Thoughts on Tech Startups and Venture Capital
We are headed into the holiday season. For founders who are fundraising, this is typically a particularly stressful time. It is certainly true that some investors slow down their activities during the holidays. That said, there are patterns and specifics for each type of investor. Also, end of year can actually be a great time…
These days, startup founders spend a lot of time thinking about how to pitch investors. The problem is not simple—investors get pitched a lot, and most startups are either too early or don’t think that making their pitch stand out really matters. The problem is that most founders just pitch with words. The founders spend time…
Read more Why PRODUCT DEMO is a secret weapon of every single startup
We’ve talked a lot here about raising seed capital. Even when capital is readily available, fundraising is still not easy. But today, the markets are cooler, and according to Crain’s and Alley Watch, early-stage investment activity in 2016 in NYC is down compared to 2015. We’ve written about the slowdown back in August of 2015. Lack…
When founders get connected to investors, they are often asked to send the deck ahead of the meeting. We’ve written here why sending the decks, especially before the first meeting, is generally not a good idea. Startup founders cannot be defined by their decks. The main issue with a pitch deck is that it is…
Read more Let’s face it, it’s time to upgrade the Pitch Deck to a Pitch Video
Last week we wrote about questions that investors ask founders during investor meetings. This week we are turning the tables and talking about questions that founders need to ask investors. Most founders spend little time asking investors questions, and that’s too bad. First of all, good investors love it when you ask them questions, because it…
Read more 11 Questions Founders Need to Ask Investors During the First Meeting
We’ve written a lot here about fundraising and how it is a complicated, and at times, confusing process. To fundraise effectively you need to prepare and have a strategy, understand different types of investors, understand how much to raise, and create a solid investor pipeline. We have also talked about a fundraising deck, and how to go about putting one together.…
One of the worst things that can happen to a CEO of an early-stage company is to be in the state of perpetual fundraising. Here is how you can tell that it may be happening to you: You have been fundraising for a while You are fundraising and running the business at the same time You don’t…
Read more What to do when your fundraising is not going well
For some reason, folks in tech, particularly investors, have trouble saying NO. Typically, the fear manifests itself in not even bothering to reply. After a number of seemingly positive interactions, the replies just stop. Saying NO, whether to a potential investment, potential hire, current employee, or a family member or friend, is just basic respect and…
TL;DR Only serial founders with strong domain knowledge and track record and traction get funded quickly. For most founders raising a seed round is a lot more work, but there is a method to the madness. We often write here about raising capital. Capital allows startups to go faster and generate growth. However, raising capital is not…
Read more How to absolutely, positively get seed funding every single time
This morning, Mark Suster wrote an epic, must-read post about startup valuations and current funding climate. Go read it, and then bookmark it, because you’ll want to re-read it several times. Also go read my three related posts about Changing climate, milestones, and figuring out how much capital to raise. My biggest takeaway is that founders need to be…
