Four potential investors reached out to GSL Solutions after the company delivered its pitch for funding at the 2013 Early Stage Venture Capital Conference.

The May 16 event in Orlando, presented by the Florida Venture Forum, drew 18 companies that each had eight minutes to convince attendees to invest in their businesses.

GSL, based in Tampa, presented a platform that helps government organizations manage campaigns and online presence through email, mobile and social media. Governmental agencies and individual politicians, including Florida Senator Marco Rubio, are currently using the platform. GSL Solutions plans to expand its platform to colleges and universities. Read more here.

Five Orlando technology entrepreneurs have launched a program aimed at helping grow other startup companies in Orlando.

Starter Studio will be based in the 8,500-square-foot offices of Envy Labs LLC and Code School LLC when the two companies move into the GAI Building at 618 E. South St. in June.

Here is a video about the program, which began accepting applications for its first three-month program May 15. Starter Studio is targeting those companies involved in education for its first round of companies. Read more here.

In The Art of Bootstrapping Guy Kawasaki said, “The probability of an entrepreneur getting venture capital is the same as getting struck by lightning while standing at the bottom of a swimming pool on a sunny day.” And bootstrapping is a viable funding mechanism only if you have boots to strap, i.e., you have the ability to fund your venture with your own money.

For those of you in need of external funding, Kawasaki’s math is daunting. There is a rule of thumb that for every 500 bona fide business plans submitted to sophisticated investors, about 50 will get some consideration, five will become pitch decks seen by investors, and one will get funded.

So, what can you do to increase your chances of getting funded?

Other than being able to convince investors that you have the passion, persistence, and plan to be a successful entrepreneur, you should also avoid the following all-too-common mistakes:

1.     Not Being Coachable
Miles Kington said, “Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing never to put one in a fruit salad.” Investors want to believe that you are smarter than they are; it is a big reason they will listen to your pitch. But wisdom only comes with the experiences learned over a lifetime. Good investors can help you in many ways beyond just financially, but only if you are willing to listen and learn. Have an open mind to the opinions of those who have done it before. Be the expert in the product or service you are creating, but defer to those who know the many other critical pitfalls you must avoid in order to be successful. I recently reviewed a pitch deck that had many grammatical mistakes. I told the entrepreneur that some investors might take that as a sign he lacks attention to detail. His email reply was dismissive and ungrateful. Investors are generally betting on the jockey not the horse, so being a horse’s ass won’t help you get funded.

And it doesn’t stop when you cash the check. Continue to develop a relationship with your investors even after they invest. Everyone needs a boss, even the CEO. Employ an effective Board of Directors that questions your assumptions. Every top golfer has a swing coach because they are always trying to get better. Follow that example.

2.     Not a Scalable Business
Your neighborhood may desperately need a new salad restaurant on Main Street and it might be profitable some day with solid execution. But borrow the money from a bank or raise it from the Three Fs of early-stage investing: friends, family, and fools. Early-stage capital is a high-risk investment and the best investors in the business are wrong more than 50 percent of the time. So the wins need to be big wins or the model doesn’t work. You must demonstrate that investors can make a substantial return and that is only possible if your business scales and scales quickly.

3.     No or Low Barriers to Entry
In the must-read book Do More Faster, Tim Ferriss said, “Trust me, your idea is worthless.” An idea is not a business. A company’s success is much more dependent on management’s ability to execute than on the original idea. That said, if six high school students in Bangalore can replicate your app over a weekend, your business is in trouble. Patents are a barrier to entry, but they cost money, take a long time, and don’t protect what you’ve done – they just give you the right to sue someone who has infringed on your patent. In my view, the best barriers to entry are revenue-generating customers, robust sales and distribution channels, a management team with deep domain experience, and the ability to continue to innovate rapidly. As Will Rogers said,“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

4.     Weak Sales / Marketing / Distribution Channels
This is number four on my list, but number one in my heart. The single biggest weakness I see over and over again is a failure to understand how to build an awareness of your product, then an interest in it, and ultimately consumers willing to pay for it. “Social media” is not enough of an answer to the awareness challenge. “If you build it, they will come” only works in the movies to get folks interested. And the “App Store” similarly is not enough of an answer as your distribution channel since yours will be among the million or so already free or for sale there.

