Resources and pitch (v. 2018 ita)

Resources & Pitch
IED, 7 May 2018
Lesson 9/2018
Frieda Brioschi / Emma Tracanella
frieda.brioschi@gmail.com / emma.tracanella@gmail.com

9. Resources & pitch
Course program
1. Start-ups
2. Business Model & Canvas
3. Value Proposition Design
4. Customers & Market
5. Activities & Costs
6. Legal basics
7. Start-up in Italy & ecosystems
8. Design & planning
2

–James Altucher
“Everyone is an entrepreneur.
The only skills you need to be an entrepreneur:
an ability to fail, an ability to have ideas, to sell
those ideas, to execute on those ideas, and to
be persistent so even as you fail you learn and
move onto the next adventure. ”
3

–Henry Ford
“Coming together is a beginning, keeping
together is progress;
working together is success”
4

Help needed!
5

Resources
6

Useful on/oﬀ line resources
• Hangouts and events
• Co-working, Fablabs, Makerspace, social incubators
• Community leaders
• Media
• Business Plan competition, startup events
• Incubators and accelerators
• Investors, etc.
7
http://www.chefuturo.it/2013/01/i-primi-100-contatti-e-anche-di-piu-per-chi-vuole-fare-startup-in-italia/

Coworking
(by Mattia Leoni)
8

9. Resources & pitch9
COWORKING

WHAT IS
COWORKING?

Coworking is a style of work that involves individual workers such as freelancers in a
shared working environment.
This is a new way to face the world of work that brings a social and cultural
revolution as well as an economical change.

There are two main reasons that allowed coworking to develop and grow:
• No more ﬁxed costs of owning an ofﬁce.
• Opportunities to create a social work experience, a community where you
can identify yourself, where everybody can share knowledge and skills.

ORIGIN & 
DEVELOPMENT

In 1999 Brian DeKoven used the word “coworking” to identify a new way of working,
as he realized that people and enterprises aimed to develop a peer to peer working
place.
His method wanted to promote collaborative work, where projects could be
developed without facing too much internal competition.

COWORKING
SPACES

In 2005, Brad Neuberg, a programmer from California, decided to create the
San Francisco Coworking Space, a place where people could share services and
connections with freelancers who could not afford renting their own ofﬁce space.

From 2006 to 2012 coworking spaces had nearly doubled each year and the
movement had become very popular.
In 2007 the term “coworking” was seen as trending on Google Trends.
By the end of 2008, there were about 160 coworking spaces worldwide.
2011 also saw the ﬁrst large companies begin to experiment with their own
coworking spaces. Companies like TUI, Europe’s largest tourism association,
and ING Bank, began to approach the idea of coworking.

Coworking is a phenomenon in constant growth, and every year brings together
new people, new challenges and new ideas.

WHY SHOULD
I COWORK?

Working from home can be isolating and coffee shops can be distracting.

The are a lot of resources such as inexpensive ofﬁce space, free WiFi connection, fax
and printers, conference rooms, kitchen and snack-prep areas.
You’re surrounded by a ton of passionate people going for a dream.
Your motivation increase.

The value of coworking is in the relationships, far more than the resources.
In just a short amount of time, you have a network of people that you can instantly
ask advice from/on anything.
In the coworking environment, we’re all very protective of each other. There’s a lot of
support because we’re all in the same boat.

Not only are you around other inspiring independent business owners, but you
could be rubbing elbows with your next investor, your future partner or your board
of advisors.
There’s a lot of potential when you join the tribe of coworkers in your community.
Coworking can introduce you to people who have the answers that you may be
looking for.

Coworking it’s much more than resources and a place to do business.
It’s a community, and it’s the future of how business is going to be done.
Coworking it’s much more than resources and a place to do business.
It’s a community, and it’s the future of how business is going to be done.

Incubators
Business incubators are programs designed to support
the successful development of entrepreneurial
companies through an array of business support
resources and services, developed and orchestrated by
incubator management and offered both in the incubator
and through its network of contacts.
Incubators vary in the way they deliver their services, in
their organizational structure, and in the types of clients
they serve.
25
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_incubator

Incubator’s services
• Help with business basics
• Networking activities
• Marketing assistance
• High-speed Internet
access
• Help with accounting/
ﬁnancial management
• Access to bank loans
26
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_incubator
• Help with presentation skills
• Links to higher education
resources
• Links to strategic partners
• Access to angel investors or
venture capital
• Advisory boards and mentors
• Management team
identiﬁcation

Certiﬁed incubators
Startup Regulation introduces “certified incubators for
innovative start-ups”.
The start-up incubator or accelerator must verify if specific
requirements concerning the start-up’s physical structures,
management, facilities and, above all, its track record, are
fulfilled. In this way, the law aims to identify the structures
that are able to offer efficient incubation services in Italy.
Certified incubators can benefit from some instruments
provided for by the law.
27
http://bit.ly/11f2mtq

Public incubators
Are supported by public sponsors and are non-profit. Usually
public authorities are the major stakeholders and play an
important part in the definition of the legal status of the
incubators and in their management, frequently supported by
a broadly-based partnership of public authorities and
institutions such as a Chamber of Commerce, Municipality,
Province, Region, Banking Institutions, and various business
associations.
Typically, they are multi-purpose and the activities of their
occupants span all the traditional-economy business sectors
as well as some hi-tech ones.
28
http://www.rivistapolitecnico.polimi.it/rivista/politecnico_rivista_9.18.pdf

University incubators
They usually concentrate on promoting hi-tech start-ups
developed by their students, researchers and professors.
Their objective is to foster the industrial applications of the
knowledge generated through academic research activities.
They have a strong connection with research labs and are
often focused on the area in which the founder university
specializes.
29

