1. How to Bootstrap your venture without Venture Capital
- Too many startups expect capital to be dropped on their lap before they go work on their idea. The best companies and the most compelling cases are when a group of people come together from varying backgrounds and are willing to do the groundwork and take it to the alpha stage on their own. We certainly need to drive this point across.
2. How to Pitch to a VC:
“You can’t get the pitch right until you understand why you are pitching to a VC. You should never take a meeting with a VC until you’ve determined whether there is a likely fit between the two of you. Where is the VC in its fund cycle – is it at the beginning of a new fund? Is it about to start raising its next fund? Is this VC raising a fund now, and having difficulty? The answers impact your ability to build an investment syndicate (who wants to co-invest with a lame duck fund?), and suggest how you need to adjust your pitch to fit the circumstances.” Enough Said.
3. Startups and Media
We all remember our 45 minute discussion that broke out last time when there was a complaint that the media rarely looks at startups and how desperately they need it. Our PR partner 20:20 would be willing to take this forward, and make it interactive.
4. Entrepreneurs, the Essentials:
There are a fair bit of people who’ve been on both sides of the innovation valley – the silicon and in India. What are the differences? Was there a drastic shift that they had to adopt to, before they could build something that “clicked” with the indian market segment. There are also a fair bit of successful icons of the silicon valley who are struggling to grasp what the Indian market needs. Maybe there is something to it?
We are still finalizing on this and will be adding new sessions and omitting some, depending on the logistics of the day and what the schedule can permit.
