Seed-Stage Mastermind Pre-Order

Hey ya'll,

Over the last few months, I've realized that:

A. Building anything new is really, ridiculously lonely sometimes.

B. It's really f**king hard.

C. When you don't have a close support network, it's easy to get stuck. 

And that's part of the reason why I've created this Mastermind group for early-stage/seed-stage level startups like you. 

This group is built on the foundation of . Building a company alone, is difficult enough as is. By pooling together our resources, I believe that we can exponentially increase the likelihood of success for each of us. 

Guarantee success? Hell no. But it doesn't hurt to have a support group and resources. 

And yes, (More on that in the first meeting.) 

Here are some of the things I can't promise: 

> Guaranteed funding at a $20 billion valuation. 

> Consumers (That's the hard part, always.) 

> That you'll get a ton out of it by not putting in a lot of time and effort. 

So, yeah, like most things in life, you get what you put in. 

Here's what I can promise to help deliver for the group: 

A. Support in the form of a solid brain-trust. I've invited all of you, because we're at similar stages in building a company, seeking funding and have a lot of similar challenges -- i.e. Getting first users, how to partner with large organizations, finding co-founders, connecting with investors, etc. 

B. Built-in accountability. I'll be using a platform called StatusHero for weekly check-ins, but there will also be an added layer of We won't force you to do drugs, but we will expect you to step it up. 

C. Critical insights from entrepreneurs 'who have done it'. From people who have built the companies you'd like to build, who have raised funding, found product-market fit for new products and These sessions will be held at the top of every month, in-person and are value-packed. 

Here's an audio sample from our last mastermind (audio is MEH) - Scott Maloney, CEO of Bowtie.io, sold multiple companies, on How to Connect with Anybody. Listen to that audio here. 

D. Lastly - Solid, Investor-Critiqued Pitch Decks and Messaging. 

The last thing I'd like to deliver at the end of all of this -- since you're all in the stages of raising funding, and this is important -- is for all of you to leave this with a solid, invest-critiqued pitch deck. (That will likely go down during the final session.) 

Something that you can deliver with aplomb, that's been critiqued by people who have been on the other side of the table and messaging that helps you pitch the value of your company to investors, customers and potential partners. 

I commend you all for putting yourself in the enviable position of being an entrepreneur. 

That is, of of and

Maybe I'm just projecting here, but it's fucking hard. 

Just some of the mentors I’m planning on inviting to the group include…

Scott Maloney -- CEO of Bowtie, serial entrepreneur and started + sold several companies.

Chad Person -- CMO of Bowtie, artist and design-whiz.

Niki Koubourlis -- CEO at Bold Betties, and Financial Modeling Whiz.

Anthony Franco - CEO at McSquares, serial entrepreneur, investor, badass.

Jeff Schell - President of Rocky Mountain Patent, Trans S1, loves Cards against Humanity (and patent law).

Shelby Buford - Storyteller, and amazing at honing value propositions for companies.

Again, that’s just a taste.

Anyway, my for the group...

Here's a rough idea of the 3.5-month plan (meet every other week):

First Meeting - 1st Week of November

Intros, and goal-setting with the group. 

>Where do you want to be by the end of the 3.5 months? 

>What would the group's help look like? Resources, introductions, etc.

> Which experts would you like to learn from in our next meeting? What are you struggling with related to: fund-raising, sales, product development, etc. 

2nd Meeting, Google Hangouts - Check-in and First Hot Seats

What do you see being a major challenge in the coming weeks? Tell us about what you're working on, and how we can help. 

How the Hot Seats work: each person that week will get 40-50 minutes to focus on a specific, concrete problem for their company. Our laptops will be out. Our minds will be open. And we'll use these opportunities to really brainstorm and develop solutions. 

Sometimes with the help of an outside expert, depending on the topic. 

3rd Meeting, in-person - The Art of Fundraising - w/ Anthony Franco of McSquares

NOTE: Happy to change experts based on needs and the like.

Check-in about any major challenges, and talking with Anthony Franco about the art of fundraising, what investors look for, how to best present our ideas to investors (and reach out to them cold), and beyond. 

4th Meeting, Google Hangouts - Midterm Check-in and Second Hot Seats

Possible invite: Joel Jacobson of Rubicon Law. How to make sure your legal is up-to-snuff, etc. 

Check-in - what's been going well, and what are you struggling with? 

2nd Hot Seats.

5th Meeting, in-person -Expert Session, Finding Product/Market Fit - Guest TBD

NOTE: Happy to change experts based on needs.

What are you still struggling with, related to messaging, selling the product, finding partners, etc. How can we help? 

Ideas for people to consider: Brett, founder + CEO at Get Notion, a home-awareness product for consumers. Lucian Fohr, co-founder, Chief of Product at Ello. (Consumer social-network). 

6th Meeting, Google Hangouts - Check-in and Final Hot Seats

Messaging check-in - would love to get Shelby Burford to be part of this, too. He works with companies to help them fine-tune their messaging, and deliver sales-pitches/content that really sells. Would be an awesome resource.

Final Hot Seats. 

7th Meeting, in-person - Finalized Pitch, w/ Investors - Guest TBD

NOTE: Happy to change experts based on needs.

Finally, let's share our pitches, brush up our messaging and work on any other challenges, with live critiques from investors who

Ideas: Would like to get somebody from the VC/Capital world. Including - David Gold, partner at Access Venture Partners. Joe Zell, Grotech Partners. Aaron Stachel, PV Ventures. 

Finally, here's how the pre-order works: 

Essentially, GumRoad will put a $1 charge on your card for an expected delivery date (which will land the first Mastermind date). If you've decided that, after the first Mastermind session, this isn't right for you, timing doesn't work or something else comes up in life, just let me know and I'll strike you from the group.

And I won't be offended, either. I want to ensure I'm delivering something of value to you guys. Obviously, that's for you to decide upon. 

One more thing: 

Recently been working with Relayy, which is a Denver-based company that's building a platform to help easily connect entrepreneurs with investors, advisors and mentors.

I think it's going to be an awesome platform, and I'm excited to use it for the Mastermind. It'll help immensely in connecting people between our actual meetings. 

Really excited to have you all be a part of this.