Idaho Ignite Resources

Owned by Ryan Vasso
Last updated: Feb 13, 2023 by Cara Van Sant
6 min read

Lesson 1: Intro to startups and entrepreneurship

 

Articles:

  1. Startup Definition: Everything About Startups

  2. Lifestyle Business: Ideas, Examples & How to Get Started

  3. 12 Things I Learned From Starting Two 7-Figure Lifestyle Businesses

  4. GROWTH VS. LIFESTYLE BUSINESS: WHICH ONE IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

  5. What’s the Difference between a Lifestyle Business and a Scalable Company?

  6. Startup life versus faculty life

  7. What Is the Lean Startup Methodology?

  8. The Key Principles Of Lean Startup Methodology

  9. A Startup Conversation with Steve Blank

  10. What is a startup and how is it different from other companies (new and old)?

 

Videos:

  1. Steve Blank - What is startup?

  2. Small Business vs. Startup with Steve Blank // Now I Know

  3. Startups vs Small Business: what's the difference?

  4. Assumptions Kill Startups - How To Quickly De-Risk Them



Lesson 2: Value Proposition

Subtopics: Preparing for Pitching, SBOE Incubation Fund

Articles:

  1. The 31 Best Value Proposition Examples You Wish You Had

  2. What is a Value Proposition? (Plus 3 Great Examples and 3 Common Mistakes)

  3. Value Propositions: What They Are and How to Create Them (with Examples)

  4. Value Proposition Canvas

  5. Why Value Propositions Are Important (And How To Create Them)

 

Videos:

  1. Strategyzer's Value Proposition Canvas Explained

  2. Value Proposition Canvas Explained by Alex Osterwalder

  3. The art of innovation | Guy Kawasaki | TEDxBerkeley

  4. Designing your Value Proposition by Alex Osterwalder at Mind the Product 2014

  5. Value Proposition Canvas explained through the Uber example

  6. Achieve UNICORN STATUS - 5 Ways To Be An Order Of Magnitude Better Than Your Competition

 

Pitching- Problem Slide Articles:

  1. Problem Slide - How to Guide

  2. Getting the problem right: Investors and Consultants Talk About What Makes a Great Pitch Deck Problem Slide

 

Videos:

  1. DoorDash at YC Summer 2013 Demo Day (What’s the problem?)

  2. Unbird Techstars Boulder 2019 Demo Day Pitch (See if you can find the problem)

 

Lesson 3: Finding a Value Proposition Through Customer Discovery and Empathy

Subtopics: Pitch Prep - Solutions Slide, Federal Funding Opportunities

Articles:

  1. The Four Steps to Customer Discovery

  2. THE CUSTOMER DISCOVERY HANDBOOK

  3. 26 Resources to Help You Master Customer Development Interviews

  4. Customer Discovery In the Time Of the Covid-19 Virus

  5. Customer discovery according to the Lean Startup methodology

 

Videos:

  1. Video 1: What is customer discovery?

  2. Video 2: The Customer Development Process. 2 Minutes to See Why

  3. Video #3: EMPATHY - BEST SPEECH OF ALL TIME By Simon Sinek

  4. Video #4-13: Steve Blank Customer Interview Series

  5. How To Avoid False Positives in Your Customer Feedback

 

Solutions Slide Articles:

  1. Solution Slide - How to Guide

  2. How To Position The Solution In A Pitch Deck

 

Solution Slide Videos:

  1. Quilt at Y Combinator Demo Day (How is Quilt better than the status quo?)

  2. GetAccept - YC W'16 Demo Day (What’s the benefit of using Get Accept?)

  3. YC Demo Day Pitch (vote.org) - (Notice how she leads with the solution first)

 

 

Lesson 4: How to test a Value Proposition

Sub Topics: Pitch Prep - Market Opportunity

Articles:

  1. How to test and validate your value proposition fast

  2. Validating and Executing on Value Propositions

  3. “What is MVP and why is it necessary?”

