Get Funded
Invest & Support
About

Login

Virginia is for Entrepreneurs

Home
Startups, Investors, & Resources
- Member List
- Member Map
Groups

Test form

Entrepreneur - Detailed

What's your first name?*
What's your last name?*
What's your company's name?*
Website
What's your preferred e-mail address?*
Where is your company based?*
Street Address City State ZIP Code
What is the problem that your company is trying to solve?
Keep it simple-20 words or less. What do you do? Google aims to organize the world’s information for you. Warby Parker sells great-looking, custom-fit, affordable eyeglasses. Bodo’s makes delicious, hot bagels.
What primary sector is impacted by your venture's activities?
What primary sector(s) are impacted by your venture's activities?
- Agriculture
- Artisanal
- Culture
- Education
- Energy
- Financial Services
- Food
- Health
- Housing
- Information and Communication Technologies
- Infrastructure/facilities development
- Other
- Retail
- Supply Chain Services
- Technical Assistance/Consulting
- Tourism
- Water
- Sector Agnostic
Let's start with a few questions.
First, we'd like to learn more about your team.*
We’d like to understand your team’s experience. Using the experience of entrepreneur Steve Jobs, which of these scenarios best describes your company?
- Apple (Steve Jobs’ first go-round): Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were in their garage, selling their first Apple II—they may not have been experienced in the sector but were very talents.
- Pixar: Steve Jobs launched Pixar after leaving Apple. He wasn’t experienced in filmmaking or cartoons, but he had built a successful company before.
- Apple (Steve Jobs’ second go-round): Steve Jobs becomes CEO of Apple as one of the top leaders in technology.
Great! We love rising stars.
What does your team need the most help with?*
- Team. Right now, it’s just one person (me!) with an idea.
- Focus. Founders are still working part-time.
- Customer engagement. We need more time and resources to engage directly with our customers.
Terrific! Investors love a solid team.
What does your team need the most help with?*
- Market expertise. We need more senior team members who directly understand the problem.
- Tactical experience. We need more expertise on how to sell and operate in our industry.
- Growth skills. We are doing well at small scale but need expertise on how to grow.
Outstanding! Investors love folks with experience.
What does your team need the most help with?*
- Management skills. The founders are great, but we need more strength at the senior level.
- Scale. We need to know how to succeed with multiple products and in multiple markets.
- M&A, IPO, growth. We need skills in helping to exit the company—getting acquired, acquiring, going public, or other strategies.
Now, we’d love to hear about your vision for the company.
Which of these best describes your idea?
Let’s take the example of Tesla, whose mission is to make 100% electric cars that are accessible to everyone.
- “Big idea”: Tesla is an idea on paper, and Elon Musk is raising money to launch the first car.
- “Promising progress” Tesla selling cars to very wealthy people, but cars are not yet accessible to everyone.
- “Global leadership”: Elon Musk’s vision—the Tesla is the best-selling car in the world.
Which do you need the most help with?
- Idea: I’ve never built a company before and don’t even know where to start!
- Focus: I have a big vision and know the general direction I want to move, but I need help focusing on what specific problem to solve.
- Customer feedback: I need time and resources to have customers test my initial idea.
Which do you need the most help with?*
- Systems-level thinking: I know how my idea works at a small scale (with one customer) but need to better understand my industry.
- Measuring outcomes: I need help understanding how to measure I am succeeding.
- Tying sales to outcomes: I need help figuring out how to profitably monetize what we do best.
Which do you need the most help with?
- Recurring sales and growth: I need help figuring out how to keep my existing customers and grow new ones.
- Measuring systems-level change: I need help understanding how we are changing entire markets (not just selling products).
- Global leadership: We have a chance to become #1 in our field and I want to know how to make it happen.
Now, we’d love to hear about how you interact with your customers.
As an example, let’s look at Warby Parker, an eyeglass company that makes affordable, stylish, customized eyeglasses.*
Which of these best describes where you are?
- Initial value proposition: Warby Parker’s founders sell from their dorm room eyeglasses directly to a small group of customers. Every sale that the company makes the CEO and team are very involved in.
