5/13/2018 Readings | 8.2.

General Theory | TTE01x Courseware | edX

Course  8. Call for Action  8.2. General Theory  Readings

Readings
Readings
For the nal module of the MOOC Entrepreneurship, we have a few suggested readings and provide
you with some tips regarding the video pitch presentation and give you some background material for
starting your business.

Eisenmann, T. R. (2013). ‘Entrepreneurship: A Working De nition’. Harvard Business Review: January

2013, https://hbr.org/2013/01/what-is-entrepreneurship

‘How Venture Capitalists Really Assess a Pitch’. Harvard Business Review: May–June 2017,
Issue https://hbr.org/2017/05/how-venture-capitalists-really-assess-a-pitch

There are many tips, and we would like to mention a few in addition to the ‘who cares’ and ‘why you’
arguments.

Presenting yourself and the team. Although people may have di erent opinions, it is often not needed
to introduce the team at the very beginning. Although they put high value on you and the team, in the
rst instance it is better to start strong and draw your audience into your pitch presentation. Then,
after explaining the problem and o er you can mention your name. In the end of your pitch
presentation, it would be good to show the o er again and explain the team that can make it happen.

Drawing attention in the beginning is key, make them enthusiastic, show your passion and make sure
they immediately understand what you do. In many cases it helps to create a sense of urgency. What
is the problem at stake, why is it a problem, what are the negative e ects of the present solution and
what is the solution you o er to mitigate these problems. Make sure you explain that your o er is a
need to have, and not a nice to have. Thus, explain in simple words what your o er is and why it is
relevant. Make sure people do understand your o er, recognise the situation you present. Making it
recognisable by using a picture or illustration helps a lot.

Many suggestions about pitch presentation emphasize your posture, how to walk, to talk, look at the
investors and how to handle questions etc. This is important, especially to get in contact with your
investors. But to do so it is important to also prepare the pitch in terms of who is my audience, what

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do they know, what is their interest and
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what do they value. Make sure your message resonates with
Readings | 8.2. General Theory | TTE01x Courseware | edX

his/ her interests. Thus avoid di cult or speci c technical terms but show the situation in which it is
used.

Evidence is key for investors. You can present the evidence by showing how you did get in contact with
your target customer, what speci c responses you got from the talks with the target customer. Also
the ownership of technological expertise is important. If you own the technology or key knowledge
then it is key to explain the protection of the intellectual property. If you draw on the technology of
others, you need to able to explain the licensing deal or the type of collaboration you intend to have.

Showing you o er, the product or how the service works is important to have the investors
understand what you do. However, do not talk endlessly about the details of your product or
technology. The investors are not interested in the technology or product as such. They care about the

need in the market and how to generate money on that. Thus presenting realistic cash- ow
projections is key.

Cash- ow projections, how realistic you try to develop them, they are based on assumptions.
Therefore, it is more important to understand the accuracy of the assumptions and the e ect of small
di erences on the initial years of your cash- ow. Making long term cash ow projections is regarded
as a simple spreadsheet exercise, but showing the break-even point, the payback period and the
amount of investment you need is important. Hope these tips help and more are to found on the
following websites:

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/251311

http://thepitcher.org/master-5-minute-investor-pitch/

Other background material

If you have arrived at some great insights about the market opportunity the next important step is to
put your commitment to it. Two types of commitment can be put into it. The rst is that of money. If
you put your own money into it, then it shows your commitment and belief in the success of the
opportunity. Also by putting your own money, your savings, or some collateral such as your house, it
shows you will do anything to make it a success. The second type of commitment is time. You need to
show you spend considerable time into getting the idea started. For instance, when you say: I have a
start-up and I work on it every Friday afternoon, it probable does not convince many people you are
serious. The third type of commitment comes from making things more formal. Although a true
entrepreneur will act on the opportunity, before getting all administrative tasks and resources in place
(remember the de nition of Entrepreneurship by Stevenson ), it shows some commitment if you
explored the legal and formal avenue to get your start-up founded. Also governments do provide

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some
5/13/2018
nancial support for technology-based start-ups. This may di er strongly from one country to
Readings | 8.2. General Theory | TTE01x Courseware | edX

another, but we can provide you with some information when it comes to the Netherlands, the home
country of the universities that provided you this MOOC.

Formal and legal requirements to get started: https://english.rvo.nl/topics/startupsandscaleups

Funding opportunities to get started: http://english.rvo.nl/topics/innovation/startup-box-funding-

innovative-starters

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