"Venture Capital 101 - I'm a VC, Who Are You?" walks you through the essentials of venture capital, early stage funding alternatives, and the difference between good and bad VC to an audience new to fundraising. I first gave this talk to Interactive Communication students at Berghs School of Communications in Stockholm, Sweden, March 2013.
March 2016: Updated version to reflect the changes and trends in venture capital markets incl. additional pitch advice, recommended reading, and founder resources.
Why Startups Need Storytelling and Inbound Marketing, and #WTF is Growth HackingPaula Marttila
Why Storytelling and Inbound Marketing are crucial for startups, specifically regarding fundraising, recruiting and building company culture, and why culture and recruiting play a central role in growth hacking. Keynote at StartSmart! Marketing & Metrics day, in Tallinn March 2013 http://www.start-smart.me/en/events/startsmart-events/149/startsmart-marketingmetrics.
Startup Camp Berlin March 2014 http://startupcamp.co/2014/
Learn the secrets of successful pitching to investors. Fundraising tricks and advice from the award-winning experts at Benjamin Ball Associates. Learn more today. Investor pitch advice and questions to answer before your next investor pitch.
The Angels 8Q: Eight Questions Investors & Startups Should Ask to SucceedJoseph de Leon
This started as a personal guide so I could be a better Angel Investor.
It developed into a Playshop that was first conducted at the Global Seedstars Summit [Lausanne, Switzerland 2019].
Rather than answers, I hope this helps you find your own questions.
Why Startups Need Storytelling and Inbound Marketing, and #WTF is Growth HackingPaula Marttila
Why Storytelling and Inbound Marketing are crucial for startups, specifically regarding fundraising, recruiting and building company culture, and why culture and recruiting play a central role in growth hacking. Keynote at StartSmart! Marketing & Metrics day, in Tallinn March 2013 http://www.start-smart.me/en/events/startsmart-events/149/startsmart-marketingmetrics.
Startup Camp Berlin March 2014 http://startupcamp.co/2014/
Learn the secrets of successful pitching to investors. Fundraising tricks and advice from the award-winning experts at Benjamin Ball Associates. Learn more today. Investor pitch advice and questions to answer before your next investor pitch.
The Angels 8Q: Eight Questions Investors & Startups Should Ask to SucceedJoseph de Leon
This started as a personal guide so I could be a better Angel Investor.
It developed into a Playshop that was first conducted at the Global Seedstars Summit [Lausanne, Switzerland 2019].
Rather than answers, I hope this helps you find your own questions.
A guide for entrepreneurs trying to raise angel and venture capitalguest8e6a0
Insight from a venture capital partner on the right way to think about the startup fundraising process. Whether you're approaching family, angels or large venture capital firms, many of the same themes apply.
Brandeis & Babson - Fundraising 101: How to raise a seed roundDavid Chang
Brandeis Innovation Speaker Series: Overview of tech/startup fundraising basics, some how-to tactics on raising a seed round, and general pitch tips/lessons learned for entrepreneurs who are current students and recent grads.
How to attract anything you want in lifepoonamvinod
There are times when things seem unexpectedly to come our way. There will be an unexpected
phone call or visit that will set things in motion. We have all heard of people who succeeded
simply because they always seem to be in the right place at the right time. There are many
words that are used in order to explain such happenings. Words like coincidence, serendipity,
fate, luck, karma. Sayings like, "what goes around comes around" and so on. All of these words
and expressions are different ways of summing up what is known as the Law of Attraction.
Seed funding and angel fundraising remains a art more than science. As someone who is heavily involved with startups and angel investors, here I have tried to answer the common question from entrepreneurs, startups and investors.
The Impact Of Social Web On Digital Product Development and Customer ExperiencePaula Marttila
Why all products and services want to be social. How to think about customer experience when designing services. Showcase of how presentation tool Prezi can become more social. Keynote at EDGE Conference Sep 2010.
