One of the main reasons many startups fail is surprisingly simple: their value proposition isn't compelling enough to get a customer to buy. Maybe they have too many other competing priorities. Or the existing solutions, while not perfect, are "good enough." Whatever the reason, the product doesn't provide enough value to get customers to take action and sustain a business. Getting your value proposition straight – the benefit you provide, to whom, and how you do it uniquely well – can make or break your startup.

In this workshop, originally presented in person at Harvard Innovation Labs, Michael Skok, Founding Partner of Underscore VC, will walk you through a series of frameworks to articulate and validate your value proposition to ensure it is highly compelling to customers.

About the speaker:

Michael Skok is a founding partner of Underscore VC, a Boston-based firm that invests in bold B2B software founders. Since starting his first software company as a teenager, Michael has spent 21 years as an entrepreneur and the last 18 as a venture capitalist. During that time, he has founded, worked with, and invested in startups, creating thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in value.

As an entrepreneur and investor, Michael has focused on breakthrough technologies and disruptive business models, including open source, cloud, IoT, and emerging areas such as blockchain, virtual/augmented reality, and artificial intelligence/machine learning. He has served on or is active on many private and public boards, such as Acquia, Demandware (now a Salesforce company), Mautic (acquired by Acquia in 2019), Salsify, and Zaius. He has also held leadership roles in many industry groups, such as the Software Publishers Association, which he chaired for many years.

In 2015, Michael co-founded Underscore VC to help founders build enduring companies through the power of community. He has a passion for helping the next generation of entrepreneurs succeed by not only backing them with capital, but also providing them with the resources and commitment of a likeminded community to fuel their success. To accomplish this, he served as a mentor and lecturer for over 10 years at Harvard University, where he is Entrepreneur in Residence, and created the Startup Secrets series.

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