If you don’t know how the process works to raise capital and get funding from angel investors or venture capital investors, you will never succeed at raising capital. What this means is that if you feel like raising angel investment or venture investment is critical for the success of your business, you need to go […]
Raising Startup Capital is an Achievement, But Not the Most Important One
HubSpot recently raised $16M dollars in a new funding round. The total capital they’ve raised to date: $33M. That’s a huge amount of money. Dharmesh Shah, one of HubSpot’s founders isn’t in love with the idea of raising venture capital (but he did it, and explains why too.) He considers himself a bootstrapping guy. After […]
8 Tips for Successful Venture Capital Meetings
Having recently participated in Montreal Startup’s first workshop day for the companies it has invested in, I wanted to share some of the input I provided. The Montreal Startup guys asked me to sit on a panel with serial entrepreneur, Frederic Lalonde and equally-experienced entrepreneur (and ex-VC) Marc Gingras. The panel was moderated by Mark […]
Startup Valuations, Business Models and Social Leverage
Howard Lindzon recently spoke at the Startup Empire event about why it’s not a good time to start a company. Thankfully and importantly, his presentation was very practical in nature, answering specific questions that many startup entrepreneurs should be asking right now. Howard touched on three things that are critical: startup valuations business models social […]
Are Strategic Investors More Important in a Downturn Economy?
First, let’s define a strategic investment. A strategic investment is one that’s made most often by a company in your industry, and in some cases a competitor. I don’t think most startups look at strategic investment opportunities – they pursue angel and VC investors first – but in a downturn economy, do strategic investors become […]
Venture Capitalists Love Sex Because Sex Sells
Mastering PowerPoint isn’t something to be proud of. But it’s a reality of a startup CEO’s job if you’re trying to raise capital. Why? Because sex sells.
5 Quick Tips on Pitching Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists
Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of pitching to investors, including angel investors and venture capitalists. It’s a fact of life when you run a venture-backed startup. It’s one of those things that no one ever tells you about raising money — once you start, you never stop. It will take on average 4-6 months […]
Dissing Venture Capitalists Is So Cool
One of entrepreneurs’ favorite pastimes is complaining about venture capitalists (VCs). (Incidentally, I’m fairly sure the reverse holds true for VCs, but I won’t put words in their mouths.) Although some of this is understandable (raising money is extremely hard and can be a frustrating process), I’ve often thought it’s in bad taste and just […]
An Introductory Guide to Startup Funding
Getting a startup funded isn’t easy. There’s no shortage of hype, and multiple announcements daily of new companies getting money. And there’s an equal (and growing) amount of chatter about a “new bubble” that we’re entering. Still, raising money is far from a cakewalk. Most people I’ve spoken to say it takes a solid 4-6 […]
10 Questions Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors Are Going To Ask
When raising money from venture capitalists or angels, you’ll want to meet as many as possible. They won’t all invest, but each time you pitch, you get better. Each time you pitch, you get asked different questions, get different opinions and ideas. It’s worth it to pitch as many people as you can, as often […]
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