fundraising 101 (startup-chile)
TRANSCRIPT
Who am I?
• Product, code, sell
• As entrepreneur: 2 exits, 2 +/- ok, 3 fails
• Seedcamp, 11, A-tier funds, >50 angels
• Invested in 19 co’s: 2 exits
• Fintech, Fashiontech, …
@alekskown [email protected]
What can I do for you?
• Positioning your product
• Pitch-training
• Access to $ via KOWN
@alekskown [email protected]
Before you start
• Check other people’s failures
• What is it that you want to do?
• Who can help you and how?
#1: (co-)Founders are KING
• Don’t be a solo player
• Don’t just get cofounders to have cofounders
• Be ready that your friends, colleagues, employees become enemies
#2: Building a startup = rough
• Unpredictable
• Murphy’s law
• People suck
• Investors suck
• 99% fail. Failure is part of life
#3: Focus on what really is important
• What exact pain are you solving?
• Choose 1 specific pain and solve it the best way you can.
• Focus
#8: Don’t waste time
Events Techcrunch Disrupt
Demodays Websummit
Rise Demo
…
Your time is your most valuable resource
The Players
• Huge difference between SV, LATAM & EU
• Angels
• Private Equity
• VC’s
• New Investors (non-tech)
@alekskown [email protected]
Different players at different stages
• Vision + Team + MVP
• Product + Product Market fit + Some traction
• Revenue + LTV + CAC + clear growth strategy
@alekskown [email protected]
Most VC’s are followers
• Most VC’s underperform and struggle to get access to hot startups.
• The leading 3% VC’s make 90% of all returns in startups.
• Analyst→Principal→Associate→Partner (decision)
@alekskown [email protected]
How to connect to VC’s
• Be introduced by founders VC’s have backed previously
• Be introduced by someone they know and trust (angels, ban’s, accelerators …)
• Get noticed through TRACTION
@alekskown [email protected]
Connect to founders, VC’s have backed previously.
@alekskown [email protected]
Angels
• (ex)Entrepreneurs & top exec’s (senior)
• Invest from $20K to $100K
• Make 1 or 2 deals a year and take ages to decide
• Painful valuation & long negotiations
• Painful and long selection process
• Very (very) slow decisions
• Invest from $100K to millions $
Business Angel Clubs
36
Find out everything you can about the investor
• Hobbies
• Previous investments
• Background
• Twitter, FB, Linkedin, …
What is the most important?• The Pain
• Context
• Emotional connection
• Your Product
• Business Model
• Team
• Market size
• Competition
• Traction
@alekskown [email protected]
What is the most important?• The Pain
• Context
•Emotional connection • Your Product
• Business Model
• Team
• Market size
• Competition
• Traction
@alekskown [email protected]
Tell your story
• Forget the slides … when you talk to investors … tell your story, vision and plans
@alekskown [email protected]
Be ready for investors
• Prepare, prepare, prepare
• MSP - have a product
• Traction
• What’s next
@alekskown [email protected]
Projections?
• Assumptions are useless until you have sales and understand customer acquisition costs and lifetime value of a client
@alekskown [email protected]
Investing is to fundraising what sex is to dating
@alekskown [email protected]
Valuations (don’t) matter
• Max. 10/15% per round
• Even the best projects don’t get follow-up funding if your cap table is fucked up
• Get enough runway per round
@alekskown [email protected]
Investor English
• Contact me when X or Y happens =
• What is yr business model? =
• What is your exit strategy? =
• How did you calculate your valuation? =
@alekskown [email protected]
Looking for TALENT
• Commercial/Leaders
• Devs (JS, iOS, Android)
• UX/Interface designers
Contacts
• fb.com/dresenco
• slideshare.com/alekskown
• @alekskown (twitter)