Considering raising from corporate #venturecapital investors? Here are 2 things to keep in mind as a #founder 👇🏻 But first, you should read this quote. It's a response I received from a CVC when I asked them if they wanted to meet a #startup in my orbit ... "Thanks for sending AcmeCo. To be completely frank, it will be very difficult to get a company like this into our corporate parent since our IT teams aren't overly receptive to this type of thing... ...If it helps you or makes you look good, I am more than happy to talk to them, but I also want to be very careful and cognizant of wasting founders' time, since this can be a problem in the VC world as you well know." 2 takeaways 👇🏻 1️⃣ Corporate VCs need to sell more than just their "partners". They often need to get business unit buy in for most or all investments that they make. This means there are more opportunities for a "No" to appear, and that the investment process will be longer. 2️⃣ Qualifying the investor (as always) is critical. How active have they been in terms of investments over the last 6-12 months? If you're a seed stage company, have they done any seed deals? (If no, what will make you the exception to the rule?) What other considerations should founders have when engaging with corporate VCs?
Great insights on engaging with corporate VCs! Thanks for sharing.
General Partner
9moTIME! CVCs often do more diligence which take significantly more time from the founder (note: months). Consider the value of your time vs. the potential $$$ of that relationship - the investment and BD upside. There are cases where the effort is worth it if the enterprise is a bulls-eye customer / distributor / market signal to other customers / potential acquirer.