Read more: http://paulamarttila.wordpress.com/the-impact-of-social-web-on-product-developme
Swedish and Nordic E-commerce Market Trends incl. E-commerce Tips and Tricks.Paula Marttila
Keynote at Mindclub.fi in Vaasa, Finland, February 2011.
http://www.mediacity.fi/index.php?p=13&s=9
Original Prezi: http://prezi.com/qhkgnfhd6wxj/nordic-e-commerce-startups-scene-trends-and-tips-mindclub/
Basic definitions, types of investors, stages of your startup, determining the amount of money you need, milestone based funding, contract terms and deal making process.
Short presentation on "Software Tools for Venture Capital Process" discussing some of the innovations and developments in tools that support the venture capital process. Presented at ISBE 2012 conference in Dublin.
A guide for entrepreneurs trying to raise angel and venture capitalguest8e6a0
Insight from a venture capital partner on the right way to think about the startup fundraising process. Whether you're approaching family, angels or large venture capital firms, many of the same themes apply.
Brandeis & Babson - Fundraising 101: How to raise a seed roundDavid Chang
Brandeis Innovation Speaker Series: Overview of tech/startup fundraising basics, some how-to tactics on raising a seed round, and general pitch tips/lessons learned for entrepreneurs who are current students and recent grads.
How to attract anything you want in lifepoonamvinod
There are times when things seem unexpectedly to come our way. There will be an unexpected
phone call or visit that will set things in motion. We have all heard of people who succeeded
simply because they always seem to be in the right place at the right time. There are many
words that are used in order to explain such happenings. Words like coincidence, serendipity,
fate, luck, karma. Sayings like, "what goes around comes around" and so on. All of these words
and expressions are different ways of summing up what is known as the Law of Attraction.
Seed funding and angel fundraising remains a art more than science. As someone who is heavily involved with startups and angel investors, here I have tried to answer the common question from entrepreneurs, startups and investors.
The Impact Of Social Web On Digital Product Development and Customer ExperiencePaula Marttila
Why all products and services want to be social. How to think about customer experience when designing services. Showcase of how presentation tool Prezi can become more social. Keynote at EDGE Conference Sep 2010.
Read more: http://paulamarttila.wordpress.com/the-impact-of-social-web-on-product-developme
Swedish and Nordic E-commerce Market Trends incl. E-commerce Tips and Tricks.Paula Marttila
Keynote at Mindclub.fi in Vaasa, Finland, February 2011.
http://www.mediacity.fi/index.php?p=13&s=9
Original Prezi: http://prezi.com/qhkgnfhd6wxj/nordic-e-commerce-startups-scene-trends-and-tips-mindclub/
Basic definitions, types of investors, stages of your startup, determining the amount of money you need, milestone based funding, contract terms and deal making process.
Short presentation on "Software Tools for Venture Capital Process" discussing some of the innovations and developments in tools that support the venture capital process. Presented at ISBE 2012 conference in Dublin.
A primer for founders on how to raise that first round of venture capital from Harvard Business School professor and Flybridge general partner Jeff Bussgang
a presentation I made at Jacksonville State University's "The Alabama Conference for Inventors"... some content blatantly lifted from other great presentations
Craig Blair is a co-founder and partner at AirTree Ventures which invests in world-class Australian entrepreneurs building the iconic companies of tomorrow. With over 15 years experience running 2 of Australia’s most successful tech investment funds with partner Daniel Petre and backing businesses such as eBay, Beamly and Ninemsn, Craig is keen to share his insights on how to get a VC's attention. This presentation includes:
- The Start Up journey - what you can expect
- The key steps to approaching a VC
- What to do (and what not to do) when pitching to your business
- How to avoid the pre/post money traps
- How to choose your funding partner (remember VCs and investors are an employee you can't fire!)
How to Raise Your First Round of Capital - January 2020Jeffrey Bussgang
A step by step guide to raising your first round of capital -- from angels or venture capitalists (VCs) -- from a VC veteran and Harvard Business School (HBS) professor
Presentation created by Investment Manager from the Slovak startup and innovation studio. Experienced Launcher's team member, Michal Nešpor, held the speech at Startup Pirates event in Bratislava: worthful overview and explanation from the investment universe. The important aim of the presentation was to show aspiring entrepreneurs what is the business side of startups and how to understand terms as pitch, crowdfunding and investor's mindset. The worldwide event Startup Pirates is focused on such topics, at most to show new projects how to develop a business idea successfully.
