what works in seed funding - piotr wilam
TRANSCRIPT
VCs to entrepreneurs
➡ find something scalable($100m revenue potential) with competitive advantage and grow sales faster than anybody else.
➡ you will get money to grow(Round A, B, ...), you will attract the best people, you will generate returns
From: @ VCs
To: @ Entrepreneurs
Alternative path is difficult
➡ limited potential to attract talent
➡ limited resources to scale sales
➡ limited success
My thesis is that both are necessary
Have traction and a scalable product
Have a view on the financing roadmap of your company
+
How to approach VCs
3 stages
Pre-seed Money
Seed Money
Round A Money
prototype in search of scalable sales
growing sales
sometimes first sales
This lecture is about seed stage!
VA
LU
AT
IO
N
T I M E
* There is a boom market.
Changes in the US*
EUROPE POLANDUS
➡ YC gets bigger
➡ Accelerators are abundant
➡ AL expands
➡ Kickstarter expands
➡ VCs go down
➡ micro VCs flourish
➡ angels grow in numbers
➡ There are 100s of seed investors
Changes in Europe*
EUROPE POLANDUS
➡ hubs are growing
➡ there are at most 10s of active seed investors for a given hub
* There is a boom but the market is much smaller.
➡ pan-European investments grow as well
➡ there are 10s of active pan-European investors
Changes in Poland*
EUROPE POLANDUS
➡ a substantial US interest among entrepreneurs
➡ few value add early stage investors
* The market is getting more professional.
➡ interest from Europe
➡ public seed, pre-seed, KFK funding
ConclusionsThe number of financing options grow as you move
Investors from a local center
Investors from Europe
Investors in the US
*The European investment market is at its beginning.
Conclusions
Investors in a local center
Investors in Europe
Investors in the US
market hardly exists
market at the begining
ripe market with 100sof investment options
Plan your financial roadmap
* There is a boom market.
You will need Round A
locally in Europe in the US
Step 1➡ think about geography
➡ make a research of your future Round A investors.
➡ make a list of 10-20 investors.
➡ see who they invest in and what are the requirements
➡ make research of seed investors your round A investors like
➡ make a list of 20-40 seed investors.
➡ make an effort, meet a couple of them, listen to feedback and iterate.
Step 2
What does not work in seed funding? The seed investment market in Europe is at its beginning.
How to improve it fast?
Entrepreneurs and investors have to treat it as a market.
EntrepreneursDo not hunt in the dark
Have a financial roadmap and treat fundraising as entering an investment market.
Investors for you
★ Understand investors and their offer
★ Have a list of top 20-40 investors that fit to your startup
★ Package what you have as a product for investors
★ Iterate your product: meet, learn and improve
Product for investor
Interactions with investors
★ Increase number of interactions with investors
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