se2016 fundraising wlodek laskowski "insider guide to successful fundraising strategies"

Copy right 2016 © Mobility Ventures LLC All Rights Reserved

Insider guide to successful fundraising strategies

3 x F

Bootstrapping

Business

Angels

Accelerators

State support

VC

| Copyright 2016 © Mobility Ventures, LLC. All Rights Reserved. | Confidential & Proprietary

Wlodek Laskowski

Background

LSE

Investment & corporate banking

Entrepreneur

Co-founded BOT.Inc

From bootstrap to exit

Investor

Set-up and run a VC fund

Matching startups with right investors

Commitment: series A and beyond


Bootstrapping

Your own time, money and hard work

True commitment

Diversification & specialization

Survival & character test

Proof of Concept

Important to get it right

Try and try and try again

Investors expectations

No risk, no gain

Sharing pain


3 x F (Family, Friends & Fools…..)

Natural first port of call

Make it relevant

Don’t just take money

Active involvement

First users

High risk warning

Absolute must

Invest only what you can loose

Beware of broken trust Total transparency


Business Angels

Choose CAREFULLY!

Investor Due Diligence

Origin of funds

Impact on future investments

A reliable local co-investor

Sharing the risk

Local monitoring

Smart Money

Connections, advice, hands-on help

Not only cash!


Accelerators

Be EXTREMELY picky!

Find REAL value

Don’t give away equity

Negotiate

Shop around

Free lunch

MassChallenge

Look at state-sponsored programs Important visa considerations


State Support

UK

UKTI Global Entrepreneur Programme

The Sirius Programme

Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa

Ireland

The Start-up Entrepreneur Programme

Enterprise Ireland

Holland

New 'start-up visa' // BrainPort

Finland

Tekes USA: ????


Venture Capital – Research Stage

Research in Depth!

DON’T ever mass target!

Never use a template approach

Research the Firm

Why should they invest in you?

Deal mindset (for PROFIT)

Portfolio companies synergies

Research the Best Partner for your Deal

VCs interests, hobbies

Similar deals

Your attractiveness to them


Venture Capital – Approach Stage

Avoid COLD CALLING

Get recommendation if you can

LinkedIn: best business networking tool

Chat-up VCs

Executive Summary (CV)

Preferably 1 page (max. 2)

Pitch Deck (cover letter)

DON’T invent, just copy success

Keep it SHORT & Proof-Read!

Technology start-ups: WHITE PAPER!


Venture Capital – One Shot

ONE SHOT – prepare CAREFULLY!

Don’t waste an opportunity

No second chances

Practice your pitch

Get feedback from friendly VCs

SELL yourself!

People are the most important factor!

Choosing partners for good and bad times

Show true PASSION and commitment

Don’t be shy!


Venture Capital – Best Strategy

Be Aggressive - but not Arrogant!

A fine line between arrogance and being too aggressive.

The defining factors are knowledge and passion rather than bravado and swagger.

Show an true dedication to your start-up to make a formidable impression.

Be passionate and well-informed

You are the absolute expert when it comes to your business.


Venture Capital – Don’t Do!

Don’t Try to Outsmart the VC!

The job of a VC is to find what’s wrong with your business

Don’t bend the truth

If you do have some questionable metrics or problems with your business model,

Be transparent about it!

VCs appreciate candor and honesty

They want to see that founders are coachable and transparent

They will work together!

.


UK & Ireland

UK - accelerators

Dreamstake

Level 42

Techstars

Seedcamp

Oxygen

Wayra/Collider

Startupbootcamp

UK - VCs

AccelDN Capital/Balderton/Index/DFJ Esprit


Central & Eastern Europe

Poland

Innovation Nest / hub:raum

Austria

Impact Hub / SpeedInvest

Bulgaria

Cross Border Angels/ LaunchHub

Hungary

iCatapult / Traction Tribe / Connect East

Estonia Startup Wise Guys / E-residency

BuildIT / Tehnopol


Germany, France, Spain & Holland

Germany

Point Nine Capital / e.ventures / Earlybird

Axel Springer / ProSiebenSat.1 Accelerator

France

Kima Ventures

Partech

Spain

4YFN

Holland

Rockstart


Scandinavia

Finland

Startup Sauna

Vendep

Go International

Nexit Ventures

Inventure

Sweden

True Global Ventures

Northzone

Creandum


USA

Silicon Valley

500 Startups

Plug & Play

BlackBox

Y Combinator

New York

Nest New York

LemonSqueeze

Brooklyn Bridge Ventures


Asia

Singapore

SPH plugandplay

Rockstart

China

muru-D

Chinaccelerator / Hox

Hong Kong

Cyberport / Brinc

South Korea

born2global


Good luck!

Thank you for your attention!

Get in touch if you want help & guidance

Connect with me on LinkedIn

[email protected]

se2016 fundraising wlodek laskowski "insider guide to successful fundraising strategies"

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