Shaherose Charania’s Post

Batter Up! -- a pitch event for founders and investors -- is coming to Atlanta on March 27. Connect with the Atlanta startup community, meet 100+ founders and Angel Squad members, listen to founders test out their pitch over pizza and get real time feedback! If you’re unfamiliar with our Batter Up! events, here’s what’s in store: 🚀 Live Pitch Opportunity: Up to 8 founders will be selected to pitch live to a panel of 3 seasoned investors from Hustle Fund's Angel Squad. You'll have 2.5 minutes to make your mark! 🚀 Real-time Feedback: Our investors will ask follow-up questions and provide valuable feedback, just like in a real VC meeting. Plus, the winner walks away with a fabulous prize! 🚀 Q&A Session: Come ready to learn and prep your pitch evaluation. Stick around for a Q&A session to satisfy your curiosity. Batter Up! is free to attend, but space is limited (especially to pitch) - RSVP below to secure your spot, and have your pitch deck ready if you’re a founder looking to pitch! https://lnkd.in/g5Twku99

That one time I got a ton of value out of being rejected by a VC: In early 2015, we went out to raise Mode’s Series A. I met Mike Dauber through a friend who was an exec at Platfora, where Mike was on the board. Mike had just left Battery Ventures to start Amplify Partners. His experience and Amplify’s focus seemed to match perfectly with what we were up to at Mode. My co-founders and I went into his office for a one-hour conversation. I don’t recall speaking with him too much beyond that, but he was kind enough to give me a phone call and break the news to me live. Here's roughly how it went: “We like the company, but we think this deal will be too expensive for us. We are really just set up to do seed deals.” “What do you think the right price is for this round?” “$28 million pre-money” Back then, $28m was a pretty good Series A — and certainly beyond a seed round — so it felt like Mike was being honest with me. And I had heard “no” enough times at that point to recognize that he didn’t have to give me a number. So I asked him for more thoughts, and he was very free with them. But the number turned out to matter the most. Because a couple weeks later, we had a term sheet on the table and another one coming. The first one was at $20m pre-money. We bet on Mike’s guidance and told the second firm that we were looking for $28m. And that’s what we ended up with. Maybe we could have gone higher, but we certainly wouldn’t have thought to go 40% above our other term sheet without an expert giving us some indication that it would be reasonable. So when I was prepping my deck for the Series B a couple years later, the first person I called was Mike. Not because I wanted him to invest. I was 100% certain he wouldn’t. I just wanted his opinion on my pitch; on the company. Once again, he gave me direct, actionable feedback that made my pitch better, and ultimately helped me get a great round done. It was a bit more critical this time -- it certainly didn't feel as good as hearing "your deal will be priced to high for me." But that made it all the more valuable. I can’t stress enough how rare this is. Especially as a CEO, it’s very difficult to find people who will tell it to you like it is.

☕ This morning I was able to attend the "New to VC: Taking the Platform Route" hosted by nextNYC !! "New to VC is an educational series for a group of relatively new investors who want to be exposed to the best venture and startup thinking. Each event is attended by accredited investors and non-partner VCs that skew intentionally, but not exclusively, toward underrepresented backgrounds." 🎤 Charlie O'Donnell is a phenomenal moderator and brought the audience together to discuss the platform role in VC and the career paths around it with 3 venture professionals who have experience on both the investment and platform teams. 💸 The panel consisted of Olivia O'Sullivan, Partner at Forum Ventures, Cat Middleton, GP at The Venture Collective (TVC) and Lexi Quirk, Head of Product and Platform at 645 Ventures. 📓 It wouldn't be one of my event recaps without some takeaways right? ⬇ When discussing the importance of nurturing relationships in the ecosystem: “We ask ourselves, how do we get to know the people before they become the company?” When discussing what's the best way to move up from a platform role: "Have a very candid conversation with partners about growth early on." When discussing how to drive value to portfolio companies: "Try to be proactive... build a team and process that goes to the founders at onboarding and says 'here’s our playbook on X, here’s our playbook on Y' " 💥 And for my favorite - what to do to make sure you stand out to Partners? "You need to have skin in the game, and find a way to contribute to the bottom line as an operator." 💪 Be sure to follow nextNYC as well as these awesome professionals, especially if you're looking to learn from some of the brightest in NYC Venture Capital And stop if you've heard me say it before, Cooley LLP's NYC office is always so great to visit!! #VCplatform #venturecapital #nextnyc #newtoVC #femalefunders

In an industry marked by limited startup exits, understanding the nuances of this process is paramount for investors and founders alike. Our esteemed panelists at Venture West this April, will dissect potential exit pathways and offer crucial insights into market dynamics. Don't miss this pivotal discussion surround exit strategies with representation from globally-renowned companies. Venture West is now more than 50% sold out. Secure your place now to gain invaluable knowledge for navigating the complex landscape of the built environment's digital transformation. #constructiontechnology #ExitStrategies #MarketInsights

