The two primary reasons that startups fail are (1) they don't have enough clients to sustain the business and (2) they run out of money before they are sufficiently established. Most entrepreneurs have great ideas, and with the right management team and skill sets, can survive during the early years. However, sophisticated selling tools are often missing, since managers either mistakenly think that the product will sell itself, or have not added team members who have the necessary skills.

While the concept is simple, it is not so easy to attract clients away from your competitors, create interest in a product that has never been seen before, or out-execute well-established adversaries who have already survived previous wars of attrition. Thus it is not surprising that so many startups fail to generate adequate traction, despite the novelty of their concepts, products, or business models.

The lecture will focus on the following topics:
                         Business Tools to create initial awareness about your concept or product
                         How to build a client base from scratch, even if you are new to the startup field
                         Establishing communication networks for your new business to maintain media coverage

Sandra Holtzman is a serial entrepreneur. She co-founded Cloud Diagnostics, where she assembled the management team, and acquired clients for its medical device product. The firm generated such a high level of interest from large companies that owners were able to exit in six months. She is also a Kauffman Foundation certified facilitator, and a mentor at the Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center at Columbia Business School. Her current startup Holtzman Communications focuses, among other areas, on company and product launches.

David Schmidt is a specialty materials and healthcare expert in the device and compound sectors, who builds businesses around new technologies and their applications. He identifies and develops revenue sources, provides market assessments, and formulates competitive positioning. Currently, he is a strategic advisor to a novel fuel cell business, a breast cancer imaging equipment provider, and a medical device specialty coating business. Previously, he led initiatives at Honeywell, including successful launches of semiconductor technologies.

Jake Dunlap is Founder & CEO of Skaled, a company which focuses solely on building the revenue bases and operations capabilties of startup firms. Skaled recognizes that most entrepreneurs have great concepts or technologies, but have never built a business before and need support to attract new clients. Skaled works primarily with early-stage startups which have small client bases and do not yet have the financial resources to substantially grow sales forces. It helps them to acquire clients and scale the business through various "lead generation" methodologies.