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Deal Breakers for Investors
Paul G. Silva
MAY 18, 2021
Caya and his team at Slidebean kindly interviewed me about often-invisible deal-killer for startup raising money: the investment-culture differences between varying groups of investors.
Paul G. Silva
Launch413 Featured on Angel Invest Boston
Paul G. Silva
JULY 23, 2021
I’ve been a fan for years, and now Launch413 and I have the honor of being on the Angel Invest Boston podcast. Listen to hear how Launch413 helps startup CEO’s beat the odds and attain sustained success. LinkedIn post w/ mini-video | main interview page. Innovation Accelerator
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A Canvas That Tells a Story: KISS Canvas (v4.0)
Paul G. Silva
JUNE 3, 2021
[This is part of a series on the KISS Canvas ]. 30-page business plans are great for established businesses and terrible for startups that need to iterate quickly.
How to Come up With Great Ideas
Paul G. Silva
APRIL 7, 2020
If your startup/organization/team struggles with ideation (the process of coming up with ideas), you fall into one of two camps: Those who struggle to come up with any ideas. Those who come up with plenty of ideas but struggle to identify which ones are worth pursuing.
Reaching Unreachable Candidates
Speaker: Patrick Dempsey and Andrew Erpelding of ZoomInfo
What is ZoomInfo for Recruiters? Find and connect with the right talent to fill roles fast with more data, basic search, advanced search, candidate and company profiles, and export results. Watch this On-Demand Webinar today to see how ZoomInfo for Recruiters can work to get your talented candidates results.
What Should Founders Be Focusing On? SSRL Can Be Their Guide.
Paul G. Silva
MAY 29, 2020
Entrepreneurs and investors used to rely on strictly qualitative/gut methods of assessing progress and deciding what their next steps should be. In 2014 the great Steve Blank gave the startup world its first widely-respected quantitative assessment system: the Investment Readiness Level (IRL).
RVI’s New Model 1 year in: 3x the members, 2x the investments, more diversification
Paul G. Silva
JANUARY 25, 2021
One year ago the angel group I have the honor to lead pivoted to a substantially different model. Like all pivots, it wasn’t easy. In fact, it was scary as hell. But thanks to the incredible involvement of our members and our assistant manager Ethan Ferris, 2020 was our best year ever. Membership tripled , pulling in people from a much larger geography than conceivable before.
RVI, Launch413, Innovation Accelerator – Growing and Thriving
Paul G. Silva
MARCH 7, 2020
For all my friends who kindly track the progress of my ventures, I have a short update :). Launch413 (the post-accelerator) – We’ve invested in 13 companies in just under 3 years, expanded our team of kick-ass Venture Advisors, and are starting to see some real results from our top companies. It is still early days, but the model seems to be scaling and our ability to deliver impact is growing.
Honored! Sigma Nu Tau
Paul G. Silva
MAY 7, 2020
The entrepreneurship faculty of Western New England University kindly inducted me as an honorary member of Sigma Nu Tau , the only academic honor society dedicated to entrepreneurship. My sincere thanks to WNE, and especially Mary Schoonmaker. Innovation Accelerator
Startup Pitching 301
Paul G. Silva
MARCH 26, 2020
This is the 3rd post in the “Startup Pitching” series. In this post we’ll go over advanced-level (301) techniques. The one (maybe two) number rule. Most people can’t hold multiple numbers in their head.
Going to Market Smarter in the New Economy
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
In 2021, as companies continue to move more functions online, employees will take a more virtual -- and flexible -- mindset and lifestyle in parallel to the digitization of businesses. To succeed, you must change the way you conceive and build new products as a digital business. Download the report today to discover more!
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A Canvas That Tells a Story: KISS Canvas (v3)
Paul G. Silva
MAY 24, 2020
[This is part of a series on the KISS Canvas ]. 30-page business plans are great for established businesses and terrible for startups that need to iterate quickly.
A Tool for Consistent and Sustainable Startup Growth
Paul G. Silva
MAY 10, 2021
This is a repost from the Launch413 blog. Effective Tools Used By Launch413: A Case Study. When we created Launch413 in 2018, we had no idea what was just around the corner. We already knew entrepreneurs were one of the best ways to create prosperity in our communities and we knew how to help them. We also knew entrepreneurs were one of the most powerful forces for good in the world.
Startup Pitching 201
Paul G. Silva
MARCH 26, 2020
This is the 2nd post in the “Startup Pitching” series. In this post we’ll go over intermediate-level (201) techniques. Front load credibility. Investors are cynical. They have to be because about half of all angel/VC investments lose every penny invested.
