Tech Ventures

Fuck Buddies App Explains How To Make A Dating App Business Plan

Since it’s inception, FuckBuddies.App has been one of the most popular dating apps on the market. It’s only natural that this would be a huge success since the app is so simple to use and the interface is extremely intuitive for men who want quick results in bed without any strings attached. Fuck Buddies App is here with us today at Tech Ventures to explain their process for forming a business plan for their dating app, and help other startup founders on their way to success.

Starting A Company

“The first thing you need to do when starting your own company is understand what you’re selling,” says Fuck Buddy’s CEO Mike, “and how it can benefit someone.” He continues by explaining the importance of understanding what you are selling and how your product will make an impact in the lives of its consumers. This isn’t just some sex app we’re talking about here. There’s a lot more to the story than meets the eye.

“When people think ‘dating app’ they usually think of Tinder or Bumble, which makes sense considering these are two of the biggest dating apps out right now. But there’s also a whole new crop of startups that have come up with completely different ideas for how to connect singles,” explains Fuck Buddy’s Marketing Manager Rachel. She goes on to explain how each generation has its own unique take on relationships and romance. As far as older generations go, hooking up is still taboo. And if you ask anyone over 30, they’ll tell you that hookup culture is a relatively recent trend. Tinder may have introduced the concept of swiping left or right to find potential partners, but they didn’t invent it. It was around long before Tinder came along.

So what does all of this mean? Well, it means that Fuck Buddies App needs to offer something unique in order to stand out from the rest of the pack. We’ve already established that our users care less about the status quo and more about convenience, so why not build a product that caters specifically to them?

“I guess I’m saying this because our company is focused on providing convenient dating experiences for single men. So yeah, it makes sense that our target audience cares less about traditional notions of romance and more about hookups,” says Rachel. “We’re looking to develop something that will cater to those guys. Something that’s easy, discreet, and most importantly – fast.”

Dating App Marketing

“In order to get your dating app noticed, you need to know where to start and how to plan accordingly. At the end of the day, people don’t really care about your company, they care about themselves. That’s why marketing is so important. You need to figure out what the people want, and then tailor your services to meet their needs. Simple as that, right?” says Mike.

He goes on to say that marketing is one of the most important aspects of running a successful business. Especially if you’re launching a brand-new app like ours. If you want people to download your app, you need to give them a reason to do so. Otherwise, they’ll simply opt for something else. In order to make an impact, you need to make sure that your app is featured prominently on all of the big websites. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you should spend tons of money on ads, though. Depending on the type of service you provide, word of mouth might actually work better for you. Some customers love to share their experiences online, while others prefer to stick to a company’s website instead. It all comes down to what you’re trying to accomplish.

Unique Value Propositions

“What we’ve found so far is that many of our customers are interested in meeting other like-minded people in their area. They want to have fun, enjoy themselves, and maybe even fall in love. It’s hard to be 100% sure, but that seems to be the general consensus so far. Most people don’t seem to care too much about whether or not they are using an app for casual dating or serious relationships. What they really want is a connection, and that’s …

Lab2 Venture Rocked!

It was something new. It was something we’d never really tried before. Those attempts are supposed to be courageous. Right?

Well, I’m not sure this qualifies, but it sure was fun.

It’s been well over a week since our Lab2Venture Open House, and I still have “Separate Ways” and “Bad to the Bone” as the ringtone and notification on my phone. I’m not ready to put all of the memories away just yet.

Nearly 200 folks wandered the halls and lobby of our office building, chatting, looking at posters, sharing ideas, and making new connections. Elvis was there; so was KISS. We were looking to Rock the economy. We wanted an open house, and we got one.

There was a DJ, as well as great food and beer (and wine). We even had a VIP lounge hosted by “Hoff” himself serving mocktails. It was an unconventional way to get the scientific community and the entrepreneurial community in one place—talking to one another.

Many of our partners were there to just be available to meet any scientist, technologist, inventor, or entrepreneur that might stroll up and say “hi.” It was all about flow, interaction, and collaborative collisions.

I got in over 30,000 steps that day. It was full. We are now looking toward the Deal Stream Summit in October, which means we’re looking for business plans. Well, we’re always looking for business plans, really.

Spread the word.

It’s still a bit early to determine what “deals” may have started there, but the activity was electric.…

Commercialization & Entrepreneurial Training Schedule

Technology Ventures Corporation (TVC) will be delivering the next curriculum series on Commercialization &  Entrepreneurial Training. 

The topics will focus on providing the fundamental groundwork for technology commercialization, as well as providing example cases of local equity-backed, technology startup companies.

