEOspace.com
Dave@GlobalCEOspace.com
http://DauntlessDave.blogspot.com
P.S. Those that know me, understand there's not much that gets me as excited as helping a fellow entrepreneur. I'm passionate about sharing my resources, knowledge, and elite connections in order to build business cooperatively.
I do this by receiving referrals from people like you. Who do you know that's a business owner and wants to grow with strength & velocity?
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Pitch to the Stars!
PITCH TO THE STARS!
WEDNESDAY, FEB 16th, 2011
5:30pm (new time for cooperative networking)
3084 Motor Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90064
$10 if paid in advance or $20 at the door
PayPal or Amazon Payments accepted.
PayPal to: Play4Funny@excite.com
Pitch Tank Event Featuring CEO Space Founder
and Chairman Berny Dohrmann
MEGA EVENT
Join over 200 entrepreneurs, investors & other small and midsized business owners.
for a
PITCH TANK TO THE STARS EVENT
CEOs of 10 early stage companies, chosen from over 100 applicants,
will each have 3 minutes to pitch their projects.
The panel of judges, who will include:
Business Strategist to more Fortune Companies than any other
Coach of the Coaches for 30 years.
Once recognized as the youngest Investment Banker in the World
in the 80s, The impetus behind the internet's WHITE (safe) list.
Named the Father of Small Busines
by the Mayor of Los Angeles
and just added
THE WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY
THE PANEL & AUDIENCE.
1ST-PRIZE
Discount to CEO Space to receive an
INTRODUCTION TO
KEVIN HARRINGTON,SHARK TANK,
King of Informercials-
Alliance Partner w/CEOSpace
&
BOB CIRCOSTA, HSN-20 Year Alliance Partner
RSVP by contacting:
Dave Phillipson
Dave@GlobalCEOspace.com
Coming to Orange County in March.
Inquire for details.
EXPO TABLE OPPORTUNITIES ALSO AVAILABLE.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Ground Hog's Day and your Business Plan
Puxatawney Phil has a very important metaphor for Entrepreneurs and their business plan....
If you lead with it, will you ever hear from an investor again?
Investors invest in the jockey, not the horse. Many self-proclaimed 'business coaches' and professors at business schools, teaching MBA candidates give what is perhaps the worst advice in the world: "to lead with a business plan." If they want to read a plan, they will ask for one. It doesn't work today, and it certainly was never that effective in the 'old school'. Fact is, some sent it to people they knew and it worked, so this then became the industry standard.
Very few so-called "experts" realize that VCs receive up to 40 plans per day... that's as much as 200 a week. They don't have time. If they added and looked at all the plans on line, that would add tens of thousands more. This is through no fault of the posters, they've probably never worked in VC or may not know many.
Few Entrepreneurs can even write a good business plan, so they end up looking worse. Too many plans matriculating and not enough hours in a day for investors to read them, spell doom and certainly is not a good first impression and you rarely - if ever - get a second chance.
Leading with a business plan is a waste of an opportunity, a waste of the time of the investor, and the Entrepreneur. It sends the wrong message. Don't get me wrong, will some investors read them before signing checks? Yes. Will they write a check before getting to know you? No. So why put your plan out there? It's like walking onto a used car lot and being told "Have I got the car for you" before the salesman says, "Hello." If you start by selling, you increase your chances for failure and practically guarantee it. If you can't raise capital, you can't get to the next level.
I get plans submitted to me just because I help people or because people know I write checks. The bottom line is that an investor is concerned with how they will get their money back and what is their reason for putting in the money.
Do you want your business to see it's shadow again?
All you really need are the following: Executive Summary, Projections and answer these four questions: Is there a market? What is the strategy to serve the market? Who is the management? Do I like you and do I believe in you? (You might call the last one two, but I see it as one whole, as do most who write checks.)
Chances are, you need other things than just capital. If you've read this far, and you are seeking to raise capital, then you'll probably be very intrigued in this You Tube Short: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn64F3ysPvI
Dave Phillipson, CP
CEO Space
The World's Largest, Oldest & Most
Successful Organization for CEOs,
Entrepreneurs & Visionary Investors
http://www.GlobalCEOspace.com
Dave [at] GlobalCEOspace.com
http://DauntlessDave.blogspot.com
P.S. Those that know me, understand there's not much that gets me as excited as helping a fellow entrepreneur. I'm passionate about sharing my resources, knowledge, and elite connections in order to build business cooperatively.
I do this by receiving referrals from people like you. Who do you know that's a business owner?
If you lead with it, will you ever hear from an investor again?
Investors invest in the jockey, not the horse. Many self-proclaimed 'business coaches' and professors at business schools, teaching MBA candidates give what is perhaps the worst advice in the world: "to lead with a business plan." If they want to read a plan, they will ask for one. It doesn't work today, and it certainly was never that effective in the 'old school'. Fact is, some sent it to people they knew and it worked, so this then became the industry standard.
