Essential tips on securing a successful round of fundraising from VC’s

 

Fundraising has never been an easy task, but yet it is usually one of the most crucial things that startups need to do in order to quickly scale their businesses to the next level and many are still wondering how to do it successfully.

Now with a lot more VC-fund available in the region compared to a decade ago, there never was a better time to fundraise with VC than today.

Therefore, here are some essential tips that you should consider when you’re fundraising with VC:

Invest enough time with your pitch deck

Pitch deck is essentially the CV of your company and it is almost definitely going to be the first thing that VC will ask to you if you want to be considered by them.

Also Read: How to write a PR pitch for your white paper

However, there have been many occasions where startup founders have put 30+ irrelevant slides in their deck which certainly does not increase their chances of being considered.

Hence, you should always keep your deck concise from 10-13 slides which include the following – name and purpose, the team,  the problems, your solution, the market size, the competition, the product and it’s a roadmap, the monetization model and the tractions.

Carefully identify all of the potential investors

Identifying and picking the right investors to be your partners is very important and you should never blindly send out your decks to all VC’s without taking your time to learn about them one-by-one.

The reason being that some VC’s may already have existing portfolios that have a similar business model and target market like your startups and you certainly don’t want to give them any leverage of your company’s secrets to competitors.

Hence, allocate enough time to identify and list the VCs that you want to send your deck to by knowing their backgrounds, current portfolios, investment thesis, sector focus, the analyst’sand partners.

Know what you want to say in the first meeting

Great! So you’ve already sent your deck and you get a response from the analyst/associate to invite you for a meeting.

Your first meeting with the VC will be similar like any first dates and your only main goal is to make them more interested in your company.

In order to do that well, you should prepare yourself with all critical and relevant data/information of your company and be prepared with all possible questions that will be asked.

Also Read: Pro pitch deck tips for beginners

Lastly, be passionate and sincere while talking about your company but never try to oversell.

Due diligence process

If you made it to the VC’s due diligence (DD) process, it means you’ve already made a significant milestone in your fundraising process.

DD process can take some time and the only thing you should do is to be patient and always give accurate answers for all detailed questions that will be asked by the VC.

If you think the DD process has taken too long, always be courteous in following-up with the VC and never put any pressure on them to rush the process.

The final process

Once the VC complete their DD process, it is usually going to be their final decision (either yes or no). If they say YES, congratulations!

All you need to do is wait until they give you the term sheet and pay careful attention with all of the terms and clauses.

But if you get a NO, try to request another meetup with the VC to ask for their feedback on why they decided to not proceed further with your startup and what other things you can improve.

It is also okay to ask them for any referrals but always does it in a polite manner and always ask it for no more than once.

Also Read: What you need to know before taking Venture (or Vulture?) Capital
–

Editor’s note: e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

Join our e27 Telegram group here, or our e27 contributor Facebook page here.

Image Credit: Hunters Race

The post What early stage startups should know when fundraising with VC’s appeared first on e27.

Sometimes, it’s not just about the work itself

With the ever-increasing market competition and client expectations, the nature of jobs has changed drastically in the last three decades or so.

Employees are forced to work in a high-pressure environment where one mistake can put their jobs at risk. The only way to be able to survive in their careers is to maintain excellent performance. Sometimes, the urge to do this can put them under tremendous pressure, which eventually can cause job burnout.

No matter if you’re part of a multinational company or a present-day startup, this is something that must have faced in the past or are likely to face at some point in your career. If you want to get through this situation as a winner and maintain a top-notch performance, then make some immediate changes in your lifestyle and habits.

These adjustments might seem difficult at first, but if you stay committed you can easily turn yourself into an achiever and get through any high-pressure situation at the workplace comfortably.

Here are some of those tips that you can pay attention to and get desired outcomes.

1. Make Friends at the Workplace

If you look closely at your routine, you’ll realise that almost one-third of your day goes in various work-related tasks. Add travel time to it, and the number will even rise further.

You may not realise it now, but to get through this period without feeling stressed and anxious, you need friends who understand you, help you in achieving your goals, and support you when you’re feeling low.

Even though true friendships at the workplace don’t exist, you can still maintain friendly relations with everyone around you and make the most of this opportunity.

