The average American thinks being rich means a $2.5 million net worth.

A Wednesday survey from Charles Schwab tracked the bar for wealth by generation, from Gen Z to Boomers. Each group gave a different number as the threshold to be rich; the older the group, the larger the magic number for wealth.

Gen Z (which Charles Schwab defined as born from 1997 to 2002) thinks it takes $1.2 million to be wealthy, while millennials (1981 to 1996) put the number at $2.2 million, Gen X (1965 to 1980) at $2.7 million, and boomers (1948 to 1964) at $2.8 million.

Related: Here’s How Much It Costs to Live in America’s 10 Most Expensive Cities

The new $2.5 million average is $300,000 higher than the $2.2 million average survey participants gave last year. The higher number could reflect rising inflation and economic fears.

“The notion of wealth combines both numbers and emotions,” Charles Schwab managing director of financial planning Rob Williams told Bloomberg. “The jump from $2.2 million to $2.5 million demonstrates both sides — the cost of living is rising, as are, it’s likely, most Americans’ more emotion-fueled views of what it takes to be wealthy.”

Wealth aside, the survey also looked at the average net worth Americans think it takes to be “financially comfortable.”

Related: A Single Gold Bar Is Worth $1 Million for the First Time in History

Once again, the numbers were divided among younger and older generations. Gen Z’s financial comfort number was $406,000 while millennials pinpointed it at $725,000, Gen X at $873,000, and Boomers at $780,000.

The average net worth to be financially comfortable is $778,000, which is down from the $1 million average recorded last year.

The survey was based on responses from 1,200 Americans aged 21 to 75 and was conducted in March.

Related: In These U.S. Cities, Earning a $150,000 Salary Is Considered ‘Lower Middle Class,’ According to a New Report

With U.S. venture capital fundraising at a 6-year low, raising investor capital for your startup has become more challenging than ever. Potential investors are tightening their budgets and adopting a “wait and see” approach before putting their capital at risk. Yet, some of the best startups — like Airbnb, Uber and Square — were born during market downturns. So, if you’re an entrepreneur seeking capital in this environment, you might wonder about your chances of success.

As a serial entrepreneur and now CEO of Builderall, I’ve heard over 3,000 pitches and helped founders raise millions. From my experience, seven common mistakes often derail attempts to raise investment capital. If you’re looking to raise money for your startup in this uncertain economic environment, be sure to avoid the following:

Mistake #1: Rushing the pitch

Many founders rush through their pitch, but speed isn’t always your friend in the venture capital world. Your goal is to establish key points and let them resonate, not finish your presentation as quickly as possible.

Think of it like telling a good joke at a party — you wouldn’t rush to the punchline before everyone has had a chance to grasp the setup, right? The same principle applies when pitching. You want your investors to hang on to every word. But that’s impossible if you rush or gloss over crucial information.

One effective technique is to use strategic pauses. In between slides or after making a key point, pause for about three seconds to let it sink in and observe your audience’s reactions. Don’t be afraid of silence. Patience in delivery can be a powerful strategy.

Related: What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know About Raising Capital

Mistake #2: Skipping trust indicators and key differentiators

Balancing detail with brevity is tricky, but it’s essential. There are some critical signals you should share to help build trust and differentiate your business. While most founders want to focus on how great their product is, there are two questions that are arguably more important:

• Why is your team uniquely qualified to lead this business?
• How does your company stand out in the market?

As far as team qualifications, don’t be shy about including specifics on years of experience, prestigious university degrees, previous exits, existing patents and/or impressive startup or corporate experiences.

I once coached a founder who was struggling to raise capital. After reviewing his pitch deck, I said, “The problem is that you have no real startup experience.” He then proceeded to tell me that he and his co-founder sold their last company for $80 million, but he thought it wasn’t relevant since it was in a different industry. Let me tell you, your previous accomplishments are 100% relevant to whether or not investors will trust you with their money.

Next, I can almost guarantee that whatever amazing idea you are pitching — we have probably already seen it. This begs the question, how are you going to execute differently when you get to market? This is where your current traction becomes crucial: existing user base, early subscribers, accepted patents and strategic partnerships all come into play. These elements demonstrate that you’re not just another idea but a viable business that is already making waves.

