This document discusses strategies for attracting capital to startups. It provides advice on bootstrapping as far as possible, using equity to recruit a strong founding team, creating an initial product, getting early customers, expanding the team, and then attracting experienced management and investors. The document emphasizes the importance of solving a clear problem and creating an investment opportunity in order to attract resources, talent, and funding to a startup venture.
2. Defined
Disruptive: RADICALLY
CHANGES an industry
or business strategy,
especially by creating a
new market & disrupting
an existing one.
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High technology:
technology involving the
production or use of
advanced or
sophisticated devices
(from tech to healthcare)
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3. Where Are You?
• Managed a startup?
• Raised capital in the past?
• Created a company that made
money for investors?
• Built a management team?
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Have You? Are You?
• Managing a startup?
• Raising capital?
• Creating a company?
• Building a management team?
4. What You Will Learn Today
How investors make decisions.
Strategies for attracting capital to your startup.
Who is the best leader for a startup and why?
How careers evolve.
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21. What An Investor Hears…
We have no competition We don’t know how to assess competition
We only need 1% of a huge market to be
successful
We don’t know how to segment our market
Our forecast is very conservative
We don’t understand the importance of
obtaining strong market share
Our product is better than anything else out
there
We don’t really know how to measure
“better” and we can’t be sure how long our
competitive advantage will survive
Our team has extensive management
experience
We can’t point to a successful company that
our management team built
We plan to go public in 3 years
We don’t realize how unpredictable the
opportunity to public can be
Any forecast we come up with will be wrong
We don’t understand how important it is to
have a plan
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22. CEO Skills
Traditional Executive Skills
• Strategic Planning
• Corporate Planning
• Competitive Analysis
• Hiring and Firing
• Supervising
• Team Building
• Complex Problem Solving
• Working with a Board of Directors
• Working with Lawyers
• Financial Analysis and Valuation
• Negotiating
Startup Company-Building Skills
• Forming a Corporation
• Hiring a Founding Team
• Allocating Founder Shares
• Writing the First Business Plan
• Finding Professional Resources
• Providing Leadership with no
Capital
• Understanding Deal Structures
• Raising Capital
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23. Climbing the Corporate
Ladder
• Chairman
• CEO
• VP Marketing/Sales
• VP National Operations
• Acquisitions or Division G.M.
• Branch Manager
• Sales Manager
• Sales/support
Dr. Webb Castor
Van Honeycutt
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24. What Does it Mean to
“Attract” Capital?
Investors are looking for good
investment opportunities
So create one and
let them come to you!
25. What’s The Answer For
Startups?
Bootstrap as far as possible
Use equity to recruit a team
Create a product
Get some customers
Get some positive feedback
Expand the team
Attract management and money
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26. Taking Dreams
to Market
DRC Computer: Steve Casselman’s Dream—Most powerful
gene sequencing computer in the world
NovaDigm Therapeutics: Dr. Jack Edwards’ Dream—First
fungal vaccine to be tested in a human
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27. LiveSafe, Inc.
• Use stock to recruit developers and PR
• Develop platform
• Beta client (U. of Virginia?)
• National Publicity
• Business plan
• Angel Funding and CEO
• More angel funding and $5M from IAC
• $5M from Fred Smith (FedEx Founder)
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28. Parcel Pending
Storage Lockers for Parcels Delivered to Large Living Complexes
• Friends and Family $
• Equity Deal with Software Developer
• Lori Torres
• Domain Knowledge
• Operational Management
• Create Prototype Locker
• Interest from Irvine Company
• Monday Club
• Tech Coast Angels
• UDR Operating Capital Deal
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29. “I can solve
any problem!
I just need to find the
people who can help me
solve it.”
Lori Torres
CEO, Parcel Pending
OCBJ Innovator of the Year
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