Attendees will come away with the knowledge and frameworks to establish validated customer demand and understand how to assemble a plan of execution,  thus reducing the risk and optimizing the opportunity of success. 

Attendance is free and a box lunch will be provided.

Location:  

KAFB Education Center
1900 Wyoming Blvd. SE Bldg 20602

Access a map HERE:

AFEducationCenterMap

Dates:

August 4  (11:45am-1:00pm)     Introduction / Financing Your Entrepreneurial Venture

August 11   (11:45am-1:00pm)      IP Strategies for Commercialization

August 18  (11:45am-1:00pm)    Market Validation / Management Team and Evolution

August 25 (11:45am-1:00pm)    Business Plan Strategy Assembly / Sandia ESTT Program

More information at 843-4279.

This training series is “behind the fence,” and intended for lab personnel.  You must have base access (Sandia National Labs/KAFB) to attend.

Technology Ventures Corporation’s Deal Stream Summit in New Mexico is the Region’s Premier Venture Event

It really is.

We will hold our 22nd Deal Stream Summit on October 6, 2015, at the Anderson Abruzzo International Balloon Museum in Albuquerque.

From our press release:

Technology-based business opportunities that demonstrate outstanding potential for commercialization, innovation, and investment will be highlighted, presented in three separate flights over the afternoon.

“The Deal Stream Summit is New Mexico’s venue for showcasing exciting technology-based investment opportunities originating at the U.S. Department of Energy laboratories and other research institutes,” said John Freisinger, president and CEO of TVC. “It has served as a vehicle to facilitate private investment partnerships among emerging technologies within the lab, startups, and innovators.

“New Mexico has enjoyed unexpected growth in our entrepreneurial economy due to the intentional and coordinated growth in four factors: access to ideas, the availability of talent, intelligent capital, and the supportive community.”

In addition to an exciting agenda for investors, the Summit will kick off the Kauffman Foundation’s third annual Mayors Conference on Entrepreneurship, which brings mayors and entrepreneurship experts together to discuss ways to promote startup activity. Its theme, “Recipes for Growth,” will explore the role of local assets in supporting entrepreneurial activity.

Albuquerque is home to the world-renowned International Balloon Fiesta.   Visitors from all over the world come to Albuquerque the first week in October to celebrate the beautiful wind-directed sport of ballooning.  With hundreds of balloons taking flight, Deal Stream Summit attendees will be delighted with a panoramic view of Balloon Fiesta Park from the event site of the Balloon Fiesta Museum.

This annual Summit is focused on starting, building, and financing research-based technology, as well as startups and entrepreneurship from the labs. It has also allowed hundreds of companies to receive funding and fueled the commercialization of laboratory R&D and IP. To date, one-third of the presenting companies have received funding a noteworthy achievement and an unmatched success rate.…

The 2015 Deal Stream Summit = more of our history

Unlike our Lab2Venture open house we held in May, our Deal Stream Summit (held Oct 6th) was most certainly not new.  Nor was it something we’d never tried before.  Since 1993, TVC has been presenting investor-ready companies, giving them a stage so that they can give a 10-minute pitch as to why you should give them a bunch of money. 

Prior to throwing (OK, not really throwing) them on stage, however, the selected companies go through a meticulous preparation process.  Advisor teams are assembled, and their presentation is examined and reexamined.  They practice (dry run), evaluate, then prior to the crowd showing up, they then have a dress rehearsal.

It’s what we do.  We match companies ready for investment with the right investors.  We’ve been doing it for some time now.  It’s been called the Equity Capital Symposium (1993-2011); it’s been held over several days, consisting of not only the presenters, but also informative panels and keynotes; it’s been at the Hyatt downtown, the Embassy Suites, and now, for the past two years, it’s been at the Balloon Museum. It’s a little over a half-day in length now, and we call it the Deal Stream Summit.

Regardless of what we call it, or how long it may last, TVC employs a successful commercialization model that connects innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors nationwide to create companies and take federal laboratory inventions to the marketplace.  And, between 1993 and 2015, TVC figured prominently in the production of more than $1.2 billion in venture capital investments, more than 121 new high-tech companies, and more than 13,500 new jobs.

Although the primary vehicle for showcasing both seed and early-stage companies is TVC’s Deal Stream Summit, we do this every day, in one form or another.

To date, 30 percent of the presenting companies have received funding—a noteworthy achievement and an unmatched success rate.

It may not be new, but it is consistent. We’re good with that.…

Writing a Business Plan: The Conclusion

This is the 9th and final post in our “Writing a Business Plan” series.