Mistake #3: Talking too much and for too long

I know — this sounds like a contradiction based on the first point, but hear me out. Blathering on is another fatal mistake. You should plan for a nine-minute pitch, but you don’t want to “rush through” your nine minutes. Instead, be relentless about what to include – and what to cut – so the pacing feels natural and you’re still covering the key data points that make your business compelling.

I often ask new founders to introduce their startup in just two sentences: What do you do, and why should I care? After that, you have under 10 minutes to explain the market problem, the market size, your business model, your solution, your traction, your team, and your ask. That means you need to be very specific about what details will tell your story most effectively.

I’ve seen many founders get nervous and overcompensate by filling the conversation with unnecessary details and fillers. This often has the opposite effect of what they intend. If you talk too much or too quickly, investors might think you’re not being straightforward, or they may get bored and lose interest.

Related: 5 Innovative Ways for Entrepreneurs to Raise Capital in Today’s Market

Mistake #4: Forgetting who you’re pitching to

Remember, you’re pitching to investors, not potential clients. Investors are not interested in how great your product is; they want to know about your market, margins, and differentiation.

I once sat through a pitch for a young women’s jewelry startup where the founder spent the entire time trying to sell me on the jewelry. As an investor, I wasn’t the target audience and the pitch fell flat. Rather than sell me on the business, she was selling me on the product. When talking to investors, they want to hear about the business opportunity, not the product.

Mistake #5: Undermining your credibility with weak language

This might seem like needless semantics, but words like “hope” subtly signal uncertainty, and investors are not fond of taking chances on “hope.” They want clear-cut projections backed by data and logic.

Instead of saying “we hope,” use phrases like “we will” or “we project.” This shift instantly ramps up your pitch’s credibility. Be definitive; your words should exude confidence, not wishful thinking.

Here are a few more examples:

• Instead of saying, “We think our product will be successful,” assert your confidence by stating, “Our product is positioned to be successful.” This subtle shift conveys certainty and strengthens your pitch.
• Replace “We believe our revenue will grow” with “Our projections show our revenue will grow.” This not only sounds more authoritative but also indicates that your assumptions are based on concrete data.
• Don’t say, “We aim to capture 10% of the market;” instead, say, “We are on track to capture 10% of the market.” This adjustment demonstrates that you are actively working toward a clear, achievable target.
• Change statements like “We expect to launch by Q2” to “We will launch by Q2.” This minor change projects certainty and reliability, which are crucial to building investor trust.

These subtle language changes replace hesitation and probability with assertiveness. It emphasizes that your pitch is built on credibility and supported by a solid, well-thought-out plan.

Mistake #6: Using broad claims instead of precise data points

When pitching to investors, generalized claims can raise red flags, making investors wonder if you’re trying to obscure the truth or lack the necessary detail.

For example, instead of saying, “We have a huge subscriber list,” focus on concrete details like, “We have over 20,000 subscribers.” Specifics not only clarify your claims but also significantly boost your credibility and trustworthiness.

Here are a few more examples:

• Don’t say, “Our team has a lot of experience.” Say, “Our team has eight years of experience in this industry.”
• Replace “Our product is very sticky, and our customers rarely leave” with “Our product has an 89% customer retention rate.”
• Instead of “We anticipate rapid growth,” say, “Our projections show 30% month-over-month growth in the fourth quarter.”
• Swap “We dominate the market” with “We currently hold 45% of the market share in our region.”

These changes in phrasing turn vague assertions into solid, data-backed statements, which help to build investor confidence and convey that your pitch is grounded in reality.

Mistake #7: Telling instead of showing

Our final lesson: show, don’t tell. Depicting something visually instead of through words will have a greater impact and be more likely to be remembered. Instead of telling investors, “We have a great interface,” show the interface screens and let them make the determination themselves about whether it’s great or not. Instead of saying, “We’ve grown exponentially over the years,” show a line or bar chart illustrating your impressive growth.

