This document discusses bootstrapping versus venture capital funding for startups. It defines bootstrapping as self-funding a business using personal resources and revenue, while venture capital involves acquiring external funding in exchange for equity. It outlines typical funding rounds and stages for venture-backed companies. The document advises founders to delay raising funds through venture capital for as long as possible by bootstrapping, as venture funding comes with risks and loss of control. It shares perspectives on choosing an idea suited for bootstrapping or venture capital, as well as challenges associated with each approach. Personal stories from the authors illustrate successful bootstrapping examples.
Entrepreneurship Workshop - Co-founders and Team BuildingGrow VC Group
TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP WORKSHOP: STEP ARMENIA
Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) in cooperation with CRDF Global. Technology Entrepreneurship workshop conducted by invited Top serial entrepreneurs form US and Europe.
Setup Presentation for startup team building panel
Startup Team: Founder’s Role, Effective Startup Team Structure and System of Incentives, The Art of Hiring and Getting Hired
Lead Presenter: Valto Loikkanen
Panelists: Ray Johnson, Yeva Hyusyan and Manuk Hergnyan.
Team Building “Toolkit”
- Vision -> Target (10+years)
- Mission
- Attitude & Culture
- Shareholder Agreement (SHA)
- Extended team members
- Advisors & Mentors
Hackbelgium Open innovation Meetup Denny's 26 Oct talkDenny Wong
On the 26th of October, we will host our first Open Innovation meetup of season 2 in Brussels. Denny Wong – co-founder of Faqbot – will share his experience on both sides, lessons learnt and tips on how to bridge the gap (or not) between corporations and startups for a successful collaboration.
Denny has more than 10 years of experience in leading intrapreneurial initiatives in large corporations. Over 8 years of experience in small to middle sized companies, and more specifically startups that sells to large corporations.
On the topic of venture capital, product management in seed stage companies, and how to impress a VC with your product management acumen.
Presented at ProductTank Singapore 9 March.
Entrepreneurship Workshop - Co-founders and Team BuildingGrow VC Group
TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP WORKSHOP: STEP ARMENIA
Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) in cooperation with CRDF Global. Technology Entrepreneurship workshop conducted by invited Top serial entrepreneurs form US and Europe.
Setup Presentation for startup team building panel
Startup Team: Founder’s Role, Effective Startup Team Structure and System of Incentives, The Art of Hiring and Getting Hired
Lead Presenter: Valto Loikkanen
Panelists: Ray Johnson, Yeva Hyusyan and Manuk Hergnyan.
Team Building “Toolkit”
- Vision -> Target (10+years)
- Mission
- Attitude & Culture
- Shareholder Agreement (SHA)
- Extended team members
- Advisors & Mentors
Hackbelgium Open innovation Meetup Denny's 26 Oct talkDenny Wong
On the 26th of October, we will host our first Open Innovation meetup of season 2 in Brussels. Denny Wong – co-founder of Faqbot – will share his experience on both sides, lessons learnt and tips on how to bridge the gap (or not) between corporations and startups for a successful collaboration.
Denny has more than 10 years of experience in leading intrapreneurial initiatives in large corporations. Over 8 years of experience in small to middle sized companies, and more specifically startups that sells to large corporations.
On the topic of venture capital, product management in seed stage companies, and how to impress a VC with your product management acumen.
Presented at ProductTank Singapore 9 March.
How to define and position your VC brand to attract funding and dealflow.
* note: more recent updated version below:
https://www.slideshare.net/dmc500hats/branding-strategies-for-better-dealflow-and-fundraising-aka-the-helpful-vc
Presentation on developments in hiring and fintech for HKU Executive certific...Kok Tong (K.T.) Khoo
Slides for my guest speaker session at the HKU executive certificate in Internet Finance. Covering personal observations in startup markets and careers, Hong Kong vs Singapore, hiring trends and business models.
How to sell your business idea to your customers & investorsEspeo Software
Presentation for the School of Startups in Helsinki - and a very good resource for any new business! We tackle issues from funding through valuation to scaling.
Want to turn an amazingly innovative idea into reality? We’ll help share techniques with you to make your dream a reality.
