4. Its about the Chemistry
ďWho you pitch to is the most important thing
ďDonât confuse product pitches (or sales pitches) with
company pitches
ďKey points often overlooked
ďCustomer acquisition strategy
ďUnit economics
ďTake a look at bestofangel.com
ďIt is not about checking boxes. It is about getting the
investor excited
5. "You are too earlyâ and other excuses
Most investors do deals when they get excited. But they don't
like to say âI am not excited", so instead they use an easy
excuses, such as:
- You are too early
- The deal is too small
- I want to see more customers/revenues/technology
Be careful about trying to solve address their excuses, because
once you do they are likely to find others. Instead, figure out
how to get them excited.
Investors like to keep their options open.
6. It is not a Black and White distinction
between Angels, VCs, Private Equity
There are many shades of Grey...
-Full time professional angels.
-Angels with funds.
-VCs that focus on seed investments.
-VCs that participate in seed rounds.
-VCs with Private Equity growth funds
What matters most is the individual, not the firm!
Do your homework to identify the best possible people.
BTW, âSignalingâ risks are exaggerated
7. International Companies have better
chances of fundraising elsewhere
⢠Silicon Valley is the only region with too many good deals.
Investors elsewhere HAVE TO invest outside their region,
but we don't. So the bar is much higher...
⢠So non Silicon Valley companies might be better of
fundraising in places such as London, New York or Boston.
⢠Of course, a few Silicon Valley investors do invest abroad,
but the bar is higher and the choices scarce
8. Series Seed vs Convertible
Note vs SAFE?
⢠Who cares???
⢠Whatever works best for the investors
⢠If a note, make sure it has a cap (and one everybody likes)
10. You canât follow all the advise
that you get â including mine
ďThere are many ways of building companies
ďYou must find the approach that works for you
ďAdvise should help you gain insights and to experiment
ďIt is the same for competitive athletesâŚ
11. Speed is overrated!
ďWhat good is going fast in the wrong direction?
ďThe better you understand where you need to go, the
faster you can move
ďBut, never stand still!
ďIf you have money you will spend it⌠Get it when you
know how to use it
12. Risk is your friend
ďMake big bold bets. All of the most successful
entrepreneurs do!
ďUse time to diversify: focusing on one thing at a time
ďBut it is OK to experiment with different things for a
while until you decide what you want to focus on. But
just for a whileâŚ
13. Donât believe what you Read
ďMost success stories are made with 20/20 revisionist
hindsight
ďIt often takes time, e.g. StumbleUpon and Twitter were
not overnight successes as some people thinkâŚ
ď20/20 Hindsight gives great strategic vision. Realistically,
successes are built incrementally.
ďSo, donât obsess over your world domination vision. Just
make sure you have a vision for a small success â from which
you will be able to build a larger one. To use a baseball
analogy, start by getting to 1st
base.
14. Hire Slow & Fire Fast
ďThe moment you start thinking someone might not be
working out, he/she most likely isnât
ďBut letting someone go is difficult and painful for everyone,
soâŚ, take your time hiring.
ďSame goes for co-founders, service providers, and others.
ďTalent Over Experience
ďReferences!!! Or better yet, a trial period.
15. Take advantage of opportunities -
but be careful about where you
end up
ďIPRO story:
ďStarted with consumer analytics
ďFollowed customers to traffic auditing
ďBecame World leader Web traffic auditor
ďBUTâŚ
ďThat turned out to be a lousy business!
ďMake sure you enjoy the road
ďPeople, product, learning, funâŚ
16. Help me Help You
ďDo your homework
ďThe right people to talk to
ďThe topics you want to discuss
ďBe Specific
ďAdd value