Articles & Thoughts.

Collection of articles, thoughts on various topics, and collections of my personal work in photography.

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Entrepreneurship

Pitch Deck Handbook: Index Slides

Index Slides are there to provide supplemental detail that answers questions that can not be answered in the “pitch” part of the deck (Intro Slide through Closing Slide). They should include any detail needed to expand upon topics in the deck. Index slides are always located at the end of the pitch deck.

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

2

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Closing Slide

The Closing Slide is where you provide your contact information for investors to use. It should contain; Your company info, company website, the primary contact’s info, and the primary contact’s email + phone number. It is always located just before your Index Slides.

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

3

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Ask Slide

The Ask Slide is where you present the details about your fundraise and what the investment money will help you accomplish. On this slide, you should include; the amount you are raising, the runway it provides, the raise details, and the milestones that you are going to achieve with this money. The Ask slide is located just before your Closing Slide.

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

3

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Team Slide

The Team Slide is the most important slide in your deck because it is where you need to show why you are the team to build this company. It should include; each team member, their info (name, photo, position), reasons/data as to why they should be on the team, and potentially your advisors (can be broken out into a second slide). The Team Slide is typically located before the Ask Slide or after the Intro Slide...

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

2

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Financials Slide

The Financials slide serves as a benchmark for where your company is estimated to financially headed over the next few years. It should include: A 3 to 5 year projection including your break even point along with revenue, expenses, and net profit. The Financials Slide typically is placed after your Market Slide or Roadmap Slide...

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

3

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Roadmap Slide

The Roadmap Slide helps investors gain clarity on where you have been, where you are, and where you are going with your company. This slide should include a timeline with; What you have done, what you are doing, what you will be doing, and simplistic date ranges in which these things will happen in. Typically, the Roadmap Slide is either located after the Market Slide or after the Traction Slide.

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

2

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Market Slide

The Market Slide is designed to make the solution’s market opportunity clear to investors. It should include; TAM, SAM, SOM, and CAGR. The Market Slide is typically located after the Traction Slide or the Why Now Slide.

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

2

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Traction Slide

The Traction Slide should show what your company has achieved so far such as sales, users, growth, etc. It should include any metric that relates to your company’s traction. Typically, it is located after your Business Model Slide or Competitive Advantage Slide.

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

1

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Competitive Advantage Slide

The Competitive Advantage Slide (Also can be referred to as “Moat”) is a place to sum up the reasons why competitors can’t beat you right now or in the future. It can contain content such as; patents, market capture, etc. Typically it is located after the Traction Slide or the Business Model Slide.

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

2

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Business Model Slide

The Business model slide is where you help investors gain clarity on how you make money. It includes; revenue models, unit economics, and who you are selling to. This slide is typically placed after the Solution Slide or the Why Now Slide.

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

2

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Intro Slide

The Intro slide is where you introduce your business at a “mission statement” level in order to prime investors’ brains. It should include; your company name, logo, mission statement, and potentially contact info of the primary contact. This is the first slide in the deck.

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

2

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Problem Slide

The Problem Slide help investors gain clarity on what the problem is that you are solving and why the problem should be solved in the first place. This slide typically includes; an overview of the problem, the impact of the problem, and potentially your personal connection to the problem. The Problem Slide is traditionally located after the Intro Slide.

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

2

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Existing Solutions Slide

The Existing Solutions Slide shows how existing solutions/competitors fail to solve the problem(s) you mentioned. It should include; examples of current solutions/competitors along with how or why those solutions/competitors are failing to solve the problem. The Existing Solutions Slide typically comes after the Problem Slide or Why Now Slide.

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

2

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Why Now Slide

The Why Now Slide is built to make it clear why this business/solution should be built and launched at the current moment in time. It typically includes; Quantified metrics and/or facts/logic as to why now is the right time. The Why Now Slide can be placed either after you introduce your solution or just before you introduce your solution.

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

2

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Solution Slide

The Solution Slide is where you show what your solution is and how it addresses the problems listed in your Problem Slide. It typically includes the name of the solution, visual depictions of the solution, a description, and lists how the solution addresses the problem(s) that were listed. This slide is placed after the Problem Slide or after the Existing Solutions Slide.

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

2

min read

Pitch Deck Handbook: Overview and Principles

The Pitch Deck Handbook is for anyone who is looking to build a pitch deck for raising money for their startup or idea. It will cover each “typical” slide found in a pitch deck in detail to give you an in depth look at how to build a great deck, slide by slide. Keep in mind, every startup is different so you might not include some of the slides talked about or you might include ones that aren’t discussed at all in this series.

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

3

min read

Days of Life: 004

A collection of photos from days of life spanning between January 2021 to February 2022. Puerto Rico > Washington DC > Boulder, CO > Costa Rica > Burke, Vermont > Golden, CO > SLO, CA > Cabo, Mexico > Bogota, Columbia > Medellin, Columbia

Jan 26, 2024

5

min read

Using Atomic Design

UX/UI design can get incredibly messy with even small projects. To help keep things organized, I utilize a design system called Atomic Design which was invented by Brad Frost.As with many other designers, I’ve made my own modifications to Atomic Design. In the content below, I’ll talk about how I work with this design system...

Jan 26, 2024

2

min read

Pitch Deck Design Principles

Just like anything, good design becomes possible for anyone to achieve once they understand a few fundamentals. In this post, I’m going to walk you through the fundamentals that I use to design pitch decks. This post will only focus on the design aspect of decks, not what to include, how to pitch, etc. There are already many great resources out there to learn those skills. I think simplicity is best so I’ve narrowed things down into 4 main principles which each contain a few sub-points within them. With that being said, let's start with...

