Startup Funding

August 31, 2021

5 Signs Your Startup Isn’t Ready to Raise Funding

2 min read  So you want to raise funding, but are you ready? Here are 5 signs that you may not be, and how what you should do. Your Vision is Fuzzy. Investors will not be too interested if the vision is still fuzzy and hasn’t come into focus yet. if you’re still sorting out the market and your position in it, then you need to gain more clarity on the space and your company’s position. The Team Isn’t in Place Yet. if you still have major holes in the team that you are seeking to fill, you need to find candidates for those positions before funding. Investors will not invest in an incomplete team. No Repeatable Business Model. Before starting a fundraise, you must identify the repeatable business model. if you’re still pivoting from one business model to the other then you’re not ready for investors. At this stage, the business model must be predictable at some level. Financials are Not Under Control. You are definitely not ready to raise funding if you don’t have your financials under control. If you don’t know how much to budget for expenses or what the impact of a sales increase on your bottom line may be, then take some time to prepare those financials and be ready to present that information to investors. No Clear Path to Profitability. If you can not show a clear path to profitability (if you don’t see how you can grow to a profitable position with your current business model) then you’re not ready for fund raising. Investors want to see how and when you will be profitable before making an investment decision. TEN Capital has created a series of calculators to help you see how your startup compares to industry standards. You can discover if you are ready for funding, see how your deal will be seen by investors, learn how to set the price for your next raise or exit, or calculate how much TEN Capital can save you on your fundraising campaign. Feel free to try out our calculators and contact us if you would like to discuss your fundraise: https://staging.startupfundingespresso.com/calculators/ Hall T. Martin is the founder and CEO of the TEN Capital Network. TEN Capital has been connecting startups with investors for over ten years. You can connect with Hall about fundraising, business growth, and emerging technologies via LinkedIn or email: hallmartin@tencapital.group

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Do I Have a Venture Deal?

1.5 min read Do I Have a Venture Deal? If you are having a hard time deciding if your venture business is worth investing in, or are just not sure how to value your venture, we have a very handy tool to help you secure an investor with confidence. Well, Do You Have a Venture Deal? Before using the calculator, consider if you have a deal that’s in the game for venture funding by asking these questions: Is it a high-growth company? Is it scalable? Do you have an experienced team ready to join? Do you have a platform-based business, or is it a single product? Do you have recurring revenue? Do you have virality built into it? Do you have network effects in it? Are you addressing a large market? Do you have a clear competitive advantage? The more you can answer yes to these questions the more you have a venture business that qualifies for venture funding. TEN’s Venture Funding Calculator This can be a lot of information to sort out, so we’ve come up with an easier way: our Venture Funding Calculator. Just answer a short list of questions and automatically get results showing how fundable your company is. The calculator provides a quantitative score of how investors, like VCs, angels, and family offices, will value your deal based on the team, product, revenue model, value proposition, exit potential, and other characteristics of your startup. Scoring levels: 90-100: Strong venture interest 80-90: Medium venture interest 50-70: Some venture interest 0-50: No venture interest The score you receive highlights where you currently stand, and what you can do to improve your score. A score above 50 means your startup has enough merit that investors will give it some consideration. A score above 80 indicates medium interest, while a score over 90 will translate to strong interest from investors. Click on the following link to try out the calculator for yourself: https://staging.startupfundingespresso.com/venture-funding-calculator/ You can also read more from the TEN Capital eGuide Do You Have a Venture Deal?: https://staging.startupfundingespresso.com/venture-deal-eguide/ Hall T. Martin is the founder and CEO of the TEN Capital Network. TEN Capital has been connecting startups with investors for over ten years. You can connect with Hall about fundraising, business growth, and emerging technologies via LinkedIn or email: hallmartin@tencapital.group

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