Inside VT KnowledgeWorks

DayOneVentures @ VT KnowledgeWorks Launches

2010-03-12T09:28:41-05:00

DayOneVentures @ VT KnowledgeWorks is an invitation-only seed stage investment and mentoring program for technology-based startups, funded and operated by experienced, successful entrepreneurs who are also angel investors.

DayOneVentures at VT KnowledgeWorks is housed at the VT KnowledgeWorks Business Acceleration Center, located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia, home of Virginia Tech.

Each spring, DayOne engages with up to three early stage enterprises through a competitive evaluation process. Winning teams receive a generous stipend to cover personal and business expenses related to participation in the summer mentoring program, plus class A office space and high-speed internet access during their stay.

Throughout the summer, each team receives regular mentoring by successful entrepreneurs who have built and sold technology businesses. The program typically begins in late May and concludes in late August. At the end of the summer, each firm has the opportunity to present to potential investors via a demo day event.

Up to three teams will be invited to spend the summer in Blacksburg. Winning teams will receive a cash award related to team size. Teams live and work in Blacksburg from late May to August. In exchange for the package of cash, office services, and mentoring, DayOne receives an equity stake in the emerging enterprise.

At DayOneVentures @ VT KnowledgeWorks, we roll up our sleeves and help you to build and grow your business. We act as a member of your team with the same motivation, risk, and reward.

Simple Rules

Proposed businesses should have a relatively low capital requirement and the ability to generate revenue within one year. Examples: web apps, software, ready-to-go widgets.
The minimum team size is two persons. The maximum is four persons.
The team must be willing to move to Blacksburg, Virginia and work on the business from late May until late August.
A business plan is not necessary, just a clear and concise description of the concept, business model, and value proposition.
Team experience is not as important as team passion.
Demo day: At the conclusion of the summer, each team will be afforded the opportunity to showcase their company, concept, and team at a private forum attended by local entrepreneurs, local angel investors and venture capital funds.

For more information, please contact VT KnowledgeWorks.

DayOneVentures @ VT KnowledgeWorks launched on March 12, 2010.

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VT KnowledgeWorks, a regional business acceleration center that helps companies bring ideas to market, will present the Second Annual Entrepreneurship Summit on April 7-8, 2010 at the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. This two-day comprehensive workshop is for prospective company founders, entrepreneurs launching or re-vamping a business, growing companies seeking expansion capital, and individuals interested in investing in early-stage companies.

Registration is open for attendees, advertisers and vendors as long as space is available until March 31, 2010.

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VT KnowledgeWorks sponsors include Attaain, Inc., BB&T, Handshake 2.0, Harris Office Furniture, Hodges, Jones & Mabry, P.C., Hutchison Law Group, Latimer, Mayberry & Matthews IP Law, LeClairRyan, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and The Becher Agency (TBA).

Open Angel Forum Finalists Announced

2010-03-12T06:00:00-05:00

A select group of company founders will pitch their ideas and funding requests to an amphitheater full of angel investors and spectators on April 8, 2010, the second day of the two-day VT KnowledgeWorks Second Annual Entrepreneurship Summit on April 7-8, 2010 at the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center in Blacksburg, Virginia.

In alphabetical order by company name, the companies selected to present are:

Actifity.com - Frederick Cook

LimbGear - Tyson Daniel

Maxtena- Dr. Stanislav Licul

NewCityLabs- David Poteet

RRx - Robert Giles

Part of multiple Angel Funding events at the E-Summit, the Open Angel Forum features ready-to-fund companies from the Roanoke/New River Region of Virginia. Company founders will pitch to a panel of locally focused angel investors and an assembly hall full of educators, business leaders, researchers, investors, and entrepreneurs.

The Open Angel Forum provides audience members with a unique opportunity to see how raising capital is done with real companies and real investors. After each company pitch, the panel will provide feedback to the entrepreneurs on how to polish their business models to increase the chance of receiving funding now.

Registration for the Entrepreneurship Summit is open for attendees, advertisers and vendors as long as space is available until March 31, 2010.

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The New New Pitch

2010-03-09T05:40:00-05:00

In 2005, Guy Kawasaki's 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint may have been the The New New Thing in Silicon Valley, but at an angel investor pitch practice session in Blacksburg, Virginia in 2010, it was a sinew-wrapped stone hammer for a jackhammer job.

