Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (20)
Similar to Building A Stable, Fundable Startup
Similar to Building A Stable, Fundable Startup (20)
More from portlandten
More from portlandten (12)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Building A Stable, Fundable Startup
- 1. Building a Stable, Fundable Startup How private equity investors evaluate tech startups, and what founders can do about it.
- 2. Since every tech startup is uniqueโ how do private equity investors (angels & VCs) gauge which have potential, and which donโt?
- 3. Many investors, after years of interacting with entrepreneurs and seeing thousands of new companies, chalk it up to โ gut instinctโ.
- 4. In a simple form, โgut instinctโ can be spelled out as an objective analysis of the startupโs ratio of assets to liabilities, and progress to backsliding, over a period of time.
- 5. ย
- 6. In this form of evaluation, there are 4 basic types of startup companiesโ 3 of which are โunfundableโ, and will largely be rejected by investors. Letโs take a look at each typeโฆ
- 7. Style 4: โCorporateโ This type of startup has a large assortment of resources & assets in the project (funding, talent, equipment), but low or little tangible progress to show for it.
- 8. ย
- 11. Style 3: โStagnantโ This type of startup has low resources & assets in the project (funding, talent, equipment), and low progress. Theyโre not going anywhere. ๏
- 12. ย
- 15. ย
- 16. Style 1: โSexyโ This type of startup has low resources & assets in the project (funding, staff, equipment), and high progress. Theyโre kicking ass!
- 19. ย
- 20. Style 2: โStableโ This type of startup has high resources & assets in the project (funding, staff, equipment), and high progress.
- 23. The 3 โ Unfundable โ Styles (in order of attractiveness to investors) 1: โ Sexy โ: interesting or exciting to discuss, but too risky to be serious about. 3: โ Stagnant โ: no interest, not memorable, but nothing specifically wrong 4: โ Corporate โ: red-flag, avoid, high likelihood that large amounts of resources will be wasted/lost
- 24. ย
- 25. The 1 โ Fundable โ Style 2: โ Stable โ: great momentum, trustworthy team, interesting market opportunity with good indicators that the startup will continue to grow in a financially viable way, and provide a good return on investment. Ironically, these types of deals are the 2 nd most โattractiveโโ theyโre not as glamorous at first view, but the metrics, facts, and team are solid.
- 26. ย
- 27. โ But, I donโt want funding, why should I care?โ This is a completely valid question. The answer is simple: Investors evaluate business opportunities for financial feasibility and long-term viability.
- 28. If the project youโre working on doesnโt stack up to these basic standards, it probably has a very short shelf life .
- 29. So, why not spend your time & efforts in a project that has the maximum chance for success? By taking a little extra time to consciously choose the way in which youโre operating your startup, you can prevent errors and maximize the ventureโs potential to grow and sustain itself over time.
- 30. One of the most exciting things about the work we do at Portland Ten, is the opportunity to help founders see exactly where they are, and shift their startupโs operating style to be healthy, financially feasible & stable over time.
- 31. Best of luck to all founders in their startup efforts, from everyone at Portland Ten! Growing ten $1MM startups in Portland by 10/2010. www.portlandten.com