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FREE Startup Toolkit, Vol. 1 (Startup Week 2010 edition) -- Financial Model + VC Pitch Deck

If you've been following this blog, you know that I've spent days researching and tweaking YouPhonics' financial model and pitch deck. You also probably know that I've been traveling and meeting hundreds (if not thousands) of entrepreneurs young and old, all of them trying to make a positive difference in others' lives. 

And if you haven't been following my adventure... well, now you know!
 
Anyway, as I poured hour after hour into my business, I started to wish that others had done what I was doing and just let me piggyback on their work. Other people I met had the same problems: they needed a simple template to help them optimize the time they were spending on general, not-specific-to-one's-business tasks.
 
Well, look no more: for Startup Week 2010, I'm releasing the results of hundreds of hours of work for your enjoyment and time-savey-awesomeness!
 
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The Financial Model Template -- download here (XLS)
 
This is an optimized "v2" of Andrew Chen and Daniel James' "How to create a profitable Freemium" spreadsheet model. They did some awesome work which I'm glad I had something to contribute to!
 
 
Changes implemented:
  • A more accurate population growth model (the Verhulst equation, for those interested folk) that takes into account saturation rates
  • A consolidated variables sheet. This allows you to alter your variables in one place and immediately see the impact it has on your bottom line. It's also great to bust out in presentations...
(I wish I could have effectively embedded this, but none of the current solutions I've found let you embed a spreadsheet that allows non-persistent edits. Maybe this can be your startup?)
 
Again, to download the Financial Model Template, click here (XLS). And for Andrew's original (and awesome!) discussion, click here.

(Edit: I've added a new post, called "On modelling for startups -- a warning?" that you should probably check out before you get into this. Check it.)
 
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And now for an entirely original contribution. Well, sort of.
 
Remember that Mint deck that got posted ages ago? Or Dave McClure's Startup Viagra presentation?

Well, in my slowly-ramping-up fundraising efforts, I spent a lot of time analyzing those decks, along with a confidential one from a friend's company who are raising their Series A after a successful Angel round.

I also had a 90-minute conversation about the mechanics of a great pitch with a New York based VC (previous investments include Aviary and Photobucket). We walked through everything I had prepared, tore it apart, and built it back up again.

All this prep turned out really well: my first pitch was to one of the ten biggest VC firms in the world. And they had no idea that I had made the leap straight from college ball to the championship game.

I've condensed all of my learnings into a super-practical template deck for you. 15 sample slides, each of them with detailed notes that guide the presentation's flow.

If you follow the instructions inside, your presentation will cover pretty much any question a VC will have... without giving so much information as to bore 'em.

Again, to download the Pitch Deck Template, click here (ZIP of PPT, PDF, and Keynote).

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Please, let me know what you think below. Or, if you want to keep it private, just shoot me an email at aidan (AT) youphonics.

Happy Startup Week 2010!

(Edit: Extra thanks are in order, to the people who helped me prep these documents for release: Mom, Dad, Hayes, Andrey, Andrew, Jon, Wendy, and Carolyn... thank you all very much! These wouldn't be here without you.)

Comments (33)

May 04, 2010
May 04, 2010
Erik Howard liked this post.
May 04, 2010
Sean Everett said...
Hey man, EXTREMELY great resources, thanks for both putting together and sharing with us. This stuff is the biz-ness!
May 04, 2010
Faramarz Hashemi liked this post.
May 04, 2010
Massimiliano Trovato liked this post.
May 04, 2010
scottchin said...
thanks for the hard work and for sharing. especially enjoyed the content in the slide template. :)
May 04, 2010
Rayanne Langdon said...
You're amazing. The end.
May 04, 2010
Jay Has said...
Thank you ever so much for this.
May 04, 2010
 said...
Really cool of you to compile and share these! I'm trying to accomplish something similar in the Internet Marketing for Entrepreneurs space, and if that is successful I'd like to compile a program for small business automation - something that lays down the tracks for the systems many of us end up needing but have to learn on our own. Seems so inefficient to do it that way.
May 04, 2010
Aidan Nulman said...
@seanMeverett: Thanks for the kind words, hombre! Let me know what you end up putting together!

@scottchin: Glad I could make you smile -- no sense doing work when you're not enjoying it, right?