AGENDA TOPICS
- From idea development to innovation design
- Brain power “Deep Innovation”, working in a team
- The difference between an original idea and a copy
- Prepare for the extreme innovative solution
- Back in reality and the first compromise
- Keeping the vision
- Market leader through innovative thinking
Going From Idea to Operations - A Simple Framework for Building a BusinessChristopher Mohritz
This presentation is a (very) high-level overview of all the action items new entrepreneurs need to keep in mind / consider when building their new business, specifically: Launch process (based on lean principles), Marketing strategies, Personnel / staffing considerations, Workspace considerations, Giving back to the community, Corporate culture considerations, Product / service development, Customer development, Product distribution / service delivery considerations, and Business entity considerations.
Note: some of the linked resources are specifc Arizona USA
TGPowerhouse (TGPw) is committed to the sustainable growth in the value of your company. We focus on medium-sized companies, mostly.
We are unlike any traditional consultancy: we focus on implementation.
We help you to reflect on the challenges of your business, your needs and what you want to accomplish.
We work to differentiate your business and enable your company to sustain a competitive position, visible on its results.
We partner with you in the implementation, including the internationalization of your business or the attraction of Strategic Partner. We manage the business, when necessary.
If you are considering or planning to initiate business in Brazil, TGPowerhouse is your “Business GPS”.
We ensure that you have a " Smart Landing " in Brazil.
G3 Partners, one of Asia’s top marketing agencies is providing tips about blockchain/ICO marketing. This deck will be useful for anyone who's running a blockchain startup, anyone who's planning a token sale, or anyone who's interested in blockchain marketing. Share with your friends.
Starting a business as engineers: algorithms aren't everythingAlja Isakovic
What are startups and other lessons learned from starting tech companies. The slides are for a lecture aimed at computer science students, delivered in March 2019.
TGPowerhouse (TGPw) is committed to the sustainable growth in the value of your company. We focus on medium-sized companies, mostly.
We are unlike any traditional consultancy: we focus on implementation.
We help you to reflect on the challenges of your business, your needs and what you want to accomplish.
We work to differentiate your business and enable your company to sustain a competitive position, visible on its results.
We partner with you in the implementation, including the internationalization of your business or the attraction of Strategic Partner. We manage the business, when necessary.
If you are considering or planning to initiate business in Brazil, TGPowerhouse is your “Business GPS”.
We ensure that you have a " Smart Landing " in Brazil.
Ihar Mahaniok, Angel Investor. Hunting unicorns for early stage investmentsIT Arena
Ihar has invested in 80+ startups, among them PandaDoc, People.ai, Instacart. He has led engineering organizations in Google, Facebook, and Grid.ai, developing ML products.
Speech Overview:
Ihar will share his angel investment experience and proven approaches of identification unicorns like people.ai and PandaDoc at the early(or seed) stage.
Software Engineering, Software Consulting, Tech Lead, Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, Spring Core, Spring JDBC, Spring Transaction, Spring MVC, OpenShift Cloud Platform, Kafka, REST, SOAP, LLD & HLD.
How to define and position your VC brand to attract funding and dealflow.
* note: more recent updated version below:
https://www.slideshare.net/dmc500hats/branding-strategies-for-better-dealflow-and-fundraising-aka-the-helpful-vc
Presentation on developments in hiring and fintech for HKU Executive certific...Kok Tong (K.T.) Khoo
Slides for my guest speaker session at the HKU executive certificate in Internet Finance. Covering personal observations in startup markets and careers, Hong Kong vs Singapore, hiring trends and business models.
How to sell your business idea to your customers & investorsEspeo Software
Presentation for the School of Startups in Helsinki - and a very good resource for any new business! We tackle issues from funding through valuation to scaling.
Want to turn an amazingly innovative idea into reality? We’ll help share techniques with you to make your dream a reality.
AGENDA TOPICS
- From idea development to innovation design
- Brain power “Deep Innovation”, working in a team
- The difference between an original idea and a copy
- Prepare for the extreme innovative solution
- Back in reality and the first compromise
- Keeping the vision
- Market leader through innovative thinking
Going From Idea to Operations - A Simple Framework for Building a BusinessChristopher Mohritz
This presentation is a (very) high-level overview of all the action items new entrepreneurs need to keep in mind / consider when building their new business, specifically: Launch process (based on lean principles), Marketing strategies, Personnel / staffing considerations, Workspace considerations, Giving back to the community, Corporate culture considerations, Product / service development, Customer development, Product distribution / service delivery considerations, and Business entity considerations.