Private incubators
Are usually profit-making.
The number and type of organizations making up private
incubator partnerships varies from individuals to groups
consisting of several private companies and organizations.
Most of these incubators invest almost exclusively in one
business sector.
They contribute to the success of the start-ups in several
ways, including the availability of specialized professionals
who work with the start-ups own staff.
30

Seed accelerators
• Seed accelerators are a modern, for-proﬁt type of
startup incubator, with an open application process,
taking in classes of startups consisting of small teams,
supporting them with funding, mentoring, training and
events for a deﬁnite period (usually three months), in
exchange for equity.
• While traditional business incubators are often
government-funded, generally take no equity, and
focus on biotech, medical technology, clean tech or
product-centric companies, accelerators are privately
funded and focused on mobile/Internet startups.
31
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed_accelerator

Fab Lab
A fab lab (fabrication laboratory) is a small-scale workshop
offering (personal) digital fabrication.
A fab lab is generally equipped with an array of flexible
computer controlled tools that cover several different length
scales and various materials, with the aim to make "almost
anything". This includes technology-enabled products
generally perceived as limited to mass production.
32
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fab_lab

Networking
33

Startup Saturday
http://www.startupsaturday.it/
Many opportunities:
• Workshop
• Elevator Pitch Competition
• Idea Jam Session
• Speed Pitch Date
• Startup Outing
• Job Posting
34

Italian Startup Scene (ISS)
Facebook group for italian startupper, entrepreneurs,
investors, bloggers, developers and anyone interested in
start-ups and venture capital.
36
http://it.startupscene.org/

TechGarage
It’s an italian association which aims to connect
• Grassroot innovation
• business angel, seed funds and independent venture
capital
• companies
37
http://techgarage.eu/

Investors don’t invest in businesses.
They invest in stories about
businesses.
39

You can tell a story in a sentence; you
can tell a story in a paragraph; and you
can tell a story in a 20-minute pitch.
Startups need to do all three ones.
40

http://mindyourpitch.com/blog/what-is-an-elevator-pitch/
What is an elevator pitch?
A (very) short speech.
41

http://www.ninjamarketing.it/2011/10/25/lelevator-pitch-larte-di-comunicare-unidea-in-modo-efﬁcace-e-in-pochi-secondi/
Basics
1. Be short (less is more!)
2. Wow effect (6-10 seconds to generate curiosity)
3. Who (add some info about you)
4. KISS
42
tips

http://elevatorpitchessentials.com/essays/ElevatorPitch.html
The nine C's of an eﬀective
elevator pitch
1. Concise
2. Clear
3. Compelling
4. Credible
5. Conceptual
43
6. Concrete
7. Customized
8. Consistent
9. Conversational

http://www.businessknowhow.com/money/elevator.htm
Six question you must
answer
1. What is your product or service?
2. Which is your market?
3. What is your revenue model?
4. Who is behind the company?
5. Who is your competition?
6. What is your competitive advantage?
44

9. Resources & pitch45 http://guykawasaki.com/books/the-art-of-the-start/

Speaking
• Speak slowly and enunciate
• Be excited. Your pitch should not sound memorized. Intonation, cadence, and
projecting help a lot
• Be speciﬁc and concise
• Look at the audience. You don't have to make eye contact with individuals, just with
areas of the crowd. People in those areas will think you've made eye contact with them
• Actually explain what you do, and be essential. Avoid unnecessary details, or repeating
the same thing twice
• Don't hide the big good things because you are modest, highlight them speciﬁcally
early on
• Use natural language and simple sentences, i.e. no sentences with three verbs. Don’t
use words you wouldn't use in normal conversation
59 http://www.aaronkharris.com/advice-on-pitching
tips

Charts & Metrics
• Charts should be easy to understand, make one point with any graphic
or chart. Don't make people read charts, they'll stop listening to you!
• If you put up a graph that confuses people, they will feel stupid and
stop listening
• Line graphs are better than bar graphs when showing growth
• Label your axes and use real numbers - even if they are small. The
shape of the graph matters, not the absolute numbers
• Explain anomalies
• If you should be generating revenue and then show a different metric,
investors will be suspicious. Be consistent
tips

Slides
• Titles should describe the slide. Titles should be such that, if you
remove everything else, the slide would still make sense.
• Remember that minds wander, and people check phones. When they
look up, they should immediately be able to pick up the thread
• Don't use pretty, but thin, fonts. Make sure your slides are legible from
far away. The purpose of a font is not to show them that you’re a
designer, but to make it easy to read things.
• Screenshot slides are typically bad
• Don’t look at the screen where slides are projected. If you can, make
sure that you can look at the audience, and at your laptop, without
turning your head in the opposite direction.
tips

More
• Remove obstacles between you and the audience. Sometimes putting the
laptop on a chair helps, because it clears the space between you and the
audience and helps you connect with them better.
• Be prepared for disaster. Your laptop might not show the slides; the
resolution might be wrong; there might be several reasons why it won’t
work. Print 5–6 copies of your slides to pass them around if needed — you
can keep one copy while you present, if it helps.
• Colors should go nicely together. You don’t need to learn the theory, just
pick a color scheme and stick to it. Make also sure that the color scheme
allows for very readable slides.
• Slides can be used as a guide and a reference, but you should know your
story well. Don’t let the slides be your guide. Use them simply as support.
62
https://medium.com/@simon/some-humble-advice-on-pitching-your-startup-bf09fa5bffaf#.u3z2rqxyt
tips

Resources and pitch (v. 2018 ita)

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (19)

Similar to Resources and pitch (v. 2018 ita)

Similar to Resources and pitch (v. 2018 ita) (20)

More from Frieda Brioschi

More from Frieda Brioschi (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Resources and pitch (v. 2018 ita)