The SouthFound Startup Podcast

Minimum Viable Product (MPV) might be a known concept to you. But, what about Minimum Criteria for Success? You should define your Minimum Criteria for Success as early as possible. Your MCS might be enough money to walk away from your day job. Or, it might be that you need a set number of clients. For example, with a product, I am currently working with or Minimum Criteria for Success is to be able to obtain 200 clients. Why 200? Because that is the minimum amount of paying customers that we would need to earn an acceptable return on investment.

In my last article, I talked about some of the most common startup terms that are used in the industry. As part of my research for that article, I came across a nice guide that was produced by Harvard University’s Office of Technology Development. The guide was meant to provide startup advice and to be an “entrepreneur’s guide”. I thought I would save you the time and share some of their insights. Coming from such a reputable source as Harvard there is bound to be some lessons to be learned from their experience working with startups. Don’t let the name of the department fool you. The information in the guide is helpful for startups of all types not just technology startups.

Helping entrepreneurs Find your Voice, Find Funding at https://SouthFound.com. The business world absolutely loves its acronyms and industry-specific terms. I can’t tell you the number of meetings I have been in where acronyms get slung around like crazy. It can get quite exhausting. Even for someone who has been in the industry for while. If you are in the market for startup funding then you will undoubtedly run across the same effect. Since experienced founders, consultants, and investors all speak the same lingo. One place I have witnessed this the most is during pitch sessions. By no means should you expect to know every term. That is why I won’t cover them all here today. But, I am going to cover some of the most common acronyms and terms that you will come across during a typical startup meeting. Even some of the really basic terms. If you can get a handle of these then you should be in better shape. Keep in mind that the best response is to admit you don’t know what something means instead of pretending to play along. Say hello on these social media channels: https://twitter.com/jmillspatrick https://instagram.com/JonathanMillsPatrick https://facebook.com/SouthFoundMedia Finally, if you'd like to more resources on funding a business head to http://southernstartups.com/power-pack/

New entrepreneurs are often focused on the process of starting their business or trying to figure out how to make their business profitable as soon as possible. Few are focused on how they can run a company so that small business loans are easier to get. If you ever plan on applying for small business loans then it is important that you run your company from the beginning in a way that will make getting approved easier.

For decades the phone was the tool of choice for the sales community. For some professionals it still is. But, I really feel like we have lost touch with the power of a simple phone call. These days it seems like more and more people are sticking with electronic methods of communication. After all, we do have some amazing tools. You can text message, email, use a messaging app, or leverage services like Slack. There are some instances when using those methods to communicate make sense. But, when reaching out to startup investors I want you to at least consider picking up the damn phone.

For more startup resources please join me at https://SouthFound.com/ As the popularity of crypto-currencies grew I began to notice an uptick in the number of startup founder that are interested in fundraising through an Initial Coin Offering. In fact, during the time when Bitcoin had hit $20,000 in value per coin, I was getting almost daily requests to help startups fundraise through an ICO. Since that time the ICO craze has faded quite a bit. Now I am starting to see a surge in interest around the latest crypto fundraising vehicle - the Initial Exchange Offering.

Helping entrepreneurs "Find Your Voice, Find Funding" at https://southfound.com Over my career helping startups raise funding I have looked at more pitch decks then I can count. Most of them have been average at best. It isn’t that a pitch deck itself needs to be fancy. In fact, like many things in business and life, I think it is important to just focus on the basics. You don’t need a lot of flashy art or PowerPoint SmartArt. Simple bullet points work just fine. The designers usually get so focused on those things that they fail to be able to tell the story of the startup and how the idea is unique in a concise and engaging way.   Don’t believe me? Even some of the most recognizable startups that have now reached unicorn status (i.e. are valued at over $1B) used a very simple pitch deck. For some well-known examples head here.   Beyond a simple and concise deck, let’s take a look at some other ways to make a pitch deck standout.