See… isn’t writing a business plan easy?  Well, it probably wasn’t that easy.  There are just a few more things to touch on now that you have your plan written out. First, you’ll note that I didn’t say “finished” or “done” in that last sentence.  For full disclosure, I have to tell you that a business plan is never actually complete.  You’ll hear the term “living document” tossed around because your plan will never really stop changing and growing.

Things change that will necessitate updating your plan. Often they are assumptions that no longer apply, but they can be caused by just about anything: changes in the marketplace, competitors, technology shifts, funding possibilities, customer requests, new partners–anything really.  So, be prepared to go in and change your plan.  You can consider this version as “done,” but you should already be working on the next version.

What You Get

You’ve finished all the sections, so now is the time to go back and finish the executive summary.  You’ll have a complete and appropriate summary of your plan.  From now on, every time you change part of the plan, you’ll have to go back to the summary and see if the changes affect anything. It can be a pain, but it’s a useful process to keep on top of the changes in your business.

Your new plan is now also the basis for two other business documents.  You can now generate your Pitch Deck and your One-Pager. Both of these documents will use parts of the business plan as their base.

With your completed business plan you can earnestly start talking with investors.  When you’re asked for a business plan, you can say “I’ll email it!”  Don’t start blanketing the world with your full plan though. Receiving multi-megabyte files that you didn’t ask for is more annoying than anything else.

What To Include

You’ve gone back and updated your executive summary.  I can’t stress that enough. Do it constantly.  Of all the sections, that’s the one that needs to be correct.

A tip that I recommend is to have a separate one-pager in addition to the executive summary.  The executive summary tends to run long and can be a bit bland. It’s usually in the same format as the rest of the plan and a bit standard.  That’s not a bad thing when you’re including a full plan. 

But when somebody wants an introduction to your business, and they ask you to send them an executive summary, send a one-pager AND the summary.  The one-pager is an “infomercial” version of your summary. It’s got flash, style, a call-to-action, and some formatting to make it interesting while making the exciting bits stand out.  Include highlights from the summary, a few images, and your logo.

A pitch deck is another very useful document to have ready to go.  But the trick is to have several versions prepared and ready to go.  I like to have at least 3 different versions.  First, I’ll have a “cold intro” version. The “cold” version assumes that the reader knows absolutely nothing about the company. It will have a lot more words, information, and descriptions. This is what you’d send to your cold calls and brief introduction contacts.  The second version is the “presentation” version. 

This version will have practically no text – it’s all highlights and images.  This is the one used for presenting to potential investors.  I recommend having no more than 12 words on each slide, with 8 being better. Keep the audience interested in your pitch and use the slides to reinforce your message. 

The third version is a combination of the above.  Keep the slides short and informative, but not overwhelming. It’s a multi-page version of the one-pager.  Once you have those ready, don’t be afraid of making individual versions for each situation or investor.  Take the time to customize the deck to match the audience; doing just a little research can make a huge difference.

For all of these documents, I recommend keeping a version number in the file names.  To not get too technical, my version numbers …

Deal Stream Summit in New Mexico

Was held October 6, 2015
at the Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum

Thank you to all that made this year’s Deal Stream Summit a great success.  You can still see our presenting companies as well as our partner organizations at the links to the right.

For 22 years, the Deal Stream Summit has been New Mexico’s venue for showcasing exciting technology-based investment opportunities originating from the U.S. Department of Energy laboratories and other research institutes.

TVC’s Deal Stream Summit has served as a vehicle to facilitate private investment partnerships among emerging technologies within the lab, startups and innovators.   This annual conference is focused on starting, building and financing research-based technology, as well as startups and entrepreneurship from the labs. It has also allowed for hundreds of companies to receive funding and fueled the commercialization of laboratory R&D and IP.

TVC accelerates the growth of globally competitive, high-tech companies by bringing together entrepreneurial talent, innovative federal research,
dynamic capital investment and relevant community involvement.

Audience Profile:  venture capitalists, startups, research & development scientists, DOE laboratory technology, tech transfer executives from government and national labs, licensing officers, private equity investors, corporate development and new business development executives, corporate investors, corporate counsel, and spin-out companies.

New Mexico Flying 40

Congratulations to the 2014 Flying 40 Awardees

The 2014 Flying 40 Celebration was held

Honoring the fastest growing technology companies in the state of New Mexico

New Mexico’s future is technology; and New Mexico’s future is bright.  Jobs at the Flying 40 increased from 3,528 in 2009 to 3,929 in 2013, a 11 percent increase.  Revenue increased from $780.3 million in 2009 to more than $889.3 million in 2013, a 14 percent increase.