For this to happen, you need to pay heed to a couple of important points. The first is to separate yourself from workplace politics and gossips. These two can do more damage to your career and relationships than anything else. You might not stop them from happening, but you can definitely choose not to become a part of them.

Also read: 5 research-backed stress-busters that can help you improve work-life balance

By maintaining a fair distance from such activities, you can avoid unnecessary controversies and be more productive.

The second thing is to be willing to support others whenever you can. Start with being approachable. Be respectful to your seniors, courteous to your fellow employees and kind to your juniors. Help them whenever they need (and it doesn’t put you under fire in any way) without expecting anything in return.

This might not bring you positive results immediately, but in the long run, your behavior won’t go unnoticed. Give it a shot, and you’ll know the difference.

2. Maintain a Routine

Most working professionals find themselves under tremendous pressure towards the month end because they have no fixed routine. Don’t make the same mistake if you want to be able to achieve desired outcomes at your workplace.

The first step in this regard is to reach the office on time. While coming late might seem cool, it will definitely hit your productivity in the worst possible way. The negative energy that will surround you right in the morning will keep troubling until you sign off for the day.

Don’t let it happen!

Come on time in the morning, do your work with 100% commitment throughout the day and leave on time in the evening so that you can balance your life and give proper attention to your family & friends as well.

Right before you are about to leave the office premise in the evening, make a to-do list for the next day so that you have a clear idea of what’s in store for tomorrow.

3. Sweat it Out

How on earth can people handle stress without their body being able to produce sufficient endorphins on a regular basis? It’s practically and theoretically impossible.

The easiest way to make your body produce endorphins is to work out.

When you lift weights, run on the treadmill or do any other activity which involves body movements, your brain releases certain chemicals that reduce stress and work as natural painkillers.

This is the reason why most business leaders managing billions of dollars worth of funds and portfolios are known for maintaining a physically active lifestyle. Since they live 24/7 under tremendous work pressure, regular work out helps them keep things in check and achieve great results.

It’s not just business leaders who like to spend time in the gym, but everyone who sets himself out to achieve massive success follows this routine.

All the sportspersons and athletes whom you admire like to spend hours in the gym so that their body and mind remain in perfect sync with each other. They don’t stop working out even when they’re down with an injury or not feeling on top of their game. Most athletes these days have started taking medical precautions to avoid injuries and maintain a good performance over time, but at no point, they consider quitting an option.

Workout is a part of their lifestyle as it prepares them mentally and physically to face larger-than-life challenges. You need to learn from them and make work out a part of your routine.

Also read: From fitness to business: An engineer’s journey in entrepreneurship

Even if you hit the gym for a couple of hours for 4-5 days a week, it can get you amazing results and ensure that workplace stress doesn’t pull you down.

I had a word in this regard with Joy Smith, a good friend, and self-proclaimed health nut. According to her, “With the rising awareness in the medical field, cannabinoids could perhaps be used as a tool for balancing our mental tranquility and living comfortably in our physical bodies, simultaneously.”

She isn’t alone who advocates precautionary measures during regular workout sessions to give the body the strength it requires. Many other market leaders and healthcare professionals have backed this claim. They believe this step can help people achieve physical strength over time and unlock the doors to mental wellbeing in a hassle-free manner.

4. Have a Hobby

It’s one of the most ignored yet important points that can improve your workplace performance by a significant margin.

Many working professionals do their jobs and return homes with the only purpose to come back again the next day and repeat the same cycle. You can break this boring unending loop by having a hobby that you like as much as your job. It can be writing, drawing, collecting coins, designing or anything else for that matter.

The goal is to have something that you can look up to even when you have had a bad day at work. It will keep you motivated to make the other half your day productive by indulging into something that you genuinely love.

This is a tried-and-tested way to keep your mind productive and ensure that it doesn’t fall prey to negativity ever.

These are some of the crucial tips through which you can fix your career, cope with the high work pressure and maintain peak performance.

Is there any other tip that you think should be on this list? Please comment below and let us know.

—-

This article was first published on e27, on October 24, 2018.

e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

Photo by Victor Freitas on Unsplash

The post 4 ways to be productive amid workplace pressures appeared first on e27.