One way to jump start this process is with Eric Reis’ Lean Startup approach to a minimally viable product (MVP). Find a client to demo your MVP product or service. You won’t get paid, but you will get great feedback and, more importantly, a reference on which to attract distributors and resellers (and investors). If you are not ready for 10,000 customers then don’t sell direct – find a channel where you have 10 customers and each of them have thousands of customers.

5.     Failing to Understand Resource Requirements
In engineering circles there is the Stanforth Rule that states, “There are only two kinds of problems in the world: those that violate the laws of physics and those that time and money can solve.” President Kennedy knew in 1961 that with enough money and enough time, the United States could land a man to the moon and return him safely back to earth. But he didn’t advocate landing a man on the sun. You shouldn’t either. If your idea doesn’t violate the laws of physics, don’t be afraid to explain how much money you are going to need to raise to achieve escape velocity. The ability to articulate that you understand that $500,000 in seed capital will not be your last raise is actually a huge positive. Remember the Rule of Twos: It will likely take you twice as long to raise half as much as you are looking for – budget accordingly.

6.     Inappropriate Use of Funds
Certainly you are not going to tell an investor that the first thing you plan to do with his money is buy $6,000 office chairs for everyone in your company. But knowing specifically how the money will be spent is an absolute must. A plan to spend that scales the business faster and/or increases the team responsible for sales / marketing / managing distribution channels will help your cause. Remember it is their money even after they invest it in your company. If you want to raise more from them, or raise money from others who will ask them if you spent the last round responsibly, treat it like you are bootstrapping. Resource efficiency is the trademark of a true entrepreneur.

7.     A Revenue Model, but No Profit Model
I’ve got a great idea for a business that will generate explosive revenue from day one: I’m going to stand on a busy street corner and sell hundred dollar bills for $90. My forecast has me grossing $9 million the first quarter and all I need is $10 million to get it launched.

Again, an idea is not a business. Don’t tell us how much money you are going to bring in; explain to us how much profit you are going to be able to retain, reinvest, and distribute.

Although not one of the Seven Sins, Not Doing Something Useful probably should be. Marcus Wohlsen of Wired magazine said, “The history of technology is littered with solutions to non-existent problems.” Investors want and need to make money and that fact drives most of their decisions. But, speaking only for myself, building something more than just a cool new restaurant finder or the like would sure help you capture my interest.

One final piece of advice to increase your chances of raising money: Be so good you can’t be ignored.

Allen H. Kupetz is the COO of venVelo, a Winter Park early-stage investment fund, and the Executive-in-Residence at the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College. venVelo has recently invested in three central Florida companies: flexReceipts, Row Sham Bow, and Zentila.

Looking to learn more about how to be a successful entrepreneur? The author recommends these books:

Blank, Seven. (2005). The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products that Win.

Blank, Steven and Dorf, Bob. (2012). The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company.

Cohen, David and Feld, Brad. (2010). Do More Faster: TechStars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup.

Duhigg, Charles. (2012). The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business.

Tampa Bay Innovation Center, an innovation and entrepreneurship center for technology businesses, has received a grant of $400,000 from the state of Florida for a St. Petersburg-based incubator to promote business growth by providing access to lab facilities, research institutions, entrepreneurial support and educational opportunities dedicated to the marine science, biotechnology and healthcare technology startup communities.

“We are pleased that the state of Florida is supporting our efforts to create high-tech, high-wage jobs in sectors identified as targeted industries by the City of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County and the State of Florida,” says Tonya Elmore, Innovation Center president. “The St. Petersburg program will build upon the partner network we have established over a 10-year period, but will also include initiatives that will bring new partners to the network.”

The program, named St. Petersburg Technology Incubator, will include recruitment, coaching and mentoring for founders, innovators and entrepreneurs in the targeted industry sectors. Read more here.

Gov. Rick Scott vetoed nearly $368 million in spending from the state’s budget, using his line-item authority to strike out scores of projects ranging from a $50 million coast-to-coast bike trail to tens of millions in college and university tuition hikes.