One more example: telling investors how much your customers love you is far less impactful than showing screenshots of social media posts where your customers are raving about you in their own words. Keep this mantra in mind: less talk, more visuals.

Bottom line

Mastering the art of pitching involves more than just avoiding pitfalls — it’s about crafting a narrative that resonates with investors and builds trust. However, by avoiding these seven mistakes, you significantly increase your chances of securing the capital needed to take your startup to the next level.

In today’s challenging economic climate, precise communication, showing rather than telling, and delivering data-backed arguments will set you apart. Investors want to back entrepreneurs who can navigate adversity and drive their ventures to success. Keep refining your pitch, build strong relationships, and show investors why your startup is the one to bet on.

Young professionals need to start saying “CYA” — that is, “Cover Your A**.” Why? Because it’s the best way to avoid being taken advantage of, being taken for a ride and being taken for granted. In one study, 46% of employees said they took on tasks simply because they couldn’t say no. Once you understand the importance of taking care of yourself and the work you do, you’ll be untouchable in the eyes of someone who wants to make you, the young professional, their scapegoat. I know. It happened to me early in my career.

My hope for all of humanity is that we each have positive role models and mentors who help us along our path. Finding good mentors can be difficult. Unfortunately, many seasoned professionals do the opposite. Some reasons could be that they feel threatened by the younger workforce coming up the ranks. Or perhaps they feel a need to teach in a tough way — to put people through the same stress they felt early in their careers. Hurt people hurt people, after all. And let’s be real, it’s easy to pin problems or blame on a young person who might not yet have the guts to speak up for themselves. I like to think I speak for the youth.

In my personal life, I experienced a situation where, as the youngest person in the office, I was unknowingly chosen to be the go-to for all the angry phone calls we received (and, believe me, we had quite a few in my customer-facing role). My job was to either approve or not approve applications based on numbers generated by a computer — without regard for the actual picture of the person behind that number.

I learned quickly that the department that actually made the final decision was telling applicants “I” wasn’t approving the application … I was bombarded with angry emails and phone calls and even some frightening walk-in appointments at times. When I realized what was happening, I was furious and I started saving all of my paperwork to show the applicants I was on their side. I had to cover my own you-know-what. And I’ve been doing it ever since.

Related: 8 Steps to Surviving Workplace Bullying and Salvaging Your Reputation

Cover yours today

The professional world is like a sporting event. You must play on the offense. This does not mean to be offended or to be offensive in an obscene way. I mean you must be playing offense at all times. Be able to back up your work and defend your decisions. For example, double-check or fact-check any details in your writing or research before sharing notes with your boss or with clients. The last thing you want is someone to undercut you in a meeting and make you look unprepared. Back up your info with solid data. Keep it in your back pocket should you ever need to answer to anyone looking to question your credibility.

Another tip: Save your emails. In fact, leave a paper trail when you can. If you are looking for clarification on what’s been said or requested of you, ask for it via email so you can reference back to it in writing. So, if someone decides they want to go back on what they’ve said, you’ll have it in writing. It really all comes down to being prepared with confidence. When you can confidently say, “CYA” to your supervisors or to clients at times, you not only are developing a habit of always being ready for what’s ahead but you’re also establishing your work ethic in front of leaders — positioning yourself as a leader as well.

Use your resources

Whether you’re writing, creating content or anything else, be sure to use every resource available to you to make sure your work is up to the standards it needs to be. Tools such as Grammarly can help keep you on track with particular writing styles and proofreading. Other tools, like GPTZero or QuillBot, can protect you against accusations of plagiarism or the overuse of AI-generated content. These days, there really isn’t an excuse to not use the endless amount of tools on a regular basis. And if you don’t have access to what you need, ask for it. A good leader recognizes the initiative and the courage it takes a young professional to ask for tools and resources that will make them better at their job.