  4. What is a Minimum Viable Product and How to Build an MVP for Your Startup

  5. What are Key Minimum Viable Product Examples and How Can They Be Used?

  6. 15+ EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL MVPS

  7. How To Fill In A Strategyzer Test Card

 

Videos:

  1. Minimum Viable Product Examples and Benefits (7 min)

  2. Validate Your Ideas with the Test Card (3 min)

  3. Strategyzer Webinar: The Basics Of Testing Business Ideas (1 HR)

  4. 3 Awesome Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) (5 Min)

  5. Making sense of MVP (Minimum Viable Product) (12 Min)

  6. 13 Types of Minimum Viable Product (MVP): Wizard of Oz, Concierge, One Painkiller and 10 more

 

Market Opportunity Slide Articles:

  1. What Your Opportunity Slide is Missing – Make Investors Believe

  2. Market Slide - How to Guide

  3. HOW TO HACK THE MARKET SLIDE ON YOUR PITCH DECK

 

Market Opportunity Videos:

  1. GiveMeTap Demo Day Pitch  -- Are you convinced there is a market opportunity?

  2. Unbabel Demo Day YC W14 --- (What market did they start in? Where are they going?)

  3. How To Calculate Your Startup’s Total Addressable Market (TAM) The Right Way

 

Lesson 5: Measuring a Minimum Viable Product

Sub Topics: Pitch Prep - Go-To-Market & Financials, Funding via SBIR/STTR

Articles:

  1. (MVP) Seek the qualitative and quantitative

  2. How To Measure & Analyze MVP Performance

  3. What Your Minimum Viable Product Should Be Measuring

  4. How To Know If Your Minimum Viable Product is Actually Viable

  5. How To Measure The Success Of MVP

 

Videos:

  1. Measure an MVP with the Learning Card

  2. Strategyzer Webinar with David Bland: Testing Business Ideas (55 min)

  3. How I: Validated my idea in 2 days (with no code)

  4. How to Use the Validation Board to Test Your Startup Idea

 

Go-To-Market Slide Articles:

  1. GO TO MARKET STRATEGY PRESENTATION STRUCTURE

  2. THE BEST GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY & HOW TO DEFINE YOURS

 

Go-To-Market Slide Videos:

  1. Enflux Presenting at YC Demo Day (Why did they start with weightlifting?)

  2. YC W19 Pulse Active Stations Network Demo Day (There are 1 billion Indians, why is he starting in train stations?)

  3. PITCH DECK MISTAKES: THE GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY

  4. How To Create a Killer Go-To-Market (GTM) Strategy

 

Business Model Financials Slide Articles:

  1. Business Model Slide - How to Guide

  2. Pitch Deck Pointers Part 7: The Business Model Slide

 

Financials/Business Model Slide Videos:

  1. YC Demo Day Pitch (Official) -- Goodybag (He knows the numbers around his average customers)

  2. Shiru Y Combinator Demo Day pitch (She doesn’t share a lot of financial numbers - but do you understand how she makes money?)

Lesson 6: How to Pivot Your Idea

Sub Topics: Founders vs. Early Employees, Pitch Prep - Team/Progress, Funding via Angels & VCs

Articles:

  1. When, Why, & How to Pivot a Startup Business

  2. Everyone Pivots: The Truth About A Startup Pivot

  3. A Brief Guide To Startup Pivots (4 Types Of Pivots)

  4. What 'Pivot' Really Means

  5. What is a Pivot? Know When It’s Time to Pivot

  6. The 7 greatest pivots in tech history

 

Videos:

  1. Pivot or Proceed? How to Decide. 2 Minutes to See Why

  2. The infamous Pivot: Explained!

  3. Eric Ries explains The Pivot

  4. Lean Startup Lessons: Changing Course on a Business Idea Without Giving Up

  5. Pivot - How to Build a Startup

 

Founder/ Employee / Contractor Articles:

