We will be going over Graduation in detail for those that have questions.
Be prepared with an ask for the group that we can collaborate on and help fulfill together.
2nd half of the cohort group will be using the information learned throughout the program to deliver their final version of their pitch.
Half of the cohort group will be using the information learned throughout the program to deliver their final version of their pitch.
Speaker: Persephone Zill
Topic: With time pressures, risk of failure, irregular money coming in and social isolation, self care is critically important for the entrepreneur. Learn achievable self care strategies including the importance of celebrating wins along the road to success
Speaker: Naaz Hosseini, Sandy Wollman
Topic: Every member of the cohort presents their 3-5 minute pitch, choosing whether to make a customer pitch or an investment pitch. Cohort members provide feedback to each other in preparation for final “public” pitches to be made at graduation.
Speaker: Fred Schwam
Topic: Growth Strategies for Success
Fred Schwam’s first year as the owner and CEO of American Christmas was 1988 when he was 21 years old. He built the business into the premier commercial Christmas decorating company in the country, operating out of a 110,000 square foot facility in Mount Vernon with 70 full time employees and 140 seasonal employees. The company grew it’s revenue by an average of 14% a year for 30 years, leading to Fred selling the company in 2017 to an Austrian firm. Fred retired on January 31, 2019 at the age of 52. He will tell the story of the early years of the business, the growth and his ultimate exit.
Speaker: Andi Gray, Strategies for Success
Topics: How to define success for your company? What are the various strategies and tactics for growth? Let’s set some growth goals, define milestones, and figure out how to communicate progress and setbacks with stakeholders and advisors.
Speaker: Abby Lewis
Topic: As your company grows, how will you ensure that you hire a team that is diverse in terms of skills and perspectives, yet results in a team that shares your vision for the business and maintains a single set of aligned goals?
Speaker: Shane Dolch
Topic: What’s your ideal role in your business? Who else do you need? How should roles be organized? When will you add people, and what can/should you outsource? How to recruit, hire, onboard, train, spread culture? How to hire, how to hire in a way that infuses your vision and your values into each choice. How to delegate, let go, share the work and the glory.
Topic: Case Study - Marc Zemel or Barry Kappel? Financing Panel (Daniel Potocki, Angel Investors, Community Capital) or have all the mentors with expertise in capital raising of various types (like the financial modeling week). Sandy Wollman?
Speaker: Kim Jacobs
Topic: Let’s talk about investment. What’s equity? What’s debt? Can you qualify for a bank loan? Should you raise money? Why or why not? When? From whom? What do different types of investors care about? How do you find investors? How do you pitch to them? How does due diligence work? What are the typical time frames for capital raising and what does the process look and feel like? Does it matter if you don’t actually like your investors?
Speaker: Susan Lasky
Topic: Entrepreneurs have to jump between tasks, hop on phone calls, attend events and yet have to be mindful of how every business decision impacts the whole. Session will cover how to manage time properly for the most effectiveness
Speakers: Rob Kissner, Digital Arts Experience
Topic: Bring it all together: branding, marketing strategy, revenue model, pricing, customer profile. Complete the Business Model Canvas, SWOT analysis
Speakers: Lucinda Cross
Topic: Explore common roadblocks to success such as fear of failure, fear of success, imposter syndrome and learn ways to manage through and around these obstacles
Speakesr: Robert Levine, Rob Winton
Topic: It takes a village! You may know a lot about some things, but you can’t know everything about everything. Advisors can be helpful in filling gaps about subjects you realize that you don’t know enough about, and even more importantly, can bring to your attention subjects you don’t even realize you should know about. What you don’t know CAN hurt you! Find out how to choose advisors and how to make good use of them BEFORE you think you need them, definitely want those relationships before you get into trouble and really NEED them. Session needs to cover legal, accounting, IP, corporate structure, board of directors, board of advisors, formal and informal mentors
Speaker: Julie Cottineau, founder Brand Twist
Topic : continued from last session
Speaker: Julie Cottineau, founder Brand Twist
Topic: What is a brand anyway? How to develop an enduring brand? What are the basics of branding design? Is your website the same as your brand? Is your logo your brand? How much time and money is reasonable to spend on branding? When/how often should you refresh your brand? How does branding translate into the customer’s journey and relationship and relationship with your company
Speaker: Nancy Kessler, Founder, Memoirs Plus
Topic: Learn how marketing you and your business through networking can yield clients, employees, partners and vendors
Speaker: Stacey Cohen
Topic: Now that you know all the types of marketing, which approaches will you use? Which customer groups will respond to which types? Where/in what forms will your customer be most likely to be receptive to your message? How many different marketing techniques can you realistically pursue at once? Are there timing considerations; i.e., does the time of year or position in the sales cycle/sales funnel affect your prospect’s receptiveness to your message and if so, how does that inform your marketing strategy? Will you use different tactics at different times, with different groups?
Speaker: Lisa Davis, City of New Rochelle
Topic: Learn SMART goals and how to prioritize for success
Speaker: Bridget Gibbons / Paul Chianese
Topic: To win customers, you first need to find them. How will potential customers become aware of your business (which is likely invisible at the moment), and how will you turn strangers (prospects) into friends (customers) and eventually into raving fans? Learn the different ways you can make your business visible, discuss the best ways to use each, and make a plan for what might work best for you in targeting your specific customer groups.
Speaker: Dan Morris
Topic: Founders who aren't naturally salespeople; learn to sell; prepare to fire yourself as a salesperson so your company can scale. Session will be led in a workshop/role playing style.
Speakers: Karen Jackson, Jackson Solutions
Topic: What is your sales cycle? How long will it take for customers to make buying decisions? What will happen at each stage of the sales cycle? How will you qualify your leads? How will you nurture them at each stage of the buying process? How will you tell whether a prospect is serious? How will you know when to give up on a particular prospect? How many prospects will you need in your sales funnel, to achieve your sales goals? What will you do to keep customers loyal to you and coming back for more?
Speaker: N/A
Topic: Every participant works with a mentor/advisor to refine and perfect their financial model
Speaker: Naaz Hosseini
Topic: Learn speaking techniques on how to amplify vocal power, free up self-expression and increase resonance of the message so that the pitch has more impact.
Speaker: Deborah Novick, BioInc@NYMC
Topic: Pricing must be acceptable to customers, but also must be sufficient to generate profits for your business. What are your unit costs? How many units must you sell to breakeven? To generate profit? What is your overhead? How does cash flow differ from revenue and profit? Should you maximize cash flow or sales? How much money will you spend before you achieve profitability and positive cash flow?
Speaker: Tony Fareed, 360Accel
Topic: Customers represent the best source of cash for your business, simultaneously fueling and validating the business. What are the most lucrative ways to “package” and price your product/service? Pricing is also a signal about value and brand positioning. What story do you want your price to tell potential customers? What price are your prospective customers willing to pay for what you offer?
Speakers: Laura Preskin, Yaffa Activewear
Topic: Case study illustration of understanding your competition
Speaker: Danny Potocki
Topic: Customer Discovery Test your assumptions about and with customers. In this session, you'll learn how to validate your key assumptions, how to interview potential customers effectively, and how to interpret their feedback
