Your assumption is not true. They don't care where you come from. Time is money regardless of where in the globe you come from. Ask for advice not money if you are going in cold. Don't send your deck, don't attach anything to that email and make sure the email is max four short sentences. Here is how to get a response: Subject: Seeking advice Body: Line 1. Name.. working on a product in X space that does Y. Line 2. I saw you have experience with X space and Y products. Line 3. I would like your advice on (user acquisition, scaling, blah, blah). Make sure you do your homework on what area the investor is an SME. Line 4. Ask one very specific question. Thank you for your time Name DONE! It works and if you want to talk I can explain further which VCs this has worked with. As the saying goes ask for money you get advice. Ask for advice you get money. In an ideal world you want to have a warm intro. But hey those are not always easy to come by so you do what you have to. What is the worst that can happen investor says no? Or doesn't respond? Who gives a shit you tried.

I think as a first-time entrepreneur who is non-technical, you should focus 100% of your energy on your clothing business with your buddy. There is far less required to make a clothing business a success than a startup run by a non-technical founder. I don't mean to trivialize the challenges of running an apparel company (there are many) but comparatively, there is a greater chance of you having success with the apparel business than a startup. But you *reduce* your chances of success by diluting your focus with other ideas. Happy to talk to you in a call about starting off on the right foot with a cofounder.

Honestly there's too many to mention. Most successful founders are extremely kind and have a history of helping others... my quick list - Dave McClurre - Micah Baldwin - Clay Hebert - Mike McDerment - Jon Bischke - Gabe Luna - David Hassel - Mike Walsh - Bill Clerico - Hiten Shah - Gerry Pond - Sean Power - Christine Lu - Sally Ng - Marc Nager + 100's more Again, this is a quick list / not ranked in any order - just people who I think of personally that are kind and helpful in the startup space.

I've taken a quick look at your site and am happy to talk to you. Take a look at my reviews here on Clarity. Product advice is an area I provide a lot of help to Clarity members about.

The best way to sell anything is to find a similar product to yours (but less competitive) and find out how / where they sell theres. The truth is you'll need to make a lot of visits and calls which will mean rejection, but just know that it's a numbers game... meaning, it's all about the # of calls, emails, meetings you take - and over time you'll eventually get sales. There's no silver bullet, only a lot of lead bullets. You just need to start firing the gun (= pick up the phone and try selling it to stores). Again, find out who's been successful in this market, and copy what they did if you have no ideas how to proceed.

Forget about sales tactics right now. Nothing quick or easy is going to help you when you just want to make money fast. 1. Be extreme 2. Live disciplined 3. Give more value than people pay for 4. Act human It doesn't matter what strategy you use when you factor in all (4) of those.

Joining a top tier consultancy will not help you become a great PM. Full-stop. Yammer has one of the best product management groups and although some of their PM's have left (since the Microsoft acquisition), they still have a great group there. Some of Yammer's best PM's started out in different non-product roles. There might be some junior roles there that get you on the right track. There are a number of great established product teams that are always eager to add team members who are hard-working, passionate and eager to learn. Happy to talk to you in a call to point you in some specific directions but joining a great product team that actually *owns* the product is way more instructive and a better career path than a top tier consultancy.

I have in the past developed cost-savings calculators and they can be one of the most effective tools in moving an enterprise software prospect through the sales funnel to a closed deal. So I understand why you are so keen to get a handle on these numbers. Unfortunately, you are in a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation. It reads as though this will be your first deal. By definition, then, you have not yet had a deployment allowing you to properly quantify and document the benefits and cost savings accruing to insurers when their patients use your tool. Without such data, on the other hand, closing this first customer is all the more difficult. What you do have is a golden opportunity to work with this early adopter of your technology to develop those metrics. Make it worth this customer's while to work with you by offering it a steep discount, or a modest up-front fee combined with payments down the road based on how much they actually save. Or collaborate with this customer on a study that will quantify such savings and will provide this insurer with some effective competitive positioning it can use in its own marketing. The challenge here is that savings on the mediation of lifestyle diseases like diabetes can take an awfully long time to accurately establish. What metrics, such as weight stabilization, could be harvested in the shorter term? And how convincingly could you extrapolate from those early metrics to estimate eventual cost savings? You are certainly thinking the right way. Now you just need to figure out how you can collect actual patient data and turn that into a cost-savings calculator that will help you more easily close the next customer, and the scores of customers thereafter. I hope this helped. If you have further questions, I am only a phone call away.