- Sales beyond early adopters: Warby Parker starts getting referrals. They decide to set up a website/e-commerce marketing strategy as well as physical store locations to capitalize on their growth.
- Product-market fit: Warby Parker needs to do very little marketing to get the word out—inbound leads exceed outbound leads 10x. Other eyeglass companies have offered to acquire Warby Parker but they want to keep growing.
Which of these describes where you need the most help?*
- Customer identification: We could solve the problem for lots of customers but we need help identifying the most important.
- Users: We need time and resources to help us get the product in front of users/customers.
- “Freedom to operate”: we face regulatory or technical hurdles to producing our product.
Which of these describes where you need the most help?
- Size of test user base: We know a small group of dedicated people love what we are doing and we need to expand user feedback more broadly.
- Recurring/renewing customers: We know people like us enough to buy/use us: we need help figuring out how to retain our user base and grow them.
- Scaling beyond early adopters: we need help finding new sales leads for growth.
Which of these describes where you need the most help?*
- Outbound/inbound: right now, most of our first sales are outbound--we need help getting more inbound leads than outbound.
- Renewal with lower effort: right now, retaining existing customers is costly and time-consuming.
- Exit/acquisition/growth: We are profitable and need help figuring out how to return capital to team and investors, if we have them.
Now, we’d love to talk about your product.
Which of these best reflects the stage of development of your product? Let’s assume that you invented the mobile phone.*
Which of these stages of development best resemble your product?
- Minimum viable product (Flip phone). Your product successfully fulfills its basic function (helping people communicate with each other). The prototype works and it’s something you can sell. It is maybe more expensive or less functional than you want it to be, but it is ready to go.
- Working prototype (initial iPhone). The product more or less resembles what you want it to be. It’s easy to use, and people love it. It is too slow, bulky, customized, or expensive for mass market and hasn’t reached seamless scale but it’s on the way.
- Product-at-scale (today’s smartphones). The product is profitable at the price your customers can afford and gets great feedback. It’s very easy to use.
Brilliant! We're excited to help you figure out how to go to market.
Which of these describes where you need the most help?*
Note: for this, when we say the word “product”, we mean “product or service.”
- Prototype creation. I have an idea on paper, computer, or in my mind I need to turn into a physical product.
- Prototype manufacturing. I need the time or money to make my working prototype.
- Customers/users. I need help overcoming barriers (money, time, regulatory barriers) to get my prototype in the hands of customers.
Wonderful! We're excited to learn more about how your product is working in the market.
Which of these describes where you need the most help?*
Note: for this, when we say the word “product”, we mean “product or service.”
- Market. I need to figure out which market my product can best serve.
- Business model. I have a great product and I need to figure out how to monetize it.
- Market fit. I need help figuring out how to reliably sell my product profitably. We are good in certain aspects but need help with consistency.
Tremendous! Seems like you’ve got something working and you’re ready to take it to the next level.
Which of these describes where you need the most help?*
Note: for this, when we say the word “product”, we mean “product or service.”
- Scale. I need help distributing and validating my product in multiple markets.
- Validated unit economics. I need help capturing and demonstrating evidence that we are reliably profitable.
- Exit/liquidity. I need help figuring out how to take my company to the next level (take it public, sell it to a larger firm).
Awesome, sounds like you've got a great business. Let’s talk about your market size.
Using the example of Facebook, which of these best describes where you are?*
- (Circa 2004) Facebook is a social network for college students in the US--providing a very popular service in a very specific market (you need to have a .edu email address to register)
- (Circa 2008) Facebook is selling one product in multiple markets: a social network for everyone, where people can share photos and personal updates with each other.
- (Circa 2011) Facebook is selling multiple products in multiple markets as a media, e-commerce, and social media platform, about to become a public company. You can consume media, buy products, and more.
Great! We love pioneers who are going after new markets.