Very few so-called "experts" realize that VCs receive up to 40 plans per day... that's as much as 200 a week. They don't have time. If they added and looked at all the plans on line, that would add tens of thousands more. This is through no fault of the posters, they've probably never worked in VC or may not know many.
Few Entrepreneurs can even write a good business plan, so they end up looking worse. Too many plans matriculating and not enough hours in a day for investors to read them, spell doom and certainly is not a good first impression and you rarely - if ever - get a second chance.
Leading with a business plan is a waste of an opportunity, a waste of the time of the investor, and the Entrepreneur. It sends the wrong message. Don't get me wrong, will some investors read them before signing checks? Yes. Will they write a check before getting to know you? No. So why put your plan out there? It's like walking onto a used car lot and being told "Have I got the car for you" before the salesman says, "Hello." If you start by selling, you increase your chances for failure and practically guarantee it. If you can't raise capital, you can't get to the next level.
I get plans submitted to me just because I help people or because people know I write checks. The bottom line is that an investor is concerned with how they will get their money back and what is their reason for putting in the money.
Do you want your business to see it's shadow again?
All you really need are the following: Executive Summary, Projections and answer these four questions: Is there a market? What is the strategy to serve the market? Who is the management? Do I like you and do I believe in you? (You might call the last one two, but I see it as one whole, as do most who write checks.)
Chances are, you need other things than just capital. If you've read this far, and you are seeking to raise capital, then you'll probably be very intrigued in this You Tube Short: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn64F3ysPvI
Dave Phillipson, CP
CEO Space
The World's Largest, Oldest & Most
Successful Organization for CEOs,
Entrepreneurs & Visionary Investors
http://www.GlobalCEOspace.com
Dave [at] GlobalCEOspace.com
http://DauntlessDave.blogspot.com
P.S. Those that know me, understand there's not much that gets me as excited as helping a fellow entrepreneur. I'm passionate about sharing my resources, knowledge, and elite connections in order to build business cooperatively.
I do this by receiving referrals from people like you. Who do you know that's a business owner?
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
5 Disgraces to Entrepreneurship
Today's entry is a Guest Blog.
If you feel you have what it takes to appear in the Dauntless Dave Blog and you are fighting for small business and have an in-your-face approach, yet helpful, then please feel welcome to follow me on Twitter and let me know you'd like to Guest Blog.
Who knows. I just may take you up on the offer. I might even follow you back!
5 Types of people who are disgracing entrepreneurship
January 21st, 2011 | Author: Amit Grover
Nurture Talent Academy, India’s 1st institute for training entrepreneurs recently completed 1 year of its operations. I just thought to reflect what the journey has been like, and though in the past I have talked about the positive and motivating aspects of entrepreneurship, few things about few people has been disturbing me in the past, and I thought to write about it. I have met over 2000 entrepreneurs in past few years, and of all kinds, age, sex etc. There are few types of people, though, who are disgracing entrepreneurship, and I am highlighting their traits below:
1. “I am thinking about starting up for last 3 years” types
These are the type of people who you will find in most of the networking events and they have only 1 cap on – “THINKING” cap. Every time you talk to them, they will tell you about a great startup (which maybe in news for funding, product, consumers etc.) and say, “You know, I had thought about this idea 3 years back! But the problem is … (some explanation about why this will not work or why they didn’t do it)”. A real potential entrepreneur would have already met potential customers, team members and investors and taken off in some ways by this time.
Lesson – Thinking is good, but doing is better
2. “I have got this great idea, but I cannot share with you” types
There are some types of people who take literal meaning from “Power of Ideas” – they think that idea is only thing that is holding them from their next IPO (initial public offering), and because they have a great idea, customers will be lining up after them. Nowadays, customers are smart to understand who promises and who delivers – they pay for performance, not for ideas. Some of them are even smart enough to copy other ideas from Techcrunch, Demo sites and claim to be their “original” ideas.
Lesson – Ideas are everywhere, but he who brings a product for the customer makes the money.
3. “I don’t like my job, so I want to become an entrepreneur” types
If you don’t like your job, then change your job. If you don’t like your industry, then change the industry. But who says that being an entrepreneur is better or worse than a job. In fact, its multiple jobs rolled into one – you have to get customers, arrange for money, use it efficiently and manage a team all at the same time!
Lesson – Entrepreneurs need ability and passion to start, not frustration.
4. “I want to make money” types
Yes, entrepreneurship is a lot about making money, but as Henry Ford said, “Any business that makes only money, is a poor business”. There will be days, especially early on in business, when you will not make any money. There will be days, maybe sometime later in business, when you will make so much money that you will not be able to count – you will have to get accountants, secretaries and professional bankers to do this for you.
Lesson – define few objectives with which you wish to start your venture, including personal, professional and financial ones.