Based on the pitches I saw and gave and my own synthesis of feedback the pitchers received, at the next VT KnowledgeWorks Pitch Day, I will sign up for a 10-minute pitch session and deliver it in 3.

Here will be my PowerPoint slides.

1. Company

I'll have my company's logo displaying before I begin my pitch. This will be communicating that I have enough thought into the creation of my company to know it needs a corporate message, I have one, and it's working its magic already.

2. Presenter

To begin my pitch, I'll click to this slide and leave it up which I introduce myself and give my 1-minute elevator pitch comprised of 3-5 below.

3. Problem

To expand, succinctly, my elevator pitch, I will begin with a graphic, perhaps with no other words than the graphic's title, that follows what veteran writers have been teaching novice writers for eons: "Show, don't tell." It's a presentation! What was I thinking having so many words on a slide during a "show"?!

4. Solution

This will be a graphic of the problem uniquely cured by its remedy - my company's products and services. This is the value proposition for my company's clients and partners.

5. Market and Money

In a graphic or with a bulleted list of no more than 3 items, no more than 3 words in each item, I'll explain who will buy my product, how many of them will buy it, and how much my company will make as a result of that many doing the buying. Obvious will be that the revenue generated will be more than adequate to pay the angel investor's expected 500% return in year 5. That is the value proposition of my company to investors.

6. The Ask

Front and center, top of the slide, in bold numbers, I'll put the dollar amount my company seeks from investors. Below that, in smaller font, I'll list the 1 to 3 things we'll do with the money to generate the investor's ROI.

7. The Team

A seeming placeholder, this slide was discussed only if it were missing, had too few members, too many members, or their roles were unclear. As a VT KnowledgeWorks member company, I have a team. On the most recent Pitch Day, my slide avoided trashing, so I'll keep it as is.

The unspoken questions I sensed were answered in the Team slide:

Are you for real, i.e. are you the president of a corporation, or is this just one more entrepreneur's "new new thing"?
Do you have an attorney? Is your IP protected, is your company set up well, or will we have to mop up later?
Do you have an accountant? We know you can't use QuickBooks but do you know it? Have you hired an accountant to keep track of the numbers, i.e. our 500% ROI in year 5?!
Do you have a tech guy? No tech guy? Next pitch, please.

8. Company and Contact

This will be a repeat of my magical company logo slide, this time including my name and my contact information. As soon as I click, I'll ask, "Questions?"

Here's the slide presentation I gave at the last VT KnowledgeWorks Pitch Day. How interesting. It's about 500% longer than my New New Pitch will be. That's an auspicious number.

Handshake 2.0 - Social Media Know-Where, Know-What, Know-How

View more presentations from Handshake Media, Incorporated.

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Registration is open for attendees, advertisers and vendors! The deadline for registration is March 31, 2010.

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The Imprecision of Pitching to Angel Investors

2010-03-04T10:02:18-05:00

Every time I participate in a VT KnowledgeWorks event such as yesterday's Pitch Day - an opportunity for member companies to practice pitching to a panel of angel investors - I find my understanding of my own company and of business principles in general deepening.

Having shoveled a lot of snow this winter, however, I would like to say the deepening comes from a lot of digging into data, business models, and my own aspirations.

I was among eight companies to pitch yesterday and even though each of us followed the general prescribed format for pitching, during the feedback session, from each of us the panel wanted something else and different.

To this version of a post I wrote for Handshake 2.0 this morning that includes lists of what I am currently finding precise and imprecise, to the imprecise list, I would like to add "pitching to angel investors."

I would also like to acknowledge the insight I have gained as a businesswoman and entrepreneur from Jeff Proco. Two years ago, he inspired this post, Just Paint.

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Precision and imprecision have been on my mind recently: the 10 m x 10 m GIS-enabled precision of Rural System’s land and natural resource management system, the imprecision of converting leads to sales, the precision of the anatomy of a 140-character Twitter tweet as described by VT KnowledgeWorks member company founder Z. Kelly Queijo, the imprecision of generating traffic to a web site.

When I doubt the possibility of pairing precision with human effort, all I have to do is look up from my computer and around at the walls of our home. Jeff Proco painted them with brush and roller, without tape measures, without blue painter’s tape, without error. Even the corners.

In the beauty that resulted from Proco's precision lies reassuring possibility.

