Interview Questions for Entrepreneur

Time: Approximately 30 minutes

Important: When answering, please try not to have later questions influence your answers to previous questions.

1.     Explain your own background in starting up companies. Include your relevant background (e.g. consulting, banking, operations, marketing, technical, other). On a scale of “1” (no relevant experience in starting firms) to “10” (serial entrepreneur, have taken at least one company to IPO), rate yourself.

2.     Do you have an industry focus for your entrepreneurial ideas? E.g. Internet, wireless, other telecom, media, bio-tech, etc.

3.     What are the criteria you would use to evaluate an incubator and/or a VC and/or Angel Investor? Consider domain expertise, relationships/”rolodex”, marketing, real estate, recruiting services, technical, and other services.

4.     What services do you expect from an incubator? Do you value an incubator beyond a top-tier VC? Why would you not go directly to a top-tier VC?

5.     Whether or not you choose to go to an incubator, why would anyone else choose to go to an incubator?

6.     How much equity would you expect to give away, and for how much seed funding? What would you expect for that equity? Include the services that you expect.

Instructions:

Please copy and paste these questions into either an email or Microsoft Word document, and answer the questions. Please email them to me at omac@mit.edu. Thank you!

For phone and in-person interviews, I will ask to record the call/interview. This allows me to focus on the questions and answers rather than taking notes, and pecking on the keyboard while on the phone.

MIT is very strict on how these recordings are used and will only be used for my own academic purposes. If at anytime in the future, you or anyone within your firm would like the recording erased or destroyed, please let me know and I will comply. If you're uncomfortable in any way having it recorded, I can do without.  

All interview materials are considered confidential and proprietary to those companies interviewed. No direct references to the company will be made in the Thesis, other than in the "Contributors" section, unless otherwise requested. People and firms interviewed will not be quoted unless specifically requested by me and approved by the speaker.

Please be assured of complete confidentiality.