I am going to begin my answer to this question not talking about writing emails at all, but rather getting at the true source of the problem. Then we'll talk text. The problem with "follow up" messages is they illuminate something is missing in your sales process. Most people fly by the seat of their pants on sales process anyway, believing that only big companies need one. But *everyone* in the field of selling needs a consistent sales process. "To manage we must measure" is a process improvement maxim...and if we aren't consistent in our behaviors, how can we measure? How do you know why you lose some orders and win others? Do you just assume it's your personality, or your price, or your brand? That would be crazy!--and what salespeople do every day. You have given us a single sentence to work with (industry, paths to market, what prospecting/qualifying method you're using now, and other facts would have been helpful). So I don't know anything for certain about your sales process or lack thereof. However, the fact that "following up" is included in your steps and vocabulary indicates to me you are having conversations that go nowhere. If you had a conversation with a prospect and it didn't result in a clear understanding for BOTH salesperson and prospect what the next step was...your process failed. That's what leads to having to "follow up". Every time I see "follow up", the first letter of each word jumps out at me, and that's what I hear it saying directly to me. "FU, Jason. You screwed up." Determining what the next step is, and ensuring it is ultra-clear for both you and your prospect, is YOUR responsibility. It needs to be built right into your consistent sales process. Do it automatically, every time. Otherwise, you end up in this "mutual mystification" situation you're in, where neither you nor the prospect knows what's supposed to happen next. Leading to the plaintive, "Are we there yet?" email. No, we are not. We are nowhere near there yet. If in your qualifying conversation with the prospect you did not uncover the urgent reason they want to buy, do you think you are going to discover it in a "follow up" email? If you didn't find out how important (or not) moving ahead was to them in your live, interactive, back-and-forth dialogue...what makes you think you're going to get the answer in a dull, one-way, inert email? Doesn't that sound ridiculous? Having to "follow up" means you're chasing prospects. Stop doing that immediately, and work on qualifying more effectively. Is this prospect In or Out? A Fit with us or not? Do they have an urgent, important reason to work with us now, or not? Uncover this, and you won't have to "follow up". Most of the places selling falls down are where the salesperson and the prospect have left things in this state of "collective confusion". Each believes they understand what the other means and intends...but the truth is totally different. When a prospect says, "Leave it with me and I'll get back to you," at the end of your meeting, what does that tell you? Me, it tells me NOTHING! Except that I'm being "niced out" of the door. These are times to be a little assertive: "I appreciate that. How long do you think it'll take for you to have a look at it? When should we book a talk to discuss your decision or any questions you have?" Don't leave it to chance. In fact, your sales process ought to have you laying out this as part of the ground rules right up front: "Ms. Prospect, we'll meet for about 40 minutes, that's typically what these conversations are, and I'm sure you'll have some questions for me. I'll definitely have some questions for you, because I want to find out more about your operation and determine whether we're really a good fit for you. At the end of that time, we'll know whether we're a potential fit or not. If not, no big deal. No one will get mad at anybody. If we are a fit, we'll figure out what that next step looks like then. Make sense?" And if the prospect wants to add anything into the agenda, they can. Most salespeople never even lay out these simple ground rules. A consistent sales process is a series of steps. At the end of every step, either it's over or it continues. If it's over, you know why: it's not a fit for a specific reason (no need, the problem's not big enough for you to get involved, or the prospect has uncontrollable anger issues, for example). Over is not a bad thing; it keeps you out of trouble and away from The Client From Hell. If you goof up--and I certainly do from time to time, even though I work with this stuff every day; it happens fast and there's a lot to keep in mind--and you must write an email, you must get the train back on the rails. Let it read like this: Mr. Prospect, I appreciate you meeting with me on (date) about (topic). I forgot to make sure of something at the6 end of that conversation, and I'm hoping you can help me out. Turns out you and I didn't figure out what our next step will be. Now you've had some time to go over what we talked about. At this point, there can only be three possible outcomes: 1. You've reviewed everything, and it's just not a fit for you at this time. 2. You have looked everything over, but have more questions that need answering before moving ahead. 3. You are delighted with the idea and want to move forward, and were just waiting for me to give you this quick reminder of the project. Let me make this super-easy. If the answer is the first possibility, will you reply to this email with the digit '1', and I'll know you're no longer interested? If you want to talk further, please reply with '2' and I'll call you about the further questions you have. If you are ready to go ahead now that I've brought this project back on your radar, please call me at ### so I can get things started ASAP...or reply with '3' to this email, and I'll know to call you so we can begin. Thanks again, YOUR NAME ** This message doesn't chase. It gets things back on track. If your prospect ignores it and you don't get an answer, you can safely assume it's '1' and stop trying to "follow up". In sales, "Yes" is good, "No" is good, but "I need to think it over"--making you have to "follow up"--is torture.

