Guest post by Salil Shibad, Co-founder of URGE and Jumpstart Foundry alumni & mentor
It’s incredible what you see and learn every day. A few days ago, my 8-year old son Sanskrit got home a fundraiser form – Jump Rope for America’s Heart Association. He learned that a classmate had raised $85 and wanted to beat that. “Dad – let’s go…” and off we were to the neighborhood.
The first house we visited contributed $20, the next house $15, the next house a stack of coins and so on. After every house, I helped him refine his 30-second pitch and we were in business. What amazed me was, there was not a shred of apprehension in his mind of knocking on people’s doors; that thought just didn’t exist in his mind.
A dad in one house said “Come back later in the week, we’re watching a game.” My son came out, looked at his sheet and said “Hmmm… I need to make a note of this house so I can come back tomorrow.” That was the best!
Pitch like an 8 year old
If 8-year olds aren’t afraid, why then are entrepreneurs – some of us with years of experience, an engineering or masters degree, and a Rolodex of the most influential folks around – do we hesitate at the thought of making a pitch?
Get $15,000, three mentors, and space and coffee at the Entrepreneur Center. Meet angels & VCs in the hallway. Take this opportunity to have your business plan shredded to pieces and recreate it into a beautiful real company in three months. And then, raise money on Investor Day.
Apply here or talk to one of our mentors. Come pitch to Jumpstart Foundry. See if you can do better than an 8-year old. Alter your future!
Photo from Flickr by: sean dreilinger