Related: How to Protect Your Career From Those Who Try to Undermine You

Your reputation — your name — is on the line

At my company, Bear Icebox Communications, we have been challenged before about how content is developed. I get it. We are in a generative AI era, and anyone, anywhere can log into ChatGPT and have it spit out words that pretty much make sense. But we, just like other agencies in the content creation space, need to be on our toes and buttoned up about how we leverage these tools. It’s a question of our integrity as an agency.

The truth is that AI is changing the way agencies function as well as the expectations of the clients we serve. For a young person entering the workforce, my biggest advice is to keep your name clean. You’ll move from job to job. You’ll ask for letters of recommendation. You will have a list of references as you apply for new jobs. Your name is everything. How are you prepared to defend it? Think about this with everything you do.

Follow your company’s policies, and document that you did it. And keep a vigilant eye on your superiors. Identify people who are willing to mentor and guide you. Build upon those types of relationships. Likewise, identify when someone doesn’t have your best interests in mind — someone who doesn’t respect you or talks down to you. Learn it now and be able to say “CYA.”

Related: 8 Ways You’re Sabotaging Your Work Reputation

Feeling underpaid and undervalued at work? Gabrielle Judge, the creator of the Lazy Girl Jobs movement, is here to fix that. She’ll share her best strategies for accelerating your earnings and getting the raise or promotion you deserve.

Register now for our upcoming livestream to gain insights on topics including:

• How to maximize your time and money in the workplace

• Leveraging pay transparency to get more money

• What to do if you feel undervalued and underpaid

• Strategies for getting a raise through job hopping

About the Speaker:

Gabrielle, as the visionary CEO and content creator behind Anti Work Girlboss, leads a social revolution reshaping the future workplace landscape. Her pioneering concept of the “lazy girl job” has captivated millions monthly, offering both relatable content and career inspiration. Her areas of expertise extend across work-life balance, branding for Gen Z employees, and forward-thinking perspectives on the future of work. Esteemed platforms like NPR, BBC, and TEDx have recognized her innovative contributions, inviting her to speak on her insights. Gabrielle’s groundbreaking ideas have also been spotlighted in over 10,000 global publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, and 60 Minutes Australia, underscoring her influential role in redefining career norms.

AI is shaking up industries — and software engineering is no exception.

In a leaked recording of a June fireside chat obtained by Business Insider, Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman reportedly told employees that AI is changing what being a software engineer means —and essentially changes the job description.

“If you go forward 24 months from now, or some amount of time — I can’t exactly predict where it is — it’s possible that most developers are not coding,” Garman said, adding later that the developer role would look different next year compared to 2020.

^{Matt Garman, CEO of AWS. Photo Credit: Amazon}

Garman took over as CEO of AWS on June 3 after nearly two decades in the division. He joined as a full-time product manager in 2006 when AWS had just three people on its worldwide sales team.

In the leaked chat, Garman said that innovation will replace coding, which means developers will have to think more about the end product.

Related: How to Find the Right Programmers: A Brief Guideline for Startup Founders

“It just means that each of us has to get more in tune with what our customers need and what the actual end thing is that we’re going to try to go build because that’s going to be more and more of what the work is as opposed to sitting down and actually writing code,” he reportedly stated.

AWS currently has about 130,000 employees, having laid off several hundred people in April in its sales, marketing, and global services divisions.

Marco Argenti, the CIO of Goldman Sachs, expressed a similar sentiment in April — technical skills alone were not enough to handle AI.

To keep up with the technology, Agenti encouraged future engineers, including his own college-age daughter, to study philosophy in addition to engineering.

Philosophy would give engineers the reasoning abilities and mental framework to keep up with AI, detect hallucinations, and challenge its output, according to Argenti.

Related: Goldman Sachs CIO Says Coders Should Take Philosophy Classes — Here’s Why

As AI technology and programs like ChatGPT evolve, the way venture capitalists think about investing in startups is changing.

Investor Leah Solivan, the founder of freelance marketplace TaskRabbit, which sold to Ikea in 2017, has been working as a venture capitalist for the last eight years. She currently works with startups building AI products as a general partner at early-stage fund Fuel Capital.

The process to build an AI company is “very expensive,” she says.

