I was invited to attend the DFJ East Coast Venture Challenge today at Columbia University.
The DFJ event has been top notch. They have courted such sponsors as Administaff, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Sunshine Suites, Silicon Valley Bank, and Merrill Corporation and together, they have provided ample food, a beautiful room/stage, and great enthusiasm to the early-stage business world.
One thing I’m shocked about is that many of the companies presenting have little to no traction. The Ivy League presenters at this competition are competing for $250k in seed funding (with the option for more) and many other perks including office space at Sunshine Suites. I’ve sat through about 6 presentations so far and they are all ideas with a business plan and a few contacts already made. Lots of people in the digital media space always talk about how cheap it is to start a company for $50k, why couldn’t any of these folks done so? They are certainly smart enough…
Do not get me wrong… the presentations were mostly great, the brain power was high, and some of the ideas are solid, but I would have imagined more teams to show prototypes, betas, demos, etc.
Tip: If you’re going to be pitching VCs, be sure to show your product/service in motion… certainly sets you a part.
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May 21st, 2007 at 10:35 pm
[...] Herman recently blogged about his experience of attending the DFJ East Coast Venture Challenge at Columbia University. The [...]
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:24 am
Darren - as a columbia MBA grad, i really wanted to show some school pride and argue with you. the problem is, having gone through the process of founding my own company and seen both the school and most of my friends look on in confusion as i left the world of banking and VC for a fraction of the pay and a multiple of the uncertainty i cant but agree with you.
the problem with top tier mba’s is they attract risk averse people who excel in only one area. these people make a huge investment to go to grad school and they need to recoup that money after they graduate. these are not high risk people with diverse skill sets. mba grads are not typically good entrepreneurs - they are (or will become) good managers.
i have to say ‘typically’ as there are exceptions, of which i hope i am one.
Philip