Suspect Arrested in Killing of Missouri Trans Woman Nina Pop

A man has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Nina Pop, a 28-year-old trans woman found stabbed to death in Missouri earlier this month.

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6 Tips to Get Your Pitch Noticed by VCs

Zooming in on possible VCs is only the tip of the iceberg. You’ll need to focus on creating a winning pitch to get your startup noticed by the right VC for your startup. 

Here are six tips you can follow to make sure you’re as ready as you can be to face those investors.

Make sure your startup has what VCs are looking for

Some VCs will tell you on their website what they’re looking for in your investment pitch, but as a general minimum, you’ll need to know at least the following:

First, customers. Depending on the nature of your startup, your customer base can be very broad or very niche. This matters to VCs because they want to see what the market potential for your business might be. 

Don’t worry if you have a niche market—many businesses thrive and dominate their niches. Let VCs see that your startup can do just that and even has the capacity to expand into future markets if applicable.

Next, VCs will be looking for your Minimum Viable Offer (MVO). This is an offer, many times a prototype or beta version, that provides the least amount of benefits to merit a sale from your target customers. This doesn’t have to be perfect—it only has to show VCs that you can solve a very specific problem for customers extremely well. 

Yet another thing you’ll want to iron out is your founding team. Knowing your founding team also helps you craft your startup’s story. Why were you founded? What made all of you come together? What makes this team potential leaders for a growing business? 

Last but not least, if applicable, talk about any existing employees you already have or plans for the kinds of employees you want to hire once fully funded. 

If you’re on a tight budget, you might be able to save money by working with remote workers around the world—just figure out the logistics of how to work with them and pay them accordingly through different payment sending platforms. 

Include details like this in your pitch to show prospects how much you’ve thought out your startup operations.

Build a pitch deck and presentation

You’ll need to design a beautiful and clear pitch deck to help you illustrate compelling points, data, and numbers that VCs have to pay attention to. Refer to this post to see what information you can use to help you build out your pitch deck. 

As a general rule of thumb, remember these tips:

• Start your pitch by illustrating a problem, then introduce your startup as the solution.
• Use charts and graphs to highlight statistics and data best. 
• Include projections visually and be sure to know how you came up with those numbers.
• Keep the deck branded. As early as now, you can show VCs that you’ve got a brand that’s waiting to reach the hands of your customers.

Perfect your elevator pitch

Your elevator pitch is the one-liner explanation of what unmet need your startup aims to solve in the world. This is a statement you’ll want to have when you introduce your startup as a solution to the problems you’ve enumerated in your pitch.

This helps VCs understand in a very succinct way what it is your startup does. But it also holds another use: in case your meeting or pitch is cut short, an elevator pitch makes sure you can relay your startup’s purpose in as little time as possible.

Look into the right VC

Getting the right VC is often like getting a role at a TV audition; sometimes it’s just about the right fit.

Don’t take it too personally if you get a rejection from what you thought was a promising VC. Many times, investors are looking for specific startups, either in a certain industry or with certain values.

Consider this an opportunity: if you find the perfect VC, you’ll also benefit from their ability to meet your startup’s specific needs.

Send proposals to a few prospects at a time

As a rule of thumb, treat your startup proposal like a job application. You don’t want to keep all your eggs in the same basket, so send out proposals to a few prospective investors at a time.

Only move on to new VCs once you’ve heard from all your prospects. 

Trust the process

In this interview with Rand Fishkin, founder of software companies Moz and SparkToro, he mentions that early-stage failure in his first startup helped him to get monumental success in his business later on.

We can learn from Fishkin’s experience, and treat the VC pitching process as feedback. If your proposal is rejected right from the onset, try to gather why you didn’t even make it to the pitching stage. If your pitch is turned down, try to ask prospects what they were looking for that you simply didn’t provide.

All these can only strengthen your future pitches to future VCs. So trust the process.

Key Takeaways

Getting your pitch accepted by investors can be a difficult process, but if you’re equipped with the right tools, mindset, and information, it doesn’t have to be. Follow the tips above to boost your chances of getting your pitch noticed by VCs.

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Tennessee man posts photo of Obama in noose, loses his job

Gary Casper was terminated after he posted an image of former president Barack Obama with a noose around his neck on Facebook. The meme was accompanied with the caption #PayPerView.

According to a report in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Casper was the vice president of information technology at a software company, Transcard.

READ MORE: Barack Obama slams U.S. COVID-19 response, says crisis highlights racial inequalities in HBCU virtual commencement speech

His employer, Transcard, sent an email to the newspaper stating that they do not allow their employees to post political statements. 

