Meet Audra Pakalnyte from First Move, Shi Yan from Hustle Fund, Jeff Paine from Golden Gate, Kevin Brockland from Indelible and Sophie Chiu from Appworks to share their insights on how to raise your first seed check. Here is a breakdown of the most compelling highlights.
🔍 VC Investment Criteria & Mindset
- F3 Framework: Founders, Fit, and Future.
- Market Size Matters: Must be sizable and scalable to justify investment.
- 10X is the baseline: VCs look for potential to grow 10X, ideally 100X.
- Founder Qualities: Commitment, coachability, execution capability, and grit.
- Insight & Secret Sauce: Founders should have deep industry insight or a unique perspective.
💡 Early Stage Advice for Founders
- Know Your Investor: Match your startup’s profile with the investor’s risk appetite.
- Don’t Over-Raise: Raise only what’s needed to reach the next milestone.
- Equity Discipline: Be cautious with equity dilution; treat it as precious.
- Customer Validation: Focus on solving real pain points and getting customers to pay.
- Prototype Quickly: Expectations have shifted—build and test MVPs fast.
🌍 Global vs Local Strategy
- Think Global Early: Build products with global scalability in mind.
- Exposure Builds Confidence: Founders should travel, network, and learn from global ecosystems.
- Vietnam & Singapore: Emerging hubs with founders targeting global markets.
- Barriers to Global Expansion: Lack of confidence, exposure, and ambition.
🧠 Product-Market Fit & Growth
- PMF Feels Like Pull: When users organically adopt and love your product.
- PLG (Product-Led Growth): Works better in US than Southeast Asia due to adoption behavior.
- Speed to Market: Fast iteration and feedback loops are critical.
- Metrics Orientation: Founders must obsess over usage data and analytics.
💬 Fundraising & Check Sizes
- Typical First Check: Ranges from $100K to $300K depending on region and stage.
- Valuation is Market-Driven: Supply and demand dictate terms more than founder expectations.
- Pre-Revenue Startups: Can be funded if they show strong insight, traction, and validation.
🧠 Mindset & Strategy
- Think Big from Day One: Aim for 10X growth minimum; 100X is ideal.
- Global Ambition Matters: Build with international scalability in mind, not just local relevance.
- Confidence is Key: Don’t let lack of exposure or fear of failure hold you back.
👥 Founder Qualities
- Commitment & Grit: Investors look for founders who are determined and resilient.
- Insight & Execution: Deep understanding of the problem space and ability to act on it.
- Coachability: Willingness to learn and adapt is crucial.
💰 Fundraising Tips
- Raise What You Need: Don’t over-raise; align funding with clear milestones.
- Protect Your Equity: Be strategic about dilution—only give equity to those who add real value.
- Customer Revenue is Best: Focus on monetization early; paying customers validate your product.
🚀 Product Development
- Speed & Iteration: Build MVPs quickly and test with real users.
- Product-Market Fit (PMF): You’ll know you’ve hit PMF when users pull the product from you.
- Metrics Matter: Track usage, retention, and feedback obsessively.
🌍 Go-to-Market & Expansion
- Start Local, Think Global: Use your home market to validate, but plan for international reach.
- Understand Your Customer: Whether B2B or B2C, know their pain points and buying behavior.
- Leverage Networks: Co-founders or team members from target markets can accelerate entry.
🧭 Advice from VCs
- Build Lean: Avoid unnecessary hires; leverage tech over people.
- Customer Revenue is Best Funding: Focus on monetization early.
- Avoid VC if Possible: Build sustainable businesses without external funding if you can.
- Fix Your Idea Early: Seek feedback to refine and validate your concept.
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