How social media can be an effective tool for small businesses

If you are a small business owner, you always look for new ways to attract more business.

One of the most effective and proven ways to grow your customer base and your reach is through social media.

It provides ways to engage with existing customers and to create meaningful conversations with the new ones.

This is how social media usage and SEO services can benefit small businesses today:

Budget-friendly advertising

Even though there are several channels for paid advertising, social media usage is free.

You can easily advertise your products and services within the radius you intend to.

In other words, this is a form of free advertising. They do not have the burden of launching expensive marketing campaigns but have to focus their attention within the local community.

Also Read: Best B2B marketing KPIs that directly impact sales growth

Features like stories, photos, videos, and their description contribute to creating a good understanding and promotion for your products.

Further, your customers can act as your ambassadors. Since small businesses know their customers personally, it becomes easier for them to share their experience on social media platforms.

Small businesses focus on communities and individuals

Apart from the huge differences between big and small businesses in factors like employee count and revenue, there are other factors like customer engagement.

Small businesses are more involved with smaller communities and individuals. This means that they can easily mingle with their customers and their community through social media.

Further, there are several features in social media, which allows you to create engaging conversations about new products and services.

If the businesses can respond to the queries, reviews, and feedback, this will be a bonus for the business.

Also Read: 5 benefits of marketing automation for a CMO

Personalised attention

Small businesses can give more priority to personalisation.

Since the number of customers involved is limited, it is possible to provide a personalised experience for every customer. Survey shows that more customers are interested in small businesses if they receive a customised experience.

Social media can aid this by forming an effective medium through which conversations can be conducted. Survey shows that more customers are interested in small businesses if they receive a personalised experience.

Combined social media marketing campaigns

Many small businesses can join hands and target customers through different strategies. For instance, you can use one platform to mention that you would get offers for buying from another entity.

The reverse can also be worked out. This way, your business can reach out to customers while attracting sales through different means.

Small businesses can use the help of big advertising

Several large organizations hold events which can assist small businesses through their social media marketing campaigns.

People might be familiar with the big names while you can participate in their campaigns through your active social media presence.

This will help you reach thousands of customers which would otherwise have cost you huge amounts of money.

Also Read: 5 content marketing trends you need to heed

It is obvious that social media is a very effective tool at the hands of small businesses.

–

Editor’s note: e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

Join our e27 Telegram group here, or our e27 contributor Facebook page here.

Image Credit: William Iven

The post Growing traffic through social media marketing for small business owners appeared first on e27.

Goola specialises in selling authentic Indonesian drink. One of its co-founders is Gibran Rakabuming, son of Indonesian President Joko Widodo

Alpha JWC Ventures just added Goola into its rapidly expanding F&B portfolio with a US$5 million investment, the VC announced today.

This investment is made after the Indonesian VC firm completed funding in Kopi Kenangan, a local coffee chain startup.

With the fresh fund injection, Goola said it will expand its presence in first, second, and third-tier cities, and kick off their expansion to neighbouring Southeast Asian countries next year.

Goola is an “authentic Indonesian beverage chain startup” founded by Gibran Rakabuming, son of President Joko Widodo. He founded the company with Kevin Susanto and Benz Budiman (who is also known as CEO of Pomona).

Since 2018, Jakarta-based Goola aims to bring local delicacies to the mass market through grab-and-go version of local drinks: Es Doger Jeger (shaved sweetened ice served with glutinous rice, fermented cassava, and coconut meat), Es Kacang Hijau (iced mung beans with coconut cream), and Es Goola Aren (a traditional twist of popular brown-sugar boba).

Also Read: Alpha JWC invests US$8M to help Indonesia’s coffee chain Kopi Kenangan go mobile

“Goola was initially set up as a traditional F&B business, but then we realised that we can do something much bigger if we change how we conduct our business and if we incorporate tech in our daily operations,” said Susanto.

On their pipeline, Goola said, it is in the process of implementing a New Retail approach. It wants to set up a mobile application to reduce waiting time in stores. The app will also help the company analyse users’ consumption habits and preferences to improve overall customer experience.

“If bubble teas can do it, why can’t we? Goola is here to level the playing field against foreign brands,” Rakabuming added.