Note: some of the linked resources are specifc Arizona USA
TGPowerhouse (TGPw) is committed to the sustainable growth in the value of your company. We focus on medium-sized companies, mostly.
We are unlike any traditional consultancy: we focus on implementation.
We help you to reflect on the challenges of your business, your needs and what you want to accomplish.
We work to differentiate your business and enable your company to sustain a competitive position, visible on its results.
We partner with you in the implementation, including the internationalization of your business or the attraction of Strategic Partner. We manage the business, when necessary.
If you are considering or planning to initiate business in Brazil, TGPowerhouse is your “Business GPS”.
We ensure that you have a " Smart Landing " in Brazil.
G3 Partners, one of Asia’s top marketing agencies is providing tips about blockchain/ICO marketing. This deck will be useful for anyone who's running a blockchain startup, anyone who's planning a token sale, or anyone who's interested in blockchain marketing. Share with your friends.
Starting a business as engineers: algorithms aren't everythingAlja Isakovic
What are startups and other lessons learned from starting tech companies. The slides are for a lecture aimed at computer science students, delivered in March 2019.
TGPowerhouse (TGPw) is committed to the sustainable growth in the value of your company. We focus on medium-sized companies, mostly.
We are unlike any traditional consultancy: we focus on implementation.
We help you to reflect on the challenges of your business, your needs and what you want to accomplish.
We work to differentiate your business and enable your company to sustain a competitive position, visible on its results.
We partner with you in the implementation, including the internationalization of your business or the attraction of Strategic Partner. We manage the business, when necessary.
If you are considering or planning to initiate business in Brazil, TGPowerhouse is your “Business GPS”.
We ensure that you have a " Smart Landing " in Brazil.
Ihar Mahaniok, Angel Investor. Hunting unicorns for early stage investmentsIT Arena
Ihar has invested in 80+ startups, among them PandaDoc, People.ai, Instacart. He has led engineering organizations in Google, Facebook, and Grid.ai, developing ML products.
Speech Overview:
Ihar will share his angel investment experience and proven approaches of identification unicorns like people.ai and PandaDoc at the early(or seed) stage.
Similar to Bootstrapping vs Venture Capital.pptx (20)
Software Engineering, Software Consulting, Tech Lead, Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, Spring Core, Spring JDBC, Spring Transaction, Spring MVC, OpenShift Cloud Platform, Kafka, REST, SOAP, LLD & HLD.
E-commerce Application Development Company.pdfHornet Dynamics
Your business can reach new heights with our assistance as we design solutions that are specifically appropriate for your goals and vision. Our eCommerce application solutions can digitally coordinate all retail operations processes to meet the demands of the marketplace while maintaining business continuity.
Do you want Software for your Business? Visit Deuglo
Deuglo has top Software Developers in India. They are experts in software development and help design and create custom Software solutions.
Deuglo follows seven steps methods for delivering their services to their customers. They called it the Software development life cycle process (SDLC).
Requirement — Collecting the Requirements is the first Phase in the SSLC process.
Feasibility Study — after completing the requirement process they move to the design phase.
Design — in this phase, they start designing the software.
Coding — when designing is completed, the developers start coding for the software.
Testing — in this phase when the coding of the software is done the testing team will start testing.
Installation — after completion of testing, the application opens to the live server and launches!
Maintenance — after completing the software development, customers start using the software.
Atelier - Innover avec l’IA Générative et les graphes de connaissancesNeo4j
Atelier - Innover avec l’IA Générative et les graphes de connaissances
Allez au-delà du battage médiatique autour de l’IA et découvrez des techniques pratiques pour utiliser l’IA de manière responsable à travers les données de votre organisation. Explorez comment utiliser les graphes de connaissances pour augmenter la précision, la transparence et la capacité d’explication dans les systèmes d’IA générative. Vous partirez avec une expérience pratique combinant les relations entre les données et les LLM pour apporter du contexte spécifique à votre domaine et améliorer votre raisonnement.
