VC
.91%
VC.05%
@Blake Patton
Full Bio @: www.techsquareventures.com
! [email protected]" @blakepatton
INVESTOR
ENTREPRENEUR
UNIVERSITY / TECH TRANSFER
TECH TRANSFER PORTFOLIO EXAMPLES
www.pointivo.com
Pointivo is a 3D intelligence platform that uses computer
vision and machine learning to automatically generate digital models for CAD, BIM, and VR
systems.
www.pretelhealth.com
PreTel’s fetal heart rate monitoring and area sensor
solutions solve the inability of existing technology to
accurately identify true versus false labor with fetal monitoring
www.stord.co
Real-time global warehousing network that connects
independent, third-party warehouses via an enterprise
software platform to drive inventory efficiency
PhD Student Professor / Researcher Undergraduate Student
BUILDING A COMPANY
is all about telling a great story over and over again - to customers, employees, investors, and partners
Don’t make your story about YOU or YOUR PRODUCT
Make it about YOUR CUSTOMER and the PROBLEM YOU SOLVE for them
If they understand THE PROBLEM YOU SOLVE and WHO YOU SOLVE
IT FOR – you are half way there
! Elevator Pitch
" Executive Summary
# Financials
$ Presentation
FOUR WAYSTO TELL YOUR STORY
ELEVATOR PITCHWe solve problemby providing solution / advantage, to help target customerwith goal or outcome
Depending on stage of business add:We make money by charging target customer to get benefit
EXECUTIVE SUMMARYCreate the right first impression
Use to get meetings and gauge interest
Not a business plan
1 page ideal (2 page max)
Clear and compelling
Highlight the good stuff
Layout and format mattersTEMPLATE:
https://www.ventureatlanta.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/VA-Executive-
Summary-Template-.docx
FINANCIALS
“in preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
“Startup financials are a work of fiction”Yes… but it shows
§ How you think about the business§ How fast you think it will grow§ Key assumptions, drivers, and levers§ Goals and milestones§ What you need to get there
And§ Helps tell your story§ Guages interest§ Allows comparison of strategic
alternatives§ Helps understand strengths and
weaknesses of a venture
FINANCIALS
Understand the key assumptions underlying your plan and be prepared to defend them
§ Business model§ Marketing, sales, and distribution§ Pricing§ Average sale and LTV§ Costs§ How and when will you achieve profitability§ Key revenue and cost drivers
# customers, user stats, conversion, churn, variable costs, etc.
§ Sales pipeline
P&LBALANCE SHEET
CASH FLOW (BURN RATE)CAP TABLE
Clear path to revenue growth and profitability
FINANCIALS
§ Start with revenue forecast§ Forecast expenses§ Income statement forecast§ Balance sheet and cash flow
forecast§ Build / highlight a schedule of
assumptions and make them easy to adjust
Leverage the Business Model Canvas to build your modelThe Canvas shows flow of revenue and costs
PRESENTATION
PRESENT YOUR STORY
We have this value proposition and we have the right team to win.
We discovered our targetcustomer has this large problem,
and we addressed it with our solution based on this defendable
technology.
We will acquire customers with this business model.
We have these advantages over our competition. We will meet
these milestones with this financing.
https://www.slideshare.net/canaanpartners/canaan-pitch-workbook
https://www.slideshare.net/canaanpartners/canaan-pitch-workbook
DON’T USE TEMPLATESBut if you do… here are some good examples:
PITCH LIKE A PRO: TIPS FOR SUCCESS
Demonstrate The Market Size & Competitive Landscape
Show Evidence Your Story Can Become Reality
Show How You Will Make Money
Start with how you will acquire customers
Validate lifetime value of customers is greater than cost to acquire
R&D / Initial Product
Product Market Fit
GTM Scale
Growth Maturity
SeedBootstrapping, Grants,
Friends & Family, Angels, Seed VC
Venture CapitalEarly Stage VC,
Growth Stage VC, Venture Debt
TraditionalPrivate Equity, Bank,
IPO, Bonds
Sources Of Funding
R&D / Initial Product
Product Market Fit
GTM Scale
Growth Maturity
When To Raise
!
MAGIC!
Lean while finding product market fit
Raise more to accelerate growth
Investors don’t typically fund research – they fund companies. Stay bootstrapped / grant funded as long as you can
How Much To Raise
Raise enough capital to reach meaningful milestones
Milestones represent reduced risk and more favorable valuation
Customer Discovery FirstMost startups fail from lack of customers, not from failure to develop the product
This is NOT what I wanted
Customer discovery first… then build & raise money
What VC’sI Look For
Entrepreneur & team
Market
Right Timing
Unfair advantage
Strong team with domain expertise
A large, defendable market opportunity
Market dynamics favor timing
Defendable unfair advantage / moat
Fit
Can I help?
Potential for rapid, capital-efficient growth
Evidence and/or traction
Go-to-market strategy and distribution model
Finding The Right Investor
JUST FUNDED
Getting the MeetingThe best introduction is from another successful entrepreneur
Cold calling rarely works – get a warm intro
Lawyers and service providers
Startup community Events
Short email with ‘bait’ – get the meeting, don’t over sell
Ask for a 30 minute meeting
Be prepared to send executive summary or deck if requested
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”
-Albert Einstein
Avoid Buzzwords & Empty Jargon
Your audience decides in the first 60 seconds if they will listenStart with a short story or anecdote
Highlight the big problem, shift, or change you are addressing
Tell them about the ‘land of milk and honey’
They can eitherread your slides or listen to youSlides are not a document
Text heavy slides are boring
Use large font and uncluttered layout
Make use of pictures, graphs, and images
Include more detail when meeting one-on-one, less when presenting to group
USE A DEMO
A picture is worth 1000 words A demo is worth a second meeting
“I’m glad you asked…”
Use an appendix for additional detail