Startup Pitching 101
Paul G. Silva
MARCH 26, 2020
As a mentor once told me… It doesn’t matter if you have the best opportunity in the world, if you can’t communicate it you’re dead. This is obvious. Yet… I’ve seen thousands of presentations and the vast majority of them were confusing as heck.
The Forrester Wave™: B2B Marketing Data Providers, Q2 2021
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
In our 24-criterion evaluation of B2B marketing data providers, we identified the 11 most significant vendors — Data Axle, Dun & Bradstreet, Enlyft, Global Database, InsideView, Leadspace, Oracle, SMARTe, Spiceworks Ziff Davis, TechTarget, and ZoomInfo Technologies — and researched, analyzed, and scored them. This report shows how each provider measures up and helps B2B marketing professionals select the right one for their needs.
Selecting the Top Angel Deals in the Northeast… on Google Sheets
Paul G. Silva
APRIL 1, 2020
I am told that the angel groups of the Northeast have one of the best systems for syndicating deals in the country. There are many parts to making that happen. I have the privilege of running the nomination, application, and selection processes.
4 Questions to Find Your Price
Paul G. Silva
FEBRUARY 9, 2021
This long, detailed, and excellent article is chock full of valuable advice on pricing. One part that particularly stood out for sharing are the four questions to ask a potential customer to help you determine where to price your product. At what point is this way too expensive that you would never consider purchasing it? At what point is this starting to get expensive, but you’d still consider purchasing it? At what point is this a really good deal? You’d buy it right away.)
RVI’s New Model 9 Months in: 2x members, more investments, more diversification
Paul G. Silva
SEPTEMBER 17, 2020
For 14 years I’ve led the River Valley Investors angel investor network. A year ago the group was on death’s door. Membership was down to the lowest levels since I’d taken over leadership from our founder and my mentor, Joseph Steig. And none of us knew that COVID was just around the corner. If RVI failed then our region would have lots its only active angel group – a huge potential blow to local startups. It was time to pivot.
The Quick and Easy Way to Find the Best Applicant From Among Hundreds
Paul G. Silva
AUGUST 13, 2020
One of my favorite jokes goes something like this: Whenever a new position opens up, and I have to sort through a stack of resumes, the first thing I do is take half of them at random and throw them away. I don’t want unlucky people working in this department. As with many good jokes, it’s funny because it has a nugget of truth to it.
4 AI Hacks to Make Sales Teams More Efficient
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
Over the last two years, there’s been a 76 percent increase in AI adoption across sales organizations. For sales teams, AI opens up a world of new possibilities, including automating outreach, identifying best-fit buyers, and keeping CRMs flush with fresh data. Read on to learn the four AI hacks sales teams need to improve their performance. Download the eBook today!
Rubber Duckies by Gaetanlee
Paul G. Silva
JANUARY 12, 2020
My thanks to Gaetanlee for making this delightful rubber duckie picture (now the header image for this website) available for all to use! Innovation Accelerator
Startup Pitching Checklist
Paul G. Silva
MARCH 27, 2020
This is the checklist / boil down of the techniques listed in the pior 3 posts in the “Startup Pitching” series. After you complete a draft of your pitch, go over this list to make sure you’ve applied as many of the techniques as possible. Beginner (101). One rehearsed presenter – Pick one person to deliver your presentation, don’t tag team your pitches.
RVI’s first virtual angel group meeting a success, here is how we did it
Paul G. Silva
MARCH 19, 2020
The River Valley Investors angel group just ran our first virtual meeting today. In case anything we learned can be valuable, below is a copy of a blog post we just published on our blog showing what we did to make it work. I know several other groups already ran virtual, so I’d love to hear any other best practices people have patched together.
A Taxonomy of Customer Pains and Benefits
Paul G. Silva
JUNE 30, 2020
Your company’s value proposition must provide benefits that perfectly match your customers’ pains. First-time entrepreneurs asked to document their hypotheses about Pains and Benefits often experience “blank canvas” paralysis , the inability to get started because of a lack of a clear starting point. This blog post aims to provide a set of categories and examples to guide an entrepreneur to find the relevant pain hypotheses. Each heading lists a category of Pain/Benefit.
How to Overcome the Pain Points of Your CRM
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
CRM software is a powerful tool when used correctly, yet another obstacle to a sales team’s efficiency when it’s not. Leveraging research and commentary from industry analysts, this eBook explores how your sales team can get back valuable time by overcoming some pain points with your CRM, such as low adoption rates, integrations, and data quality.
