The Pitch: How Much is TOO Much?!

Guy Kawasaki says: 10/20/30. 10 slides. 20 minutes of talking time. No font smaller than 30 (or nothing smaller than half the age of the oldest person in the room listening to the pitch). And man, that last part - the 30 - is hard to do.

Work says: talking points should start with verbs.

We say: we're about 80% through our pitching presentation. And yes, we think its dope. But of course we think its dope, because its our pitch, we wrote it, it makes sense to us. The question is does it make sense to anyone else? And will make ENOUGH sense so that someone will be inspired to say "hmmm...ok, i might be interested in giving you that money you need".

Here's how our pitch is laid out:

1. Logo slide - because our logo is dope
   
2. Intro slide - includes overview of our company (the "mission" statement) and the contents of the other 9 slides
3. Approach slide - primary product
   
4. Approach slide - secondary product
   
5. Approach slide - primary and secondary benefits to our customers
6. Approach slide - the money machine behind our products
   
7. Marketing Madness - how we plan to conjure brand awareness (with our dope logo)
8. The Money Machine - more details on how we expect our site will generate money
   
   This is one of those areas that many VC's say will get blown to shreds, because few entrepreneurs really understand business models. So we're not sure on this one
9. Next steps - what we're looking for in terms of money and investment. A brief 3 month timeline of development and deployment and how to get in contact with us.

We're making some minor tweaks and should have this puppy ready for transmission by the end of the week (which is Tomorrow thanks to Turkey day! Did you buy your turkey??!).

We'll keep you posted.

1. 
   

Downward Spiral

So we've gotten some comments that the blog has slipped - and ya know what? The folks who posted those comments are right.

It has slipped.

Moment of honesty: we are again daunted by the cost of getting our company up and running. I can't speak for Sherna, but I'll speak for Nadi - I'm so ready to get this venture up and going. We have amazing logos. The folks we talk to about our idea, who might be able to help all have the same response "this could be big". Our startup costs, compared to a lot of internet based companies aren't THAT high - they're just high from the perspective of someone who makes $--,000 a year (less than six figures). We could easily get corporate partners and sponsors for some aspects of our company. AND it would allow us to do what we both want to do - Travel. (And Sherna wants to buy a beach house - and Nadi wants to hang out at Sherna's beach-house-in-the-making).

This time around we can't blame it on work, or blame it on being uber-busy (because its the holidays).

It is what it is.

But thanks to those who were honest to say "hey, this is not what it used to be - get back on track".

We're getting back in the saddle.

Come Fly USDelta Airways?!?

So I'm sure all of you have heard - US Airways put in an $8 BB bid for Delta - which would results in a hostile takeover that would create the 2nd largest carrier in number of passengers "ferried" and the largest carrier in number of flights and destinations offered.



Great. :sigh:

The chances that the new Delta would result in an airline that anyone would want to fly. SLIM.
The chances that the fares on the new Delta would result in an airline that anyone would want to fly. SLIM.
The chances that this merger will have ANY affect on consumers, aside from new planes to recognize in the sky. SLIM. (And hey - didn't we just go through that with US Airways. I mean aren't they wasting QUITE a bit of money repainting planes??).

I've got an idea. Let's make flying fun again.


Remember "back in the day" where flight attendants were actually young and attractive (men or women) and weren't disgruntled middle-aged people who took the job SOLELY for the flight benefits?? And remember when being a flight attendant was actually cool - little girls would want to be flight attendants until their feminist mommies said "no honey, you meant to say pilot RIGHT?!" And remember when going on vacation actually started with leaving the house to go to the airport - not once you plopped down in your hotel AT your destination (because the rental car situation is NO better)?!?

Don't get me wrong - being a flight attendant is a thankless job. You're basically there to save people's lives in the event of an accident (gravity anyone?). Yet you've got to deal with snobby consultants and "road warriors" who think they own $*@! [the world] because they are "executive platinum" or "1K" or "Gold Medallion" (hey wait - that's me). And then there's the people who DON'T fly, who don't understand that 2 carry on bags means 2 carry on bags - not your backpack, your 30" super suitcase, your softsided cooler full of snacks for the kids, the baby stroller AND your purse. And if one more person asks me if they can stick their crap in my leg room, because I was smart enough to count and consolidate, I will scream. :sigh:

But please - can someone make flying FUN again?!

2007 Predictions, What's Hot in 2007?

With 2007 approaching fast, the question of what's next is on everyone's mind. What will be hot in 2007, make your preditions here.

I'll get us going, leave a comment to make your prediction.

Hot in 2007:

Movie downloads
New music discovery tools


What's not:

Myspace (hey, it's gonna die eventually, i predict 2007)

$%#@ Politics

Is there anyone else out there who will be happy when the mid-term elections in the House and Senate are over?!?!

I'm so sick of my Simpsons' re-runs being interrupted with dumb smear campaign ads.

Politics today is a friggin joke. It's like a bunch of 5 year olds arguing over the handball at recess. And both sides are sad.

:::6 days and counting:::

Bang and Olufsen Mobile Phone Anyone?

Designer Bang and Olufsen hooks up with Samsung and the union results in a mobile phone that looks like my pop up alarm clock - they are calling it "Serene". Notice the numbers are in a circle, ah, design over function?

Nadi Says: You say Bang & Olufsen? I want to know how much. Just the fact that B&O is involved means this bad boy is NOT cheap. I wonder if it opens up when you wave your hand in front of it like their stereo receivers do.

Text Messages Coming to a Plasma Near You....

Sick of texting messages to only people you know? How about texting to everyone at your current location?? A new technology called Wiffiti is enabling people to send text messages to large flat panel displays in social venues such as cafes, bars and clubs. Not sure how i feel about this, but i suppose it could be fun if you happen to be in a bar with interesting people. My fear is it turns into a way for people to go around plugging random stuff and all the screens end up displaying ads for the latest web 2.0 company. One cool feature of Wiffiti is that it allows you to text the word "fade" to fade out existing messages. Who knows, maybe it'll evolve into a whole new way to ask the hot girl in the corner if she's single or if you can buy her a drink....Or, hey ass*ole, can you stop staring at my girl...



The first Wiffiti screen was installed in January 2006 at Someday Café in Boston, MA, a city that now has three other Wiffiti screens. Screens are now spreading rapidly, appearing in Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Knoxville, Boulder and New York.