Have a great idea, but not sure how to get funding to turn it into a business? This presentation highlights the many ways to find funding and focuses on the pros & cons of using venture capital to launch.
US Investors: From Early Stage to Series ADavid Shen
I gave this presentation in Oct 2014 at the Silicon Valley Innovation Center to a group of visiting Kazakh entrepreneurs. They wanted to know about US based investors and what they look for, and how to get investment from them.
US Startup Investment Market (Startonomics Tokyo, June 2009)Geeks On A Plane
Presentation on US Startup & Seed / Angel Investment Market for Startonomics Tokyo (June, 2009). Speakers Dave McClure, Joyce Kim, Dave Troy, Ryan Pipkin.
Similar to Venture Capital 101 - I'm a VC, Who Are You? (20)
Are You Building A Great Product? The Checklist incl. The ToolkitPaula Marttila
Don't die the slow death of irrelevance, build a great product instead! These are the ten things I've learned to look for in a great product, and I've put together the master toolkit with tangible advice by Des Traynor of Intercom and Mikael Cho of Crew amongst others to help you achieve them. Heavily inspired by the grind behind Miles Ahead, directorial debut of Don Cheadle, a great movie and a great product.
The Checklist: http://wp.me/po8eb-1iD
The Toolkit: http://wp.me/po8eb-2im
Personal Branding and Importance of Paying ForwardPaula Marttila
The importance of mentorship and role models in building sustainable future economy, but also how the social web works, and why contributing is great way to build personal brand on social web. Talk I gave at Good Morning 2020 conference in Stockholm, Nov 17th 2010.
Launch and Go-To-Market Strategies for Digital Tehcnology StartupsPaula Marttila
Advice on launch and go-to-market strategies, approach to media, how to use social media channels to build brand trust, and turn your users into ambassadors."
Talk at Geek Girl Meetup #4 20th Nov 2010
Read more: http://paulamarttila.wordpress.com/with-a-little-help-from-your-fans-or-how-to-s
Original Prezi: http://prezi.com/g98ifl20gcg2/why-fans-are-invaluable-when-launching-your-service/
Digital Media - Survival Through Digital Innovation feat. Swedish Technology ...Paula Marttila
New business model and service innovation through wisdom of the crowds and Swedish technology startups. Presentation at Sundsvalls Tidning, st.nu, April 2010.
Original Prezi: http://prezi.com/gxcy53kx3u2a/online-media-survival-through-innovation-feat-swedish-startups/
Top Ten Advice To Make Your Early Stage Startup SucceedPaula Marttila
It's rarely the competition that kills your startup. Learn what does and how to make your early stage startup work. Geek Girl Meetup presentation Oct 24, 2009. http://geekgirlmeetup.com/
Original Prezi: http://prezi.com/xwctx5bb3gz4/top-ten-advice-to-make-your-online-startup-succeed/
Digital Technology Trends, Changing Customer Behaviour and Competition In Dig...Paula Marttila
Why fans matter? Who's "stealing" your audience and ad revenues? Why news media companies should be part of social engagement and distributed across all platforms? What are the technology trends we're heading towards? How to monitor, curate, filter and report news. Keynote at Svenska Dagbladet Svd.se Developer Conference Dec 2009.
Original Prezi: http://prezi.com/pjzyufqri7d8/trending-topics-in-online-publishing/
1. I’m A VC -
Who Are
You?
Venture Capital 101
@paulamarttila
2. VENTURE CAPITAL - HUH?
Business Model, Investment Stages And
Criteria, Value Proposition
EARLY STAGE FUNDING
Angel Funding, Seed Funding, Accelerators,
Equity Crowdfunding
THE DATING GAME
i.e. How To Get Married, The Good vs Bad VC,
Due Diligence, The Pitch
Agenda
@paulamarttila
3. Invest Other People’s $$$ ( = LPs = Limited Partners, e.g. Pension
Funds, Schools)
Bet On Few Home Runs:10% Of Investments Expected To Drive Fund’s
Entire Returns (Average 10-20X ROI per Investment)
Average Investment Fund Life Time: 8 -10 Years => Raise New Funds
To Invest With. Trend: Fund Life Times Are Getting Shorter.
