Hackers / Founders-Jonathan Nelson
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About the Episode
Today’s guest went from ER nurse to running an accelerator with the largest network of entrepreneurs with over 200,000 members in 44 countries. He shares his advice on what makes a great pitch, what they look for in their startups, and how to build win-win relationships. Also, listen to the part of the show where he shares the one mistake that most startup founders make.
Jonathan Nelson is CEO and Founder at Hackers / Founders.
Show Notes
What Makes a Great Pitch?
Do not start by saying:I am a start up, you are an investor, you should give me money. Investors will step back when they hear this approach. Make your pitch by asking them how they would want to earn money. Tell them that you would like to make millions for them and for you to do that, these are the things that you will need them to help you with. You always have to appeal to other people’s self-interests and self-benefits and these types of pitches are usually the best.
For product pitches, give a good description of the product and describe what the product does for the user. Don’t tell a long story on how you built it or get dragged down with the technicalities.
How to Build Win-Win Relationships
Most of what Jonathan had done for Hackers and Founders is figuring out win-win business models. He goes to someone and finds out how he can help the person. If someone else gets to win for something that he can easily deliver, then great for both parties. Sometimes, if he feels that the other party has the most advantage, he would just go ahead and say upfront,Hey you got this win, can I have this other one? If there are easy ways for both to win, he just goes ahead and does the stuff.
Another relationship advise that he gives in the show is not being an ***hole. If you are nice, helpful, and you pay it forward, after 10 years, if a person needs to decide who to do business with, most likely they will remember your character and choose you instead of someone who had been a jerk. It sounds cheesy, but you do not have to be an ***hole to do great in this business.
One Mistake that Most Startup Founders Make
Building products for imaginary customers is one mistake that start-ups make. They imagine that customers need a solution to a certain problem so they build a product without talking to the users about it first.
Show Mentions
Fav app: Dashlane: (iTunes | Google Play)