Jeff Proco heads Pro Painting Company based in Riner, Virginia. He can be reached at 540-382-6434.

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Major New Global Student Business Concept Competition - $25,000 to the Winning Team

2010-03-02T16:36:07-05:00

From VT KnowledgeWorks:

VT KnowledgeWorks is pleased to announce a Global Student Business Concept Challenge, August 29 - September 4, 2010, in Blacksburg and Roanoke, Virginia, USA. The Challenge celebrates the energy and ingenuity of university students and their important contributions to the future of our global economy.

The Prize

15 elite student teams from around the world will gather in Blacksburg, Virginia to showcase their entrepreneurial ideas and compete for the VT KnowledgeWorks Global Challenge Trophy. The award itself is a travelling trophy that will reside throughout the following year at the home institution of the winning student team. At the close of each annual celebration and final competition, the name of the winning team, their university name, and their home city will be etched into the base of the cup as a permanent tribute to their outstanding effort. In addition to the trophy itself, the winning team will earn a $25,000 cash prize. The top two runners-up will receive $2,500 cash prizes.

The Itinerary

The contest finals are part of a week-long celebration of student entrepreneurship. While in Blacksburg, the teams will be housed with local families, spend interactive time with successful technology companies, enjoy fellowship with Virginia Tech students, and attend the NewVa Corridor Technology Council Gala Dinner and Technology Exposition.

Student Team Eligibility

Only full-time university students are eligible to participate in the Global Student Business Concept Challenge. Students may elect to work in teams of up to five members. Eligibility for the finals is based on winning a significant student business concept competition in the team's home region. Each regional institution desiring to send a winning student team to The Challenge must register online via the Intent to Compete submission.

We look forward to working with you to celebrate student entrepreneurship on a global scale, this year and in the future!

For more information, please visit VT KnowledgeWorks.

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At the Entrepreneurship Summit, I'm Going to Be Everywhere

2010-03-02T07:43:19-05:00

That's because I'm buying an ad.

Let's think this through.

"This two-day comprehensive workshop is for prospective company founders, entrepreneurs launching or re-vamping a business, growing companies seeking expansion capital, and individuals interested in investing in early-stage companies."

Gee, my company offers services to company founders. We specialize in entrepreneurial launches. And those "individuals interested in investing in early-stage companies"? My target markets will be at the E-Summit! I'd like to share their hands!

But I'm one person and I may not have a chance to shake hands with the 150+ people present each day of the two-day Entrepreneurship Summit.

My ad in the E-Summit booklet is going to do my handshaking for me.

Lindsey Eversole, Member Services Manager at VT KnowledgeWorks, made it so easy for me. All I did was forward a link to the Entrepreneurship Summit Registration page to my graphic artist. Directions for attendees, exhibitors, advertisers - all there. Ad specs? Right there.

And look, one-stop shopping. I can register for both days and buy my ad, all on one page with one order through Click and Pledge, a VT KnowledgeWorks member company.

See you everywhere at the Summit! And I do mean everywhere!

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BecomeAlum Featured on SmartCollegeVisit

2010-03-01T09:14:11-05:00

College course planning site BecomeAlum was featured on college visit planning site SmartCollegeVisit. Both are VT KnowledgeWorks member companies.

Here's an excerpt from BecomeAlum Founder on Planning Your College Career:

Here's Christina McIntyre talking about how an online academic planning tool like BecomeAlum helps students know exactly what's required by their major and when the necessary courses are offered giving the student control over his or her future.

For more information about BecomeAlum, please visit: www.becomealum.com.

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An Entrepreneur's E-Summit Writing Schedule

2010-02-27T06:56:44-05:00

I was delighted that my one-page summary won a place among the semi-finalists in the Open Business Concept Competition at the VT KnowledgeWorks Entrepreneurship Summit.

And I am very excited to be participating in the VT KnowledgeWorks Pitch Day on Wednesday, March 3, 2010, for a chance to test my pitch in front of a panel of business leaders and angel investors.