In your landing you tell the problem(s) your app solves. Make them feel the pain and tell them that signing up will heal it. So don't talk about "our app does this and that", but "do you have this problem? We have the solution"

When you do the interview you can show a mind map to show what you can do for them, printed out step by step, laminated. Just how you can achieve their business goals. If they ask to keep this print out, you tell them no this is "propriety" to my business. (PROPRIETARY 1: one that possesses, owns, or holds exclusive right to something; specifically) Or they will have someone else implement your plan.

Wish I'd seen this and been able to help you when you posted this 8 days ago. Guess we don't have many executive jobhunting experts available...but anyhow this will help going forward: This is your chance to stand out. Be memorable. Make them say, "We have to talk to this person!" Don't be bland. Don't write what "everyone else" would. Hit the highlights and hit them early. What makes you different? What makes you special? Tie this back to the role. Most cover letters aren't read...but when they are, the opportunity to become differentiated in the employer's eyes is open. All they need is ONE key reason to call you--remember that. And the cover letter can encourage them to read your resume in more detail. If your resume isn't being scanned by an optical reader for keywords, then the employer will be scanning it. This is just as important to know. They won't be READING it. Understand this. They will scan through the top third of Page One of your resume...and if you don't give them a reason to keep scanning, your resume will be thrown in the trash. So use your real estate wisely. People try to pack everything into a resume. This is a mistake. The purpose of your cover letter & resume is to Get You The Interview. That's it. Not to be a full backup of your life. So hit 'em hard up front. "Wait...what? I need to read that *again*" is the reaction we want. Not a nodding of the head...because all that will lead to is you in a pile with a million other candidates. We're not after "reasonable" here...we want "outstanding". I have several times had employers create jobs for me that did not exist before I showed up. http://www.modbee.com/2014/01/30/3162000/workwise-maverick-moves-for-job.html This is not my opinion, or unproven ideas. If I was in your shoes, I would make a small website. A few pages of video and written content demonstrating how I awesomely do what I do. And my cover letter would hit them early with What Makes Me Different...and then link to the multimedia for more. Think about it...if they go to that link, and invest the time to watch what you've put up--and it should take you a day to create--are they going to call you? Of course they are. Who else will have done something like this? Who else are they going to feel they know (at least a little)? People are in "I'll take anything" mode when it comes to employment. This is wrong. Focus, choose what you want and go for it with the killer instinct. Do what nobody else would do. What I suggested here isn't wild or crazy or even difficult...but hardly anyone Means It enough to put in the effort. And that's why someone like me will get the interview even if I don't have all the qualifications...and get the job. Because once I get into the interview, it's a whole new ballgame and anything can happen. So: > Big benefit and differentiator up front > Some "feel safe" content -- bullet points on your skills/experience matching their qualification requirements, for instance > Link to external content that further differentiates you and develops the "relationship" > Closing on why this is your dream opportunity and how you want to meet to discuss it in more detail. NO DESPERATION, though! Add phone # to arrange interview. Keep it brief and punchy, like a good marketing email. If you sound like everyone else, you'll get treated like everyone else.

Nichole's list is comprised of people who talk about growth marketing. Although growth marketing is a component of scaling-up, scaling a company is much more about operational issues. Everything from tech stack to culture to legal and compliance and almost always sales. On growth, there are a lot of people who talk about the principles of growth from a marketing perspective and a couple of people on Nichole's list are known for *talking* about growth but I'm generally wary of people who are more known for *talking* than actual notable accomplishments in growing products. Ivan Kirigin (formerly on Dropbox's growth team, now running a company I invested in called YesGraph), Gustaf Alstromer (AirBnb growth team), Elliot Shmukler (helped LinkedIn grow from 20m to 200m members, now in-charge of growth at Wealthfront who has been absolutely killing it), Drew Dillon (an early PM at Yammer, now Head of Product at AnyPerks), are all active on Twitter. Actually Elliot isn't but you can still search quotes he's made about growth via Twitter using his name. If you have more specific questions, am happy to try and point you to the right resources.

You can't offer trials or even easily make refunds accessible via in-app purchases. What you can do is actually make manual deposits or write checks back to the users who ask for it. But the purchase behavior associated with in-app purchases really shouldn't require any promise of a refund. In fact, doing so might make people *less* likely to purchase being that you're telegraphing a weak offering. Happy to talk through alternate ways of testing pricing and willingness to pay in a call.

