#daniel hirsch

The Zero Boys (1986)

Steve (Daniel Hirsch), Larry (Tom Shell), and Rip (Jared Moses) are part of a paintball team known as “The Zero Boys”. After winning a paintball tournament, they decide to celebrate.

The trio and their girlfriends take a leisure trip into the mountains, but stumble upon the most gruesome massacre in history.

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You have made the decision to attend the Web Summit in Lisbon and you have accepted the sacrifices of time, travel and expense. Why? because you believe that it could help get your business to the next level. Sound thinking, but going there isn’t enough. You need to set yourself up to succeed.

The facts are there will be over 50,000 attendees, more than 15,000 companies in the exhibit hall, it is so big it could make your head spin. To top it all off there will only be a few investors to cover the tens of thousands of companies exhibiting at the Wb Summit. That means that your chances of being noticed are slim to none! Therefore, I am going to give you some pointers in this article as well as in some subsequent articles that I intend on writing, which will boost your chances of being noticed and succedding at the Web Summit this November.

Preparation

If you dont do the appropriate ground work then dont bother showing up. You will fail! However, with hard work, perseverance and some luck you may get the attention of the right investor. Remember, you just need one angel or VC to like you or your product. Why? Because he will tell his friends and they will organize an investing round if they truly believe in your team and vision.

Set Up Meetings – You should try to establish meetings with people from your social media realm (linkedIn etc) whom you know will be there. Don’t be tentative to send out a message introducing yourself and ask for a time to have a cup of coffee. Additionally, there is the Web Summit app which can prove to be a useful tool. Invite potential prospects to your booth and make sure to research them prior so you will know the buzz words to use if and when they do show up. You should send out at least 100 personal invites to relevant investors, partners, users etc.

The Pitch – well actually, it’s not one pitch it is in fact a catch phrase and three distinct pitches. There is the elevator pitch, the five minute pitch and the ten minute pitch.

Here is what I mean. During the course of the day there will be thousands of random people walking by your booth. This is a numbers game. You need to speak to as many people as possible and in a matter of seconds filter out potential partners or investors from irrelevant prospects.

A cool free gadget is a great way to get someones attention for a moment. You offer the gadget to anyone who comes and then you simply ask “Can I show you how our app is able to organize your contact list? There is also a psychology behind the free gift. It is very hard for someone to say no to you once they have received a gift from you, no matter how inexpensive it is.

Once they agree you need to offer the elevator pitch.

The elevator pitch lasts no more than 60 seconds yet it is probably the roughest pitch to master.  While creating a full fledged pitch deck is no easy task, revising that down to a mere sixty seconds is tough. Here are some helpful tips:

After introducing yourself, immediately get to the value proposition your company has to offer. What is the issue out there that your company is addressing.

Establish your credibilities and expertise while not divulging anything too sensitive. The elevator pitch is not to reveal everything about your company as quick as you can…the trick is to leave them wanting more.

State your call to action. You are probably trying to raise money or find clients. Make your request clear.

Filter!

Now, before moving to the next step you need to filter. Ask the prospect their credentials and quickly decide if they are a potential partner, investor or user. If they are then continue to the longer pitch, of they are not then respectfully pass them off to your colleague. “Thanks for your time, my buddy Tom over here is going to give you a demo of our revolutionary platform. Have a great day!

If they are a prospect, then continue on to the five minute pitch.

What is the five minute pitch? Great question! The five minute pitch allows you the opportunity to give a more defined view of your company. While five minutes is considerably more than sixty seconds, it is still limited and there remains the need for brevity. Here is the information of what needs to be in the pitch:

Vision statement

Brief description of what the company does (brief being the operative word here)

The problem

Your Solution

About your product/service

Business model (road map, revenue, pricing, marketing

Competition

Team (brief bios of company leadership)

The ten minute sales pitch allows for a lot more detail and nuance. The ten minute sales pitch allows you to get into the intricacies of your business. Remember, your points should be encompassing and brief as possible. Here are the points that should be made succinctly in the 10 minute pitch:

Tell the story of how you came to address the problem/opportunity that the market has presented.

