selling it services to silicon valley

SELLING IT SERVICES TO SILICON VALLEY SPEAKING THEIR LANGUAGE

DEC PDP-10 MAINFRAME, 1976 By Michael L. Umbricht, The Retro-Computing Society of RISun-collector at en.wikipedia, from Wikimedia Commons

Photo courtesy Computer History Museum

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“PEOPLE FROM SILICON VALLEY CAN DO ANYTHING” -Elon Musk

Image by OnInnovation

Optimism, Confidence &

Excitement

Closing Deals With Standard

Terms

Avoiding Expectation Disconnect

Telling the Right

Story

HEWLETT-PACKARD HEAQUARTERS, 1939 Image Courtesy of the Computer History Museum

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“I wasn’t a founder in the sense that I contributed

anything scientifically, but in the sense that I signed

the corporation papers and owned founder’s

stock.” - Arthur Rock

Image By Singhaniket255 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Optimism, Confidence &

Excitement

Telling the Right

Story

Being Comfortable &

Familiar

Avoiding Expectation Disconnect

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THE FIRST MEETING IS ABOUT THEM, NOT YOU

BEING A “GREAT SOFTWARE COMPANY” IS NOT ENOUGH

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1. WE TRIED 2. WE FAILED 3. WE LEARNED 4. WE SUCCEEDED 5. NOW WE HELP OTHERS

“Fail fast, fail often.” - Silicon Valley Saying

“VCs bury their dead very quietly.”

- Shikhar Ghosh, Harvard Lecturer

Optimism, Confidence &

Excitement

Being Comfortable &

Familiar

Avoiding Expectation Disconnect

Telling the Right

Story

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COMMUNICATION IS THE MOST COMMON DEAL BREAKER

USE STANDARD AMERICAN TERMS

AN AMERICAN LLC WILL HELP CLOSE DEALS

NEVER COMPETE ON PRICE

Optimism, Confidence &

Excitement

Being Comfortable &

Familiar

Avoiding Expectation Disconnect

Telling the Right

Story

BE THE RIGHT KIND OF ROCKSTARS

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HELP THEM MANAGE THEIR MONEY

TO BUILD A TRUE PARTNERSHIP, HELP THEM MANAGE THEIR BUDGET

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“90% of VC’s add zero value to a startup.”

- Vinod Khosla, CEO Sun

Microsystems

WHAT EVERY SILICON VALLEY STARTUP REALLY WANTS

Image by ForgeMind ArchiMedia

By 2020, there will be 1.4 million new computer science jobs, but only

400,000 US computer science students.

US Venture Capital funding is on track to reach a record $70B this year.