@rlangdon: I love you. Come to Montreal more? I think you just left...

@Jay: You're so very welcome!

@Kai: I'm honoured to be in your "really cool" books; I think it's the first time anyone's put me there! Pass me the link when you've got your stuff up and running? Looks like we feel similarly about the overlapping work we all do.

May 04, 2010
Kai said...
Sure Aiden - the first project is called Free Marketing Made Easy (http://www.freemarketingmadeeasy.com). We launched Monday, offering tons of free (as in really free - no registration required) resources that explain 'the big' picture of Internet Marketing to entrepreneurs who would rather be doing other things, but need to get online. The free stuff (videos, podcasts & articles) explains 'what' to do and 'why' to do it, then we also offer a Core Program, Mentorship class and 1-on-2 coaching for business owners who want/need more accountability and individual support.

It's kind of a unique business model based on giving away as much as possible, establishing credibility and over delivering on expectations.

I try to stay tuned into the entrepreneur's ecosystem and interview informative people, so if you would like to have your voice heard on another platform feel free to drop me a line!

May 04, 2010
Aidan Nulman said...
@Kai: Good luck with FMME! One of the mottos I've internalized (that used to hang in my Dad's old office) is "Never promise more than you can deliver. Always deliver more than you promise."

If you've got any specific questions, I'll be glad to answer 'em!

May 05, 2010
Alberto Bissacco liked this post.
May 05, 2010
Amrita Chanda liked this post.
May 05, 2010
Matthew Ogston said...
Thanks for sharing Aidan...the spreadsheet is particularly useful now that you've moved all the adjustable variables into one place!
May 06, 2010
Andrew Skotzko liked this post.
May 07, 2010
Kalimah Priforce liked this post.
May 07, 2010
Hiro Maeda said...
Holy! Great stuff man!
May 07, 2010
Aidan Nulman said...
Thanks Matt! And thanks, Hiro!
May 10, 2010
 said...
This is really good material. I have been doing financial assumptions and pitch decks for years but still find it hard to cut through to the most basic and compelling information. You've nailed it. Thanks for sharing!
May 10, 2010
Mister Archer said...
Wow! Thanks Aidan! Now I just need to think of a startup to launch that actually requires startup capital... more than just the sweat off the brow.

Thank you for sharing!

May 11, 2010
Dan Holowack liked this post.
May 11, 2010
Justin Thiele liked this post.
May 15, 2010
Aidan Nulman said...
@LaVonne: Thanks for the compliment! Given your experience, I'm blushing.

@Mister Archer: Why does the startup need startup capital in order to start? You can always start as a weekend/after-work hobby, then try to upgrade to full-time!

Jul 04, 2010
Tor Gronsund liked this post.
Sep 14, 2010
Teren Teh said...
Really good post. Just suddenly stumbled upon it but still very valid. Thanks! Pretty inspiring! Cheers!
Sep 14, 2010
Aidan Nulman said...
Teren! Yay! Glad I could help/inspire.

And I'm back in Toronto -- I'm emailing you now to see if you want to meet up :)

Oct 18, 2010
KenSaa said...
Is there any one out there, or even you Aiden, who has tweaked the formulas - Financial model template to there specific cause and documented it?

I'm trying to use the Financial Model Template (FMT) to model my costs for my start up however it is not a paid user system, and therefor I am playing around with the LTV and kinda would want to reference somewhere/something/s.one if I'm getting this right

Any help?

Oct 18, 2010
Aidan Nulman said...
@KenSaa -- Without more specifics, I have *no* idea how to answer your question. Can you shoot me a note using the contact form at aidannulman.com (or if you find my email address somewhere online) and we'll figure out a time to chat in the next couple of days?
Oct 19, 2010
KenSaa said...
@Aidan Nulman, Hey Aidan wow and thank you. That sounds great I'll shoot you an email I look forward to it! :)
Oct 22, 2010
Phill George said...
Thank you for providing these excellent tools for startups. This is one of the most important areas to address being the financial model and VC pitch.
Oct 23, 2010
Aidan Nulman said...
Thanks for the compliment, Phill!
Nov 10, 2010
LukeSequeira said...
Extremely helpful stuff Aidan!

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