6 specific lessons on starting and growing your business in Delaware

Make your founders savvier to improve their chances at success.

Many small business training programs exist in the land of the Delaware incorporation, but few have a tech startup bent. So if Delaware Innovation Week were to be a true entry point for new and aspiring founders, we had to offer the fundamentals.
That was the goal of Monday’s #DIW15 Entrepreneur Bootcamp, a series of lessons for 30 aspiring or new entrepreneurs held at the Wilmington offices of Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP on Rodney Square.
Find the full slides here. Below, find one lesson from each of the 20-minute case studies from our speakers.

1. Investment: Most businesses aren’t the right fit for venture capital: Mike Bowman of Delaware Technology Park

Your business is probably not a fit for venture capital (most aren't); that shouldn't stop you: Mike Bowman #DIW15 pic.twitter.com/3GcNgl0dzL

— Technical.ly Delaware (@technicallyDE) November 18, 2015

“Lots of companies have great technology nobody wants,” said Bowman.

2. Customers: Build an audience persona of the specific person you want to sell: Frank deSantis of the Emerging Enterprise Center

Great visual framework for network mapping from Frank DeSantis at Entreprenuer Bootcamp #DIW15 pic.twitter.com/TEL8lPJk56

— Nikia Hill (@hill_nikia) November 16, 2015

You must be able to say: “My company name is ABC. I help X do Y by doing Z.”
“Nobody cares about you. Nobody cares your business,” said deSantis. “They care about how you help them.”
The EEC also hosted its own small business bootcamp during #DIW15.

3. Hiring: “The trend is that nobody is a contractor”: Dena B. Calo of Saul Ewing

SaulEwing attorney @dbchrattorney speaking at #DIW15 to #entrepreneurs about Essential #Employment Matters pic.twitter.com/2WsyiOXPpm

— Arielle Newcombe (@ArielleNewcombe) November 16, 2015

Look at struggles around employment status in the sharing economy, and you’ll see what she means.
“Discrimination is wider than you expected,” she said, noting it goes beyond even gender, race and religion. Think pregnancies, disability and other limitations.

4. Media: Pitch reporters by suggesting a similar version of a story they’ve already written: Tony Abraham of Technical.ly

"Keep your pitch to 3 sentences: what, why, who. No one cares as much about your biz as you." @TonyAbraham @technicallyDE #DIW15 #BootCamp

— Emma Pautler (@EmmaJoyPautler) November 16, 2015

Tony spilled the secret sauce.

5. IP Protection: Getting a patent doesn’t mean you’re not infringing someone else’s intellectual property: Jim Lennon of Young Conaway

https://twitter.com/monaparikhesq/status/666346229094289408
The vagaries of IP protection are more complicated than you might realize, he said.

6. Policy: Delaware state government is aggressively pursuing your incorporation: Emma Cowdery of Global Delaware

Here's @Ejcowdery of @DelawareGlobal with a couple of government tools for the Delaware entrepreneur's toolbox. pic.twitter.com/9TVvvX2Zwy

— Technical.ly Delaware (@technicallyDE) November 16, 2015

Cowdery shared an array of state websites under the Global Delaware brand aiming to make investment and incorporation far simpler.

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The Business Conference was sponsored by Saul Ewing, Comcast Business and JPMorgan Chase, with the Emerging Enterprise Center (EEC), the University of Delaware Horn Program in Entrepreneurship and Young Conaway. 1313 Innovation is the title sponsor of #DIW15.