As an entrepreneur, one of the most important aspects of building, scaling & thriving in our endeavors is gaining access to capital. We know 90% of startups fail, but what can we do to think about accessing capital & what do investors look for as we take our startup ventures from zero to hero? In this presentation, you'll learn why startups fail & have a checklist of seven categories to help you on your path to creating a startup that can truly scale & thrive. What to consider: 1. Team 2. Problem & Vision 3. Value Proposition 4. Product 5. Market 6. Business Model 7. Scale Whos' ready to gain access to capital?!

1. READINESS
INVESTMENT
F O R E A R L Y -
S T A G E V E N T U R E S
D r . M e l i s s a S a s s i
P a r t n e r , P 3 N e t w o r k
C E O & C o - F o u n d e r , S k i l l s H u s t l e
F o u n d e r & C E O , M e n t o r N a t i o n s
C h a i r , D i g i t a l S k i l l s W o r k i n g G r o u p , I E E E
C h i e f P e n g u i n
@ m e n t o r a f r i k a
Inspired by Abaca & Village Capital

2. 90%
of early-stage ventures fail

3. Why?
Startups Fail
No more money
Lack of product-market fit
Not enough research
Failed partnerships
Ineffective marketing
Lack of industry expertise

4. Let's Prove them ALL Wrong!
You have made the plunge to
come up with an idea! You
might even have a product,
service, or solution that solves a
problem or creates market
opportunity.
It's common to need seed
funding to kick things off.
Build
At some point, you will look to
scale your solution & this often
requires additional jolts of
investment.
Don't be afraid to think about
how you will scale at the idea
stage. Go big! No fear!
Scale
Businesses exist to create
economic opportunity, solve
problems & drive opportunity.
Remember this concept: do well
while doing good, which means
go out & make money while
making the world a better
place. No tradeoffs!
Thrive

5. Investment
Readiness
7 Points to Consider
Team
Problem & Vision
Value Proposition
Product
Market
Business Model
Scale
S O U R C E
V i l l a g e C a p i t a l
& A b a c a

6. Do you have more than one cofounder with different skills?
Has your team experienced the problem before?
Is your team able to build your product & understand the value chain?
Do you understand the market & have connections?
Do you have a clear strategy & understand sales?
Is your team ready to grow & go big?
Is your team recognized as market leaders?
Team
Who is in your team, what experience does your team have & how does your
team's chops compare to the competition?
The more of this you have, the better your chances are of gaining access to large
amounts of capital, but don't worry if you only have a few of these.
S O U R C E
V i l l a g e C a p i t a l
& A b a c a

7. We identified a big, wicked problem that matters.
We know how to solve the problem & can execute.
We can articulate our vision & why it's better than other options.
We can explain why our solution will transform the industry.
We are already solving problems for existing customers.
We have paying customers & starting to grow.
It's gaining traction in a specific market.
We have started to scale & gain serious momentum.
Problem & Vision
What problem are you solving & what skills does your team bring to the table?
Everyone has to start somewhere & you may only have a few testimonials that
enable you to demonstrate your ability to raise funds.
S O U R C E
V i l l a g e C a p i t a l
& A b a c a

8. We have an idea on how this problem can be solved.
Potential customers have told us they like the solution.
We have customers that will pay for our solution.
Customers have told us that our solution is better than other options.
Initial customers love our product & are fans & advocates.
We have expanded beyond our initial target market.
Most of our customers come to us selling to them.
Customers renew without us trying to sell to them.
Value Proposition
What evidence or market validation do you have confirming that your solution
is valuable & differentiated for customers?
Think of your idea as an evolution where you will not have any customers on day
one of coming up with the idea, but the end is where you want to be at some point.
S O U R C E
V i l l a g e C a p i t a l
& A b a c a

9. We are able to build a prototype.
We have built a prototype.
We built a prototype & have a product roadmap.
We understand product management & associated costs.
We are nearly ready for broad commercialization & distribution.
Our product is in-market & we are gathering market feedback.
Our product is built to scale & we have introduced new offerings.
Our product is handling dramatic growth successfully.
Product
How mature is the product?
Your goal is to initially have a working product or an MVP that you can showcase;
however, early-stage founders often need funding to get their MVP off-the-ground.
S O U R C E
V i l l a g e C a p i t a l
& A b a c a

10. We know the total addressable market size & target market share.
We understand government regulations & compliance requirements.
Initial sales have demonstrated our ability to capture market share.
We have evidence that our total addressable market share is $1B+.
Large partners are coming to us for collaboration.
Our partners see large & tangible benefits from our partnership.
Our sales aligns to or beats industry standards.
Our partnerships are difficult for competitors to beat.
Market
How much evidence exists that a large customer market exists and they
experience the big, wicked problem you have identified?
Start with reputable, reliable & trustworthy data, including actually talking with
potential customers to validate the market.
S O U R C E
V i l l a g e C a p i t a l
& A b a c a

11. We have a draft revenue model.
Existing pricing & business model aligns to our revenue model.
We can articulate revenue & cost aligned to industry standards.
Our projected financials (revenue/cost) align to expectations.
Our projected financials support positive growth.
Our customer acquisition costs are decreasing.
Our business model has been validated.
We are rapidly growing & on a profitable path.
Business Model
Do you have evidence that your business model will work & enable you to
thrive economically?
You can do well while doing good, which means making money & making the
world a better place at the same time. You do not have to see this as a tradeoff.
S O U R C E
V i l l a g e C a p i t a l
& A b a c a

12. We have identified a number of potential customer segments.
We have evidence that multiple segments have this problem.
We have a strategy to scale to multiple customer segments.
Multiple customer segments value our solution.
Our economics look positive across 2+ customer segments.
We have an IP strategy & have resolved any regulatory challenges.
Our economics are positive across 2+ customer segments.
Our customer base is accelerating exponentially.
Scale
How much scale have you achieved so far with your business?
In the beginning, you will have no customers, as growth takes time. That said,
does your idea have the ability to scale across your target market & beyond.
S O U R C E
V i l l a g e C a p i t a l
& A b a c a

13. Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
Answer these questions by yourself
without consultation from anyone in
the team to see what you think.
Compare how each team member
answered each question & agree
upon where you are exactly across
each of the seven categories
presented today.
Go out and ask a handful of your
stakeholders, advisors, and/or
customers to see how their answers
compare to yours. What your
external peers say might be closer to
where you actually are or where it is
perceived you are across each of the
seven categories.
Where are you?
S O U R C E
V i l l a g e C a p i t a l
& A b a c a

14. Milestone Planning
2
Who is going to do
what & what are the
dependencies to get
you from point A to
point B?
3
What external
resources are
required to help you
build, scale & thrive?
4
By when are team
members completing
their tasks & how
will everyone be
accountable?
1
What steps do you
need to take to get
you from where you
are across each
category?

15. Thank you!
D r . M e l i s s a S a s s i
P a r t n e r , P 3 N e t w o r k
C E O & C o - F o u n d e r , S k i l l s H u s t l e
F o u n d e r & C E O , M e n t o r N a t i o n s
C h a i r , D i g i t a l S k i l l s W o r k i n g G r o u p , I E E E
C h i e f P e n g u i n
@ m e n t o r a f r i k a