Fundraising activities tend to follow a standard roadmap. It often, but not always, looks like this. Founders -> FFF round - > Angel Investors - > Venture capitalists - > Exit event Technically founders are one of the “F”s in the FFF (family, friends, founders) round. But I listed them separately, and first, because in my opinion founders should be the first investors to have skin in the game. Many of the startup founders I know never bother trying to raise an FFF round. They tend to skip right over that phase and jump straight to angel investors. This happens for a variety of reasons. Maybe they don’t think anyone in their family has investable assets. Let’s look at some other reasons you should raise an FFF round. Are you a SouthFounder? If you are an entrepreneur and need help getting noticed in the marketplace or getting funding then join our community at https://SouthFound.com/ We are dedicated to helping entrepreneurs "Find Your Voice & Find Funding".

Legal mumbo-jumbo, i.e. Disclaimer - This episode references an opinion and is for information purposes only.  It is not intended to be investment advice.  Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice. For more information visit my company’s Legal Disclaimer. There is no question that there is a lot of hype around this stock right now. Certainly, some of that hype is driving up the stock price. The company is still showing a loss at this stage. But there is no denying that the company has a lot going for it. Here are a few reasons that I am "long" (i.e. keeping the stock for a long time) this stock.

One of the reasons that investors like to put money into startups is that they like the diversification doing so brings to their portfolios. Not to mention that angel investing itself has one of the best rates of returns among asset classes. In fact, some studies peg the internal rate of return (IRR) of angel investing at 27%. That is double the average rate of return of the S&P 500 from 1923 to 2016. With that kind of return, I wondered if angel investing activity increases during periods of poor stock market performance. After all, you might surmise that when the stock market is in bear territory that investors look to deploy their capital in other areas. It appears that angel investing actually sees a pull-back, not an increase when the markets are underperforming.

I first learned about the term “family office” from my co-founder at Cathedral Leasing. Doug is an extremely well-connected startup founder who had connections all across the U.S. and in particular to a variety of family office contacts in the Southern U.S. The concept of a family office was not lost on me. However, I had always believed that they were no different than a typical angel investor. Boy, was I wrong? What is a family office? The term “family office” can mean a few different things. They were originally set up as private wealth management offices who specialized in managing the financial and investment activities of wealthy families. Think private wealth management but on an even higher level with almost a completely outsourced solution. A family office isn’t as uncommon as might think. Forbes reported that family offices could be more than $4 million in assets. That capital is believed to be spread across no less than 10,000 family offices worldwide or 6,000 in the U.S. alone. It isn’t uncommon for a family office to be managed by their own family members. This is especially true for hedge fund managers that have amassed fortunes. In fact, there have been a substantial number of hedge fund managers that have decided to stop investing on behalf of others and simply manage their own wealth. David Tepper, who made his fortune as a hedge fund manager and is the owner of the Carolina Panthers, is the latest in a line of professionals to make this type of move. Family offices can invest in a wide variety of investment vehicles. In fact, one of the benefits is that there are fewer regulatory requirements about where and how you invest your money since you are simply investing your own. One of those places is the ability to invest in startups.

As you know, I am on a "hustle holiday" and the podcast is in between seasons. But, I wanted to share this interview with you because I thought it was so enlightening! Roger Edwards has a knack for turning Marketing into a much simpler and more efficient process. You could say it is his super power.   Having spent a good amount of his Marketing career in one of the most boring industries there is, financial services, Roger decided that there had to be a better way for companies to stand apart.   Six years ago Roger decided to strike out on his own. Since that time he has worked with a lot of businesses from a variety of industries.   Where his process provides the biggest impact is in helping his clients boil their Marketing activities down to the basics.   Roger suggests that companies, especially startups, focus on three main questions:   Who am I serving? What pain point am I solving? How is my solution better than the alternatives?   It is this simple, yet effective Marketing strategy that has garnered Roger a lot of attention in the Marketing industry, including speaking engagements at Chris Ducker’s most recent Youpreneur Summit.   To learn more about Roger you can visit his website at https://rogeredwards.co.uk or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/roger_edwards

In today's episode I wrap-up Season 5 of the podcast, as well as share my plans for the show over the next two months. What that means is that I will be personally taking a two-month break or "hustle holiday".  However, I do have episodes to share with you that have been pre-recorded or pre-planned.  As always, thank you for being a loyal listener and I look forward to sharing Season 6 with you in the near future.