Amenez votre ordinateur portable et nous vous guiderons sur la mise en place de votre propre pile d’IA générative, en vous fournissant des exemples pratiques et codés pour démarrer en quelques minutes.
Launch Your Streaming Platforms in MinutesRoshan Dwivedi
The claim of launching a streaming platform in minutes might be a bit of an exaggeration, but there are services that can significantly streamline the process. Here's a breakdown:
Pros of Speedy Streaming Platform Launch Services:
No coding required: These services often use drag-and-drop interfaces or pre-built templates, eliminating the need for programming knowledge.
Faster setup: Compared to building from scratch, these platforms can get you up and running much quicker.
All-in-one solutions: Many services offer features like content management systems (CMS), video players, and monetization tools, reducing the need for multiple integrations.
Things to Consider:
Limited customization: These platforms may offer less flexibility in design and functionality compared to custom-built solutions.
Scalability: As your audience grows, you might need to upgrade to a more robust platform or encounter limitations with the "quick launch" option.
Features: Carefully evaluate which features are included and if they meet your specific needs (e.g., live streaming, subscription options).
Examples of Services for Launching Streaming Platforms:
Muvi [muvi com]
Uscreen [usencreen tv]
Alternatives to Consider:
Existing Streaming platforms: Platforms like YouTube or Twitch might be suitable for basic streaming needs, though monetization options might be limited.
Custom Development: While more time-consuming, custom development offers the most control and flexibility for your platform.
Overall, launching a streaming platform in minutes might not be entirely realistic, but these services can significantly speed up the process compared to building from scratch. Carefully consider your needs and budget when choosing the best option for you.
AI Pilot Review: The World’s First Virtual Assistant Marketing SuiteGoogle
AI Pilot Review: The World’s First Virtual Assistant Marketing Suite
👉👉 Click Here To Get More Info 👇👇
https://sumonreview.com/ai-pilot-review/
AI Pilot Review: Key Features
✅Deploy AI expert bots in Any Niche With Just A Click
✅With one keyword, generate complete funnels, websites, landing pages, and more.
✅More than 85 AI features are included in the AI pilot.
✅No setup or configuration; use your voice (like Siri) to do whatever you want.
✅You Can Use AI Pilot To Create your version of AI Pilot And Charge People For It…
✅ZERO Manual Work With AI Pilot. Never write, Design, Or Code Again.
✅ZERO Limits On Features Or Usages
✅Use Our AI-powered Traffic To Get Hundreds Of Customers
✅No Complicated Setup: Get Up And Running In 2 Minutes
✅99.99% Up-Time Guaranteed
✅30 Days Money-Back Guarantee
✅ZERO Upfront Cost
See My Other Reviews Article:
(1) TubeTrivia AI Review: https://sumonreview.com/tubetrivia-ai-review
(2) SocioWave Review: https://sumonreview.com/sociowave-review
(3) AI Partner & Profit Review: https://sumonreview.com/ai-partner-profit-review
(4) AI Ebook Suite Review: https://sumonreview.com/ai-ebook-suite-review
AI Fusion Buddy Review: Brand New, Groundbreaking Gemini-Powered AI AppGoogle
AI Fusion Buddy Review: Brand New, Groundbreaking Gemini-Powered AI App
👉👉 Click Here To Get More Info 👇👇
https://sumonreview.com/ai-fusion-buddy-review
AI Fusion Buddy Review: Key Features
✅Create Stunning AI App Suite Fully Powered By Google's Latest AI technology, Gemini
✅Use Gemini to Build high-converting Converting Sales Video Scripts, ad copies, Trending Articles, blogs, etc.100% unique!
✅Create Ultra-HD graphics with a single keyword or phrase that commands 10x eyeballs!
✅Fully automated AI articles bulk generation!
✅Auto-post or schedule stunning AI content across all your accounts at once—WordPress, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogger, and more.
✅With one keyword or URL, generate complete websites, landing pages, and more…
✅Automatically create & sell AI content, graphics, websites, landing pages, & all that gets you paid non-stop 24*7.
✅Pre-built High-Converting 100+ website Templates and 2000+ graphic templates logos, banners, and thumbnail images in Trending Niches.
✅Say goodbye to wasting time logging into multiple Chat GPT & AI Apps once & for all!