^{Leah Solivan. (Photo by Chance Yeh/WireImage)}

“[AI] is a big game-changing technology, but the costs are still so high to launch something,” Solivan told entrepreneur Jeff Berman last week. “Startups need to raise a lot more money to get started right now.”

Related: How to Start a Multi-Million Dollar Company, According to an IBM Engineer Turned Founder

AI models can take upwards of $100 million to develop, according to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.

Solivan says the cost of AI is changing where a smaller, early-stage fund like Fuel Capital invests. Big industry players like Microsoft and Nvidia, which have invested billions of dollars into AI companies, can afford to invest in expensive AI startups — but smaller, early-stage funds might not see the return on investment they’re looking for.

So smaller funds could strategically choose to pass on AI startups because of the steep price, even if those startups are developing cutting-edge technology.

Related: Is the AI Industry Consolidating? Hugging Face CEO Says More AI Entrepreneurs Are Looking to Be Acquired

“It’s almost like when we used to look at hardware companies and we were like whoa this is going to take way too much capital, the ROI on our investment, the math just doesn’t work for our fund,” Solivan explained. “You need really, really deep pockets to be successful. I think it’s harder for the small funds to play here.”

In 2023, AI was one of the best industries for growth in unicorns, or startups with at least a billion-dollar valuation.

AI was also the sector with the biggest jump in funding last year, with AI startups collectively raising $50 billion, even though the year was tough as a whole for startup fundraising.

Related: ChatGPT Is Writing Lots of Job Applications, But Companies Are Quickly Catching On. Here’s How.

Nuclear fusion has the potential to provide centuries of nearly limitless, renewable power to the world. But there’s one problem – the ideal fuel to make nuclear fusion a reality, Helium-3, is only accessible on the moon.

That hasn’t stopped Chris Salvino and his team at Lunar Helium-3 Mining (LH3M) from planning a moon mission and patenting the technologies to make it successful. Better yet, you can invest in the company as they prepare.

Here’s why this is more than just an exciting moon mission, but a strategic investment in the future of energy worldwide.

Lunar Helium-3 Mining, LLC’s clean energy vision.

Until now, the main way we’ve used nuclear energy has been dirty, unsafe, and dangerous. Nuclear reactors can explode, as seen with the disasters at Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011. Additionally, radioactive waste from these reactors must be stored for up to 100,000 years. This method is not the answer to green energy.

However, there is another process called nuclear fusion, which has a key advantage: it cannot explode. The ideal fuel for fusion reactions is Helium-3. When used in nuclear fusion, Helium-3 is said to produce more energy than other options, cause much less harm, and doesn’t create waste that needs long-term storage. Future nuclear fusion reactors powered by Helium-3 could be our first true green energy source – safe, with a high energy yield, and no hazardous waste.

Helium-3 can’t be made on Earth and comes from the sun, getting trapped in our atmosphere. Luckily, there are more than an estimated 1 million tons of Helium-3 on the moon, enough to power green nuclear fusion reactors for hundreds of years.

And Lunar Helium-3 Mining, LLC has just the man to tap into this $40 trillion nuclear fusion market opportunity.

Meet LH3M’s future-forward founder.

Chris Salvino, founder and CEO of Lunar Helium-3, has seen it all – from a high-pressure career in trauma surgery to the cutting-edge field of space mining. With more than 30 years of experience as a trauma surgeon and director, Salvino is accustomed to navigating complex problems and making critical decisions.

With degrees in Biology, Engineering, Aerospace Medicine, and Mining Engineering, Salvino is now pursuing a Ph.D. specifically in lunar Helium-3 mining at the University of Arizona. A variety of expertise in aerospace engineering, planetary geology, and mining makes him just about the only candidate qualified to lead LH3M’s lunar mining mission.

The company has already achieved significant milestones under Salvino’s leadership. Specifically, they’ve filed for seven patents with an eight coming soon and have received notice from the patent office that their first two applications have been approved. LH3M has also assembled a team of experts and has short term plans on expanding its patent portfolio with 10 to 20 additional patents. LH3M feels that a robust patent portfolio will increase company valuation and strength for future strategic partnerships.