This entrepreneur's writing checklist:

One-page summary of business concept for Open Business Concept Competition - done
One-page Executive Summary for Pitch Day - done
PowerPoint presentation for Pitch Day (possibly for the Entrepreneurship Summit if I'm selected as one of the final five to present on April 7, 2010 - Schedule of Events ), due Tuesday, March 2 - not done
Business Plan to continue competing in the Open Business Concept Competition, no longer than 5 pages, due Monday, March 8 - not done

While each document asks for an analysis and description of my company in a slightly different way so that each document, essentially, has to be created anew and, yes, this is a heavy writing schedule with nearby deadlines, every time I write and think about my company I understand its strengths and opportunities more deeply. Win or lose a competition, as the leader of a company, I win.

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The five finalists who will make their pitches in the auditorium at the right will be notified that they're the ones on Monday, March 15, 2010.

I've included the diagram at the right for another reason. Counting the seats, one sees that it holds a certain number, and then it doesn't. Registration for the Entrepreneurship Summit closes on March 31, 2010. In its first year, the Entrepreneurship Summit sold out. In an event's second year? Let's just say waiting until March 31 to register might be too late.

And the big e-night out is the TechNite Awards Banquet on April 7, 2010.

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VT KnowledgeWorks, a regional business acceleration center that helps companies bring ideas to market, will present the Second Annual Entrepreneurship Summit on April 7-8, 2010 at the Inn at Virginia Tech & Skelton Conference Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. This two-day comprehensive workshop is for prospective company founders, entrepreneurs launching or re-vamping a business, growing companies seeking expansion capital, and individuals interested in investing in early-stage companies.

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The Question Technology Companies Are Way Too Busy to Ask

2010-02-25T07:45:00-05:00

"How did you hear about us?"

The answer is crucial for my company to ask its customers. If I know the answer, I can repeat the process to get more customers!

When I wrote Measuring Social Media ROI: How Did You Hear About Us? for Handshake 2.0, I was thinking of entrepreneurs, my company, and fellow member companies at business acceleration center VT KnowledgeWorks.

Even with the reminders of director and mentor Jim Flowers, the pace of growth in my 18-month old company is so accelerated that I forget to do some things sometimes. Laundry is one them. Asking, "How did you hear about us?" is another.

It's not too late, though, for any of us to start!

An excerpt from the post:

"How did you hear about us?" Realistically speaking, busy companies are going to continue to forget to ask that question. Making the phone call, composing and sending out the email, creating the survey, keeping track of the answers - all that takes time.

Using these two simple benchmarks [Site Traffic and Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)] in a before-and-after fashion will still not answer "How did you hear about us?" But it will begin to answer how many have heard and how they're finding a company and its products and services - or not finding them.

What’s the ROI of social media marketing? Using these two simple benchmarks, companies can start to measure results and answer that question for themselves.

Technology start-ups are renowned for do-it-yourself marketing. Before-and-after benchmark tracking of site traffic and Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) is delightfully do-it-yourself.

If only laundry did itself...

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VT KnowledgeWorks, a regional business acceleration center that helps companies bring ideas to market, will present the Second Annual Entrepreneurship Summit on April 7-8, 2010 at the Inn at Virginia Tech & Skelton Conference Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. This two-day comprehensive workshop is for prospective company founders, entrepreneurs launching or re-vamping a business, growing companies seeking expansion capital, and individuals interested in investing in early-stage companies.

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Broadband For America: The Third Way - A White Paper by Andrew Cohill

2010-02-22T10:00:00-05:00

Andrew Cohill is the founder of Web Villages, a VT KnowledgeWorks member company.

An excerpt of a post follows that originally appeared on Handshake 2.0:

Broadband For America: The Third Way, a white paper by Andrew Cohill, is generating interest nationally for its new approach to solving America's broadband problems. The paper proposes adopting a different business model and a different network architecture to overcome the inherent financial shortcomings and network inefficiencies in existing telecom networks while keeping government out of direct competition with the private sector. The approach creates new business opportunities for existing service providers, including incumbents. The strategy advocates separating services from infrastructure, using the time-tested "roads" model. The "third way" advocates building local and regional digital road systems managed much the same way communities build and manage vehicular road networks.

A free copy of Andrew Cohill's white paper, Broadband For America: The Third Way, is available for download here.

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VT KnowledgeWorks, a regional business acceleration center that helps companies bring ideas to market, will present the Second Annual Entrepreneurship Summit on April 7-8, 2010 at the Inn at Virginia Tech & Skelton Conference Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. This two-day comprehensive workshop is for prospective company founders, entrepreneurs launching or re-vamping a business, growing companies seeking expansion capital, and individuals interested in investing in early-stage companies.

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