This document provides insights on raising capital from Silicon Valley, outlining the journey of SoftTech VC and key recommendations for entrepreneurs. It discusses funding stages, challenges to securing investments, and what investors look for in potential startups. The emphasis is on the importance of market opportunity, unique vision, and global ambition while navigating the funding ecosystem.

1. What
you
need
to
know
if
you
want
to
raise
capital
from
Silicon
Valley
Jeff Clavier
Founder & Managing Partner
Kima Ventures Portfolio Day
Dec 9, 2013 – Paris, France

2. SoftTech
VC
in
a
Nutshell
§ Founded in 2004, SoftTech VC has backed 143 seed
stage startups in consumer internet, devices and Saas
§ Geographies:
§ 80% of the portfolio is in Silicon Valley, 10% is in New-York,
the rest is in SoCal, Boulder and Toronto/Waterloo
Jeff Clavier
§ To date:
§ 30+ companies have generated $1.5B in total exit
consideration
§ 70+ companies have raised $1.5B in follow-on financing
§ Top quartile performer in all funds
SoftTech is very much a startup – it just happens to operate
in the VC market. It was bootstrapped for 3 years (Fund I) –
and then scaled by raising $155M (Fund II, III, IV).
And yes, it had zero chance of being a success.
12/14/13
about.me/jeff
2
Charles Hudson
Stephanie Palmeri

3. A
few
SoftTech
Exits
Dec 05
Acquired by
Dec 09
Acquired by
Feb 12
Acquired by
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Aug 06
Acquired by
May 10
Acquired by
Jul12
Acquired by
Dec 06
Aug 07
Acquired by
Acquired by
July 10
July 10
Acquired by
Acquired by
Jul 12
Aug 12
Acquired by
Acquired by
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Aug 07
Acquired by
Dec 10
Acquired by
Aug 12
Acquired by
Dec 09
Acquired by
Oct 11
Acquired by
Apr 13
Acquired by

4. If
you
remember
ONE
thing
from
this
talk
“The only real mistake is not trying, anything else is part
of an entrepreneur’s journey”
12/14/13
about.me/jeff
4

5. Here
Is
the
SV/NY
Funding
Ecosystem
Pre-Seed
< $500K
Seed
$1.2 to
$2.5M
Series A
$4M tp
$10M
Series B
$6M to
$15M
Growth
$20M+
12/14/13
• Bootstrapping/Friends and family/Crowdfunding
• Incubators and Accelerators (YC, Techstars, AngelPad, SeedCamp)
• Syndicates of micro-VC firms, angels and (potentially) traditional VCs
• AngelList and Crowdfunding services as alternative or “fill up” opportunity
• One traditional VC, with micro VCs investing pro-rata and adding strategic angels
• Family Offices, Strategics, Micro-VCs + Crowdfunding pools as alternative
• Another traditional VC (or two), with insiders coming in for pro-rata
• Same mix as Series A for alternatives
• Mix of traditional/growth VCs, PE firms, hedge funds. In parallel, secondary transactions.
• Alternative: direct co-investments from LPs, hedge/mutual funds, cash rich corporates
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6. Challenges
to
Raising
Capital
in
the
US
§ Visas for Founders and Executives
§ Financeable Idea: Big, Bold, Global Vision
§ Limited/Inexistent Network for employees and
investors referral
§ Team/Product Credibility vs. Traction
12/14/13
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7. Two
Practical
Ways
To
Get
To
The
Valley
As an Employee
§ Get a large US co to sponsor
your visa and move you
§ Network your way into the
local community of
entrepreneurs and investors
§ After 2 to 4 years, you’re
local and you can figure out
your way into a new visa,
startup, funding, etc.
§ Takes time, but works well if
you are committed to the US
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As an Entrepreneur
§ Raise seed financing in
France/Europe for a global
product, validated locally
§ Raise a Series A/B in Europe
with a global footprint target
§ Raise a Series B/C in the US
to expand/grow
§ If your startup has 2+ years,
transfer visas (L) is a
possibility
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8. What
Silicon
Valley
Investors
Consider
§ Market Opportunity
§ Distribution
§ Vision
§ Marketing
§ Team/Bench
§ Monetization
§ Traction
§ Economics
§ Competition
12/14/13
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9. What
Silicon
Valley
Investors
Consider
§ Market Opportunity
§ Distribution
§ Huge ($Bs)
§ Most critical
§ Vision
§ Marketing
§ Big, Ballsy, Impactful
§ What’s unique about yours
§ Team/Bench
§ Monetization
§ World class/Experienced
§ What brings the dough
when
§ Traction
§ Economics
§ Proof that the shit works
§ Do the CAC vs. LTV maths
work
§ Competition
§ Know your ecosystem
12/14/13
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10. Big
No-­‐No’s
§ Expecting we’ll move you
§ Expecting that it’s easy
§ Most investors will want to
see commitment to US
§ Convincing US investors
is unbelievably hard
§ Research how it worked
for SoundCloud, Klarna,
Unity, Criteo, Songkick,
Skype, Rovio, etc.
§ Traction in France is
enough to get US funding
§ Need global ambition and
European traction
§ A detail: the Exit slide in
the deck
§ Assume every VC is a
potential investor
§ We’ll show you the exit…
door
§ Previous European deal is
a strong indicator
12/14/13
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11. Finally
a
Few
Recommendations
§ You need to understand the “right” source and
amount of funding for your startup
§ Based on the vision and market opportunity
§ Depending on your stage, and industry
§ Crunchbase and AngelList are great sources of
information re who funded what
§ Remember: most professional investors will only
consider opportunities coming through a referral
§ Other successful European entrepreneurs are probably best
§ Incubators offer a real opportunity to get early stage
financing in the US
12/14/13
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12. Any
Questions?