ARK Challenge (@ARKChallenge): Week 9

In the spirit of the PressBaby mission, this post is offered as audio, video, and text so you can choose how you would like to consume its content.It is getting to that point in the program when I can no longer remember what week we are in; it is all starting to run together as we race towards the finish line. I had to look back to see what week we had just completed. Only five full weeks left to perfect our pitch and gather usage numbers on our beta product. Week nine was a good week though. The end of week nine was extremely productive for us. Here is a summary:

• Jody and I had a regroup on where we were on development for proof of concept and focus on the pitch presentation. We had to align our priorities and get ourselves focused rather than pursuing rabbit holes full of the possibilities for the future. Those rabbit holes are still calling our names, but we need to get phase one completed first. We do truly believe in the power and future of our business.
• I stumbled upon a great article about the future of journalism that I think provides great support for the business we are pursuing. I encourage you to read it. It is long, but worth it. (Imagine: wouldn't it be great if there was a "PressPlay" button powered by PressBaby next to this article so you could just listen to it instead of reading it?)
• We got our beta, minimum viable product (MVP), site launched over the weekend and are officially beginning daily video and audio production in week 10. It works great on a mobile and we are super excited to be able to have a product out there to start gathering data. Please keep in mind it truly is a minimum viable product!
• We worked on several iterations of our pitch and got some really great feedback from Mike Smith of Innovate Arkansas and Permjot Valia, one of the ARK Challenge mentors. It is not final yet, but we have five weeks to get perfect. Now that we have an MVP site out there, we are fully focused on perfecting the pitch.

Pitch tips I noted to consider as we move forward:

"Always, always, always lead with the emotional connection." - Jeff Amerine"Don't waste time with your name when you are short on time. If I am interested in your idea, I'll find you." - Permjot Valia"Tell me what you do, why it is important and what your ask is." - Permjot Valia"The least interesting thing to an investor is your product. Investors want to know about: your market, your problem and how much money you can make them." - Jeff Amerine"The definition of an expert is someone who knows what they don't know." - Permjot Valia"The entrepreneur who wants to just talk about their product shows there is a big flaw. You must, must, must show market data and financial information." - Mike Smith"Many investors believe the team is more important than product. Don't underestimate that when giving your presentation." - Mike Smith