Content and Structure of Your Investor Pitch

Structure your communication correctly, and your content will sink in effortlessly. As we’ve heard it before, it’s not so much what you say, but how you say it. Let’s go ahead and talk about a HUGE exception to that rule: The Investor Pitch. Structure is hugely important here, but if you don’t answer the question, “How will your business make the investor money,” then structure doesn’t matter. Neglect to answer that question overtly and specifically, and you’re going home.

Entrepreneurial Marketing and Blogging Angst (A Response)

When Cristi Jakubic writes something, everyone around the Ranch pays attention. This goes double for me. Few others have the experience she does in the trenches of marketing. Cristi speaks from this experience, having earned her stripes on the Silicon Valley Battlefields.

Entrepreneurial Marketing and Blogging Angst

This is a shout out to all those techies who consider themselves well-informed, leaders in their sector but alas, have never blogged… and therefore worry that they are being marginalized.

There are so many good reasons to blog: vetting fresh ideas in a diverse arena, motivating others and generating a following, showing passion and differentiating yourself as a thought leader.

But are there good reasons not to blog?

The Pioneer Program Marks Successes

Have you checked in with the Pioneer Program recently? The new year has marked lots of change and maturity in the program. In response to lots of demand post Venture Forth, the Pioneer Program has grown into a “dojo” for entrepreneurship where entrepreneurs come to practice entrepreneurship with each other and with Tech Ranch Partners.

Get Your Start-Up Out of Starbucks

There’s a recent article that several people have forwarded to me given that it rings true to what I am talking about around the Tech Ranch Austin all of the time… Called Getting your start-up out of Starbucks, James Reinhart has a point that he’s pre

Introducing the Pecan Commons

Rancher Spotlight: Barry Beverly of Innovate Wireless

Around the Tech Ranch Campfires, we like to pop a bottle of vino and swap tales of the entrepreneurial trail. This often involves legends of resilient entrepreneurs on epic business drives through recession and boom. Some of these stories focus on success and revenue, and others focus on lessons learned. Each tale is valuable in its own way.

Hobbypreneurs

I recently wrote an Entrepreneur Evangelist post on WorkingPoint called Canines, Trains and Really Great Parties. The post was a response to an article by Daniel Kehrer of Business.com about the new trends of hobbyists-turned-entrepreneurs, and their increasingly noteworthy impact on the small business space.

In reading the original article, the notion specifically reminded me of three friends who have been on this same hobby-turned-entrepreneur journey, in some cases for several years before they even realized it.

Entrepreneurship 101: Learning to Love Selling

There is nothing harder for a non-salesperson than building a sales pipeline. In Bagging the Elephant I highlight a post about a recent event in NYC, in which entrepreneurs discussed how to build strong enough relationships with larger businesses in order to be taken seriously enough to close deals with them.

This is part of a much broader issue, though, and it's one that is a constant struggle for most small businesses: how do we keep new sales coming in the door, when that's not our background?

Yigdigs - Do It Yourself Real Estate Tools

Jonas sits down with Andy Salo, founder and CEO of Yigdigs (http://www.yigdigs.com). Yigdigs is a Real Estate For Sale by Owner webservice. Andy discusses his journey from executive to entrepreneur.