Very first investor pitch I ever did could be an all time worst investor presentation. Straight out of school. Didn’t have a subscription agreement. Didn’t know what pre-money was. Didn’t even answer all the basic questions. I just had enough confidence to do the pitch. -MJ

Couldn’t identify his target market. Showed up on the wrong day. Kept calling the investor daddy-o. Wasn’t wearing any shoes… the kind of performance that wouldn’t just deny you seed capital, but that could get you arrested in 16 states.

If you are a VC or angel, and have a weak heart, do not watch this video! However, if you are fresh out of school, and looking to launch a startup… proceed with caution.

Coming out of school is a perfect time to get a start up going

When your young, you have an inevitable feeling of immortality. From the first time you ride a wheelie on your bicycle, to jumping off the jungle gym, you inherently know that everything is going to be okay. It’s only natural for the thickness of this bubble of invulnerability to wane over time, until it is finally gone and you become scared of even the minor risks.

“Being Young is a Fault That Improves Daily.” - Swedish Proverb

In the world of entrepreneurship, one of the greatest time spans you will have to take a risk is during your youth. Your adult enough to make your own choices, yet young enough to have little to lose. Your smart enough to understand that great risk can lead to great reward, and stupid enough to push in all your chips instead of folding.

Most young entrepreneurs make the mistake of thinking it’s an old professionals game. While this is true it some circles (especially investments and funding), for the most part you will never be more hard working or enthusiastic about your venture than at this stage in your life. Professionals can see this in you, and it is the best quality that you will never be able to put on a resume.

Simply put, being young and driven is better than being old and experienced. There are perks to being an expert as well. You may get better financing choices, and you certainly have more contacts, but being an entrepreneur is tough work that sometimes requires tough choices.

Show investors a great idea, enthusiasm, and Ramen Noodle receipts for the last four years - and they will see someone that can get an idea off the ground and knows how to live frugally.

Young entrepreneurs also are more likely to burn the midnight oil, travel relentlessly, and entertain prospective clients - then get up and do it again. Entrepreneurs don’t give up easily. When they are successful it’s called perseverance. Before they succeed, or if they fail, it’s called stubborn, bullheaded, arrogant, or foolish. Take advantage of this concept while your young. Arrogance is similar to confidence in your youth, but old stubborn people are a dime a dozen.

If you launch a successful startup, years from now the odds are you’ll look back on it and note how it wasn’t what made you money. Your pursuit of the original idea will likely either reveal a flaw, or expose you to a more compelling idea which is profitable.

Investors know this. Which makes direct communication between investor and entrepreneur essential. They are investing in you as much as they are any idea or technology.

All of a sudden, as soon as you talk to an investor, there’s this massive disconnect. That massive disconnect is why its so hard. Its not really about being smart at finance. And they’re not really trying to be smart about technology. Everyone’s just trying to get comfortable to make the investment. -MJ

As much as a potential investor cares about the technology you’re pursuing, they want to know they can work together with you when unforeseen circumstances arise. Your business may unexpectedly change, but you won’t.

There are certain things out there… on the internet. Things you do not want to see… ever.

And any one of them could be waiting for you at the other end of a hyperlink! Its a wonder people still have the guts to click any more… but a solution has been proposed by Interviewables!

We have Digg, we have Reddit, we have Stumbleupon, etc. All of these sites and extensions were created to bring the good and relevant sites to the top. But what is also needed is a way to tag the bad sites and bury (or Berry) them.

Create an extension for Firefox and IE that will allow a user to tag a site or page as bad. They would be voting to have the site buried (or Berried). Of course it would be up to the site owner to remove it or not.

Interviewables imagines groups of like-minded people tagging objectionable sites. By installing the toolbar, and trusting such a group, a user can be alerted visually when any link on their page leads to objectionable content.

Google wants relevant data that people actually want to see. That’s why pages from Digg and Stumbleupon rank so well. Our data will offer the same only in reverse. Between Digg, Stumble, and Berryit, the web might actually begin to resemble something worthwhile.

BerryIt is imminently do-able (compared to telco infrastructure plays and Ann Coulter). Open source libraries already exist for constructing browser plug-ins, and sites such as del.icio.us have already collected reams of tagging data. This means the browser plug-in can rely on Del.icio.us tagging data for now (via their API). A functional prototype could be constructed by focusing on the browser the plug-in.

Yay for immediate gratification of front-end user-experience coding!

If you’d like to work with Interviewables on this project, join his team or drop him a line.

Favorite Ideas - IScenic.tv and something by threeg5

• IScenic.tv by Vancouverbluz
  

  take life casting and to turn it into scenic explorer tv. A crew will go hiking into the Grand Canyons many trails while putting everything on video.

  Blue thinks there might be some compelling opportunities for interactivity in the final product, depending on the technology used to perform the video capture. I believe there’s no barrier to entry when shooting travel footage, so consider videotaping your next trek.

• TV Game Show Type Reality by threeg5
  

  You are hunted by “X” number of people. A helper has the “eyes” of the hunters (because they have cameras on them) and can aid you in navigation. There are boundaries and a big prize at the end. If people want to see the hunted they watch on TV and if they want to see each individual hunter/helpers view they can do so via the web.

  Blue never got to speak as once I started talking about it I just wouldn’t shut up. She might have liked it too, who can tell?

These ideas and more are discussed, while to struggle to be…

Keeping it Real

Just ask Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Todd Courtnage or Brad Pitt: It’s not easy keeping your ego in check when you’re idolized by millions!

Recently I got a chance to ask Sarah Blue how, despite all her fans and wealth, she manages to stay so grounded. Her response?

“No autographs.”

Until next week: Share your ideas. Give us your precious, precious feedback… Take a look through Cambrian House Bazaar and Forums for projects to participate in…

And… May the Best Idea… WIN!