Investors for startup companies
When we started to build this rocket 5 months ago -time flies-, it was crystal clear to us that it wasn’t just all about founders problems, investors have been facing as many challenges as startup founders, only few would make these public. And we built Startupxplore because as Javier Megías, after landing in the business angel world 5 years ago and investing in several startups, acknowledgedly says…
Bluntly put: it’s daunting for investors to know where to invest, how and with whom. It takes time and money in equal amounts. Be no mistaken, despite the mushrooming of events and articles about this, there’s yet a deep layer of opacity on top of us: nobody tells and knows clearly which baskets and which eggs are worth your money. Especially harder when you’re not a venture capital firm.
Do you want to know what’s a perfect match?
A Startup CEO scared of letting down their investors meeting a business angel scared of investing at a stage where all odds are stacked against them, to start with. That’s a fear-based match even Brangelina can’t live up to. Believe us.
As Javier, our CEO and serial business angel, pointed out during the Startupxplore presentation at Plug and Play Berlin last week, investors of all kinds suffer from 4 types of fears:
- For someone who wants to become an investor but has never invested yet, the main fear is putting their skin in startups that fall through. Helping startups from fizzling is beyond our humanly reach but we can help investors have a deeper knowledge of the existing startups and investment moves of the ecosystem. It’s all about sharing as much info as possible by CEO startups, as well as by investors.
And we’re developing the tools to do so. Think of Startupxplore as dashboard with actionable information to assist your gut instinct. - For novice investors with some little experience, the fear is being left out of dealflows. Question here for investors at this stage is how can I get to know which startups should be under my radar? How can I reach the supermodel startups or how can they reach me when there are other investors who have been playing this game longer ? Will I ever move up this ladder?
- For experienced investors, there’s a common shared feeling: we are getting dealflow, but it’s not the one that matches our investment criteria. A couple of days ago, an investor with a strong background told us that only 1% of the dealflow he gets actually meets the requisites he’s looking for and the sectors he’s interested in.
- A serial successful investor deals with a different scenario: she wants to fish the supermodels before they even call for evaluation.
Common to all of them is FOMO. Fear of missing out. What if I miss the next big thing and I’m left out? We are building the future of startup and investment tracking.
Now add here venture capital firms fears, such as wasting effort in implementing an agile deal flow and leaving future-gem stones unturned, so again, FOMO symptoms.
Just a couple of weeks after launch, we humbly hit a promising figure of 155 investors present in our community, and that’s just in our launch market, Spain. Following our first post on how to make the most of our community, we’ll show you how to maximize your chances if you’re an investor using Startupxplore.
You might also like
Technori Pitch: 8 principles for innovation in a corporate ecosystem — Chicago Tribune
Technori Pitch is a monthly event in which Chicago startup companies pitch their latest technologies and products in front of entrepreneurs and investors.
Q&A
How much equity is reasonable to offer to investors in a startup web based company? - Quora
The general range is 20-40%, and it's not completely arbitrary: the idea is that the round should be "appropriately sized", so that you raise enough money (with an appropriate cushion) to get you either to break-even, or else to a more advanced state so that you will be able to raise additional capital at a significantly increased (and thus less dilutive)
How can I best find a serious Angel Investor for my startup company?
Looking to open a small retail yarn, fabric etc resale shop, along with consignment items, classes and a place for artists to display/sell their wares.
The size of business you want to start is too small for Venture Capital firms, or for groups who do invest in potentially promising businesses.
The best way to find your "Angel Investor" is to look at your friends, and to their contacts who may have money to invest. For the business you describe, you will need to have some "personal connection" with the investor.
Beyond that, you will need to have a detailed business plan. These typically have anywhere from 20 to 50 pages, so there is a lot of homework to be done.
I don't know what type background you have, but the potential investo…
