4 Key components VC's look for in investing companies

1. Getting Funded
Surfing Metaphor
Re-created by Allen Kim

2. Surfing metaphor
The concept was initially
came about by an
investor in Sequoia
Ventures as an analogy
to what VCs look for in
startups

3. Surfing metaphor
There are 4 parts to the surfing metaphor

4. 1. The Surfer
(Most important)

5. Surfer = The Team
The team is the most important aspect for
early stage startups.
Your team must be smart, passionate with
the idea, dedicated, and focused.

6. Qualities of a great team
• Tenacity (Don’t give up easily)
• Street smart (Go out talk to customers with the right questions)
• Resiliency (Entrepreneurs don’t die, they commit suicide)
• Willingness to accept risk (Go all in or go home get a job)
• Competitiveness (There are competitions. Play to win)
• Decisiveness / Gets things done (Get s&*t done fast)
• Ability to pivot (Best entrepreneurs fine tune their biz model)
Source: From Mark Suster’s Entrepreneur’s DNA

7. Experienced = $$$
Entrepreneurs
Sure no
Give me $30M for
problem
my next startup
Entrepreneur VC

8. 2. The Wave

9. Wave = Market
VC’s want entrepreneurs tackling big problems
(≠hard problems) with big market opportunity

10. Baby apparel
Big Market
Baby professional
sports apparel
Pivot Small Market
Pivot

11. Market Size
Understand what market you are addressing
• What’s the market for my product?
• How many people are gonna pay for it?
• How much are they gonna pay for it?
• When are they gonna pay?
Addressable Market size for your business

12. $$$
Addressable market
is $1B+
(if true)

13. 3. The Surfboard

14. Surfboard = Product
The surfboard analogy is all about what your
product does and how it serves your market
You need a product that’s a 10x painkiller
Why?
Because it has to be compelling enough to
change the way your customers normally do
things and pay money to use your product

15. Surfboard = Product
The surfboard analogy is all about what your
product does and how it serves your market
You need a product that’s a 10x painkiller
Why?
Because it has to be compelling enough to
change the way your customers normally do
things and pay money to use your product
Providing new value to customers = hard

16. Your product
What does my product do?
What pain point does it address?
How is this different from other products?
Why should someone use this?
What product does the market currently use?
Can your product beat your competitor’s?

17. # users/
customers
time
$$$
People love it so much,
we are experiencing a
hockey stick growth!

18. 4. The Ride
The Deal & Why now?

19. Why Now?

20. Fail points
Immature Market
Product is great,
but the market is not ready for it

21. Fail points
Saturated Market
There are too many players
in the market (Groupons)

22. Why Now?
You have to have a good understanding of
why this product hasn’t been built before and
why now is the best time the world needs
this.

23. The VC Deal
In addition to the market, the deal itself has
to be fair: The valuation of your company’s
worth and the structure of the term sheet.
(Will go more into details in later presentations)

24. I want 50% of your
company for $100k
Oh and I want
you out
You need to check if the VCs have reputable investment
background, understand your industry, and are
friendly to founders with fair terms
(I’ll cover more on this in detail later)

25. How to get funded
Summary

26. The Team The Market
The Product Why Now

27. VC Funded = Startup success?

28. Where do entrepreneurs get their money?
http://video.kauffman.org/services/player/bcpid40280745001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAF1AP-
k~,paP-6btd7SPcN3he8b6wgT6uI64ClnLc&bctid=1304559795001

29. VC Funded = Startup success

30. Successfully bootstrapped companies
Instapaper
Tap tap tap camera+ Cloud app

31. Thanks!
Made by Allen Kim
www.allenkim.me
allenkim77@gmail.com