✅Save over $5000 per year and kick out dependency on third parties completely!
✅Brand New App: Not available anywhere else!
✅ Beginner-friendly!
✅ZERO upfront cost or any extra expenses
✅Risk-Free: 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee!
✅Commercial License included!
See My Other Reviews Article:
(1) AI Genie Review: https://sumonreview.com/ai-genie-review
(2) SocioWave Review: https://sumonreview.com/sociowave-review
(3) AI Partner & Profit Review: https://sumonreview.com/ai-partner-profit-review
(4) AI Ebook Suite Review: https://sumonreview.com/ai-ebook-suite-review
#AIFusionBuddyReview,
#AIFusionBuddyFeatures,
#AIFusionBuddyPricing,
#AIFusionBuddyProsandCons,
#AIFusionBuddyTutorial,
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#AIFusionBuddyforBeginners,
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#WhatIsAIFusionBuddy?,
#HowDoesAIFusionBuddyWorks
Utilocate offers a comprehensive solution for locate ticket management by automating and streamlining the entire process. By integrating with Geospatial Information Systems (GIS), it provides accurate mapping and visualization of utility locations, enhancing decision-making and reducing the risk of errors. The system's advanced data analytics tools help identify trends, predict potential issues, and optimize resource allocation, making the locate ticket management process smarter and more efficient. Additionally, automated ticket management ensures consistency and reduces human error, while real-time notifications keep all relevant personnel informed and ready to respond promptly.
The system's ability to streamline workflows and automate ticket routing significantly reduces the time taken to process each ticket, making the process faster and more efficient. Mobile access allows field technicians to update ticket information on the go, ensuring that the latest information is always available and accelerating the locate process. Overall, Utilocate not only enhances the efficiency and accuracy of locate ticket management but also improves safety by minimizing the risk of utility damage through precise and timely locates.
Hand Rolled Applicative User ValidationCode KataPhilip Schwarz
Could you use a simple piece of Scala validation code (granted, a very simplistic one too!) that you can rewrite, now and again, to refresh your basic understanding of Applicative operators <*>, <*, *>?
The goal is not to write perfect code showcasing validation, but rather, to provide a small, rough-and ready exercise to reinforce your muscle-memory.
Despite its grandiose-sounding title, this deck consists of just three slides showing the Scala 3 code to be rewritten whenever the details of the operators begin to fade away.
The code is my rough and ready translation of a Haskell user-validation program found in a book called Finding Success (and Failure) in Haskell - Fall in love with applicative functors.
Graspan: A Big Data System for Big Code AnalysisAftab Hussain
We built a disk-based parallel graph system, Graspan, that uses a novel edge-pair centric computation model to compute dynamic transitive closures on very large program graphs.
We implement context-sensitive pointer/alias and dataflow analyses on Graspan. An evaluation of these analyses on large codebases such as Linux shows that their Graspan implementations scale to millions of lines of code and are much simpler than their original implementations.
These analyses were used to augment the existing checkers; these augmented checkers found 132 new NULL pointer bugs and 1308 unnecessary NULL tests in Linux 4.4.0-rc5, PostgreSQL 8.3.9, and Apache httpd 2.2.18.
- Accepted in ASPLOS ‘17, Xi’an, China.
- Featured in the tutorial, Systemized Program Analyses: A Big Data Perspective on Static Analysis Scalability, ASPLOS ‘17.
- Invited for presentation at SoCal PLS ‘16.
- Invited for poster presentation at PLDI SRC ‘16.
GraphSummit Paris - The art of the possible with Graph TechnologyNeo4j
Sudhir Hasbe, Chief Product Officer, Neo4j
Join us as we explore breakthrough innovations enabled by interconnected data and AI. Discover firsthand how organizations use relationships in data to uncover contextual insights and solve our most pressing challenges – from optimizing supply chains, detecting fraud, and improving customer experiences to accelerating drug discoveries.
Code reviews are vital for ensuring good code quality. They serve as one of our last lines of defense against bugs and subpar code reaching production.
Yet, they often turn into annoying tasks riddled with frustration, hostility, unclear feedback and lack of standards. How can we improve this crucial process?
