I recently attended an event in Montreal where Albert Lai spoke. Albert’s a serial entrepreneur with a number of successes (and failures) under his belt. Great speaker. One of the things he said really stuck in my mind (which I’m paraphrasing), “It’s all about the market. Don’t do things based on your own personal whims of what you think is right or wrong, good or bad. Listen to the market. It’s always right. And you’re typically wrong.”

It’s important advice – especially for startups – because we often live in a bubble building our web apps till our heart’s content, thinking we’ve just invented the next Google. It’s not that entrepreneurs don’t seek out advice, but whether we listen to it is another story. One of the biggest hindrances to taking advice (even our own) is time. We’re rushing to launch, building as quickly as we can to get a head start on the competition, and we don’t necessarily have time to sit back, get good feedback, assess it and adjust accordingly.

Nowhere is this clearer than in people’s websites. Most people will agree on the importance of design. There are exceptions (think: Plenty of Fish) which in my mind just prove the rule. Where most websites fail is in their organization and navigation. And in their missions. What’s the goal of your website? If you don’t have a clear answer to that you need one as soon as possible.

Everyone will “test” design out — just ask a bunch of people, “Does this new design look good?” But information architecture, navigation and the effectiveness of a website in meeting your goals … people just don’t test those things enough.

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Preparing for presentations isn’t easy. Even team meetings with your colleagues can be stressful and challenging. Few of us are true extroverts, and even fewer of us are comfortable with public speaking. Awhile ago, I joked a bit about things you shouldn’t say in a presentation but really, it’s no laughing matter.

One of the most anticipated parts of launching Standout Jobs at DEMO is the 6-minute presentation you have to give on-stage. The DEMO people are great at preparing you and letting you know what to expect, but ultimately it’s up to you. And for most presenters it will be the most important, most stressful, and biggest presentation they’ve ever given in their lives.

Some people have asked me, “What about all the VC and angel investor pitches you’ve done? Those must be pretty tough?” Yes, they are. But once you’ve done a few of them, you learn what to expect fairly quickly, and often they’re more conversations than presentations. You’re hoping to engage the potential investors in a healthy discussion. The format is typically less formal than going on-stage in front of hundreds (if not thousands) of people and doing your thing.

So how do you prepare for a big presentation?

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