With global investments in fusion technology climbing, the demand for Helium-3 has the potential to soar in the not-so-distant future. Seize this exclusive opportunity to partner with a visionary team poised for success.

The Lunar Helium-3 investment opportunity.

The global nuclear fusion market, is projected to reach an astounding $40 trillion as fusion technology becomes commercially viable. LH3M’s strategic approach to mining Helium-3 positions it to capture a significant share of this emerging market.

This is a rare chance to invest in a company that is not merely dreaming of the future but actively building it.Their mission aligns with global efforts to combat climate change and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. With Chris Salvino’s leadership and the company’s innovative technology, this is not just a dream but an achievable goal.

Learn more on how you can invest in LH3M and be involved in a project that is set to transform the energy landscape for generations to come here.

Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for Lunar Helium-3 Mining, LLC Reg CF offering. Please read the offering circular at https://invest.lh3m.com/.

It’s the season 11 finale of Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch, and contestants are fired up for their final chance at winning life-changing money from our board of investors.

Watch as hopeful entrepreneurs step into our elevator and have just 60 seconds to pitch their big ideas. If our board of investors likes what they hear, the elevator doors open, and negotiations begin. But if the investors don’t like what they hear, the elevator heads back to the ground floor, game over. “I’m not in the business of wasting time,” says investor Rogers Healy, owner and CEO of Morrison Seger Venture Capital Partners.

Yes, it can be brutal, but don’t get it wrong — investors might quickly turn down pitches, but when they see something they like, they pounce. “I cannot wait to see what happens if he gets into the boardroom!” says investor Marc Randolph, co-founder of Netflix, after hearing one particularly intriguing concept. Here’s the thing: In the entrepreneurship game, when big money meets big ideas, everybody wins.

Related: Here’s the One Word That Makes Investors Want to Hear More About Your Business

Find out who scores and who strokes out — plus learn how to get featured on a future episode. “I can’t wait to see who shows up next season!” says serial entrepreneur and investor Kim Perell. Think you have what it takes to win in the elevator? Apply now!

Season 11, Episode 8 Board of Investors

Season 11, Episode 8 Entrepreneurs

• Kyle Schiedemeyer, founder of Birdie Bombs, grip-n-rip alcohol shots made for golfers
• Brian Horowitz, founder of Creative Wagons, a veteran-owned small business that makes creative, functional outdoor gear
• Brian Wholeman, founder of EZ Shade, an inexpensive and easy way to hide bare bulbs

Related: Is This Business Idea Too Good Not to Steal? Find Out on This Episode of ‘Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch.’

How to Watch

Season 11 of Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch is presented by Amazon Business. New episodes stream on Wednesdays on Entrepreneur.com and EntrepreneurTV. Follow Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch on Facebook, YouTube and IGTV.

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Alex Cooper, famed for her candid discussions on sex and relationships on the popular Call Her Daddy podcast, is leaving Spotify for a lucrative engagement with SiriusXM, according to several sources.

The deal reportedly spans multiple years, possibly three, and is worth more than $100 million, per Bloomberg, while other reports say closer to $125 million. Cooper’s Spotify deal was worth $60 million.

^{Alex Cooper attends The Prelude To The Olympics on July 25, 2024 in Paris, France. Photo by Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis | Getty Images}

Related: This Is the Winning Formula for Starting a Successful Podcast, According to a New Analysis

The new deal reportedly gives exclusive advertising and distribution to SiriusXM, plus the right to host additional content and events branching from Cooper’s brand.

“Call Her Daddy” was positioned as Spotify’s No. 2 most listened-to podcast in 2023, second to “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Other offerings under the Unwell Network umbrella include “Hot Mess with Alix Earle” and “Pretty Lonesome with Madeline Argy.”

Despite the shifts, Cooper, who skyrocketed to stardom after her 2018 debut, has assured her audience, known as “The Daddy Gang,” that they “will always be my top priority, and with SiriusXM, we will continue to find new ways to evolve and provide my listeners the best experience.”

Related: Why Every Entrepreneur Should Consider Starting a Podcast