  1. How does a start-up decide whether to outsource or hire an employee?

  2. When to Hire In-house vs. Outsourcing to Freelancers for your Agency or Startup

  3. Equity 101 Part 1: Startup employee stock options

  4. Employee vs. Independent Contractor: How to Classify Your Workers

  5. Five Reasons To Consider Hiring A Co-Founder

  6. What is the difference between a co-founder and an early employee?

  7. Founders, Initial Employees, and Risk

 

Raising Traditional Investments Articles:

  1. The Pros And Cons Of Bootstrapping Startups

  2. Bootstrapping A Startup: The Essential Tips

  3. How to Raise a Friends and Family Round

  4. Friends and Family Investors: The Dangers Startups Must Know

  5. The Definitive Guide to Raising Money from Angels

  6. Everything You (Don’t) Want to Know About Raising Capital

  7. Raising Venture Capital

  8. Venture Capital Vs. Business Loans: A Beginner’s Guide to Financing Alternatives

 

Team Slide Articles:

  1. Team Slide - How to Guide

  2. The Team Slide: You Had Me At Hello

  3. Pitch Deck Month: The Team Slide

 

Team Slide Videos:

  1. YC Demo Day W16-HistoWiz (Do you have any doubts about the team?)

  2. Ramp - Demo Day Pitch (He talked about his team slide for 15 seconds. Convinced?)

 

Traction Slide Articles:

  1. Pitch Deck Pointers Part 8: The Traction Slide

  2. Traction Slide - How to Guide

  3. What To Include In The Traction Slide Of A Pitch Deck

 

Traction Slide Videos:

  1. Flex Tampons Pitch (Has so much progress she leads with it)

  2. Coinbase Y Combinator Demo Day Practice (Listen to the coaching when he describes progress)

  3. How To Pitch Early Traction to Venture Investors like a Boss! 

 

 

Lesson 7: Business Model Canvas

Sub Topics: Funding via EPSCOR + DARPA/ARPA-E, Pitch Prep Summary

Articles:

  1. The Easy Guide to the Business Model Canvas

  2. How To: Business Model Canvas Explained

  3. Business Model Canvas Explained with Examples

  4. 5 key benefits of using a business model canvas instead of a business plan

  5. How To Fill In A Business Model Canvas

 

Videos:

  1. Business Model Canvas Explained

  2. The Business Model Canvas - 9 Steps to Creating a Successful Business Model - Startup Tips

  3. Business Model Canvas Tutorial - Uber Business Model

  4. Business Model Canvas Tutorial - Lego Business Model



Key Partners Articles:

  1. How to partner with a larger company when you’re a startup

  2. Why Business Partnerships Fail

  3. The power of partnerships: Why businesses are better together

  4. Key Partners in Business Model Canvas

  5. 13 Examples of Successful Co-Branding Partnerships

 

Revenue Articles:

  1. Recurring Revenue: An Increasingly Important Business Model

  2. The 10 Most Popular Startup Revenue Models

  3. How to Price Your Products

  4. Cost vs. Price: What's the Difference?

  5. How To Calculate Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

 

Channels Articles:

  1. Marketing Channels Guide: 30+ Different Channels Categorized and Explained

  2. The 6 Marketing Channels You Should Prioritize in 2020

  3. What is a Marketing Funnel?

  4. How to Create the Ultimate Marketing Funnel (Templates Included)

  5. The Growth Hacking Playbook: Your Ultimate List of Growth Hack Resources

 

Customer Relationship Articles:

  1. How do I use the Customer Relationships building block of the Business Model Canvas?

  2. Customer Relationships – Unpacking How To Fuel Long-Term Growth

  3. 8 Excellent Examples of Customer Relationship Management

  4. Building Customer Relationships

 

 

Lesson 8: Pitch-Off & Next Steps

Articles:

  1. 15 Quick Pitch Tips for Kick Ass Presentations

  2. 9 Things That Take a Pitch From Good to Great

 

Videos:

  1. The SECRET Ingredient to The PERFECT PITCH: How to tell a compelling STORY

  2. The SINGLE Most Important Element of Your Pitch

  3. Startup Pitch Video: How to Create a Pitch Deck for Investors