Perseverance

One of my college professors described one of my fellow students as a person who made his own luck. I always wondered what he meant by that. But I think that it was a case of the kid knowing what he wanted and going after it. He had perseverance.

That's a trait that entrepreneurs have to have. They must believe in themselves and their goal. They don't give up. The Wall Street Journal just ran an article on perseverance and personal health. There's a link in my sidebar. Take a look.

Like American Idol for Entrepreneurs

This week I felt as if I were on American Idol. No, not as a contestant, as a judge. I was on a panel of three critics listening to three-minute pitches from entrepreneurs. The panel's job was to help the entrepreneurs get ready to pitch their requests for funding to over 100 investors at the upcoming Crossroads Venture Fair.

I had a yellow grading sheet for each presenter. I had to grade the contestants on specific criteria. Amazingly, most of the presenters never got to some of the points. They mostly got hung up on giving their credentials, describing how great their product or service was or going into the need in the marketplace. Two presenters completely lost me as they dove into the technical aspects of their inventions, complete with diagrams that made no sense.

The judges had to tell these entrepreneurs how to improve their presentations. What amazed me was how they looked so eager to hang on every word we said. Sometimes I thought I sounded like Simon, telling people that I couldn't understand what their business was.

But some of the ideas for new businesses were really good. I hope that the entrepreneurs learned from the experience and will do well at Crossroads.

Here is a rundown of the point we had to grade on:
Product/service - what do you do?
Market - what's the size of the market?
Competitive Analysis - Is the product unique?
Finance -- how will you make money?
Management - Do you have the talent to meet your goals?
Funding -- what do you need? how will you use it?

Crossroads is run by the Connecticut Venture Group. http://www.crossroads-cvg.org/

Crossroads Venture Fair - April 29-30, 2008

The Crossroads Venture Fair is coming up -- April 29-30 in Stamford, Connecticut. Now is the time to sign up for a chance to present at the fair, the largest venture event in the Northeast. I was a judge for last year's fair. We had to turn down half the companies that applied to exhibit and present. Let me give you some tips for when you fill out the forms:,

• Use full sentences that make sense.
• Ask someone else to read over your responses before you send them in.
• Make sure you answer the questions asked.

To sign up for a chance to present, go to:
http://www.cvg.org/entrepreneurzone.asp.

You'll see that there are many categories. Fill out the form for your business's stage:

2008 Connecticut Venture Group Funding Applications:

PRE-SEED and SEED STAGE Funding Application (R&D or Proof-of-Concept Phase)
Apply here if your product, technology or service requires funding for further development or testing, patent protection, or you require assistance to complete a comprehensive business plan, or other resources before you are ready to start up.START-UP Funding Application (Ready to Launch)

Apply here if you have a business plan, a proven concept or product, a management team identified, and are ready to start up.EARLY STAGE and EXPANSION STAGE Application (Sales < $5,000,000)

Apply here if you have started up and have annual sales under $500,000 [EARLY STAGE], or sales are over $500,000 but lest than $5,000,000 [EXPANSION STAGE].LATE STAGE Companies (Sales > $5,000,000)
Apply here if you have annual sales of at least $5,000,000.