Jan 26, 2024

4

min read

How Fucked am I Matrix: What your Retrospective has been Missing

The How Fucked am I Matrix (or HFI Matrix) was designed for team members to not only learn about how they optimally operate, but also about their fellow teammates.It monitors each member’s energy level and workload each week which gives both them and you a good idea of where everyone on the team stands. This does three things for the entire team: In the short term, it allows you to see who might have too much on their plate and who might have too little on their plate for the week. In the long term, it helps you learn about each member’s energy and work cycles (EX. John is typically really motivated and has lots of stuff to do for two-ish weeks. Then he usually has very little energy the next week and needs some help getting...

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

4

min read

Building Early Stage Company Websites (Quickly)

You can build a website for your startup within a week that looks like it cost $10,000 to have built. Yes, you. Not only that, but you can build it with about $300 or potentially just $20 if you are a current student at a university. How? Webflow templates. I recommend using Webflow for 90% of people as long as they have basic experience with other editor interfaces such as Photoshop, Illustrator or even PowerPoint. Webflow is on the bleeding edge of no-code web design and continues to innovate faster than any of the other services trying to copy...

Jan 26, 2024

3

min read

Design Process

I view design as an evolving process in which the client and the designer collaborate to find the best solution for the problem at hand. Just as nature has gone through evolution over billions of years, design should follow the rules set forth by this process. A principle that I always work with in mind: Good design = evolving design. With that being said, let’s jump into...

Jan 26, 2024

4

min read

Books

List of the top 10 books that I think are the most "foundational" books I've read with a list of other important books. Updated periodically. 1. Meditations 2. Thinking Fast and Slow 3...

Jan 26, 2024

3

min read

5 Lessons Learned in 5 Years of Entrepreneurship

1. (Team + Culture) * Execution = Outcomes. Pay close attention to team, culture, and your execution quality. From what I’ve experienced in my time working with teams I’ve learned that there are three, high-level critical factors that are the foundation of either good or bad outcomes with the team over time; the team, its culture, and its execution. I see outcomes as being heavily influenced through:(Team + Culture) * Execution = Outcome...

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

3

min read

Days of Life: 003

Last-minute snaps.

Jan 26, 2024

min read

Getting the Most out of College as an Entrepreneur

College is one of the best times in your life to get started in entrepreneurship. Why? Time, freedom, and free resources. I spent my time in college as an entrepreneur falling face first, making mistakes time and time again. From creating a free food locator for students on campus, to a marketplace for popup stores, these experiences are still some of the most valuable to me today. I utilized college in a nontraditional way compared to that of an average college student and I encourage you to do the same. From my four years in undergrad at the University of Colorado Boulder, I look back on how I personally approached taking my first steps into entrepreneurship and break out a few lessons that will hopefully help you on your journey...

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

3

min read

Entrepreneur House: Year 1 in Review

Back in January of 2018, a group of friends and myself gathered to talk about what we could do to help and connect entrepreneurial students here at CU Boulder. We came up with tons of ideas from an online map that helped people meet up around campus to renting a house purely for entrepreneurs. Emails were sent out to groups and various schools on campus to figure out if students were looking to get into entrepreneurship or just to be involved in a community of driven people. In the end, the plans all revolved around one core idea: Surround yourself with people who push you to be better on a daily basis. We weren't only aiming for the purebred entrepreneur. We wanted to include anyone who strives to improves themselves day after day in...

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

4

min read

Days of Life: 002

Raw photos straight from the phone. No filters. No edits. Just life.

Jan 26, 2024

2

min read

Days of Life: 001

Quick snaps of things, of life, of moments. Some day-to-day photos. No filters. No edits. I've recently been obsessed with the balance of negative space, positive space, and how both the natural and man-made world can strike a balance between the two. These were all quick snaps with my phone of scenes and moments that I found interesting in the world...

Jan 26, 2024

2

min read

How to Make Your Startup look like a Fortune 500 Company

Everyone loves great design whether they know it or not. At the core, design passively influences decision making which means that your designs can determine your business’s fate. Bold claim? Nope. Think about it like this: you are researching the best CMS software for your sales team and run across a startup that claims to have the best CMS product that has EVER been invented because of its advanced machine learning, AI, and (insert cliche startup tech here). BUT, their website, marketing materials, and branding look like they've hired an intern, blindfolded them, and promoted them to lead designer. Subconsciously, you’ve immediately judged the quality of this startup’s product as soon as you’ve seen how they present themselves through...

Jan 26, 2024

8

min read

Amazon Rain Forest

Shots from the boat ride deep into the Amazon Rainforest.

Jan 26, 2024

3

min read

Lima, Peru

A collection of snaps from a day in Lima, Peru.

Jan 26, 2024

3

min read

Essential Tools for Entrepreneurs in 2020

Entrepreneurs love whiteboards. The tool that you might not have known you were waiting for, has come. Miro is the ultimate online whiteboarding, planning, task assigning, task accomplishing, and my personal favorite tool on this list. Miro has completely changed how we work at Friday Industries and Entrepreneur House. You can even pull in all of your documents from Google Drive, photos from Creative Cloud, and much more...

Jan 26, 2024

Entrepreneurship

5

min read

REGIONS: NZ

Photos from throughout New Zealand.

Jan 26, 2024

2

min read

New Zealand Sunday Morning

Streetside classic homes in Queenstown, New Zealand. Simplicity speaks.

Jan 26, 2024

3

min read

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