Discuss any successes or positive feedback you have gotten to date

Define your target market

Spell out how you will acquire customers, clients or users

Describe your competition

State revenue models and financials (with projections)

Team (brief bios of company leadership)

Make your funding requirements known

Provide an exit strategy for the investor

To successfully make any pitch, you must be absolutely comfortable, confident and fluid. Practice as long as it takes. If you show discomfort or lack of clear thought, the conversation may be over before it starts.

Thats all for now. Stay tuned though as I will be writing some more articles on various topics which will help you and your company succeed at the Web Summit.

Be sure to email me with any questions or comment below. I am always happy to help.

We met up with Daniel Hirsch, founder and President of First Line Capital, a firm that offers emerging companies all of the necessary tools to go from zero to IPO.

Q: Daniel, Can you please tell us about First Line?

We here at First Line Capital, focus our attention on emerging companies. Companies that have gotten to the point of being ready to offer their services or products to market. Often times, these companies require relatively small cash investments ($1m – $5m) to take their operations to the next level. It is also the right time to begin structuring the company in anticipation of future long term needs for growth. To this end, First Line Capital focuses on the architecture and implementation of early-stage public strategies, debt and equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, investor relations and various other investment banking activities.

Q: What specific problem or challenge face the companies you are assisting?

Emerging companies often need small investments to effectuate their business model. It is exactly at this time that the money they are seeking is usually too small for institutional investors and a bit steep for the average angel investor. Companies in this position are really hard pressed to get “the in between” capital they need. More importantly, companies at this stage must always be mindful that they will need more capital in the future and they must ensure their share structure allows for future growth.

Q: Please tell us what other assistance First Line Capital can offer emerging companies?

Well, I would say that the most important advice I can give to companies seeking capital is to really refine their message. Gone are the times when a company would have to provide a business plan to potential investors. Now, a company must have a really good pitch deck along with a one page executive summary. A brief vision statement is also helpful. These Items are important because an investor can only react to what is placed in front of him/her. So it’s imperative to do this properly. We at First Line Capital help the companies through theses efforts

Q: Do you have any other advice to companies?

Yes. Marketing, Marketing and Marketing. In this day and age a company can and must get its message out there. If a company is thinking about a social media presence…they need to do it! Geta a call from a columnist to write an article on the company….Do it! Any way to get the word out is positive and will help in numerous ways.

Q: Why do you think a public strategy is good for emerging companies?

To be clear, it is not appropriate for all companies. However, there are a lot of companies out there that are really on the verge of something big. I think a public strategy done well really gives the company so many benefits and long term growth potential.

Q: What markets are you focusing on currently?

I don’t really judge a company b the markets. I judge a company by its leadership, commitment to excellence and the product/service on offer.

Q: What are the key user benefits to working with First Line Capital?

I truly believe that young companies must remain focused on their core business. To a degree, anything that takes away from this focus is a net negative for the company. With First Line, we really get to know the company and management and we take on the responsibilities of the day to day worries of effectuating a public strategy.

Q: What makes First Line Capital stand out?

Service. As a boutique firm, we have the ability to really focus on our clients and make sure they are pleased with our services. We are not trying to grow into a huge firm with hundreds of clients. We want to focus on a smaller number of companies and really help them get to the next level.

Q: Tell us about your team?

I take great pride in the team here at First Line Capital. We have experienced, capable and knowledgeable experts as members of our team. Our core specialties include corporate structure, business development, investment banking and public relations.

Grab the popcorn, sit back and enjoy the latest episode of Cinema Eclectica. As always we have an eclectic selection of interesting titles.

This week we absolutely refuse any second hand gags. Bad, Producer Rob.

In Off The Shelf we have all the best stuff from the 1980s – ridiculous action with “The Zero Boys” and crazy, gory practical effects in “Bride of Re-Animator”. We also have the forgotten Stellan Skarsgård picture “In Order of Disappearance” and the new tabletop gaming documentary “Enter the Battlefield – Life on the Magic:…