5. “If I had the money, I would start my business” types
I come across this category of people every day, and their most common crib is about investors not giving them the money to start. When you probe them further, you come to realize that they are in a comfort zone of a monthly salary, set daily schedules, and weekend parties etc. There are no real attempts at trying to find customers, build a product, or even meet investors! They just read a newspaper or website and think what gets covered in media is really for real.
Lesson – Real entrepreneurship is about making sacrifices, and doing something to convert problems into opportunities, not complaining about someone else.
These are the few kinds who always crib, criticize or complain – the first thing that I do is avoid them, and find someone more helpful or positive in life. India does not need people who bring disgrace to entrepreneurship, but more people who can struggle, fight, and bring things to life!
Amit GroverAbout the Author.
Amit Grover is an IIT Delhi and IIM Indore alumnus, an individual with a passion for entrepreneurship. He is the founder of Nurture Talent Academy (www.nurturetalent.com), which has conducted 35 programs, across 10 cities, attended by 550 startups. It conducts programs for budding entrepreneurs on areas like finance, business plan, marketing and setting up a company. He is also a member of Mumbai Angels, a group of early stage investors and has led over 25 deals in last 4 years.
If you feel you have what it takes to appear in the Dauntless Dave Blog and you are fighting for small business and have an in-your-face approach, yet helpful, then please feel welcome to follow me on Twitter and let me know you'd like to Guest Blog.
Who knows. I just may take you up on the offer. I might even follow you back!
5 Types of people who are disgracing entrepreneurship
January 21st, 2011 | Author: Amit Grover
Nurture Talent Academy, India’s 1st institute for training entrepreneurs recently completed 1 year of its operations. I just thought to reflect what the journey has been like, and though in the past I have talked about the positive and motivating aspects of entrepreneurship, few things about few people has been disturbing me in the past, and I thought to write about it. I have met over 2000 entrepreneurs in past few years, and of all kinds, age, sex etc. There are few types of people, though, who are disgracing entrepreneurship, and I am highlighting their traits below:
1. “I am thinking about starting up for last 3 years” types
These are the type of people who you will find in most of the networking events and they have only 1 cap on – “THINKING” cap. Every time you talk to them, they will tell you about a great startup (which maybe in news for funding, product, consumers etc.) and say, “You know, I had thought about this idea 3 years back! But the problem is … (some explanation about why this will not work or why they didn’t do it)”. A real potential entrepreneur would have already met potential customers, team members and investors and taken off in some ways by this time.
Lesson – Thinking is good, but doing is better
2. “I have got this great idea, but I cannot share with you” types
There are some types of people who take literal meaning from “Power of Ideas” – they think that idea is only thing that is holding them from their next IPO (initial public offering), and because they have a great idea, customers will be lining up after them. Nowadays, customers are smart to understand who promises and who delivers – they pay for performance, not for ideas. Some of them are even smart enough to copy other ideas from Techcrunch, Demo sites and claim to be their “original” ideas.
Lesson – Ideas are everywhere, but he who brings a product for the customer makes the money.
3. “I don’t like my job, so I want to become an entrepreneur” types
If you don’t like your job, then change your job. If you don’t like your industry, then change the industry. But who says that being an entrepreneur is better or worse than a job. In fact, its multiple jobs rolled into one – you have to get customers, arrange for money, use it efficiently and manage a team all at the same time!
Lesson – Entrepreneurs need ability and passion to start, not frustration.
4. “I want to make money” types
Yes, entrepreneurship is a lot about making money, but as Henry Ford said, “Any business that makes only money, is a poor business”. There will be days, especially early on in business, when you will not make any money. There will be days, maybe sometime later in business, when you will make so much money that you will not be able to count – you will have to get accountants, secretaries and professional bankers to do this for you.
Lesson – define few objectives with which you wish to start your venture, including personal, professional and financial ones.
5. “If I had the money, I would start my business” types
I come across this category of people every day, and their most common crib is about investors not giving them the money to start. When you probe them further, you come to realize that they are in a comfort zone of a monthly salary, set daily schedules, and weekend parties etc. There are no real attempts at trying to find customers, build a product, or even meet investors! They just read a newspaper or website and think what gets covered in media is really for real.
Lesson – Real entrepreneurship is about making sacrifices, and doing something to convert problems into opportunities, not complaining about someone else.
These are the few kinds who always crib, criticize or complain – the first thing that I do is avoid them, and find someone more helpful or positive in life. India does not need people who bring disgrace to entrepreneurship, but more people who can struggle, fight, and bring things to life!
Amit GroverAbout the Author.
Amit Grover is an IIT Delhi and IIM Indore alumnus, an individual with a passion for entrepreneurship. He is the founder of Nurture Talent Academy (www.nurturetalent.com), which has conducted 35 programs, across 10 cities, attended by 550 startups. It conducts programs for budding entrepreneurs on areas like finance, business plan, marketing and setting up a company. He is also a member of Mumbai Angels, a group of early stage investors and has led over 25 deals in last 4 years.
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