Founders and C-Suite of Series A+ businesses this is an event not to miss!. 📲 Scaling a business is tough and often the exit is the goal for many founders. If this is your goal then look no further, Adaptor’s Scaling to Exit event (in partnership with Techspace) will help fill in the gaps and provide clarity on what it means to exit. Hear perspectives from 2 exited founders Julia Langkraehr, Kate McLaughlin and Martin Ericsson from Eight Roads and Jamie Moore from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP There are limited tickets available so register now – https://lu.ma/ifxh73p2 #Scaling #Growth #TechFounders #ScalingToExit #Hiring #BusinessGrowth

Struggling to raise capital as an early stage founder in the current market? Here’s what helped us: Casting a smaller net for investors who truly understand the startup grind isn't just about what is the hot topic that month but about building something meaningful. As a result you gain partners who empathize with the journey and the struggles because they have been there themselves. At Rainfall Health we're fortunate to have investors who not only believe in our vision but also comprehend the challenges we face on the path to success. Their support goes beyond financial backing; it's a shared commitment to overcoming obstacles, celebrating milestones, and growing together. To all founders out there, remember: Surround yourself with investors who not only invest in your business but also invest in you. #StartupLife #InvestmentPartners #GrowthJourney

Day 2 of fundraising in public: Whilst I didn't get locked outside my office like yesterday, of course my demo failed during an investor pitch. Going from selling an enterprise solution to a startup MVP REALLY taught me how to roll with the punches. If only you knew how many times my co-founders were using rhetora on the backend simulating a functioning product... Nevertheless, we persevered and setup a second meeting 💪 5 investor meetings booked: - 4 VCs we never spoke to earlier. - 1 angel Results: - 1 'too early', but referring us to pre-seed investors - 2 VCs progressing to second meeting - 1 VC pitching us to investment committee - 1 angel introducing us to their syndicates This is a little abnormally positive in my experience, usually you get a bit more push back. However it could be because we are so much more prepared for our second round than we were for our first. To prepare for our round, our investors at Techstars suggested I write up a 70 page document outlining every aspect of our business: problem, solution, market, unique insight, competition, traction and team. I spent 1 month purely preparing to fundraise, writing out 10 pages per aspect of the business allowed us to rethink some of our strategies. Now, there are almost no questions which could catch me off guard. Yesterday I mentioned the need to improve on answering our GTM strategy and I spoke to my co-founder Mazen AlMalki who gave me the best advice. Mazen had reminded me that we are a very early stage startup and that the scalability of our GTM strategy isn't something we are going to be right about. I was reminded... Luka, we do rigorous GTM experiments on weekly bases for that very reason. So I'm confident in our team, we'll figure out the best repeatable GTM strategy. and I'll hone down on that answer. I know I promised I'll tell you more about how I was able to book 13 meetings in 2 days but this post is already long enough. Until tomorrow! ps. I'm not a blogger so I didn't take a photo from yesterday, so here is one from our Techstar Demo Day! #fundraiseinpublic

I can talk for days about the importance of cofounder dynamics and how they can make or break a great startup. What’s often overlooked is how the *right* investors are also crucial ingredients. Founders can be so singularly focused on raising a round that they overlook whether they’re bringing investors into their family who will serve it well—or burden it. Our lead investors for Clay at Remagine Ventures were always there—not as a distraction or mental drain, but as a true support. In fact, we’ve been really fortunate to have had great investors at our previous companies Ivy.co (acquired by Houzz) and Dynamic Yield by Mastercard too. Find good investors who are also good people. The rollercoaster journey of highs and lows is so much easier to endure when you have a good people by your side. Like these investors as people, not just dollars. Find yourselves a Kevin Baxpehler and Eze Vidra!

At HETCH we believe startup success is fueled by learning from the best. That’s why we host Investor Fireside Chats every month. This October, we welcomed VC firms PSV and byFounders from Copenhagen. Here are some of the key takeaways. 👉 Focus on building a business, not just fundraising Start with building a business - validate the problem, build the product, and get some customers, instead of building a pitch deck and try to book meetings with investors. Traction trumps ideas. 👉 Everything starts with the founding team The founding team is a startup’s first challenge, setting a founder team, and aligning the founders around roles, tasks and goals. 👉 Nordic founders score lower on vision than US founders Being visionary means painting an image of where the world is heading, telling the story of why their specific company will be part of that exciting new future. Nordic founders need to improve on their visionary skills, while maintaining the focus on execution. 👉 What metrics are VC:s looking at Potential returns in the range of 50-100x, and show a clear path to reaching $100M in annual revenue within eight years. Market wise, a TAM of $1B is considered too small. 🗒️ We wrote a longer piece on the topic that you can find here: https://lnkd.in/dS4NP3cf Johannes Ivarsson Sebastian von Wildenrath Wegmann Daniel Stenson

🚀 Exploring the Benefits and Challenges of Angel Syndicates! 🚀 As a CEO who has guided hundreds of startups through the complexities of funding, I see the immense potential in angel syndicates for diversifying investments and leveraging expertise. 🌟📈 Yet, it’s crucial to weigh the potential downsides, such as equity dilution and the complexities of collective decision-making. 🤔 Find out how to make syndicates work for your startup—link to the article in the original Kruze Consulting post. 📌 #StartupFunding