the business of (tech) investing -- mentorcamp

@paulsingh #mentorcamp

PAUL SINGH

@paulsingh・[email protected]・dashboard.io

THE BUSINESS OF (TECH) INVESTING

THE RISE OF THE ANGELS (AND THE ENTREPRENEURS)

mailto:[email protected]




500 STARTUPS




A (R)EVOLUTION IN THINKING


SIGNALS ARE EVERYWHERE

BIG DATA + OPEN SOURCE ANALYTICS = NEW TECHNIQUES FOR VC


TRANSPARENCY ISSIGNALS ARE EVERYWHERE

BIG DATA + OPEN SOURCE ANALYTICS = NEW TECHNIQUES FOR VC


WALL STREET BEAT US TO IT


UBS PROPRIETARY SATELLITE PARKING LOT FILL RATE ANALYSIS POINTS TO AN INTERESTING CADENCE INTRA-QUARTER AND POTENTIAL UPSIDE TO OUR VIEW.

“


TWICE A WEEK A SMALL HELICOPTER CIRCLES OVER CUSHING’S TANK FARMS ON AN OIL INDUSTRY SPYING MISSION.

“


WALL STREET ISN’T ALONE

THESE TECHNIQUES ALREADY USED TO UNDERWRITE IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION LENDING, PAYDAY LOANS, SUBPRIME AUTO LENDING, HOME/PERSONAL/AUTO INSURANCE AND MORE.


WE CAN DO IT, TOOSURPRISE!

IT TURNS OUT,


+ “GUT” + TRUSTED MENTORS + MUCH, MUCH MORE DATA.


WE CAN DO IT, TOO.


WE’RE DOING IT, TOO.


VENTURE CAPITAL IS OPEN TO ATTACK BY DISRUPTIVE NEW BUSINESS MODELS AND TECHNOLOGY.

“

-- NAVAL RAVIKANT (@naval)


dashboard.io


EARLY STAGE VCIS CHANGINGHAS CHANGED


STATE OF THE ART IN EARLY STAGE INVESTING IS NOT

VERY SOPHISTICATED


UNBUNDLING OF ADVICE, CONTROL

AND MONEY


USED TO BE ABOUT CAPITAL, DEALFLOW

AND JUDGEMENTTODAY, IT’S ABOUT ACCESS.


INCREASINGLY ABOUT DEAL SELECTION,

NOT DEAL SOURCING.IT’S 2013, YO.


dashboard.io


(500) CHECKLISTProduct solves a problem for a specific target customer

Capital-efficient businesses - operational @ <$1M funding

Primarily internet-based distribution - search, social, mobile, local

Simple revenue models - transactions, subscriptions or affiliate

Functional prototype before investment (or previous success)

Small but measurable usage - some customers, early revenue

Small but cross-functional team - engineer, design/UX, marketing


(NEW) FINANCINGS Standardized terms

No fixed amounts, no closings, no leads

Continuous, not discrete rounds

Prices beginning to float

No Board seats at the earliest stage

Herd mentality and oversubscriptions


THE BUSINESS OF INVESTING IS ABOUT CHOOSING THE

LEAST-WORST OPPORTUNITYNOT TRYING TO PREDICT THE NEXT GOOGLE, FACEBOOK OR LINKEDIN.


THE FIRST CHECK SHOULD BE SMALL AND FAST

DOUBLE DOWN HEAVY IF THE COMPANY SURVIVES INTO THE NEXT ROUND


BY ITS NATURE, THE INTERNET UNDERMINES ANYONE WHOSE STATUS DEPENDS ON PRIVILEGED ACCESS TO INFORMATION.

“

-- MICHAEL LEWIS


THE PRIVATE MARKET IS BECOMING MORE

ACCESSIBLE.


THE PRIVATE MARKET IS BECOMING MORE TRANSPARENT.


Demo Day Videos ⟹ livestream.com/500startups

Sample Pitch Decks ⟹ slideshare.net/500startups

Venture Capital 101 ⟹ venturehacks.com/archives

Investor Thoughts:

Brad Feld ⟹ feld.com

Fred Wilson ⟹ avc.com

Chris Dixon ⟹ cdixon.org

Mark Suster ⟹ bothsidesofthetable.com

angel.co/valuations and angel.co/salaries


dashboard.io


YOUR KEY TAKEAWAYS

Focus on Traction.

Learn to Communicate and Inspire.


ALSO... Distribution > Product

Tactics > Strategy

Notability > Credibility

Get on AngelList

Raise 12-18+ months of funding

Learn the basics of VC economics

Don’t confuse due diligence with progress & probability...

Shameless plug: dashboard.io



LEARN MORE:

bit.ly/dashboard-weekly

THE BUSINESS OF (TECH) INVESTING

THE RISE OF THE ANGELS (AND THE ENTREPRENEURS)



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