photo credit: Mzelle Biscotte

All of us know that face-to-face interactions though preferable, are not always possible. Therefore one goes for ‘email pitching’ – the written form of pitch.Investors are overloaded with a huge array of emails and to get their attention you should craft your email in such a way that you hold the interest of the reader.

Be sure that you make the same effort with an e-mail that you would in a face-to-face meeting. E-mail pitches should be formal and professional.

Below are some tips for writing a pitch letter via email;

1. Understand your audience and make sure you know who the recipient is

2. Include pictures and images to make it more visually attractive. Don’t forget file size limitations though

3. Have a signature with all possible information – email, Twitter account, Skype name etc.

4. Be precise in your emails. Emphasize on meeting up and follow up comments. 

For more insight to this matter, have a look at this post on RWW.

attachments like resumes and press releases are sometimes appropriate; you should give a quick introduction to yourself at the beginning of an email.

 

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

Option pool can be described as the amount of a startup’s common stock reserved for employees, directors, advisors, and consultants. The stock reserved is then issued to the aforementioned stakeholders. It is through a written plan a startup pre-authorizes the amount of the company’s common stock which will be issued by the administrator (usually the startup’s board of directors or a committee selected by the board). A startup, for example, can have 5,000,000 shares of common stock but only elect to authorize 2,000,000 shares.

A startup’s original option pool may not likely turn out to be the last option pool the startup creates. The size of the pool should be discussed at each round of funding and financing, since at that time, the startup might need more equity options to attract and motivate future hiring.

The confusing part of an option pool is how the option pool’s non-issued or unissued portion is treated.

We suggest you read this post for a detailed insight into Option Pool Shuffling

Summary: Don’t let your investors determine the size of the option pool for you. Use a hiring plan to justify a small option pool, increase your share price, and increase your effective valuation.

photo credit: C.P.Storm

A heated debate is taking place around Foursquare considering a sale to Yahoo. It is believed that Foursquare is in the midst of an aggressive courtship on behalf of Yahoo, who is willing to pay as much as $125 million for the year old startup. Some are freaking out asking Foursquare ‘not to sell’ and the gurus are speculating that Foursquare is trying to push its valuation higher than what Yahoo is offering. What Foursquare does, only time with tell, but this has definitely made me think about ‘exit strategies’ for startups and the importance of having one.

When you are starting up or as you form strategies and plans to grow your startup, you need to think about an exit strategy. Will you establish a lifestyle business that generates income without plans of selling it in the future, or will you build equity in a business that you will convert into cash? Depending on your goal, the business you choose and the way you decide to grow it should be aligned with the end-game objectives. The common exit strategies are; sale, mergers, IPO, buyout or liquidation of assets.

Some may not find laying too much importance of exit strategies as correct, arguing that you will never want to build something by always having a motive of leaving. But whether you want to move on to you next entrepreneurship venture or whether you stick to a business plan for a long time, it is important to have a succession plan in place for your startup.

We suggest you read this post at ReadWriteWeb for more information.

While the idea of an exit strategy might sound negative, crafting one can help you plan how to make the most out of a good situation, not simply escape a bad one

photo credit: nosha

I came across a great post written by Dharmesh Shah recently where he described the most luring categories startup founders are attracted to. Following is the list of applications he lists as the ‘most attractive’ for startups;

1.Project Management / Time Tracking / Bug Tracing – Neat Web 2.0 application development for better organizing and tracking. Basecamp anyone?

2.Social Networking Websites – Recognize your specialization or area of interest and launch a social networking website with that theme.

3.Social Voting/Reviews – Websites to rate or review food, restaurants, wines or anything.

4.Discussion Forums

5.Aggregation/Filter Websites – Applications to bookmark/filter excess information

6.Content Management – Mashable or TechCrunch

7.Dating and Match-Making

8.Music/Events Location Application

9.Video/Photo/Bookmarking/Sharing

10.Personal Information Management

Can startups be more innovative?

For any kind of design or development for the concepts mentioned above, feel free to get in touch with us at Vinfotech.

photo credit: jurvetson

There can be two cases when it comes to startups; first that the founder chooses to be the CEO and second is the case where the CEO is appointed by the founder.

In the second case, founders usually start their company and hire a CEO when things get going and handling everything by themselves becomes difficult. CEO’s do a lot of corporate navigation, formulate plans and strategies, basically with their experience they give a strategic outlook to the growth of a startup. Founders on the other hand, have a passion for their product which is a major driving force for a startup. Both are vital to the existence of any business, but when it comes to choosing between the both? What if for some reason either of them has to leave?

Of course, all businesses are different, and people may leave for different reasons. But VCs invest in founders as much as they do in ideas, so for a company to lose that passionate individual that the VCs initially trusted might send out bad signals. On the other hand a startup will lose direction if a CEO decided to quit.

If someone needs to go, who should leave? The CEO or founder?

There is an interesting read on the above topic at ReadWriteWeb

Regardless of the nature of the breakup, it got me thinking about the dichotomous relationship some startups have between founders and CEOs, and which, if either, is more expendable.

photo credit: rintakumpu

The whole idea of registering a business sounds more obligatory than important? If your answer to the question is yes, then its time to change your outlook and here is why:

The process of registration compels you to think about the basic issues that are included in your business plan. Don’t mistake the registration process to be a formal obligation and avoid rushing into it. Matters such as trademark disputes, legal snags, costly name changes or tax problems may come up later if you don’t take registering your startup seriously. Be inquisitive, work around it and give your 100 percent when it comes to registering any business.

A few points to keep in mind;

1. Beware of trademark issues – will somebody sue you for using that name? Check availability of domain names, consult registries etc.

2. Choose your structure – you need to declare your business/startup in form of an entity (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation or limited liability company)

3. Obtain Tax ids

4. File registration/Permits – The government will keep a track of businesses and tax through this. You need to pay fee and fulfill certain jurisdiction procedures.

5. Some businesses have additional requirements like planning, regulatory agencies or professional agencies.

Try adding value to the venture buy researching all around the process.

For more detail on this matter, we suggest you visit this post