Alpha JWC Ventures Managing Partner Jefrey Joe also put out a statement regarding the continuous investment in the Indonesian F&B tech scene.

“Goola shares the same mission and ambition as us and we are excited to partner with experienced businessmen Gibran and Kevin to introduce local culture to the mass market and later, to the world. As Indonesian investor and team, we take pride in our mission to help Indonesian founders and companies to be successful in Indonesia and bring them to the global stage,” he said.

Also Read: Alpha JWC Ventures welcomes NS Solutions to its second fund

In October 2018, Alpha JWC Ventures made a notable move to invest in a local coffee chain startup riding the grab-n-go coffee chain trend, Kopi Kenangan. The investment was a seed funding of US$8 million that the startup said would be used to set up new stores, invest in R&D, as well as to develop its own mobile app.

Alpha JWC Ventures is a Southeast Asian venture capital firm with an Indonesia angle and a focussed value-add approach. The firm currently manages two funds of US$ 50 million and US$ 100 million; and more than 28 active portfolio companies.

Today, Goola said it has opened five stores in Jakarta with 15 more ready to open doors this year. By 2020, they aim to reach 100 stores in Indonesia and reach for regional and even global expansion.

—

Image Credit: Goola

The post Alpha JWC Ventures expands F&B portfolio with US$5M investment into Goola appeared first on e27.

In addition to 99.co and ShareChat, there are also updates from An Vui and Alpha JWC Ventures

Singapore-based proptech platform 99.co raises US$M Series B funding round – Tech In Asia

Singapore-based proptech startup 99.co has raised a US$5 million Series B funding round, Tech In Asia reported.

In an email to e27, 99.co co-founder Darius Cheung stated that the platform’s Singapore traffic is about 1.5 million per month and has doubled in the last six months.

This number is said to be close to PropertyGuru’s traffic of 1.7 million.

PropertyGuru itself has recently made headline for increasing prices by 1,149 per cent in nine years.

Twitter leads US$100 million funding round into India’s ShareChat – TechCrunch

Indian social network platform ShareChat raised a US$100 million Series D funding round led by social media giant Twitter, TechCrunch wrote.

TrustBridge Partners, as well as existing investors Shunwei Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, SAIF Capital, India Quotient and Morningside Venture Capital, also participated in the funding round.

ShareChat declined to comment on valuation but a source said that the round has pushed it to US$650 million.

“This investment will help ShareChat grow and provide the company’s management team access to Twitter’s executives as thought partners,” said Twitter India managing director Manish Maheshwari.

Also Read: Sharp rhetoric as Singapore court rules 99.co did not violate PropertyGuru copyright

Vietnamese logistics startup An Vui raises funding from VinaCapital Ventures – Deal Street Asia

Vietnam-based venture capital (VC) firm VinaCapital Ventures announces an investment into local logistics startup An Vui, according to a report by DealStreetAsia.

The company said that the investment by VinaCapital Ventures would be used to enter into more strategic partnerships for its business growth.

An Vui provides end-to-end software that helps build websites to facilitate mobile applications, ticket management, and parcel shipment management, and fuel cost management.

Alpha JWC Ventures expands F&B portfolio with US$5M investment into Goola – e27

Alpha JWC Ventures just added F&B company Goola into its rapidly expanding F&B portfolio with a US$5 million investment, the VC announced today.

This investment followed an investment into local coffee chain startup Kopi Kenangan.

Goola will expand its presence in Indonesia and kick off their expansion to neighbouring Southeast Asian countries next year.

The Jakarta-based company aims to bring local delicacies to the mass market through grab-and-go version of local drinks. It also aims to implement New Retail approach to its business.

Also Read: Following acquisition, Indonesian property portal UrbanIndo rebrands to 99.co

Carousell introduces new logo, claims fourfold revenue growth in 2018 – Press Release

Singapore-based classifieds platform Carousell introduced a new logo on its seventh anniversary.

The company also announced a fourfold revenue growth in 2018. It has expanded into six markets, added new channels for properties and automobiles, and recorded over 250 million listings.

—

Image Credit: Markus Spiske on Unsplash

The post Today’s top tech news, Aug 16: 99.co raises US$5M, Twitter leads ShareChat investment appeared first on e27.