Invest During A Company’s Different Growth Stages: Seed, Series A, B,
C, D... => IPO / M&A
Defined Investment Stages Or Stage Agnostic VC
Defined Investment Thesis Or Follow Current Tech Trends
Herd Mentality And FOMO On A Deal: “We’re in if other big names are.”
Venture Capital - Huh?
@paulamarttila
4. Venture Capital Continued:
Firm Structure: Partner = Funding Decisions / Board Seats, Associate =
Deal Sourcing / Due Diligence
Often Co-Invest In Syndicates, As Lead Investor Or Follower. Lead
Investor Sets The Investment Terms. Tip: Have Lead Investor When
Fundraising.
Equity Stakes And Company Valuation Vary Depending On Stage &
Growth Trajectory
Expected Time To ROI: 5-8 Years
YES: High Growth Markets NO: Lifestyle, Consulting Businesses
Additional Value Propositions: Hiring, Network, Follow-On Funding,
Platform Offering Incl. Back Office Expertise, e.g. http://
firstround.com/
@paulamarttila
6. “I Have An Idea”
Minimum Viable
Product (MVP)
With Early Traction
(Without Previous Track Record)
- Bootstrapping
- FFF: F(riends) F(amily) F(ools)
- Accelerator Programs, Corporate Accelerator Programs
- Equity Crowdfunding
- Angel Investors & Early Stage VC
@paulamarttila
7. PRO: Market Validation
CON: No Lead Investor
E.g. FundedByMe, Seedrs
Obs! Make Sure VC Compatible Terms
- Primary Task: Function As Filter For Investor Deal Flow
- Offering: Visibility, Mentoring, Network, Validation (Follow-on Funding)
- Individual Terms, Transparency Is Key. Talk To Alumni Companies!
- E.g. TechStars (6% / $20K + $100K Convertible Note Option), Seedcamp (7% / €75K)
- Corporate Accelerators Differ By Having Varying Offerings And Program Formats
- Check: Track Record, Mentor List, If Program Format Follows Best Practise
@paulamarttila
Accelerator Programs
Equity Crowdfunding
8. - Invest Private $$$. Usually Co-invest With Small Ticket Sizes
- Preferably On AngelList And Well Connected. E.g. AngelList
Syndicates
- Primary Function: Smart $, i.e. Add Entrepreneurial Value. Help
Raise Follow-on Funding
- Terms & Equity Stake Must Support Follow-on Funding Terms
- Rarely Follow-on Invest, But Can Do So With Discounted Price
- Primary Function: Secure Funds To Validate
Product/Market Fit, Approx. With 12-18 Months
Runway
- Often Co-invest, Don’t Usually Follow-on
Invest
Early Stage VCs
Angel Investors
@paulamarttila
10. #1 Stellar Team
@paulamarttila
“Do you have the
right Team/Market fit,
i.e. are you the right
team to execute?”
“Do you want to
change the world,
or just cash out?”
18. “After 10X on
The Tonight Show
people start to recognize
you as someone who
might have been on TV,
but they have no idea
who the hell you are.”-
Steve Martin
@paulamarttila
19. “Ask For $,
You Get Advice -
Ask For Advice,
You Get $” -
Jason Nazar, Docstoc
@paulamarttila
Great way to build trust
and relationships.
21. You’re being tracked:
Stick to your
story and metrics!
@paulamarttila
“Our CRM allows us to
instantly see the number of
employees, social traction,
and progress in multiple
distribution channels before
speaking to a company,
allowing us to be much more
proactive in our approach.”
