fundraising basics

FUNDRAISING FOR STARTUPS

Ivaylo Simov

Venture Capital

Private

EquityVenture Capital

Seed

FFF / Accelerators

More$$$

Sources for you

Angels VCs Crowdsourcing Other?

Pitch Aroundwinning = recognition ≠ investment

How to Approach Investors

GET AN INTRO. ALWAYS! No NDAs Elevator Pitch. Demo. Deck Less Features. More Focus What is the goal of the 1st meeting?

How Much Do You Need

Plan 1 year ahead Add a 30% buffer Fundraising will take 6-12 months Is bigger always better?

Valuation

Pre-money and Post-money It’s an art. Try to turn it into a dog race Stock option pool (10-20%) Convertible debts (20% discount, caps) Exit considerations How much do investors expect to

make?

Standard Terms

Don’t waste much time negotiating Seedsummit standard terms Get to an “Yes” before you talk terms

Proverbial Principles People give to people. Not to ideas,

companies or strategies. Fundraising is not about money. Money

is the means to an end. Traction matters. Honesty is the best policy. The mountain and Mohammed.

Fundraising Tactics

Ask for money and you will get advice. Ask for advice and you will get money.

Raise money when you don’t need it. Investors’ herd mentality is notorious. Friend-making comes before

fundraising. Build relationships.

Do Your Homework

Be ‘15 minutes ahead’. Know your audience. Know whom to ask, how much to ask

for, and when. Successful fundraising involves

storytelling (with passion). Practice a lot

Watch Shark Tank.

How to get the best of us

Show commitment

Keep us in the loop

Use the network

Collaborate

Build a board

Fundamental mistakes

Didn’t research the competition The better mousetrap Painkillers versus vitamins The more features fallacy

Fundraising mistakes

Things take longer than you expect Didn’t take the money Chasing investors instead of

befriending investees Trying to win over everyone Fundraising is not (exactly) selling.

Don’t oversell.

Last words of advice

Fundraising is hard Listen to investors Time is flying. Speed up Traction > Execution > Ideas