All posts tagged: problem

5 main steps for the perfect elevator pitch

If you an entrepreneur with an amazing idea and want to pitch it to your friends or even an investor, get ready to experience sweaty palms and rosy, red cheeks. Why? Because you never have a second chance to make a first impression! Here are some tips to avoid screwing it up:     I.         Make a plan and write it down.  Here is a plan: The American Express advice US makes it simple and useful.  FIRST BLOCK 1)    Name of your business 2)    Your product/services 3)    Market segment 4)    Problem solving  SECOND BLOCK  1)    Why your product is needed 2)    Which problems can it solve (this makes life easier, saves time and is more productive) 3)    Why are you better than the competition—USP  THIRD BLOCK 1)    Sales & Profitability Statement 2)    End with a statement about what you are looking to accomplish   II.         Repeat your pitch format again, and again.  In front of mirror or video camera, run through your offer at least a few times. Also, pitch your idea in front of friends and ask them to be critical by asking several questions. Overall, if …

Start-Up Day 2014 from Stockholm School of Enterpreneurship

Previously known as “Good Morning” but now renamed “Start-up Day,” the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship organizes this one-day event where it gathers entrepreneurs with and without experience as well as attracting various investors, students, and motivational speakers—all on three different scenes. Being curious and looking for new opportunities, contacts, and of course inspiration, I decided to visit the event once again. I attended it four years ago and still remember the summing-up speech by Magnus Lindkvist. “Start-ups I believe in” This year  the event took place 26 th of April 2014 at Munchenbryggeriet. I was a bit disappointed with the Start-Up Day event. In fact the only speech “Start-ups I believe in”that I feel worth mentioning came from Hampus Jakobsson—a truly inspirational and successful entrepreneur as well as a happy father of three. Hampus is theco-founder and CEO at Brisk.io—a project that is currently operating under the Creandum family*. Earlier in his career when he was co-founder of a software licensing company known as The Astonishing Tribe, he was responsible for shipping over 500 million …

How smart women invested in 2013?

In Sweden, declaration (tax returns) time has come again. Every citizen earning an income, recently received a large yellow form from a local taxation office reminding us to submit all sources of revenue, as well as expenditures. This year my income consisted of the usual source—my job and the firm that I own. However, there was a new entry included among my income sources—revenue from rising stock shares! The value of my portfolio rose 19% from last year. Smart girl! How smart women invested in 2013? “How smart women invest,” for me, was an interesting experience. Back in November of 2013, a friend of mine invited me to a seminar. It was more or less a breakfast meeting comprised of smart women, and Barbara Stewart, a researcher and portfolio manager from Canada, travelled here to Stockholm to share her financial insight and wisdom. The event was organized by NASDAQ OMX. Barbara, an elegant and charming woman, revealed to us information about what motivates smart women to invest, and how they make an investment decision. For her research, she talked to 100 …

Rejections and King Solomon

Once a very wise king of Jerusalem reigned from 970 to 931 BC. Several stories and legends are devoted to his accomplishments and wisdom. His name was Solomon. According to one legend, Solomon had a ring. Inscribed on this ring was the proverb “Everything goes by, and this too shall pass”. *** It just so happens that sometimes we are rejected by people we love, by corporations we would love to work for, by investors whose money we were hoping to invest, and by countries we would like to travel to. In the situation where emotions are involved, it is sometimes difficult to make appropriate and wise decisions. However, there are some ways we can walk around this dilemma and find a suitable solution. We need to overcome rejection and find forces to keep going—to keep fighting. In a situation involving rejection, sometimes the best solution is to consider an independent point of view. Abstract from the problem. Try to imagine your friend in front of you. He is sad because of rejection, and has a host …