Vincent Guyaux
Serial CEO
Born Lucky: Closing in Rough Times
You can read “Born Lucky” on a t-shirt that Pamela gave me. I thought of it last week when we closed a bridge round at Metafoam. Not easy. It took 7 months to find the justification for it and I had to answer a simple question from investors: “Why do you ask for more money when most companies are reducing expenses and preparing for the storm.” My answer was simple: it is exactly because of the financial situation that we need to spend more right now…
Vincent Guyaux
Serial CEO
Elevator Pitch Anatomy
In the train between Dresden and Prague…
I had the opportunity, in the past few weeks, to get involved in events related to pitching a story. The first one was StartupCamp Montreal. This was my 3rd time as MC at this ever-growing event. The second event was the Etincelle contest in Quebec City. Between the two events, about 15 entrepreneurs pitched their companies in total. At StartupCamp Montreal, they had about 5 minutes and in Quebec City roughly 2 minutes to capture and share the essence of their business…
Vincent Guyaux
Serial CEO
The Upside-Down Business Plan
In the air between Taipei and Vancouver…
So, you are ready to write your business plan. You make yourself a pot of coffee or tea, you open your favorite word processor, and you look at a blank page. You feel like a writer and you start typing…
Vincent Guyaux
Serial CEO
Body Language and Eye-Contact in Asia
I am in China and Japan for two weeks on business. In the last 10 years, I have been going to Asia regularly to do things like signing partners or customers, looking for joint venture projects or exploring manufacturing options as a representative for the companies I have worked for, and now either as a consultant or a serial CEO…
Vincent Guyaux
Serial CEO
The Last-Minute Presentation Deck
I have trained myself over the years to be prepared as early as possible when I have to deliver something. I guess it comes from my high school days when I was finishing all my planned studies and homework as soon as possible to get myself out of the classroom and into the dark room (in this digital era, do I have to explain what a dark room is)?
Vincent Guyaux
Serial CEO
Never-Ending Startups
At the startup stage since 3, 5 or even 7 years, never-ending startups usually got seed money and were promising hockey stick figures that never materialized. They either never delivered a product or failed to get market traction. Initial investors are disappointed and do not want to put more money down unless new investors sign up too. New potential investors blame first series investors and the board for not having reacted more rapidly and offer terms at nobody-can-believe-it low valuation or simply wait for the situation to get worst. Finally, founders are discouraged, employee productivity is low and everybody seems to be waiting for a miracle…
Vincent Guyaux
Serial CEO
Don’t Be the Polyester of Your Industry
Filmmaker John Waters said that “Iceberg lettuce is the polyester of vegetables.” When I read this, it made me think of some of the polyester companies I have seen out there. Don’t get me wrong, I know it is not easy being a start-up and trying to figure out how to position yourself, create the right message and elevator pitch to easily explain what you are offering and how you differentiate…
Vincent Guyaux
Serial CEO
Relearning the Alphabet With my iPod
As I flip through songs on my iPod I realize that I continue to get better and faster at finding the exact album or artist I want to listen to. It seems that the iPod has more or less taken me back to my alphabet. And it’s the same every time I take a new management role: I go back to the basics….