Sam Wong

Fractional COO/CTO, CEO coach, Startup Advisor, Author

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

How do you know if your #StartupPitch is any good? Our #Startup Pitch Scorecard rates 21 different criteria to assess how well your pitch captivates, validates, and motivates. Get it here: https://t.co/xwK8qqWgSP

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

Looking to raise #StartupFunds? We've got just the event if you're in #SanDiego. Learn how to Find and Pitch Startup Investors and watch three #Founders pitch their #startup. Come for the content, enjoy the food, build connections with other entrepreneurs. https://t.co/LZFOvT5JJc

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

Scammed in Cancun, then shafted by @Citibank. A taxi vendor charged my Citi Visa 6x for 1 ride. Disputed duplicate charges but @Citi accepts 1 receipt from vendor to justify multiple charges. Sent 3 rounds of docs/proof but #poorcustomerservice continues to side with vendor.

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

I would love to read a post-mortem on how 1,000s of LSAT test takers were unable to start or finish a terribly stressful exam. I took over 15 Prometric proctored exams when earning my CCSP, CCNP and Oracle Certified DBA. It was never this bad.

[Law School Admission Council @LSAC_Official]

Today’s LSAT session involved unacceptable delays and other problems for many test takers. We deeply regret these issues and apologize to those test takers who were affected. We are working with our proctoring vendor, Prometric, to identify and fix the issues.

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

Let's break the trend of poor startup financial modeling. Let's not let founders fly airplanes with inaccurate & unreliable instruments. We'll have a lot fewer startups crash and burn...
#founders #startup #startupfinance #startupfunding https://t.co/kWEClil0bR

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

Many entrepreneurs leave stable jobs with steady pay to pursue their vision of building a vibrant venture. Founders may work for little to no salary in hopes that the future payout of a successful startup will more than make up for years of risk, uncertai…https://t.co/T5RpNjYqRO

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

@paulg These 8 issues often drive how much grit and determination you have.

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

@paulg I break down founder readiness into 8 factors:
1. Goals/motivation
2. Time commitment
3. Stable personal finances
4. Capacity for stress/anxiety
5. Risk tolerance
6. Family buy-in
7. Support network
8. Skills/experience to execute.

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

4. Stress/Anxiety. Are you mentally & emotionally prepared?
5. Risk. Can you tolerate risk & uncertainty?
6. Family. Does your family buy-in?
7. Support. Do you have friends who help you stay strong?
8. Skills. Do you have the experience to execute?

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

My founder readiness advice is to evaluate 8 things before you decide to launch a startup:
1. Goals. Why do you want to do a startup?
2. Time. Can you commit to long hours?
3. Finances. Do you have a stable personal financial foundation? There will probably be some lean times.

[Paul Graham @paulg]

Someone asked me what was the most luck-dependent thing in startups. I replied: whether you're suited for it. Only a tiny fraction of people are.

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

Newchip Accelerator is bankrupt. Now what?

I was an advisor for Newchip Accelerator back in 2021, but decided not to renew my advisor agreement with them. They are now in chapter 7 bankruptcy, leaving hundreds of #startups and #founders without any clear…https://t.co/ovlTIDnfhR

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

Mistakes in splitting founder equity can create strife, fracture teams, and dramatically affect founder payouts. After 20 years in the #startup space, I've got a ton of #founderstories to share. I'm on the short list to speak at Te…https://t.co/smaezakHai https://t.co/PLm6RAGWVu

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

As a pitch judge, occasional investor, and operator from 5 previous startups, I'd estimate that over 90% of the financial models I see are really bad. It's consistently one of the weakest parts of every startup pitch deck.

I got a short demo of a startup…https://t.co/WmOMR9k4uQ

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

Last month we had a great pitch training and live pitch coaching event with Nucleate Bay Area and Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP. We're meeting again on Thu April 27 5:30pm at The Multiverse in Palo Alto for food, networking and training on "Why…https://t.co/iTSl8MQrJF

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

Founders raising startup funds often use pitch deck templates, but blindly filling in a generic template won't solve all your needs. Custom-tailoring your story is key to a captivating pitch.

Join our next in-person training event on "Why Most Investor…https://t.co/Ut5MqATslh

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

Berkeley SkyDeck has their demo day for their batch 15 cohort today! The SkyDeck accelerator produces fantastic #startups and trains #founders on how to build a fundable startup. Batch 14’s demo day was top notch and I fully expect batch 15 to be the same…https://t.co/NHmXqevOTg

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

Many startup founders make the same silly, avoidable mistake when sending cold emails to investors: they ask for an investment. Founders make this mistake because they don't understand the investor pitch lifecycle. There's a process to go from initial int…https://t.co/uMD39WM7cX

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

Most investor pitches fail. To fix this, founders need to learn the art and science of storytelling. Most pitch deck guides only focus on the "12 key slides that will get your startup funded". That's all about the science of what your pitch needs to inclu…https://t.co/T2ymM455o8

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

Have you seen a rise in #suspicious LinkedIn messages? Have you gotten a LinkedIn invitation from an attractive person asking to connect? I get a few of these connection requests each week. I never respond to them because it looks like a #catfishing attem…https://t.co/Y7wPewkKXv

[Sam Wong @startup_sam]

Anyone here have a bad experience with Quickbooks online support? I have been a Quickbooks user since 2001. Even through I'm technical, as a fractional founder, I often help #startups setup Quickbooks to align with their financial modeling. I've contacted…https://t.co/YrNBmc9jYM