VC Workshop with Janice Taylor and e99 Ventures
Our first interactive workshop of the Summit brought us an inspiring, minti-faceted session With Januc Taylor of e99ventrures . Janice lead us as we dove into the fundraising process and figuring out if VC funding is right for your business.
In this session we covered:
- How to get introduced to VC's and manage the introduction process
- What VC's are looking for in a business and team
- How to nail (or fail) the pitch
- Timeline expectations: from how many investors to contact to how long it will take
- What are the best tools and platforms you should know about
Key Takeaways
How you structure the deal at the beginning is the most important. Regardless of what business you're in, it's important that you think about your end goal first - exit, IPO, 10 year business. It sets up your structure from the beginning so you won't have to do it along the way.
As a founder your job in every moment is to equalize power (with the money people).
Meet with VCs that have been founders, that have been in the chair. They will make for far better partners in the long run.
The most impactful startups are ones that have really understood that this core problem is theirs. I believe that all of us in the first 10 years of life have a pretty good sense of our calling, the problem we were born to solve. When they know that this is their problem, they cultivate a solution that has the power of infinite possibilities. You tap into the power of the universe.
A great deck that tells a great story and a story is the best way to get any investor to buy in.
Our world has gone very transactional in a lot of ways and i believe that relationships are important. These are people that you are going to marry so choose wisely.
The most important thing about a co-founder is to make sure that your voice or the thing that you do best fits into your founder pocket. It’s so critical that you do what you do best and that you compliment each other.
Pitching:
Ask for the money!
If they give you a no, get something else out of them. If they name drop within the conversation, write that name down and ask for that meeting. It is a hunt. You have to look for what actually stays true to your core problem and what will work for you.
Don't stop, it's around the corner but make sure you feel like you're moving somewhere. If you get the brick wall, move around to the side.
One action every women entrepreneur should take this week:
Figure out what is your core problem to solve. Look back to the first 10 years of your life and know that the answer is there.