fundraising series (part one): value propositions
DESCRIPTION
To view the video, please visit www.orricktotalaccess.com.TRANSCRIPT
Lightspeed at a Glance
18 Investmentprofessionals
140+ Activeinvestments
$2.8B of committedcapital
Investing out of$675M Fund IX
Lightspeed is an early stage venture capital firm focused
on innovations in the Enterprise and Consumer industries.
For over two decades, Lightspeed Partners have backed
and helped build more than 200 global companies, many of
which have become market leaders.
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 2
Lead investmentapproach with boardinvolvement
Deep expertise inenterprisetechnology,consumer, digitalmedia
1990’s TODAY
Background: Arif Janmohamed
My Background :
• Joined Lightspeed in 2008, promoted to Partner in 2011
• Cisco Systems, Mergers & Acquisitions
• Key transactions include WebEx ($3.3B), Securent ($100M),Postpath ($200M), Jabber and Latigent
• Novitas Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm
• Sun Microsystems, Andes Networks (SUNW), WebTV (MSFT)
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners
My Education:
• MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
• BSc in Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Canada.
My Focus Areas at Lightspeed:
• Infrastructure
• Communications
• Networking
• Software
3
@arifj
Two topics to cover today…
Company ValueProposition
what am I selling?
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 4
Investor ValueProposition
how to raise capital from venture capitalists
Two topics to cover today…
Company ValueProposition
what am I selling?
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 5
Investor ValueProposition
how to raise capital from venture capitalists
So what is a value proposition?
Value Proposition
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 6
Value Propositioninform a choice
What matters?
5 things…
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 7
5 things…purpose. audience. significance. category. uniqueness
5 things matter…
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 8
what is it?
5 things matter…
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 9
who cares?
5 things matter…
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 10
key benefits. painkiller or vitamin?
5 things matter…
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 11
competition. economics.
5 things matter…
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 12
differentiation. substitutes.
Two topics to cover today…
Company ValueProposition
what am I selling?
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 13
Investor ValueProposition
how to raise capital from venture capitalists
What matters to investors…
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 14
team. market. plan.
What matters to investors?
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 15
unfair advantage
What matters to investors?
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 16
large, rapidly growing
What matters to investors?
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 17
sustainable leverage
Ok got it. Now what?
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 18
goal is the second meeting
I got the meeting!
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 19
first 3 minutes matter
who are you?why is your product important?
unfair advantage?
Why is Value Prop important?
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 20
purpose. audience. significance. category. unique.
Why is Value Prop important?
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 21
simple. concise. investment thesis
Takeaway
The value proposition is ALL an investor needsto know about your business.
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 22
So, make sure you concisely emphasize the points thatmake your business a compelling investment
opportunity
So how do I overcome the odds??
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 31
pipeline. iterate. feedback.
Turn-offs – how to get to “No”
• Asking an investor to sign an NDA
• Talking about “exit strategy” at the early stage
• Thinking too small
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 32
• Thinking too small
• Asking for term sheet ahead of diligence
• Focusing too much energy on valuation
What next
Q&A?
Lightspeed Confidential - Not to be copied, distributed or referred to without the prior written consent of Lightspeed Venture Partners 33
Q&A?ask me anything. just not for money now.
