How To: Go From an Idea to your First Investment

My live notes:

10.05 am: Live blogging from the GMIC’s Gstartup event. The moderator and judges are up on the stage. There are quite some big names over here:

• Moderator: Edith Yeung, Founder, BizTechDay
• Cyril Ebersweiler, Partner, SOS Ventures; Founder, Chinaccelerator
• Ye Wang, Founder & Product Director, Innovation Works
• William Bao Bean, Venture Advisor, SingTel Innov8
• Jui K Tan, Partner, BlueRun Ventures
• Yen-Lu Chow, Founder & Managing Director, WholeTree Ventures; Director, BANESA
• David Lee, Venture Partner, SK Telecom Venture, Ex-Google Venture

10.12 am: In a pitch, David Lee said that the experience of the start-up team is what investors value a lot. He also commented that it is a lot easier to create a start-up these days. Yen-Lu Chow also echoed that the team credential is of extreme importance. Communicating the vision of a start-up is important because investors have to be able to “see” your vision to be able to invest. William advised start-up founders to practice their pitches with their friends. Make the pitch concise! Bottomline: People, people, people. The team needs to know how to execute at the right timing.

10.23 am: Talking about worst pitches: Chow shared that he hates start-up founders who talk about exits and valuation. The emphasis should be placed on building the company. William advised founders to scrap the market analysis slides and go straight to the gist. He said that investors, at least for him, have short attention span. The key idea has to be communicated effectively before the investor loses his attention. Cyril gave a broaden sense for pitch. The ‘pitch’ starts from the very first email and also getting the right referrals to support your credential.

10.30 am: On getting investors’ attention: Founders should network more often – meeting people, building the network. Get the investors’ attention by knowing their friends. It’s always good to have someone they know to recommend you. While finding an investors can be tough, don’t settle in for an investors whom you can’t work well with.

Summary: These are the regular tips, but crucial points to land your first investment. For founders, getting a good team with the right expertise and experience would certainly build investors’ trust. The pitch has to be well-prepared and straight to the point. Founders shouldn’t talk too much about valuation and exit strategy. Instead, the foundation work should be emphasized.  Share your grand vision with the investors but keep things in perspective by sharing baby steps towards achieving your early milestones. Money shouldn’t be the only factor that founders look at. How the investors can bring you to the next level is also equally important. Last but not least, even if your product could be the next Facebook or Google, an investor wouldn’t invest as long as he doesn’t like you. Again, it boils down to people.