“As soon as Transcard realized that an employee was utilizing social media to engage in political speech, it took immediate action to terminate its relationship with such person,” Transcard president Chris Fuller wrote in the email.

However, the Alabama NAACP posted on Facebook that Casper’s termination has not been verified. 

“We demand a public explanation and formal apology from Transcard as well as confirmation that Casper’s employment has been terminated and that a full investigation is underway,” the organization posted. 

The company posted a brief statement on their Facebook page stating, “The views reflected in posts made by individuals do not reflect the views or values of Transcard. This issue is being handled according to company policy. The individual of recent concern is no longer employed with the company. Thank you for your concern.”

Hundreds of comments on the post want quick and decisive action to be taken by Transcard. 

The company is a third-party payment software company with approximately 100 employees. 

READ MORE: Obama emerges as central figure in 2020 presidential race

According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, other employees’ social media accounts, including the Twitter pages of Transcard’s CEO and president, also appear to have been recently deleted. So has the company’s main Twitter account.

Barack Obama was the 44th President of the United States. Threatening or harassing a president is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. So far, no charges have been filed against Casper. 

The post Tennessee man posts photo of Obama in noose, loses his job appeared first on TheGrio.

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AARP New York Provides Resources to Aid Veterans And Military Families Amid COVID-19

The COVID-19, or novel coronavirus, pandemic has hit marginalized communities, particularly military families and veterans who have experienced an increase in scams relating to relief efforts. These schemes can be used to steal personal information and money. AARP’s Fraud Watch Network has reported that these elaborate plans can range from bogus COVID-19 test kits and fake veterans charities to fight the coronavirus to fraudulent stimulus checks.

Now AARP New York is working on new initiatives aimed to help these families and servicemen amid the viral outbreak.

AARP New York announced they are working to help army veterans and military families by providing free resources in addition to important information about scams targeting veterans, and timely programming to meet their caregiving needs. The organization will also assist small businesses operated by veterans to find and obtain information to protect their businesses.

The organization has also teamed up with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation to create the Military Caregiving Guide, a veteran-specific guide to help military and veteran caregivers tackle some of the most critical issues they’re facing because of COVID-19, and Five Ways to Update Your Caregiving Journey, a list of practical steps caregivers can take amid the coronavirus outbreak to better protect themselves and their loved ones.

“AARP has a long legacy of outreach to Military Veterans, and we are seeking to expand our efforts to meet the needs of Veterans, members of the Military and their families who may be at particular risk during this public health emergency,” said AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel in a press statement.

“While all Americans are making changes to their daily lives, we know that older adults and those with chronic health conditions, many of whom are wounded, ill, or injured service members and Veterans, are at higher risk for serious illness and complications from coronavirus. AARP is continuing to step up our efforts to better serve family caregivers and their loved ones.”

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AARP New York Provides Resources to Aid Veterans And Military Families Amid COVID-19

The COVID-19, or novel coronavirus, pandemic has hit marginalized communities, particularly military families and veterans who have experienced an increase in scams relating to relief efforts. These schemes can be used to steal personal information and money. AARP’s Fraud Watch Network has reported that these elaborate plans can range from bogus COVID-19 test kits and fake veterans charities to fight the coronavirus to fraudulent stimulus checks.

Now AARP New York is working on new initiatives aimed to help these families and servicemen amid the viral outbreak.

AARP New York announced they are working to help army veterans and military families by providing free resources in addition to important information about scams targeting veterans, and timely programming to meet their caregiving needs. The organization will also assist small businesses operated by veterans to find and obtain information to protect their businesses.

The organization has also teamed up with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation to create the Military Caregiving Guide, a veteran-specific guide to help military and veteran caregivers tackle some of the most critical issues they’re facing because of COVID-19, and Five Ways to Update Your Caregiving Journey, a list of practical steps caregivers can take amid the coronavirus outbreak to better protect themselves and their loved ones.

“AARP has a long legacy of outreach to Military Veterans, and we are seeking to expand our efforts to meet the needs of Veterans, members of the Military and their families who may be at particular risk during this public health emergency,” said AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel in a press statement.

“While all Americans are making changes to their daily lives, we know that older adults and those with chronic health conditions, many of whom are wounded, ill, or injured service members and Veterans, are at higher risk for serious illness and complications from coronavirus. AARP is continuing to step up our efforts to better serve family caregivers and their loved ones.”

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