Which of these describes where you need the most help?*
- Discovering a market: I have an awesome idea, but I don’t even know if there is a market for it.
- Evidence of market size: I know there is a market, but I have no idea how big or profitable.
- Price and cost information: I need help pricing and costing my product.
Great! We love entrepreneurs that are getting traction in their initial market.
Which of these describes where you need the most help?*
- Is my market investable? I need help figuring out how to raise money to take my product to market.
- Connections to customers: I need help connecting with people who can help me scale my product.
- Connections to distribution partners: I need help connecting with people who can help me distribute my product.
Great! We love entrepreneurs who have product-market fit.
Which of these describes where you need the most help?*
- Best practices and industry standards: I need to know what the most successful companies in my industry do-and how to beat them.
- Unbeatable competitive advantage: I need to know how to establish a sustained advantage against all competitors (big and small)
- Exit for investors: I am already profitable and need to figure out whether I will grow big, or repay my investors in some way (acquisition or otherwise)
Thanks for talking us through your market. Now, we’d like to understand more about your business model.
Let’s use the example of Amazon to explore your business model. Which of these best describes where you are?*
- Amazon (1997). Amazon sells books online. The company is losing money because it is investing far more in future infrastructure (web, transportation) than it makes today.
- Amazon (2003). This is the first year that Amazon is profitable--and they are now selling multiple products. It is still investing many of its profits in future growth (web services, distribution) but it is now making money.
- Amazon (2017). Amazon is the clear industry leader in e-commerce.
Great! We’re excited to dig into the business model.
Which of these best describes what you need most?*
- Putting a business model on paper. I have a product and need to calculate the numbers behind it.
- Research on costs and pricing. I need evidence on how much people are willing to pay for my product and how much it will cost to make it.
- Initial sales from customers. I need help in getting to the point where I can sell something to somebody.
Great! We’re excited to hear about your initial success with customers.
Which of these best describes what you need most?
- Market sizing. I have initial sales but need evidence that my market will be big enough to succeed.
- Full business model. I need help putting together a full, long-term business model that can give investors evidence that I will be profitable.
- Time and space to execute. I need resources (sales team, operations team) to give us time to test that our sales can map to what we project.
Congratulations! Seems like you have good cash coming in.
Which of these best describes what you need most?*
- Multiple years of profitability. I feel like we are on the right track--I need to raise enough capital to give us a track record.
- Industry benchmarking. I need a greater understanding of the broader industry I am working within to know whether I am exceeding expectations.
- Exit/liquidity. I need to know what industry success looks like (revenue/profitability) in order to set myself up for acquisition, IPO, organic growth.
Awesome to hear about your progress building your business!
Now, let’s look at the level of scale that you’ve reached. Let’s look at a successful Virginia start-up: Five Guys Burgers.*
Which of these best reflects your scale?
- Great start: Five Guys’ original location opened in 1986 in Alexandria, Virginia takes the burger world by storm, winning the best burger award in the DC area.
- Expanding beyond initial market: By 2001, Five Guys’ had successfully opened multiple locations across the DC and Northern Virginia area.
- Reaching scale: In 2003, Five Guys decided to franchise and has grown to nearly 1,000 locations, from the UK to Saudi Arabia to California.
Terrific! We’re excited to help you dig deeper into your initial market.
Which of these best describes where you need the most help?
- Market identification: I have an idea and need help finding the right market.
- Data/evidence: I need the time and resources to gather evidence (customer interviews, pilots) that the market wants my product or service.
- Identification of people beyond early adopters: I know one type of customer who will like my product but I need help finding more.
You are starting to really cook with gas!
Which of these best describes where you need the most help?*
- Customer base: I feel like I am doing great within a specific customer segment but I need to accelerate my new lead generation and growth.
