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Startups: Do You Need an Advisor?

2 min read. Startups: Do You Need an Advisor? Many startups collaborate with an advisor at some point in the process of their development. Advisors can aid startups in many ways, yet it always comes at a cost. In this article, we discuss how to know if your startup is in need of an advisor, what roles an advisor can play, and how to select the right one for you and your team. Do You Need an Advisor? Advisors can be helpful to your startup. Here are some key points to consider when determining if you need one: If you haven’t run a startup before, you’ll most likely need an advisor. If you plan to raise funding, you’ll find advisors add gravitas to the team as well as potential contacts. If you have holes in your team, then advisors can help you close them. If you are in a domain you have not worked in before, then an advisor can be helpful. If the business technology has changed dramatically, then an advisor can be useful to guide in the implementation of the latest tech. If you find yourself asking anyone, and everyone questions about your business decisions, then an advisor may be the answer. If you have a team that always agrees with you, then you may benefit from an advisor who will be more honest with you. If you need help for your own growth, then look for a mentor.  Remember that mentors are different from advisors. Mentors typically help the individual grow, while advisors help grow the business. Advisor Roles In addition to there being many types of advisors, advisors also take many roles in their work with startups. For example, some advisors’ role is simply to fill gaps in the early stage of the startup. Advisors can be signed on as formal advisors, or some may provide support as informal advisors. In this scenario, there are no set goals, meetings, or formal advisor agreements. This is the most common way startups work with advisors. Some advisors take the role of a mentor in providing guidance. These mentors tend to focus their efforts on the founder. Some advisors take the role of consultant in performing very specific tasks for the company, while others take on general responsibilities. Others may take on the role of a board of directors. This can be helpful in early-stage companies that are not yet ready to form a board of their own. Advisors here can provide oversight to the company and help the founder keep the broader picture in mind. Regardless of the role, you choose to fill, as an advisor, you will aim to bring experience, contacts, and networking to the startups you work with. Advisors can help startups achieve higher growth, avoid problems along the way, and give the founder confidence. Here are some key points in choosing an advisor for your startup: Avoid the dabbler: These advisors want to dabble with startups but don’t have any substantial experience to share. Avoid “Yes” men. These advisors confirm everything you say because they don’t want to go through the heavy lifting of explaining better ways of doing things. Stay clear of generalists: Generalists have general business experience but know very little about your specific industry or growth strategy. Look for advisors who know your industry and space very well.  Seek advisors who are well-connected.  Look for advisors who challenge you and remind you of the goals you have set. You may want to recruit a group of advisors and have them meet both individually and as a group to discuss key issues. Remember the time commitment that comes with advisors and set aside time for it.   Read More TEN Capital Education Here 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

Choosing the Right Advisor for Your Startup

2 min read Advisors can bring many benefits to a startup organization. Advisors bring along experience, networks, and other resources that the startup team can take advantage of. However, this only works if you choose the right advisor for your startup. You’ll need to do your due diligence while recruiting to ensure that their skills and resources match your organization’s needs and interests. Let’s take a look at how to choose the right advisor for you and your team. How to Recruit an Advisor Good advisors bring good value to your startup. Great advisors bring great value. This is why it is important to spend time identifying the right advisor for your startup. In recruiting an advisor, pose specific questions and gauge the response. How does the advisor rank compared to feedback from other sources? The advisor you choose should provide the best or near best of responses. If they advise other startups, you can ask those startups about their experience. How to Select an Advisor Once you decide you need an advisor, you’ll need to find and select one. Here are some key points to consider: Start with your network and expand out from there. Hold several conversations with the candidate advisor before deciding. If you need to raise awareness for your startup, consider a thought leader in the industry. Find a mutual connection who can make an introduction. Look for someone who compliments your skills. If the candidate does not come from a trusted source, consider running a background check. Focus on those who understand your strategic vision and at some level, support it. Discuss their time availability to see if they can commit to your company. See if they can take their experience and apply it to your business. Avoid the war stories advisor who tells about his experience but relates nothing to your company.  Look for an advisor who has some empathy for your work. Does Your Advisor Have What It Takes? In recruiting an advisor, check to see if they have what it takes to succeed: Have they been through the wringer? Those who have been tested, such as nearing bankruptcy or going bankrupt, will have a deeper understanding of the challenges in running a startup. Will their work with you put them in conflict with their current or past employer? Those who want to compete against their previous employer may not be the best to begin a collaboration with. Are they all show and tell but haven’t built a company before? They may not have created a unicorn, but did they stand up a business and grow it? Ask for something that they put together. Are they invested in your business with their money in addition to their time? Where they put their money says a great deal about their interest. Will they learn something from the engagement just as you are learning from them? This will make the project that much more interesting to the prospective advisor. Can they relate to your situation directly? Those who can only rehash past experiences may not appreciate the differences between their past and your needs.   Read more on the TEN Capital Network eGuide: Startup Advising: Best Practices 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

