Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

…so is everybody else.

I’m headed out to the TVC equity capital symposium dry run today. 16 entrepreneurs will each present for 10 minutes and then receive feedback from the mixed audience of advisors and potential investors. (The real show is in May.) I’m expecting to see some great ideas…and some very smart and nervous people…

Combine the fear of public speaking with the pressure of presenting their baby to public scrutiny and – and well – sometimes you can see them sweating from 20 feet away. To their credit, however, I seldom see any that are a complete disaster. And, the audience has the best of intentions. Believe it or not, we’re friendly; we want the entrepreneur to succeed.

So that’s why we will be noting comments like this on our evaluation form:

Don’t say “innovative.” Tell me a story; illustrate HOW it’s innovative (15 other people could well be touting their “innovative solutions.”)

Same goes for mega-bucks market projections. Lose the hockey sticks. Everyone else is also talking hundreds of millions, even billions. But there’s a huge difference between total market, addressable market and achievable market.

If you’re projecting double-digit market share within three years in an established market, you’d better have a heck of a go-to-market plan.

And so it goes…I’m just hoping there aren’t any bouncing ball graphics in the presentations this year….;-)

Tags: start-up financing, marketing troubleshooting, entrepreneur sanity check, VCs, presentation