- Profitability: I am having success selling products but need help with my business model to reach profitability.
- License to operate: I need help with regulatory challenges and IP strategy as I aim to scale my business.
It seems like you’re dominating!
Which of these best describes where you need the most help?*
- Unit economics: I am already measuring my customer acquisition cost and my lifetime customer value, but need help increasing the ratio of customer value to cost.
- Multiple customer segments: I have strong unit economics in one segment or for one product but I need to do better in expansion.
- M&A: I am currently looking at multiple acquisition offers and I need to figure out whether to sell or stay independent.
Now, let’s talk about the kind of investment you are raising.
Which of these best describes your fundraising progress so far?*
- I haven’t raised investment from anyone. I may have raised grants or prize money from competitions.
- I have raised money from individuals (my friends, my family, angel investors). I haven’t raised any money from any investment firms.
- I’ve raised money from institutions (banks, venture capital firms).
Sounds like you’re pretty early on. It’s important if you’re raising money to think through an “exit strategy”
Specifically, how you’ll make money for your investors one day.
Now, let’s talk about your biggest fundraising needs.*
Which of these describes where you need the most help?
- I don’t know where to start! I don’t even know if I need to raise money--or what I would do with it. I need help figuring that out.
- I am in the process of figuring out how much I want to raise and I need some help figuring it out.
- I have an idea of how much money I want to raise, and how I would spend it, and want ideas on who to connect with.
Sounds like you’re making progress and have some initial ideas about a strategy.
Now, let’s talk about your biggest fundraising needs.*
Which of these describes where you need the most help?
- I am trying to figure out how big I want to scale my company, and how much money I need to raise as a result.
- I know how I can reach profitability, but I need help figuring out what an exit strategy would look like for my investors.
- I have a bunch of relationships with venture capitalists and other investors. None have invested yet; I need help figuring out how to put together an investment round.
Seems like you’re making progress on how you might make money for investors.
Now, let’s talk about your biggest fundraising needs.*
Which of these describes where you need the most help?
- I have good relationships with multiple later-stage investors and acquirers and I need help figuring out how to navigate these relationships to get the financing I need.
- I have multiple firms that have offered to acquire me and I need help figuring out which offer to take-or whether/how to grow independently.
- I need help figuring out whether I should issue an Initial Public Offering, stay private, or sell to a larger firm.
Thanks for telling us about your business. We'd like to know a few more details that will help us put you in touch with the right people.
Answers in this section will only be visible to users you request to connect with.
Approximately when was your venture founded?*
Is your venture for-profit or nonprofit?*
What is your venture’s total revenue over the last 12 months?*
What is your venture’s total revenue since founding?*
Please enter a value greater than or equal to 0.
Over the last 12 months, how many full-time employees were on your payroll?*
Please enter a value greater than or equal to 0.
Over the last 12 months, how many part-time or seasonal employees?*
Please enter a value greater than or equal to 0.
Please estimate how much, if any, your venture paid in wages, salaries, and benefits to full and part-time employees over the last 12 months.*
Please enter a value greater than or equal to 0.
Approximately much have you raised in funds since your venture launched?*
Please enter a value greater than or equal to 0.
Please list all organizations that have provided you financial support since your founding.
Include banks, venture capital firms, business plan competitions, angel investor groups.
Please list all organizations that have provided you non-financial support since your founding.
For example, accelerators and incubators.
What aspects of your business do you need help with that we haven’t discussed?
Company Logo
This is for the public directory and your profile. Must be a square image.
Accepted file types: jpg, png, gif.
Are you ready for your level?
Var Team
Var Vision
Var Value Prop
Var Product
Var Market
Var Business Model
Var Scale
Var Exit
Level

© 2017 - VA4E - Virginia is for Entrepreneurs

About
Contact
Venture Capital Glossary

X

- Enter Your Location -

- or -

Get your current location

@

Not recently active