Unfortunately, the best answer you can get here is "it depends." On your country and state or province and primarily on the terms of the shareholder agreement / charter and also any documents pertaining to you leaving the company. Your best option is to consult a law firm in your jurisdiction to first review the core documents and then evaluate what your potential avenues are for addressing this. Best of luck. Best of luck.

Start by reviewing everything your competitors do.

Mark is wrong. I personally know of a handful of companies in that exact same situation and most importantly that have good traction and the cap table NEVER came up once, and each of these companies have raised in excess of $1m in seed funding from great investors this year. Especially if your shares are common shares and/or have no particular unique traits about a share class, and especially if you can document the time and resources your firm expended to build and maintain the service that now has traction, this will not be a problem. Investors give many excuses when they don't want to do a deal but those excuses are rarely the reason for not pulling the trigger. The issue is more likely to be that there are two business folks running a company without a technical founder, which is almost always a deal-killer but that has nothing to do with your equity share. Happy to talk to you in a call if you'd like.

I am based in Canada and ended up opening a US bank account with Harris Bank in Chicago without physically visiting their office. This was about 4 years ago. So maybe contact them and see if they could help you.

I've never built an mhealth startup, but I have spent a lot of time researching and implementing gamified product experiences. I would suggest the following resources: 1) Anything Gabe writes + videos online http://www.gamification.co/gabe-zichermann/ 2) Anything Nir writes + watch his videos online http://www.nirandfar.com/ On Clarity: https://clarity.fm/nireyal 3) Anything Amy Jo Kim writes + talks http://amyjokim.com/ On Clarity: https://clarity.fm/amyjokim These are the 3 people I turn to .. they're brilliant

What? You are obviously unqualified for this position. You need to quit and let someone else do it.

This is a very open ended question. I would need to be able to see the website in question and gain access to google webmaster tools and analytics. I can say, if you fell entirely out of Google's results, it is a major error or you were caught doing some aggressive spamming. If it was a minor drop, it may be normal fluctuations.

I am not sure of the specifics you're asking, it seems like a lot of technical data. This might help in your search for these statistics though: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/networking/a/linkedin.htm http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2014/01/21/how-linkedin-is-thwarting-your-job-search/ http://mashable.com/2014/06/19/linkedin-job-search-app/ http://www.cio.com/article/2403150/linkedin/10-linkedin-tips-to-boost-your-job-search.html

Tracking offline events is difficult. Be prepared that it will be impossible to track 100% of your offline branding efforts. For example imagine somebody sees your poster, remembers the name, googles your org and lands on your site. They will be considered organic traffic. The old way was to use different phone numbers for each poster, and measure the number of calls that each poster generated using call tracking. This is the same way that infomercials test markets/times/channels/etc... Nowadays we use websites but the process is still the same. You can use bitly codes, or multiple domain names to measure which poster drove which traffic, just keep in mind that rarely does a poster convert right away. People riding the subway or driving etc are in a completely different state of mind. You could try and attach a unique incentive to manipulate that (free t-shirt!). Alternatively you can _infer_ the success of your posters based on what neighborhoods traffic is coming from, how much on mobile, and other analytical cross sections, but you should remain skeptical of the accuracy of this process. Personally I wouldn't worry about which poster, I would just worry about posters total. If you see traffic increase and keep all other things equal then yay! Good luck!

STOP. DO NOT DO THIS.... I would never want help from someone like you. Don't get me wrong -- you aren't evil (that I know about) but you don't seem have any value that I could pay for. What would you be "consulting" a CEO like me about? How do you expect to make my business better when you don't have a clue about your own business? THAT'S THE TRUTH... Fuck the truth. If you want to get clients then you hustle -- every waking moment. You try an angle and fail and then try a different angle. You can't outsmart your way to bigger results. 2 plus 2 does not equal 4 -- it equals you going bankrupt. If you want to be successful then you need to exert massive amounts of effort to get off the ground. So get your ass out there and start asking everyone you meet: "What is that one big accounting question that's been bothering you for some time now? If I can't help you i'll buy you a cup of coffee" Then just go be a badass...

If it's generating USD $10,000 or more in MRR, then you can try listing if on ExitRound but based on your description, I think a sale at this moment is unlikely. Acquisitions like the one you're dreaming are either motivated by the book of business or an engineering team. Code is thrown away and product discontinued. So the idea that a business is going to buy you to fix the problems of the product is unrealistic. Happy to talk to you to help you determine if the business is potentially salvageable.