6 Things Early Stage Investors Want To See

1. Things
Early Stage Investors
Want to See
Tom Walker
TOP6

2. Competition is
TOUGH.

3. As an investor with multi-million dollar funds under
management—usually in syndication with others—
what we and other
investors want to see.
WE
KNOW

4. CUSTOMER Validation
Customer validation is data-driven and
evidence-based.
Investors listen to entrepreneurs who
know what their customer’s problems
are—entrepreneurs who have talked
directly with and listened to all levels of
potential customers, from general
managers who own P&Ls, to technical
implementers, to the actual end-user—
whether that is the nurse who will be
relying on a new medical device or the
warehouse foreman who needs a faster
way to fill orders, to a security guard who
needs to see in the dark.
Market
Validation
Investor
Validation

5. MARKET Validation
What distribution channels (physical and
sales) exist to serve this population?
What sorts of strategic partnerships will
be required to tap in? What are
competitors doing or not doing that you
can do better? Beta customers, sales and
other direct contact with the market are
the best forms of validation.
Customer
Validation
Investor
Validation
You’ve built a great product or
service. However, what evidence is there
of a large, well-defined population of
buyers for that product or service?

6. INVESTOR Validation
Customer
Validation
Market
Validation Has prior due diligence been completed?
What were the findings?
Are there other investors who have
expressed an interest in syndication?
Who else (besides friends and family)
has put money into the deal?

7. Entrepreneur’s Skin in the Game
Is the entrepreneur full-time?
Sweat equity is good. Cash is better.
How has the entrepreneur
invested in the business?

8. Protection
Is the technology patented?
Does the startup own the
rights to the technology or
does it hold licensing
agreements that preserve
exclusivity? How great are
the reverse engineering
risks?
IP

9. Coachable Entrepreneurs
Most of all we want to see business founders who
are passionate and have had some experience in
a startup environment before—even if they failed.
We are looking for individuals who know their industry,
customers, and technology, yet have the confidence
and balance to acknowledge that they don’t know it all
and ask for advice. We want founding teams who can
listen and lead.

10. TechColumbus is a great place for
STARTUPS to become INVESTABLE.
As both advisors and investors, we
help create the kinds of companies we
(and our co-investors) want to add to
our investment portfolios.