Pre-workshop

To ensure our participating companies are ready for a full immersion in Silicon Valley, we want to prepare the participants for the transition. Preparations will be done by U.S. experts in a 3 day workshop, from the 6th to the 8th of February 2012, in Copenhagen.

Participating in SCALEit may have a substantial impact on each company. For this reason we invite all key personnel in each startup (key advisors included), to participate in this workshop. This is not a program for individuals: this is for teams who strive to build great things together – across time zones and cultural barriers!

Team readiness

We see it as a top priority to ensure participating teams are well functioning in cross border environments. Who will lead where? How will communication be structured? Micromanagement is impossible – how to “macro-manage”?

Silicon Valley – the culture!

Business in the valley is different from Denmark. The dresscode is informal, networking is everywhere, and hierarchies are flat. Understand the basics before you run out there!

Customer Development and Lean Startup thinking

The topics of the workshop will be:

• Learn About Lean Concepts and the Management Disciplines of Entrepreneurship
• Articulate Your Business Model in the Business Model Canvas
• Identify the Most Important Business Model Assumptions and Risks
• Form Hypotheses, Define Metrics, and Plan How to Test with Customers
• Test your Business model
• Learn How to Iterate Fast

Ecosystem

We know the concept of ecosystems from nature. The Silicon Valley ecosystem involves huge amounts of risk capital (money), world class universities (talent), multiple exit opportunities (large corporations), entrepreneurial focused service providers and, most of all, really experienced people! How do you navigate this  - what are the do’s and don’t's?

Market material

Getting involved with people, partners, service providers or investors, pretty much all requires the same process: elevator pitch,brief summary, introductory pitch deck, detailed presentation/business plan. The Silicon Valley standards of each step will be explained, and the process for putting together these materials will be initiated. The goal is for each company to have the best possible material produced before coming to Silicon Valley! Even more important than pitching your business though, you will learn to PROVE it works.