Col Gray is humble and very transparent. He also just happens to be a world class graphic designer and brand strategist. Col and I first connected as members of the Content Marketing Academy, where he is a founding member. Since then we have shared messages back and forth. This was our first time to chat in person. In this interview, we talk about Col’s experience in the corporate world. Including a few instances working for people that were such bad leaders that Col found himself feeling physically ill. That kind of experience pushed Col to create his own company. In 2005 Col founded Pixels Ink during a time when he says he had no other options. Today the company works with businesses on the branding strategies, including logos. The second half of the interview is where Col talks about his process for creating a mission-driven logo. You can learn more about Col’s thoughts on branding at on his Youtube channel (https://youtube.com/pixelsink/) or on his website at https://pixelsink.com/

Ahmed Khalifa knows exactly who he is and who he isn't. After years in the corporate world, he decided three years ago to leverage his strengths and start his own business. That business is focused on helping people understand and leverage search-engine optimization to grow their business. On top of that, Ahmed spends his time as an advocate for the deaf. Which is a personal challenge he has lived with since birth. Listen in to our discussion around these topics, including Ahmed's best practices for leveraging SEO. Links from this episode: Ahmed's site - https://iamahmedkhalifa.com/ Podcast - https://hearmeoutcc.com/podcast/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/iamahmedkhalifa/

It is hard to believe, but this is the 100th episode of the podcast.  So, as a special treat, I wanted to share with you some updates on how past guests are doing. Most of the startups have gone on to increasing amounts of success and one has actually been successfully acquired. As a reminder, there are 2-3 episodes left in this season before I take a break to focus on other projects. In the meantime, enjoy the 100th episode of the Southern Startup podcast.

I generally know exactly what piece of content I am supposed to make on a given day. Today was supposed to be about the Top Twitter accounts to follow for advice on startups and Marketing. But, it's not.... Today I decided to remind you that business SHOULD BE personal. If it isn't then you aren't doing it right. My websites: Personal blog - https://JonathanMillsPatrick.com/ Startup community - https://SouthernStartups.com Social media channels: https://instagram.com/JonathanMillsPa... https://facebook.com/JonathanMillsPat... https://twitter.com/jmillspatrick Finally, if you'd like more resources on funding a business head to http://jonathanmillspatrick.com/power-pack/

Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Aakash Dave the founder of Spotmi. Spotmi is a social media platform that leverages facial recognition to improve relationships and connections. Aakash has been interested in entrepreneurship since he was an 8-year old programmer and watching his father at Board meetings. He is a rare startup founder in that he has experience as a technical founder (his education is in computer science) and business experience through financial analysis and obtaining an MBA. Like most entrepreneurs, Aakash has experimented with a few businesses. His current endeavor, Spotmi, leverages facial recognition and machine learning to enable deeper interactions inside a proprietary social media network. Some of the insights Aakash shared includes the importance of being sales focused as a founder, “It all comes down to sales”, and how obtaining funding from investors is largely about leveraging your network. To learn more head to spotmi.app.

Most startups have limited marketing dollars for advertising. That is why so many look toward online ads. The challenge with online ads is that the keywords you are looking to compete on are often very experience when comparing the "Cost Per Click" or CPC. When that is the case you can easily eat through your ad budget trying to compete against other companies. One way to work around this is to focus on competing for keywords that are similar to the main keywords you'd like to target, but have less competition and are therefore less expensive.  

Coming up with a startup idea isn’t enough. You have to be able to execute on that idea. The ideas with the best chance of success are startups that have spent a significant amount of energy and time validating their ideas. But, before you can validate a startup idea you have to know what assumptions you are working under.