New Mexico’s technology-based economy is thriving. Technology Ventures Corporation, KPMG LLP, Sandia Science & Technology Park Development Corporation, New Mexico Bank and Trust, and UNM Athletics Department believe these companies and their employees should be singled out as examples of the best New Mexico has to offer.

Call for High-Tech Startups

Technology Ventures Corporation presents its 21st Deal Stream Summit October 7- 8 in Albuquerque.  Technology-based business opportunities that demonstrate outstanding potential for commercialization, innovation and investment will be highlighted.

As a bonus, presenting companies compete for a $30,000 Investor’s Choice cash award.

Each company makes an oral presentation summarizing its investment opportunity, and expert sponsor judges select the company making the best presentation.

What We Need from You

To be considered, U.S. technology-based companies must submit a non-proprietary business plan, executive summary or pitch deck to Technology Ventures by July 1, 2014.

Submissions will be judged using  this criteria:
• Technology source is developed by or with:

Department of Energy-funded facilities, or
New-Mexico-based businesses• Market opportunity
• Merit of the business proposition, path to market and competitive advantage
• Stage of product development and milestones
• Intellectual property, protection and strategy
• Financial forecast
• Qualifications of the management team
• Investment “ask” and exit strategy
• Proposed use of the $30,000 Investor’s Choice cash award in advancing  the  business case and specific milestones to be achieved.Interested companies should contact TVC project managers now for assistance with their business plan development and Summit application.  For more information, contact  Margaret Speer, 505.843.4202, Sharon Rollins, 505.843.4279,  or visit the contact page.  Submit your non-proprietary PDF business plan, executive summary or pitch deck here by July 1, 2014.

Northern New Mexico Call for Plans event:

Registration info to the right →

Join us at the Manhattan Project Restaurant
1789 Central Ave.
Los Alamos, NM 87544

June 5, 2014

Agenda:
11:30am – 1:15pm       Lunch provided

12:00pm – 12:05pm    Introduction

12:05pm – 12:35pm     Deal Stream Summit overview

12:35pm – 12:55pm     Past presenters, Lisa Abeyta (AppCityLife); Robert Hockaday (Energy Related Devices)

12:55pm – 1:00pm       Summary & closing remarks

1:00pm – 1:15pm         Networking

Technology Ventures presents the Deal Stream Summit in partnership with Lockheed Martin Corporation and the Department of Energy.

IP Bundling Agreement Signed 08/24/2007

Announcing the historic signing of the Intellectual Property Bundling Agreement Among Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Lab, the Nevada Test Site, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the purpose of commercialization

Albuquerque-Technology Ventures Corporation (TVC) will host Clay Sell, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Energy, Senator Pete V. Domenici, and the directors of the NNSA national laboratories for the historic signing of the Intellectual Property Bundling Agreement (IPBA), a unique agreement to pool intellectual property to accelerate the commercialization of lab technologies.

The IPBA, which will be signed by the directors of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Nevada Test Site, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory facilitates the commercialization of intellectual property (IP) that is owned by each of the four National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) facilities.

As part of this agreement the laboratories voluntarily agree to work together to collect their patents and form those patents into IP bundles, which can then be packaged or separately licensed to companies and individuals looking for technology.

The Intellectual Property Bundling Agreement that is being signed on 24 August will enable a private sector business to negotiate and contract with just one laboratory for bundled intellectual property owned by all four laboratories (LANL, LLNL, SNL, and the NTS)

The private sector market pull of laboratory technologies is greatly enhanced and accelerated because it will be easier for the private sector to engage in the licensing process. A license to bundled IP (group of patents) is of significantly greater value to the private sector than a single patent, as the related and complementary patents within the bundle enable the far greater potential for multiple commercial applications and wider fields of use. IP bundling is already known and in use in the private sector.

More specifically the IP (patents) Bundling Agreement advantages include:

• Encourages the leveraging of DOE R&D; funds dedicated to complementary projects within the laboratory complex, and then leverage the IP developed by these projects
• Facilitates licensing negotiations
• Non-exclusive bundle licensing of IP is more cost-effective and allows the licenses to fulfill equal opportunity, minimize the potential for conflicts, and spreads DOE technology across larger numbers of licensees
• Improves probabilities of successful deployment of the technologies created in the laboratories into the commercial marketplace
• Enhances IP portfolios of each participating laboratory by placing them into a bundle making the IP more desirable to private industry
• Helps DOE fulfill a statutory mission of the national laboratories in technology transfer

The IPBA was developed under a cooperative agreement between the Department of Energy’s NNSA and Technology Ventures Corporation.…