Sourcing Investors: How to Find and Build Relationships

2 min read The first step in securing funding can often be the most difficult. How do you source potential investors, and when you find them, how do you build a relationship? While there is no one way to do either of these tasks, there are tips and tricks of the trade you can follow. Below, we discuss some of the options your startup has for finding and creating relationships with potential investors. How to Contact Investors In running a fundraise campaign, you’ll need to set up calls and meetings with investors who are busy and may struggle to find time to give you. How do you initiate these calls and meetings? One option is to have a mutual contact make an introduction. Another way to get a call/meeting is to do some meaningful research in a trend, company, or market and offer to share the results with the prospective investor. Investors love to be educated about the market and companies and appreciate gaining relevant information that informs their decision process. In your outreach, show the time and effort you’ve put into researching an area and some of the findings to pique their interest. Then ask for a call/coffee to review the rest of the findings. Investors are much more likely to find time for a meeting in which they will gain something rather than just give something.  How to Build a Relationship with Investors To pitch your deal, you must first start with a prospective list of investors. Include your contacts who are angels, family offices, and VCs. Canvas your network for those who know angels, family offices, and VCs. This is two degrees of separation which means warm introductions can work. When it goes to three degrees of separation or more, then warm introductions no longer work. Include local venture capital and formal angel network groups you have heard about. Capture the names and emails of all the prospects and plan your approach for each one.  After you’ve made contact and given the initial pitch, you want to keep those investors up to date on your progress with monthly mailers that are short and to the point. Focus the mailers on core results related to sales, team, product, and fundraise.  Avoid long stories as most investors want to know there are real results at play and will listen to the full story later. Through a series of mailer updates, you can start to build a relationship with the investor. It starts with a prospective list and it’s important to take the investors on the journey with you. How to Meet Investors in Person When building a relationship with a potential investor through email, start with an introduction of who you are and what you’re all about. Share how it is relevant to them- bring something to the investor in addition to the ask for funding. If you have a contact-making email introduction, provide them with a short two-paragraph summary. Include the following: Who you are: Demonstrate experience and credibility. What you are doing: Make it interesting. Why did you want to connect: Is the connection about an investment, advice, feedback, or something else? When you do finally meet the potential investor in person, bring something interesting to the discussion such as new information about a sector, company, or group that may be useful to them. It could also be the latest research you have done on a topic of interest. Keep the dialogue going until you build a rapport with the investor.   Read more on the TEN Capital Network eGuide: Closing the Investor 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

Startups: Do You Need an Advisor?

2 min read Many startups collaborate with an advisor at some point in the process of their development. Advisors can aid startups in many ways, yet always come at a cost. In this article, we discuss how to know if your startup is in need of an advisor, what roles an advisor can play, and how to select the right one for you and your team. Do You Need an Advisor? Advisors can be helpful to your startup. Here are some key points to consider when determining if you need one: If you haven’t run a startup before you’ll most likely need an advisor. You plan to raise funding, you’ll find advisors add gravitas to the team as well as potential contacts. If you have holes in your team, then advisors can help you close them. You are in a domain you have not worked in before, then an advisor can be helpful. If the business technology has changed dramatically, then an advisor can be useful to guide in the implementation of the latest tech. You find yourself asking anyone and everyone questions about your business decisions, then an advisor may be the answer. If you have a team that always agrees with you, then you may benefit from an advisor who will be more honest with you. If you need help for your own growth, then look for a mentor.  Remember that mentors are different from advisors. Mentors typically help the individual grow, while advisors help grow the business. Advisor Roles In addition to there being many types of advisors, advisors also take many roles in their work with startups. For example, some advisors’ role is simply to fill gaps in the early stage of the startup. Advisors can be signed on as formal advisors, or some may provide support as informal advisors. In this scenario, there are no set goals, meetings, or formal advisor agreements. This is the most common way startups work with advisors. Some advisors take the role of a mentor in providing guidance. These mentors tend to focus their efforts on the founder. Some advisors take the role of consultant in performing very specific tasks for the company while others take on general responsibilities. Others may take on the role of a board of directors. This can be helpful in early-stage companies that are not yet ready to form a board of their own. Advisors here can provide oversight to the company and help the founder keep the broader picture in mind. Regardless of the role, you choose to fill, as an advisor, you will aim to bring experience, contacts, and networking to the startups you work with. Advisors can help startups achieve higher growth, avoid problems along the way, and give the founder confidence. Here are some key points in choosing an advisor for your startup: Avoid the dabbler: These advisors want to dabble with startups but don’t have any substantial experience to share. Avoid “Yes” men.: These advisors confirm everything you say because they don’t want to go through the heavy lifting of explaining better ways of doing things. Stay clear of generalists: Generalists have general business experience but know very little about your specific industry or growth strategy. Look for advisors who know your industry and space very well.  Seek advisors who are well connected.  Look for advisors who challenge you and remind you of the goals you have set. You may want to recruit a group of advisors and have them meet both individually and as a group to discuss key issues. Remember the time commitment that comes with advisors and set aside time for it.   Read more on the TEN Capital Network eGuide: Startup Advising: Best Practices 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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