Best Distillation of Exit Strategies I’ve Seen
Paul G. Silva
JUNE 1, 2020
Marty Zwilling recently published a blog post with the most concise distillation of the possible exit strategies a for-profit startup can take and why an entrepreneur should be thinking about them from very early on. Hat tip to Paul Nicolai for sending me the article! Innovation Accelerator
The Power of the Spa!
Paul G. Silva
FEBRUARY 3, 2020
Arguably the #1 customer discovery how-to guide is the book Talking To Humans. Here is a jem: One aspiring entrepreneur wanted to target mothers of young children. She had heard stories about talking to people in a coffee shop, but felt like it was too unfocused. So she tried hanging around school pickup zones, but the moms were too busy and refused to speak to her. Next, she tried the playground, where she figured moms would be bored watching their kids play.
RVI’s Guide To Running a Virtual Angel Group Meeting
Paul G. Silva
APRIL 9, 2020
This post contains our up-to-date set of best practices on how the River Valley Investors angel group runs our meetings online. Last updated on: 4/9/2020. Technology of choice: Zoom. Before the event, we ask everyone to log in with a device with a camera so we can see each other. They all have been invited to a google calendar event with the link embedded in it. Created Breakout Rooms (Networking, Startup, and Scheduling) from the get-go.
Congrats to a Former Student Making The World A Better Place
Paul G. Silva
DECEMBER 16, 2018
So much food goes to waste in our country every year. So many people are hungry. It is literally cheaper to throw food away than to give it away… until now. A few years ago I had the honor of mentoring Maria Rose Belding when she and her partners at Means Database were in the Valley Venture Mentors startup Accelerator. Her social venture is organized and dreams like a high tech silicon valley startup – but all of that energy is directed to doing good, at scale.
4 Data-Driven Steps To Drive Successful B2B Demand Generation
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
Fact: Good data lives at the core of every successful B2B demand generation strategy. Without quality data, it’s nearly impossible to identify and segment your target audience and create messaging that speaks to their values and interests. Whether you’re stepping into a new position or you’re new to demand generation, learning the tricks of the trade can be, well, tricky. In this eBook, you’ll discover how to improve your demand generation program—and your bottom line.
Western Mass Demo Day! Wha who!
Paul G. Silva
MAY 24, 2019
Western Mass Demo Day Connects Local Startups to Investors. This is an invite-only event for active & accredited investors to hear pitches from startups with a connection to Western Massachusetts. Startups get an optimized way to meet a room full of different investors, many with a strong interest in companies connected to the region. Investors get a first look at the startups, meet the founders, and network with other investors.
Facilitating AccelVT Energy 2019 Cohort
Paul G. Silva
MAY 24, 2019
I often talk about how startups are the ones out there saving the world. This summer I have the delight of facilitating the newest cohort of the AccelVT Accelerator. This accelerator focuses on “ startup and/or seed stage ventures who offer new technologies, or novel applications of existing technologies, aimed at reducing fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions in the heating and/or transportation sector.
An Engine to Find Product/Market Fit
Paul G. Silva
APRIL 12, 2019
Previously I shared Brad Feld & Neeraj Agrawal’s descriptions of how hard it is for a startup to achieve product/market fit… and the ramifications of that failure. Recently Jim Stanczak kindly shared an article identifying the solution : a numbers-based, systematic, empirical process for measuring product/market fit and iterating your product towards it. This article is pure gold. Highlights: 0) Anchor on a leading indicator.
Entrepreneurs give me hope when I need it most
Paul G. Silva
JULY 16, 2018
When I talk about politics I am filled with sadness and a sense of near powerlessness to make the world a better place. But when I talk to entrepreneurs, I am filled with hope. Where most of us see problems, they imagine solutions… and solutions that scale. Here are just some of the companies blowing me away, all local/ VVM companies making the world a better place! Immigration.
The Modern Customer Success Playbook
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
The evolution of every high-functioning, effective customer success strategy centers around three C’s: connected experiences, an engaging customer journey, and a culture built on customer-centricity. Satisfaction won’t cut it. Quarterbacking your customers to long-term success and growth is proven to combat churn and transform customer success teams into revenue-drivers. But where do you start? Download the playbook today!
How Much Due Diligence Does An Angel Really Need To Do?
Paul G. Silva
JULY 11, 2018
Due diligence (AKA “doing your homework” on a startup to see if investing is the right call) should clearly take time… but how much? Marianne Hudson, executive director of the Angel Capital Association (the trade association for angel investors in the US) wrote an article on this topic. Her full article (with her permission) appears further below. One of the biggest debates in the angel industry is how much due diligence investors should do before they invest.
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