James Wise, Balderton Capital
24. Tests & Uses Services
Gets Fast To NO
Not Your “Best” Buddy
Available
Helps Execute by Challenging You
Doesn’t Micromanage: Founder Calls The Shots
Doesn’t Get Sour During Hard Times
The Good VC
#MUSTLISTEN how a
good VC works and
resonates. Fred Destin:
http://techcrunch.com/
2016/01/18/accels-fred-
destin-on-why-startups-
fail-and-founders-get-fired/
@paulamarttila
26. The Bad VC
The banker
The name dropper
The dude on 20
boards
The guy with a yacht
club membership
The generalist
The celebrity
The ‘non seed’ VC
The outsider
The penniless VC
The opaque VC
The blabbermouth
Douchebags List by @Startupcfo:
Only Lead To:
Never-ending
Follow Up
Meetings
Asshat Moves
@paulamarttila
29. Due Diligence
Goes both ways. Things To Check Regarding Investors:
- Relevant to your business and market
- Investor portfolio for competitors, synergies
- Capital left to invest in current fund
- Track record of the firm and partners
- Transparency in communications and terms
- Talk to portfolio companies!
@paulamarttila
30. The Pitch or
"The Killer SaaS Pitch"
#1 Alignment
- Do your homework and select investors that are likely to be aligned with your product and vision.
- See slides 23 - 29.
#2 Be prepared
- Pitch practise in the wild makes you perfect, and helps fine-tune your message. Not only practise your pitch,
but have answers to every possible question asked. Do your due diligence, slide 29.
#3 Ask for Advice (not money)
- One of the keys to building trust and relationships See slides 17-20.
#4 Backdoor
- Find a trusted source to make an introduction, or find an original way to catch an investor’s attention.
- Don’t send cold emails, see:
https://paulamarttila.wordpress.com/2015/11/24/the-long-dark-road-of-fundraising-without-introductions/
#5 Wow
- Make yourself memorable: Find the element in your product and story, that emotionally connects with your audience.
by Philippe Botteri, Accel Partners
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD8s8S1ELhU
https://medium.com/@pbotteri/killersaaspitch-in-10-words-part-1-87d9525dbd82#.uahgx4xp0
@paulamarttila
31. The Pitch or
"The Killer SaaS Pitch"
#6 Passion
- WHY are you doing this? Good VCs are attracted to passion, excitement, tenacity, resilience, and resourcefulness.
#7 Story
- Make it personal and relatable in order to be memorable and trustworthy. Investors need to believe and trust your story.
#8 Engine
- Know your sales and marketing model! Do you have a working growth model, i.e. will the investment fuel growth?
#9 Numbers
Know your metrics! (See slide 21) The 8 Cs of SaaS: Customer Monthly Recurring Revenue (CMRR);
CustomerAcquisition Cost (CAC); Churn; Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV); Cash, Cohorts, Concentration of Customer
Revenues, Country Breakdown of customers and revenues to determine scalability.
#10 Listen
- Prepare questions in order to get to know an investor and the value it can provide in the long term.
#Bonus, especially for SaaS companies: Up your game by telling investors you’ll be spending a week in Silicon Valley.
Investors live and breath FOMO (slide 3) and are likely to respond quicker.
REMEMBER - IT ALL COMES DOWN TO BUILDING TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS!
by Philippe Botteri, Accel Partners
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD8s8S1ELhU
https://medium.com/@pbotteri/killersaaspitch-in-10-words-part-2-f2e21c84dad4#.mj7o2ze5c
@paulamarttila
35. I M A G E C R E D I T S
@paulamarttila
http://www.gapingvoidart.com/images/nobody-cares_1.gif (Nobody cares)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chicagogeek/5169397357/ (Good-bye Eyeball)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/queen_of_subtle/4967953011/sizes/l/ (World's biggest hockey stick)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cuppojoe_trips/594428407/ (Friends)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/torley/3674050796/ (You're Awesome)
http://img2.etsystatic.com/000/0/5244945/il_570xN.211353614.jpg (My problem)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulamarttila/ (Hamilton Fans)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckincustoms/744069261/ (Wild horses)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulamarttila/4580592781 (Ducks)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/clemsonunivlibrary/7976193460 (Call me maybe)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/70938871@N05/6420020339 (Bs free)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adulau/5136491272/ (Yes - ¥€$)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielygo/5242603576/ (Good Advice for Hard Times)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139654/?ref_=nv_sr_1 (Training Day)
http://www.stevemartin.com/ (Born Standing Up)