In this session we will cover:
- The Art of Effective Code Reviews
- Streamlining the Review Process
- Elevating Reviews with Automated Tools
By the end of this presentation, you'll have the knowledge on how to organize and improve your code review proces
Why Mobile App Regression Testing is Critical for Sustained Success_ A Detail...kalichargn70th171
A dynamic process unfolds in the intricate realm of software development, dedicated to crafting and sustaining products that effortlessly address user needs. Amidst vital stages like market analysis and requirement assessments, the heart of software development lies in the meticulous creation and upkeep of source code. Code alterations are inherent, challenging code quality, particularly under stringent deadlines.
Essentials of Automations: The Art of Triggers and Actions in FMESafe Software
In this second installment of our Essentials of Automations webinar series, we’ll explore the landscape of triggers and actions, guiding you through the nuances of authoring and adapting workspaces for seamless automations. Gain an understanding of the full spectrum of triggers and actions available in FME, empowering you to enhance your workspaces for efficient automation.
We’ll kick things off by showcasing the most commonly used event-based triggers, introducing you to various automation workflows like manual triggers, schedules, directory watchers, and more. Plus, see how these elements play out in real scenarios.
Whether you’re tweaking your current setup or building from the ground up, this session will arm you with the tools and insights needed to transform your FME usage into a powerhouse of productivity. Join us to discover effective strategies that simplify complex processes, enhancing your productivity and transforming your data management practices with FME. Let’s turn complexity into clarity and make your workspaces work wonders!
2. Definitions
● Bootstrapping
○ Self-funding a business using personal resources and revenue.
● Venture Capital
○ Acquiring external funding in exchange for equity.
○ To keep it simpler, we’ll call all equity funding venture capital.
3. ● Build the product/service - Angel and seed
○ Pre-seed - Validate the idea, develop MVP, get initial user feedback
○ Seed - Build early-version product/service, prove product-market fit
● Build the company - Early-stage VC
○ Series A - Hire key people, complete the product, improve
distribution
○ Series B - Scaling of working business model
● Scale everything - Late-stage VC
○ Series C/D/… - New markets, acquisitions, new product line
Definitions - Funding rounds
4. ● People love stories about rags to riches and winning against all odds.
● Media loves what people love!!
● Investors love founders buying into those stories!!!
… BUT …
● We love entrepreneurial people!!!!
Why this topic?
5. “VC story” as portrayed in media
● Smart student obsessed by an idea drops out of
college
● Lives frugally and works 20h/day
● Large competitors try to destroy him but fail
● He succeeds and IPOs and becomes a billionaire
6. “VC story” from founder’s perspective
● I have potential, motivation, energy and an idea.
● No business experience, industry connections or capital.
● I’ll pitch for a year to get seed funding (1 in 100 are funded).
● If funded, I’ll put my life on hold for 3-5 years and work whole days.
● I’m pushed to optimize for a higher potential return instead of
a higher chance of a return (I need millions, VCs need billions).
● I need to become industry, business and strategy expert.
● In total, I have 10% chance to reach an exit netting $5m after tax
(median share of 15% and median valuation $40m).
7. ● Research
○ Average age of a founder of a successful startup is 42.
○ Looking just at high growth VC-backed startups, average founder is 45.
● Ideal company to start
○ In an industry where you are an industry expert,
○ where you have industry connections (potential buyers, partners, acquirers),
○ when you have management skills (people, process, strategy),
○ when you have seed capital of your own.
Bootstrap your entrance to entrepreneurship, don’t jump into it!
Founder’s best interest
8. Traits of a good bootstrapped idea:
● Low initial investment needs
● Can generate revenue quickly
● Slow and steady growth model
● Flexible timeline for scaling up
Choosing an Idea
Traits of a venture-scale idea ($100m/year in
revenue and $1b+ valuation within 10 years):
● Large ($5b+) total addressable market
● Scaling through technology/people/assets
● Growth 2-3x per year
● Clear way to turn extra cash into growth
● Plan for exit
9. All companies start by bootstrapping but some come to need capital:
● to develop a product, prove product-market fit, find scalable sales model
○ Seed funding
● to scale all operations, sales, infrastructure, etc.
○ Early-stage funding (Series A/B)
● to enter new markets, acquire other companies, prepare IPO
○ Late-stage funding (Series C/D/…)
Delay raising funds as long as bootstrapping does not increase your risk level!