Scott’s extensive veto list is more than twice as large as his list last year, and his largest since his first year in office. It slashed state spending from $74.5 million to $74.1 million. Even with the vetoes, the 2013-2014 budget is still the largest on record, and includes $480 million for teacher pay raises, $8.5 billion for transportation projects,  $151.8 million for Everglades restoration and $273 million for ports.

“The Florida Families First budget helps families pursue their dreams by getting a great job and accessing a quality education,” Scott said in an emailed statement. “Teachers will get a pay raise and funds for their classroom supplies so they don’t have to pay out-of-pocket.”

This is Scott’s largest veto effort since his first year in office, when he slashed more than $615 million from the budget. Half of that came from a single-item: spending authority for the Florida Forever land conservation program. Read more here.

Contrary to the prevailing narrative in Washington that our elected leaders are unable to tackle big problems, the two parties are close to reaching an agreement on common-sense immigration reform — an action that will improve the environment for entrepreneurs to start and scale businesses.

To continue the momentum on this critical issue, today I’m joining leaders from across the political spectrum in the largest ever “virtual march on Washington” — the March for Innovation to push for immigration reform.

The #iMarch includes Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Governor Jeb Bush, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Governor Rick Synder, Arianna Huffington, Laurene Powell Jobs, Grover Norquist, Mayor Cory Booker and many others from all parts of the political spectrum. For the next two days, we have all committed to using social media and online advocacy to let Congress know that we are too close to not cross the finish line.  Read more here.

The Florida Venture Forum hosted its Third Annual Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition and Sixth Annual Early Capital Conference at the Reunion Resort in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 before a record number of attendees.

The Conference began with the statewide collegiate business plan competition and included participation from University of Florida, Rollins College, University of Miami, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida State University, Florida Institute of Technology, University of Central Florida and University of South Florida. “The caliber of innovation and ideas, and the poise and preparation of the presenters is great testament to Florida’s public and private universities,” said Kevin Burgoyne, Executive Director of the Florida Venture Forum.

The winner of the Statewide Business Plan Competition was Florida Gulf Coast University. The team, under the direction of Dr. Sandra Kauanui, Ph.D. Director, Institute for Entrepreneurship at Florida Gulf Coast University, won over the judges with a flawless presentation and a very compelling product and business plan. Robby Donnelly, COO of Aqua Ramp, gave the presentation.The AquaRamp is an innovative design for an aquatic lift system that provides a simpler, more reliable mode of moving people into and out of swimming pools, spas, and other aquatic recreation areas. The product is an alternative to other aquatic lifts on the market. Instead of imitating its competitors by lifting a person into the air and lowering them straight into the pool, the AquaRamp uses an inclined system to lower a person into the water from wheelchair height. The highlight feature of this product is that it conforms to the newly-revised standards for ADA. Read more here.

U.S. Rep John Mica had a clear message for the modeling, simulation and training industry in Central Florida at a May 20 meeting: Contact Congress.

At the Partnership III building in Research Park, Mica spoke to a packed room, including U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. Topics included the impact of sequestration on the industry, the threat of base realignment and closure and opportunities in other government industries to use simulation to save federal dollars.

Mica asked everyone in the room to contact a lawmaker in the next week to talk about the industry. Read more here.

With interest in early-stage investing heating up, more than 200 investors, entrepreneurs and service providers came together Wednesday for the Florida Venture Forum’s Early-Stage Conference in the Orlando area.

Eighteen startup companies presented at the conference at the Reunion Resort, including five with medical devices, biotech products and  health-tech applications, and four with solutions for the bar and restaurant industry. Presenting from South Florida:  Arctico, a company offering purified ice in patented single-serving, tamper proof containers;Bookigee, which creates a new breed of tools and analytics for the book publishing industry; LearnerNation!, a cloud-based learning platform in the hot education-tech space (pictured below); Maxx Technologies, which saves bars money in liquor “shrinkage”; and 71lbs.com, a “set-and-forget, then collect” system for small businesses to easily collect unclaimed shipping refunds. Also exhibiting at the conference: spendLO, a name-your-price platform for services. Most of the  companies were trying to raise funding of  $750,000 to $2 million, some more.

Their goal: Turn the heads of a few investors and hopefully score a follow-up meeting or two. Read more here.