Recent Articles Published by Caroline Cummings
How to Successfully Pitch Your Business Idea to Investors
Sometimes you only get 10 minutes to pitch your business idea to investors—and here's a pitch format that will help you secure funding. Read more »
The Importance of TAM, SAM, and SOM in Your Business Plan
TAM, SAM, and SOM, are vital parts of your business plan, but what do they mean? Here's a breakdown, plus how they apply to your business (plus examples). Read more »
How to Pick the Right Attorney for Your Startup
Picking the right attorney in your startup is as important as picking the right business partner. You can’t underestimate the importance of selecting an attorney who “gets” your business model, your market opportunity, and most importantly, your fundraising and exit strategy. Read more »
9 Things That Take a Pitch From Good to Great
Only a handful of business pitches are truly great. What sets those excellent pitches apart from the rest? Here are nine things that stand-out pitches have in common, and how to employ them to take your pitch from good to great. Read more »
39 Things to Ask Yourself Before Starting a Restaurant
This article is part of our Restaurant Business Startup Guide—a curated list of articles to help you plan, start, and grow your restaurant business! According to a study published in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, approximately 60 percent of restaurants fail within their first year of business. If you are dreaming of becoming a restaurateur, you can... Read more »
How to Lose an Employee in 10 Days [Webinar Recap]
For our latest webinar, we discussed “How to Lose an Employee in 10 Days,” outlining major mistakes an entrepreneur or CEO should avoid if they want to hold onto valuable employees. I was joined in this webinar by Matt Rissell, the CEO of TSheets Time Tracking. If you’re not familiar with TSheets, they are a... Read more »
5 Sure-fire Ways to Bomb Your Investor Pitch
Having delivered hundreds of pitches myself (and bombed a few), as well as coaching dozens of entrepreneurs on how to pitch, I’ve definitely seen some doozy pitches. I sometimes wish I’d had a video camera with me to create a funny compilation of all the bloopers—something I might have shared with entrepreneurs on how not... Read more »
How to Impress Angel Investors and Make It Into “Startup Heaven”
Ever wanted to ask an angel for advice? Now you can. Apart from a collection of tips direct from angel investors themselves, we're opening up our comment stream within this post. Read more »
How Big is Your Potential Market, Really?
Whether you’re a startup or an up-and-running business, you should know what your total potential market opportunity is for your products or services. I’ve coached many companies over the years, as well as judged several business plan competitions, and I’m always surprised by how most business owners can’t confidently tell you their total market potential.... Read more »
How to Avoid Taking “Dumb Money” in Your Startup
You may think that when someone offers you money to fund your startup, you should find a way to take their money. But even more important than landing an investment offer is knowing when to say yes to investors and when to say, “Thanks, but no thanks.” Just because someone has money doesn’t mean they have... Read more »
Ideas Make or Break Your Business
I don’t know about you, but I come up with a new idea every day. However, ideas without execution are merely thoughts in one’s own head. The writer Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best: “Ideas must work through the brains and arms of men, or they are no better than dreams.” Ideas are key to... Read more »
How to Inspire Your Employees
Have you ever heard the following statement?: “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” It’s a quotation from the French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and Adam Bryant—The New York Times... Read more »
Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast
The New York Times' columnist Adam Bryant sums it up in his book by saying that “culture is the X factor that will determine who wins in the long run.” Read more »
Top CEOs Reveal Their Secrets to Innovation and Growth [WEBINAR]
Join our free webinar with Adam Bryant, The New York Times bestselling author and “Corner Office” columnist, to learn the secrets of top CEOs and how your small business or startup can create a culture of innovation. Read more »
Get Your Business in Shape in 2020
It's pretty funny, actually, how well weight loss and fitness advice translates to managing a business and "trimming the fat" out of your company's operations budget. Read more »
Mentoring With LivePlan: Success Story
David Calderon, a California high school teacher, was the mentor to two of the BEC Boost competition's grand prize winners. I had the chance recently to ask David about his successful experience coaching his students. This is what he had to say. Read more »
How to Make Your Gust Account Stand Out to Investors
These are my recommendations for how to help your company profile stand out on Gust, so you can successfully grab attention and raise capital. Read more »
7 Interview Blunders and Bonuses
I’ve been interviewing several candidates over the last few months to fill positions on my marketing team at Palo Alto Software, and I am amazed at the number of people who show up for an interview unprepared. Some may say that it’s generational, but that’s not the case. I’ve interviewed candidates from seniors in college... Read more »
The 10 Questions I Didn’t Expect to be Asked by Investors
If you're raising money for your company and you want to pitch to angel investors or venture capitalists, then there are a few important things to know that savvy investors care about. Read more »
Slam Dunk Tips for Attracting and Keeping Fans
Everyone knows the value of word of mouth marketing. It’s a concept as old as dirt, but not something most businesses know how to embrace. The “social web” is a great avenue to allow the people that know and love you (aka, your “Fans”) to promote your business in a fun way. Fans are basically customer evangelists.... Read more »