It’s usually AND, not OR
10. Bootstrapping
Capital is the limiting factor.
● Focus on the right things.
● Difficult to hire proven people.
● Limited to organic growth.
Venture Capital
● Hire and motivate right people FAST!
● Define and instill culture FAST!
● Define and implement scalable
operational processes FAST!
● Manage stakeholders LIKE A PRO!
● Lead marketing, sales, product,
tech…
You are the limiting factor!
Challenges
11. Risks specific to Venture Capital
● If all goes well, founders and VCs are both happy
○ But when it doesn’t, VC investments come with protections
● Downrounds (30% of deals in 2023H2)
○ Anti-dilution provisions
● Liquidation or acquisitions (90% of exits)
○ Acquisition is a liquidation event
○ Liquidation preferences
● Exercising control rights
○ Special voting rights (veto) from seed round
○ Investors control the board after Series B (sometimes even after Series A)
○ Selling the company, raising funds and replacing the CEO are board decisions
12. ● Founder-friendly investors
○ The Calm Fund (calmfund.com) - We invest early in profitable businesses that want to
maximize their chances of success and build for the long-term.
○ TinySeed (tinyseed.com) - Remote accelerator for SaaS founders who want mentorship,
community and funding without the pressure to IPO at $1b or just give up.
● Mission-driven investors
○ Purpose (purpose-economy.org) - Help purpose-driven companies grow on terms that will not
undermine their mission or independence
● Revenue-based financing
○ Capchase, Clearco, Lighter Capital - Loans where payments are percentage of revenue
Alternative Venture Capital
13. Personal story - Željko
● Education
○ 10+ years - Creating own software projects
○ 5+ years - Programming competitions
● Microsoft (Croatia)
○ 2 years - Marketing and sales of developer tools (selling to developers)
● Infragistics (United States)
○ 1 year - Creating developer components
● Founded GemBox
○ 7+ years - Starting a business, selling software globally from Croatia
○ GemBox earned enough money to live off and finance a new startup
14. ● Education
○ 10+ years - Programming competitions
○ 3-4 years - Creating tests for national high school programming competitions
● Ericsson Nikola Tesla (Croatia, Sweden, Japan)
○ 3-4 years - General business experience, technical sales support (enterprise
sales)
○ 2-3 years - Technical consulting (delivery and sales of consulting services)
○ 2-3 years - Intrapreneurship and management (people and project management)
○ Saved 4 years worth of life expenses (modest to moderate lifestyle)
Personal story - Mario
15. ● We met on programming competitions
● We both felt the problem of assessing developers’ skills as managers
○ Mario’s experience - Creating programming questions for 20+ competitions
○ Željko’s experience - Building a company selling globally to technical people
● Co-founded TestDome - Pre-employment testing of developers skills
○ We worked 2 years for free
○ Invested profits from GemBox
We chose TestDome as everything we did before was preparing us for it!
Personal story - Željko and Mario
16. ● Infobip
○ Late-stage funding of $200m at revenue of $700m and 14 years
○ Funding for acquisitions as preparation for IPO
● Mailchimp
○ Profitable from start, acquired for $12b at revenue of $800m and 19 years
● GitHub
○ Profitable from start, raised $100m at 100 employees and 5 years
○ Late-stage funding to develop enterprise-ready solution
● Atlassian
○ Profitable from start, raised $60m they didn’t need at revenue of $60m and 8 years
○ Funding for employees to cash out and to make their board more legitimate
● Mojang (Minecraft), Hotjar, Typeform, MessageBird, Zoho, Patagonia, Shutterstock…
Successful bootstrapping stories
Equity - ownership interest in a company
Pre-seed - you have 2-5 people, working prototype of a MVP, in some cases just a proven founding team and a clear market opportunity - need money to develop a product/service
Seed - you have 2-10 people, early-version product/service, user feedback, 1-2 contracts, indication of product/market fit - need money to launch a product/service, find and prove product-market fit
Series A - Need capital to hire and improve distribution
Series B - Scaling of working business model
Series C/D/E - New markets, acquisitions, new product line
Fairy tales - rags to riches, bold, brave bets, winning against all odds.
Founders are scarsest input to investors business model.